No tent, boxcar, shack or other structure shall be constructed, erected or moved in or onto any location in the City of Katy, if such tent, boxcar, shack or other structure does not conform with the sanitary, health, and building regulations of such location and is not in keeping with the average value and construction of established property in any such location. This section shall not apply to those temporary buildings used in connection with a construction project; provided that such buildings shall be removed within thirty (30) days after occupancy of the permanent building being constructed.

[Repealed by Ordinance 906 adopted November 10, 1988.]

Temporary real estate sales offices, whether portable or nonportable, shall be permitted in the “R” District upon issuance of a permit by the building inspector for a period not to exceed eighteen (18) months. Extensions of time for the purposes of such use shall be allowed only by action of the city council.

A permanent sight-obscuring fence of masonry and/or solid wood (weather-resistant redwood, cedar or equal), not less than six (6) feet in height, shall be erected prior to the beginning of any other construction on commercial property that abuts an “R-1” or “R-2” District. Said screening fence shall be erected along the entire length of the common line between such commercial property and the abutting residential property, and it shall be permanently and adequately maintained by the commercial property owner. For purposes of this section only, sight-obscuring is defined as a fence that prohibits the passage of light through the fence.

No lot, tract, or area located in an “R” District, upon which are existing dwellings or other buildings, shall be changed to other districts until said dwellings or other buildings have been demolished or reconstructed to meet construction standards, except upon application for a special permit, as provided herein.

No building, structure, parking lot, facility or improvement of any kind shall be placed on any property located within twenty-five (25) feet of the centerline of the main line of any railroad, including the MKT main line track, within the City of Katy.

At all intersections of the main line of any railroad company, including the MRT [MKT] line through the City of Katy (hereinafter referred to as the Main Line) and any public or private street (hereinafter referred to as the street), no building, structure, parking area facility or improvement of any kind shall be built within the boundaries of a triangle (hereinafter referred to as a “visibility triangle”) described as a right triangle, the hypotenuse of which is one hundred fifty (150) feet long lying perpendicular to the centerline of the Main Line, with the center of said hypotenuse located at the intersection of the Main Line centerline and right-of-way of the street. The right angle of the visibility triangle shall rest on the centerline of the Main Line at a point seventy-five (75) feet from the intersection of the Main Line and the street right-of-way, as shown below. Visibility triangles shall be imposed on either side of the street as it crosses the Main Line, with the right angle of the triangle located on either side so that a line drawn from the right angle to the center of the hypotenuse does not cross the centerline of the street. For purposes of this section, centerline of the Main Line shall be a line halfway between the iron rails of the Main Line.

In any district, public or semi-public buildings, such as hospitals, hotels, churches, sanitariums or schools, where permitted, may be erected to a height not exceeding seventy-five (75) feet, provided that such buildings shall have yards the depth or width of which shall be increased one (1) foot on all sides for each additional foot that such buildings exceed the specified height limit as established by the regulations of the district in which such buildings are situated.

Dwellings in Districts “R-1” or “R-2” may be increased in height not exceeding ten (10) feet in addition to the limitations of two and one-half (2-1/2) stories, or thirty-five (35) feet, as prescribed in such districts provided that two (2) side yards of not less than fifteen (15) feet in width each are provided. In no case shall such dwellings exceed three (3) stories in height.

Parapet walls and false mansards shall not extend more than six (6) feet above the height limit.

On through lots one hundred twenty-five (125) feet or less in depth, the height of a building may be measured from the curb level of either street. On through lots of more than one hundred twenty-five (125) feet in depth, the height regulations for the street permitting the greater height shall apply to a depth of not more than one hundred twenty-five (125) feet from that street.

For any building used jointly for business and dwelling purposes or industry and dwelling purposes, the number of families permitted by the lot area requirements per family shall be reduced in the same proportion as the floor area devoted to business or industry bears to the entire floor area of the buildings, provided that floor area below the first floor of such building shall not be included in any calculation under this provision.

For any building providing jointly for hotel and apartment house uses, the number of families permitted in apartments by the lot area requirements per family shall be reduced in the same proportion as the total floor area devoted to hotel or non-housekeeping rooms bears to the total floor area devoted to both uses.

In districts “R-1” to “R-2” inclusive, where lots comprising forty (40) percent or more of the frontage on the same side of a street between two (2) intersecting streets (excluding reverse corner lots), are developed with buildings having front yards with a variation of not more than ten (10) feet in depth, the average of such front yards shall establish the minimum front yard depth for the entire frontage, except that where a recorded plat has been filed showing a setback line which otherwise complies with the requirements of this ordinance, which is less than the established setback for the block as provided above, such setback line shall apply; provided that the City Planning and Zoning Commission may permit variations in cases of hardship, or where the configuration of the ground is such as to make conformity with the front yard requirements impractical.

Where an official line has been established for future widening or opening of a street upon which a lot abuts, then the depth or width of a yard shall be measured from such official line to the nearest line of the building.

Every part of a required court or yard or open space shall be open from its lowest point to the sky unobstructed except for the ordinary projections of sills, belt courses, cornices, chimneys, buttresses, ornamental features and eaves; provided that none of the above projections shall extend into a minimum yard more than twenty-four (24) inches; and provided further that canopies or open porches having a roof area not exceeding sixty (60) square feet may project a maximum of six (6) feet into the front or rear yard.

An open fire escape may project into a required side yard not more than half the width of such yard and not more than four (4) feet from the building. Fire escapes, solid floored balconies and enclosed outside stairways may project not more than four (4) feet into a rear yard.

Except as specifically required adjacent to a District “R-1” to “R-2” inclusive, buildings in Districts “C-1”, “C-2” or “M” used wholly or partially for business or industrial purposes, need not provide a side yard, provided that portions of such buildings which are designed or used for dwelling purposes shall provide on any floor so used, in addition to the front and rear yard requirements, open space equivalent to the area of side yards for buildings used exclusively for dwelling such building is situated [sic]. Such open space may be in the form of additional front or rear yards or one (1) or more courts opening to the street or rear yard.

No rear yard shall be required in Districts “C-1” to “M” inclusive on any lot used for business or industrial purposes, the rear line of which adjoins a railway right-of-way or which has a rear railway tract connection.

In computing the depth of a rear yard for any building where such yard abuts an alley, one-half (1/2) of such alley may be assumed to be a portion of the rear yard.

On a corner lot, a private garage, when attached to the main building and not exceeding the height of the main building, may extend into the required rear yard to a point not less than eighteen (18) feet from the rear lot line, and shall not occupy more than thirty (30) percent of the required rear yard.

Flatwork may extend beyond the required side yard building line to the property line, exclusive of alleys, drainage or utility easements.