The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning. Any terms not defined within this document shall be considered to have the most commonly acceptable meaning as can be identified in a standard dictionary.

Abutting means lying adjacent or contiguous along a common border.

Accessory building, in a residential district, means a detached subordinate building used for a purpose customarily incidental to the main structure, including, but not limited to, a private garage for automobile storage, greenhouse as a hobby, home workshop, children's playhouse, garden shelter, but not involving the conduct of a business.

Accessory use means a use subordinate to and incidental to the primary use of the main building or to the primary use on the premises.

Adult business means a business whose product or service sales are restricted to adults over age 18 years, including, but not limited to, tattoo parlors and head shops.

Alley means a public space or thoroughfare which affords only secondary means of access to property abutting thereon.

Apartment means a room or suite of rooms in a multifamily dwelling or apartment house arranged, designed or occupied as a place of residence by a single family, individual or group of individuals.

Apartment house means any building, or portion thereof, which is designed, built, rented, leased or let to be occupied as three or more dwelling units or apartments or which is occupied as a home or place of residence by three or more families living in independent dwelling units.

Area of the lot means the net area of the lot including easements, but shall not include portions of streets and alleys.

Assisted living facility means residences for the elderly that provide rooms, meals, personal care, and/or supervision of self-administered medication. The use is similar to a nursing home, but more like apartment living than hospitalization (same as group home).

Bakery, retail, means a place for preparing, baking and selling baked goods and products prepared on the premises.

Bar/lounge means establishments where alcoholic beverages are sold for on-premises consumption. (Note: an establishment that can prove it produces more than 50 percent of its gross income in sales of food items may be classified as a restaurant rather than a bar/lounge.)

Basement means a building story which is partly or wholly underground. A basement shall not be counted as a story in computing building height.

Bed and breakfast means an establishment typically run from an individuals' residence that offers overnight accommodations and a morning meal to visitors for compensation.

Block means an area enclosed by streets and occupied by or intended for buildings; or if it is used as a term of measurement, it shall mean the distance alongside of a street between the nearest two streets which intersect said street on the said side.

Board means the zoning board of adjustment established in article XVI of this chapter.

Boardinghouse means a building other than a hotel, where lodging and meals for five or more persons are served for compensation.

Building means any structure built for the support, shelter and enclosure of persons, animals, chattels or moveable property of any kind. The term "building" means the same as the term "structure."

Building line means a line parallel or approximately parallel to the street line at a specified distance there from marking the minimum distance from the street line that a building may be erected.

Bulk storage means the unpackaged, unbundled, unbound or loose storage, in mass quantities, of materials.

Call center means a central place where customer and other telephone calls are handled by an organization, usually with some amount of computer automation. Typically, a call center has the ability to handle a considerable volume of calls at the same time, to screen calls and forward them to someone qualified to handle them, and to log calls. Call centers are used by mail-order catalog organizations, telemarketing companies, computer product help desks, and any large organization that uses the telephone to sell or service products and services.

Cellar means a building story with more than one-half its height below the average level of the adjoining ground. A cellar shall not be counted as a story in computing building height (same as basement).

Certificate of occupancy or compliance means an official certificate issued by the city through the enforcing official which indicates a conformance with or approved conditional waiver from the zoning regulations and authorizes a legal use of the premises for which it is issued.

City commissioners means the governing body of the City of Harlingen, Texas.

City manager means the chief city administrator.

Cleaners means a retail service providing dry cleaning of clothes.

Cleaning and dyeing service including carpeting means an industrial use in which products are cleaned and/or dyed through chemical processes. No direct exterior exhaust from a cleaning plant is permitted and dust and/or fumes must be controlled by either bag or filter and separator or precipitator so as to eliminate the exhausting of dust, odor, fumes or noise outside the plant.

Clinic means a group of offices of one or more physicians, surgeons or dentists to treat sick or injured out-patients who do not remain overnight.

College, university or private school means an institution established for educational purposes and offering a curriculum similar to the public schools or an accredited college or university, but excluding trade and commercial schools.

Commercial amusements, outdoor, means activities such as golf driving ranges, pitch and putt courses, archery, miniature golf, carnivals and similar outdoor activities, but not including go-cart racing, drag strips or auto racing.

Condominium, as applied to the ownership of real estate, means a living unit with ownership in common with others of a parcel of land and certain parts of a building thereon which would normally be used by all the occupants, such as yards, foundations, basements, floors, walls, hallways, stairways, elevators and all other related common elements, together with individual ownership in fee of a particular unit or apartment in such building. In this context, it is confined to ownership of a residential unit such as an apartment.

Convalescent home means any structure used for, or customarily occupied by, persons recovering from illness or suffering from infirmities of age.

Court means an open, unoccupied space, bounded on more than two sides by the walls of a building. An inner court is a court entirely surrounded by the exterior walls of a building.

Custom personal service means establishments primarily engaged in providing services involving the care of a person or his personal goods or apparel. Services include, but are not limited to, a tailor shop, shoe repair, health studio or travel consultant.

Day nursery or day care center (adult or children) means an establishment where more than six children or adults are left for care or training during the day or portion thereof. A public or private children day care operated out of a church is a permitted use in any of the designated zoning districts listed for a church in section 111-62, subject to complying with the required off-street parking and loading space listed in article VI of this chapter, and all applicable building, fire and health code requirements. Six or fewer children or adults may be left for care or training during the day, or a portion thereof, in a single-family residential, multifamily residential, and mobile home residential district only if:

(1)

The residential structure maintains a completely residential appearance.

(2)

A screening fence is maintained in the rear yard of the property to keep children on the premises.

(3)

No sign advertising the service is placed on the residential premises.

Depth of lot means the mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines. (See section 111-580.)

Distribution center means an establishment engaged in the receipt, storage and distribution of goods, products, cargo and materials, including transshipment by boat, rail, air or motor vehicle. The breakdown of large orders from a single source into smaller orders and consolidation of several orders into one large one for distribution to several recipients and vice versa are often part of the function of a distribution center (sometimes overlaps warehouse functions).

District means a section of the City of Harlingen from which the regulations governing the area, height or use of the land and buildings are uniform.

Duplex means a building on a single lot containing two single-family dwelling units totally separated from each other by an unpierced wall extending from ground to roof.

Dwelling, multiple-family, means any building, or portion thereof, which is designed, built, rented, leased or let to be occupied as two or more dwelling units or apartments or which is occupied as a home or residence of two or more families.

Dwelling, one-family, means a detached building having accommodations for and occupied by not more than one family or by one family and not more than four boarders and lodgers.

Dwelling, two-family. Same as duplex.

Dwelling unit means a building or portion of a building which is arranged, occupied or intended to be occupied as living quarters and includes facilities for food preparation and sleeping.

Easement means a right given by the owner of a parcel of land to another person, public agency, or corporation for a specific and limited use of the parcel.

Family means any number of individuals living together as a single housekeeping unit, in which not more than four individuals are unrelated by blood, marriage or adoption.

Farmers market means an organized operation at a designated location used by vendors primarily for the distribution and sale of locally produced agricultural products. Such establishment if located in a residential district must be a located on a lot or tract of land no less than five acres.

Farm, ranch, garden or orchard means an area of five acres or more which is used for growing of usual farm products, vegetables, fruits, trees and grains, and for the raising thereon of the usual farm poultry and farm animals such as horses, cattle and sheep, including the necessary accessory uses for raising, treating and storing products raised on the premises, but not including the commercial feeding of offal or garbage to swine or other animals, not including any type of agriculture or husbandry specifically prohibited by ordinance or law, and not including those types or operations generally considered as feedlots.

Floor area means the total square feet of floor space within the outside dimensions of a building, including each floor level, but excluding cellars, carports or garages.

Floor area ratio means an indicated ratio between the number of square feet of total floor area in the main building on a lot and the total square footage of land in the lot; it is the number resulting from dividing the main building floor area by the lot area.

Fourplex. Same as quadruplex.

Furniture and appliance storage, repair and sale, new and used, outside means the unenclosed sale of used goods. (Used furniture and/or appliances may not be stored, repaired, displayed nor sold outside of a building in general retail zone.)

Garden/patio home, subject to the use chart in section 111-62, means a garden or patio home is a single-family dwelling unit in which one wall may be erected to one common property line; said wall can have no penetration of any kind, including, but not limited to, openings for windows, doors, ventilators, clothes dryer vents, water heaters, pressure discharge pipes, electrical circuits and apparatus, and shall be constructed and maintained to a fire resistance rating as required by the latest building and/or fire codes adopted by the city. No garden or patio home, or part thereof, shall encroach into a restricted area as defined in section 40-101.

Greenhouse, nursery for retail means the display of plants offered for sale must be behind the front yard line established in the district in which the nursery or greenhouse is located.

Group home. See assisted living facility.

Halfway house (or residential reentry center) means a residential facility as provided by V.T.C.A., Government Code Ch. 508, and used by the State of Texas Pardons and Paroles Division, to divert from housing in regular units of the institutional division suitable low-risk inmates and other inmates who would benefit from a smoother transaction from incarceration to supervised release.

Height means the vertical distance of a building measured from the average established grade at the street line or from the average natural front yard ground level, whichever is higher, to:

(1)

The highest point of the roofs surface;

(2)

The deck line of mansard roofs; or

(3)

The mean height level between eaves and ridge for hip and gable roofs and, in any event, excluding chimneys, cooling towers, elevator bulkheads, penthouses, tanks, water towers, radio towers, ornamental cupolas, domes or spires, and parapet walls not exceeding ten feet in height.

If the street grade has not been officially established, the average front yard grade shall be used for a base level.

Historically significant building, through the review and approval of a special use permit (SUP) application for a bed and breakfast use, means a building determined by the city commission to be historically significant based on any of the following criteria:

(1)

The building is listed or is found to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places;

(2)

The building is listed or is found to be eligible for listing as a Recorded Texas Historical Landmark, a state archeological landmark, or a state historical marker; or

(3)

The building, in whole or in part, was built 50 or more years prior to the date the subject SUP application is submitted to the city.

Home occupations means an occupation customarily carried on in the home by a member of the occupant's family, without the employment of additional persons, without the use of a sign to advertise the occupation, without offering any goods for sale on the premises and which does not create obnoxious noise or other obnoxious conditions to abutting residential property, such as odor, increased traffic congestion, light or smoke.

Hospital/nursing home means an institution where sick or injured patients are given medical or surgical treatment for a temporary or extended period of time and which is licensed by the State of Texas.

Household appliance service and repair means a repair service including items such as radio and television, but not involving the use of equipment which generates noise, odor or electrical frequencies so as to interfere with the use and enjoyment of adjacent property.

Industrial manufacturing, light, means operations which do not emit detectable dust, odor, smoke, gas or fumes beyond the bounding property lines of the lot or tract upon which the use is located and which do not generate noise or vibration at the boundary of the LI District which is generally perceptible in frequency or pressure above the ambient level of noise in the adjacent areas. Light industrial manufacturing operations of any type which meet the general conditions set forth above and which are not offensive by the reason of the emission of noise, odor, smoke, gas, fumes, dust, glare or the creation of hazard, but specifically excluding the following uses:

(1)

Animal feedlots;

(2)

Animal slaughtering or chicken killing;

(3)

Acid manufacture;

(4)

Ammonia manufacture;

(5)

Automobile wrecking yard;

(6)

Carbon black manufacture;

(7)

Cement, lime gypsum or plaster of Paris manufacture;

(8)

Chlorine manufacture;

(9)

Cotton gin or compress;

(10)

Explosives storage or manufacture;

(11)

Glue and fertilizer manufacture;

(12)

Petroleum and petroleum products refining and manufacture;

(13)

Petroleum tank farm;

(14)

Petrochemical plant;

(15)

Rendering plant; and

(16)

Any use which due to the possible emission of excessive smoke, noise, gas, fumes, dust, odor or vibration or danger of explosion or fire is presently or in the future is determined a hazard and subject to special control.

Industry, other, means any manufacturing or industrial use not prohibited by law, except those uses listed in the definition of light industrial manufacturing, which shall not be permitted without a special use permit as set forth in section 111-62.

Kennel means any lot or premises on which four or more animals, four months of age or older are kept temporarily or permanently for the purpose of training, breeding, boarding or for sale.

Laundromat, including self-service dry cleaning, means clothes cleaning facility of a similar type customarily found in the home and of the customer self-service type and not a commercial laundry or cleaning plant.

Living unit means the rooms occupied by a family and must include cooking and bathroom facilities.

Lodginghouse means a building where lodging for five or more persons is provided for compensation.

Lot means land occupied or to be occupied by a building and its accessory buildings, and including such open spaces as required under this chapter, and having its principal frontage upon a public street. The term "lot" means the same as the term "plot" or "parcel."

Lot coverage means the percentage of the total area of a lot occupied by the floorprint (first story of floor) of buildings located on the lot and including any impervious surfaces such as asphalt or concrete.

Lot depth means the mean distance between the front and rear lot lines. (See section 111-580.)

Lot lines means the lines bounding a lot as defined herein.

Lot of record means a lot which is part of a subdivision, the plat of which has been recorded in the office of the county clerk or a parcel of land, the deed for which is recorded in the office of the county clerk prior to the adoption of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived.

Lot width means the width of a lot at the front building line. (See section 111-580.)

Main building means the building on a lot which are occupied by the primary user.

Mini-storage units means a structure containing separate, individual, and private storage spaces of varying sizes, leased or rented on individual leases generally for storage of items.

Mobile home means a structure for primary purposes of dwelling occupancy and so equipped as to be transportable as constructed (refer to manufactured home ordinance).

Mobile vendor means a vendor whose wares are set up temporarily on an occupied property whose owner has agreed in writing to allow access to bathroom facilities and parking as required by the business generated by the mobile vendor. A vendor shall be considered "mobile" if the structure used to vend goods and/or services from is capable of being removed from the site on a daily basis. A snow cone stand used seasonally, which is not built on-site, may be considered mobile if it contains provisions such as wheels or a hitch by which to remove the structure. Tent structures used for temporary or seasonal sales shall also be included.

Motel means an inn or group of cabins designed for occupancy by paying guests; a hotel.

Multifamily dwellings. Same as dwelling, multifamily.

Neighborhood club (private) means quarters for a private neighborhood organization made up of residents of a specific area and may include social and recreational facilities for members only.

Noise, ambient level, means the general pressure and frequency level of noise in the vicinity of the premises on which a use is located, including traffic noise from nearby streets.

Nonconforming use means a building, structure or use of land lawfully occupied at the time of the effective date of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived, or amendments thereto, which does not conform to the use regulations of the district in which it is situated and has been occupied continuously without interruption or intent of discontinuation.

Occupancy means the use or intended use of the land or buildings by proprietors or tenants.

Open air business means any business, including, but not limited to, an auto mechanic use, that might be established without a formal building structure. (At a minimum, sanitary concerns must be addressed for workers of the business.)

Open space means area included in any side, rear or front yard or any unoccupied space on the lot that is open and unobstructed to the sky except for the ordinary projections of cornices, eaves and porches.

Outdoor music establishment means an entity (structure or building) including businesses and non-businesses which include or initiate musical broadcasting or entertainment or amplified sound, music or spoken word or any sound, that goes beyond the confines of an enclosed building, or which can be heard beyond the building's property line even though the music, spoken word or sound is played, spoken or broadcast from inside the building.

Parking space means an area on a lot sufficient in size to store an automobile not less than nine feet wide and 20 feet long connected either to a public street or alley by a driveway no less than ten feet wide or directly adjacent to a public alley and so arranged as to permit ingress and egress of the automobile at all times without moving any other automobile. The parking spaces, connecting driveways and public alley adjacent to the parking spaces for all businesses and residential uses shall be of asphalt or concrete surface.

Pharmacy means an establishment having at least one licensed pharmacist as owner or employee which fills prescriptions on the premises for sale, and additionally sells non-prescription drugs, medicines and medical supplies.

Planned development district means the city commission of the City of Harlingen, Texas, after public hearing and proper notice to all parties affected and after recommendation from the city planning and zoning commission, may authorize the creation of planned development districts of a designated size, permitting, but not limited to, the following uses: shopping centers, residential developments, neighborhood services, medical centers, hospital, civic centers, community centers, office centers, recreation centers, industrial centers, or any combination thereof.

Planning and zoning commission means the agency appointed by the city commission as an advisory body to it and which is authorized to recommend changes in the zoning and approved platting.

Portable building means a structure that was built off site and moved to a lot, tract, or a piece of land for use as storage or commercial use, and/or that does not have a concrete slab or a perimeter beam with footings, and is not habitable according to the housing code. All portable buildings shall be anchored.

Private garage means an accessory building housing vehicles owned and used by occupants of the main building; if occupied by vehicles of others, it is a storage space.

Quadruplex means four attached dwellings in one building in which each unit has two open space exposures and shares one or two walls with adjoining units.

Railroad, track and right-of-way does not include railroad stations, sidings, team tracks, loading facilities, docks, yard or maintenance areas.

Recycling center means a business which collects, packages, and ships recyclable material.

Residence. Same as dwelling.

Residential zone means any lot or tract zoned with the designation of R-1, R-2, M-1, M-2, or MH primarily intended for residential living in single-family homes, duplexes, multi-unit residences, townhouses, condominiums, garden or patio homes or mobile homes.

Restaurant means any place where food is prepared and provided that is intended for service as individual portions. If a restaurant has a permit to sell alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption as a secondary source of income, it will not be considered a bar/lounge. Whenever the City of Harlingen receives a complaint or has reasonable suspicion that a violation of this section exists, it may require any establishment serving alcoholic beverages as a secondary use to provide the city, within 30 days of notification, a verified audit for each quarter of the calendar year, showing the gross income derived from the sale of food and alcoholic beverages.

Retail store and shop means service offering all types of goods for sale from within the store and only new merchandise shall be permitted in an outside display on a temporary basis (maximum two-week period biannually). Goods which are made and sold for outdoor use (i.e., lawn furniture, playground equipment, plants, etc.) shall be permitted in an outside display on a permanent basis.

Room means a building or portion of a building which is arranged, occupied or intended to be occupied as living or sleeping quarters which may include toilet and/or cooking facilities.

Rooming house. Same as lodging house.

Setback means distance between the lot line and the outermost building wall or post.

Sexually oriented business means a massage establishment, nude studio, nude or partially nude dancing establishment, nude modeling studio, love parlor, adult bookstore, adult movie theater, adult video arcade, adult movie arcade, adult video store, adult motel, or any other commercial enterprise of which the primary business is the offering of a service or the selling, renting, or exhibiting of devices or any other items intended to provide sexual stimulation or sexual gratification to the customer. Evidence that a motel offers a sleeping room for rent for a period of time that is less than ten hours shall be prima facie evidence that such motel is an "adult motel" as this term is used herein.

Sign means an outdoor advertising that is a structure or that is attached to or painted on a building or that is leaned against a structure for display on a premise.

Sign, business or pole, means those signs solely for the purpose of identifying and advertising the use or business on the property on which the sign is located.

Sign, church, schools and temporary, means name plates and bulletin boards for apartment houses, schools and churches, but not exceeding 32 square feet in area and not of a flashing, intermittent, revolving or similarly light type, also temporary signs pertaining to the sale or rental of property not exceeding 20 square feet in area and advertising property only for a use for which it is legally zoned.

Solar farm, means a large scale solar installation where photovoltaic (PV) panels, referred to as solar panels or other means of collecting solar energy, like concentrating solar system are used to harvest the sun's power.

Storage building means a building (including saf-t-box or mobile-mini containers) primarily for the use or storage of goods and/or provisions not including hazardous chemicals or dangerous materials such as dynamite, etc.

Storage warehouse means a building used primarily for the storage of goods and materials by the owner of the goods, or operated for a specific commercial establishment or group of establishments in a particular industrial or economic field.

Story means the height between the successive floors of a building or from the top floor to the roof (or ten feet if no physical floors are established such as in the case of a cellular tower).

Street means any thoroughfare or public driveway, other than an alley, 30 feet or more in width, which has been dedicated or deeded to the public for public use.

Street line means a dividing line between a lot, tract or parcel of land and a contiguous street; also called the right-of-way line.

Structural alterations means any change in the supporting member of a building such as a bearing wall, column, beams or girders.

Structure. Same as building.

Sun screen means a screen type wall constructed of masonry and/or cedar or redwood of sufficient strength to support said wall in a straight and unbroken condition. Said wall may be so constructed as to permit passage of reasonable current of air and/or light but adequate to shield the activity from the sight of occupants of adjacent property.

Temporary field offices means portable building or temporary building used as field office for a real estate development or construction project and subject to removal at the direction of chief building official.

Tennis or swim club means a private residential club with restricted membership, usually of less area than a country club, but including a clubhouse and swimming pool, tennis courts and similar recreational facilities, none of which are available to the general public.

Thoroughfare. Same as street.

Towing, wrecking or wrecked vehicle storage service means a service to tow motor vehicles which cannot be moved under their own power, such business shall include vehicle storage lot to store motor vehicles involved in accidents which cannot otherwise move under their own power. In no event shall any single stored vehicle remain on such storage lot for a period in excess of 90 days. No wrecking, salvage dismantling or sales of used auto parts shall be conducted from towing or wrecker service premises, or from the premises on which such vehicles are stored. Additionally, should any such vehicles remain on such lot for a period in excess of 90 days, such lot shall be deemed to be a "wrecking and salvage yard" under the provisions of this chapter.

Townhouse means a single-family dwelling unit in which the building and/or walls may be erected to or on property line on the front, rear, and sides, in which the building has no opened space except a patio inside the walls and which is erected for the specific purpose of providing a location for inside living. Townhouses shall be built in a series or group of attached units with property lines separating such units. The common wall shall be constructed as set out in the International Building Code, as adopted and amended by the city, regarding separation between townhouses. No townhouse, or part thereof, shall encroach into a restricted area as defined in section 40-101.

Trailer park means an area designated, arranged or used for the parking or storing of two or more travel trailers which are occupied or intended for occupancy as living quarters by individuals or families.

Travel trailer (recreational vehicle) means a trailer equipped to be transported and used for temporary occupancy; in size not to exceed eight feet in width and not to exceed 40 feet in length.

Triplex means a building containing three dwelling units, each of which has direct access to the outside or to a common hall.

Wrecking and salvage yard means any property on which wrecking, salvage, dismantling or sales of used auto parts shall be conducted from towing or wrecker service premises, or from the premises on which such vehicles are stored; a yard on which inoperable vehicles remain for a period in excess of 90 days.

Yard means an open space other than a court, on the lot in which a building is situated and which is not obstructed from a point 30 inches above the general ground level of the graded lot to the sky, except as provided for roof overhang and similar special architectural features.

Yard, front, means an open, unoccupied space on a lot facing a street extending across the front of the lot between the side lot lines and from the main building to the front lot or street line and the main building as specified for the district in which it is located. (See section 111-580.)

Yard, rear, means an open, unoccupied space, except for accessory buildings as herein permitted, extending across the rear of a lot from one side lot line to the other side lot line and having a depth between the building and rear lot line as specified in the district in which the lot is situated. (See section 111-580.)

Yard, side, means an open, unoccupied space on one or two sides of a main building and on the same lot with the building, situated between the building and a side line of the lot and extending through from the front lot line. (See section 111-580.)

Zoning map, City of Harlingen, means the official certified map upon which the boundaries of the various zoning districts are drawn and which is an integral part of this chapter.

(Code 1997, § 159.003; Ord. No. 74-36, 11-20-1974; Ord. of 10-20-1993; Ord. No. 97-35, 7-2-1997; Ord. No. 99-66, 10-20-1999; Ord. No. 00-89, 11-1-2000; Ord. No. 01-16, 2-21-2001; Ord. No. 02-39, 5-1-2002; Ord. No. 03-31, 5-21-2003; Ord. No. 05-11, 3-16-2005; Ord. No. 07-27, 4-18-2007; Ord. No. 08-29, 4-2-2008; Ord. No. 12-14, § I, 3-7-2012; Ord. No. 14-33, § I, 9-3-2014; Ord. No. 2018-32, § I(Exh. A), 9-5-2018; Ord. No. 2023-43, § I, 10-18-2023)

Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon a conviction be guilty of a misdemeanor. In addition to the said penalty provided for, the right is hereby conferred and extended upon any property owner owning property in any district, where such property owner may be affected or invaded, by violation of the terms of the chapter, to bring suit in such courts having jurisdiction hereof and obtain such remedies as may be available at law and in equity in the protection of the rights of such property owners.

(Code 1997, § 159.999; Ord. No. 74-36, 11-20-1974; Ord. of 10-20-1993; Ord. No. 97-35, 7-2-1997)

(Code 1997, ch. 159, app. I)

(a)

The zoning regulations and districts as established herein have been made in accordance with a comprehensive plan for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, morals, and general welfare of the city. They have been designed to lessen the congestion in the streets; to secure safety from fire, panic, and other dangers; to provide adequate light and air, to prevent the overcrowding of land to avoid undue concentration of population; and to facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, and other public requirements. They have been made with reasonable consideration, among other things, for the character of the district, and its peculiar suitability for the particular uses specified; and with a view to conserving the value of buildings and encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the city consistent with a comprehensive plan.

(b)

The changing use of land requires that this chapter be modified from time to time to accommodate changes in techniques and development standards that have been adopted by the citizenry of Harlingen over the years.

(c)

The original zoning ordinance was adopted on March 12, 1940. That ordinance was repealed by the adoption of new zoning ordinance No. 74-36 on November 20, 1974. It has been modified and updated on several occasions for various reasons.

(Code 1997, § 159.001; Ord. No. 74-36, 11-20-1974; Ord. of 10-20-1993; Ord. No. 97-35, 7-2-1997; Ord. No. 03-31, 5-21-2003)

State Law reference— Purpose of zoning ordinances, Texas Local Government Code § 211.011.

(a)

The regulations contained herein have been modified in accordance with a comprehensive land use planning program for the orderly growth and development of the city. This chapter has been modified to incorporate and implement the goals, objectives, and policies found in the document entitled "Harlingen's Vision 2020: Comprehensive Plan." Copies of the full comprehensive plan and plan summaries are available from the planning and development department for a fee.

(b)

(1)

The major modifications undertaken in 1996—97 are an effort to streamline existing ordinances and incorporate necessary changes identified by:

a.

Citizens during the comprehensive plan efforts.

b.

Planning and zoning commission members.

c.

Vision 2020 steering committee members (appointed by city commission and the mayor to represent a cross section of the community).

d.

Ordinance review subcommittee appointed by the steering committee and charged with reviewing and suggesting modifications for ease of use and eliminating or updating obsolete or ineffective portions of the previous zoning ordinance.

e.

Consultants hired to coordinate the comprehensive plan effort.

f.

Staff members of departments who administer or are affected by zoning regulations.

(2)

Subsequent modification efforts should refer to Table 5-1, Zoning and Subdivision Goals and Objectives, on page 5-3 of the comprehensive plan to continue implementation of comprehensive planning goals and objectives established therein, and adopted on May 15, 1996, by Ordinance No. 96-20.

(Code 1997, § 159.002; Ord. No. 97-35, 7-2-1997)

State Law reference— Compliance with comprehensive plan, Texas Local Government Code § 211.004.