Magnolia City Zoning Code

The word "shall" is mandatory; the word "may" is permissive. The particular shall control the general. Words used in present tense shall include the future, and words used in the singular include the plural, and plural the singular, unless the context clearly indicates the contrary. All public officials, bodies and agencies to which reference is made are those of the City, unless otherwise indicated. The City of Magnolia shall be the City.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Set out in Table 14-2, Meaning of Acronyms and Abbreviations, is the meaning of the acronyms and abbreviations used in this UDC.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

(Ord. No. O-2017-012, 07/11/2017; Ord. No. O-2019-004, 02/12/2019; Ord. No. O-2020-006, 02/11/2020; Ord. No. O-2020-029, 11/10/2020)

Abandonment means that a use, structure, or sign is no longer being used, occupied, or otherwise operated either because the owner or operator affirmatively intends to discontinue use, occupancy, or operation, or because the use, occupancy, or operation is discontinued for a period of time specified in this UDC, after which it is not allowed to be resumed.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Abut, Abutting shall mean to border on, being contiguous with or have property or district lines in common, including property separated by an alley, street, Federal or State highway.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Access means an area designated as a way for vehicles to enter or leave a parcel or lot from or to a public or private street or alley. Access is intended to permit residents to bring their vehicles onto the property, to allow customers or tenants to park, and to provide for public safety access in emergencies.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Access Easement means a private easement for vehicular access across one lot or parcel to another (e.g., a driveway across a lot to access another lot). Cross-access easements are reciprocal arrangements that provide for the free flow of vehicles across the property line of abutting lots (e.g., a driveway connection between abutting shopping centers).

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Accessory Building or Structure means a structure that is subordinate to the principal building, which serves a purpose that is customarily and clearly associated with the principal use. Examples of accessory buildings include storage sheds, gazebos, detached carports, and detached residential garages. The term does not include structured parking.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Accessory Use means a use located on the same lot or parcel that is incidental and subordinate to and customarily associated with a specific principal use and which is not used for a place of habitation or a living room, kitchen, dining room, parlor, bedroom, or library. A swimming pool is an accessory use.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Acreage means any tract or parcel of land which does not quality as a farm or development.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Addition means any construction that adds to or enlarges the size of an existing building. Additions include any extension or increase in floor area or height of a building or structure.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Adjacent means an area that has a common property line with, or that is separated from a parcel proposed for development by public right-of-way.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Administrator means the City Administrator or a qualified appointed designee.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Agriculture means land (with and without farm residences) which is primarily used for the commercial production of field crops for food, fiber, or energy; orchards; viniculture; horticulture; dairying; pasturage; aquaculture, and truck farming. The term also includes the raising or breeding of livestock, cattle, horses, poultry, where there is no more than one animal equivalent unit per acre, and the keeping of bees. The term includes the necessary accessory uses for storing the products and inputs needed to produce them. The term does not include intensive agriculture, nor does it include the accessory use of land for personal gardens or the use of open spaces for raising crops, provided that no mechanized equipment is used for planting, cultivation, or harvest.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

All-Weather Surface means an improved surface that is constructed of four inches of concrete or a similar impermeable material, meeting the standards of this Code.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Alley means a minor right-of-way, dedicated to public use, which gives a secondary means of vehicular access to the back or side of properties otherwise abutting a street, and which may be used for public utility purposes.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Alcoholic Beverage Sales, Onsite Consumption means the retail sale of beer, wine, or other alcoholic beverages for on- premises consumption, which requires a State-issued license for the sale of alcohol; and more than 50 percent of the business's gross receipts are from the sale of beer and wine.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Alter or Alteration means any change, addition, or modification in construction or occupancy of an existing structure.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Animal Boarding Facility, Small Animal means any premises where any combination of dogs, cats or other household pets, totaling four or more animals, six months of age or older, are kept, boarded or bred for the intention of profit.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Antenna means any exterior transmitting or receiving device mounted on a tower, building, or structure and used in communications that radiate or capture electromagnetic waves, digital signals, analog signals, radio frequencies (excluding radar signals), wireless telecommunications signals, or other communication signals. Different types of antennae may be subject to different requirements pursuant to this UDC.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Apartment means a multi-family dwelling unit contained in a building that is comprised of three or more dwelling units, each having an entrance to a hallway, stairway, or balcony in common with at least one other dwelling unit.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Appeal means review of a final decision, determination, order, or act pursuant to this UDC which is made by the responsible official or a decision-making body.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Applicant means a person, firm, or agency that executes the necessary forms to obtain a development order for any subdivision, site plan, building, land disturbance, or other activity regulated by this UDC.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Approval means a final action granting a development order, which is taken by the responsible official or decision-making body.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Architect means an individual registered by the State to practice the profession of architecture.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Architectural Lighting means lighting that is designed to reveal architectural beauty, shape, and/or form and for which lighting for any other purpose is incidental.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Area Lighting means lighting that is used to illuminate a broad area, whether such area is solely on the ground surface or also shed onto wall surfaces.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Area of Shallow Flooding means a designated AO, AH, or VO zone on a City’s Flood Insurance Rate Map (“FIRM”) with a one percent chance or greater annual chance of flooding to an average depth of one to three feet where a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable and where velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet flow.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Area of Special Flood Hazard means the land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. The area may be designated as Zone A on the Flood Hazard Boundary Map (“FHBM”). After detailed ratemaking has been completed in preparation for publication of the FIRM, Zone A is refined into Zone A, AE, AH, AO, A1-99, VO, V1-30, VE, or V.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Assisted Living Facility means a facility for the elderly designed with a central or private kitchen, dining, recreational, and other facilities, with separate bedrooms or living quarters, where the emphasis of the facility remains residential. Services include supportive services, personalized assistance, and health care designed to respond to the individual needs of those who need help with activities of daily living.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Automobile Repairs, Heavy means the general repair, rebuilding, or reconditioning of engines, motor vehicles, or trailers, including body work, framework, welding, and major painting service.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Automobile Repairs, Light means the replacement of any part or repair of any part that does not require removal of the engine head or pan, engine transmission or differential; incidental body and fender work, minor painting and upholstering service. The term is limited to passenger automobiles and trucks not in excess of 7,000 pounds gross weight.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Automobile Sales, Permanent means the retail sale of passenger vehicles, where the sales building is constructed on a permanent foundation, and the sales lot and customer parking lot meets all parking requirements, including, but not limited to, paving, dimensions, and landscaping.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Awning or Canopy means a structure partially attached or entirely supported by a wall, and which is covered by canvas, cloth, or other similar material used as a protective cover for a door, entrance, window, walkway, or service area.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Axis of Illumination means the angle formed between the light source and the subject, whether such subject is on a ground surface or building. See Figure A-1, Axis of Illumination, below.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Base Flood means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Basement means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Bed & Breakfast Inn, Residential means a transient lodging establishment in an existing single-family dwelling or detached guesthouses on a lot where the primary use is a single-family home, engaged in providing overnight or otherwise temporary lodging for the general public and, if meals are provided, they are served only to overnight guests and residents.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Bed & Breakfast Inn, Commercial means a transient lodging establishment in a former single-family dwelling or detached guesthouses on a lot where the property owner provides management, cleaning, and meal services guests, and may or may not reside on site. 

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Best Management Practices means that combination of conservation measures, structures, vegetation, or other management practices that reduces or avoids adverse impacts of development on an adjoining site’s land, water, or waterways and water bodies.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Bicycle Lanes are areas designated in the paved area of a street that are intended for use by bicycles. Bicycle lanes are one-way facilities that carry bicycle traffic in the same direction as motor vehicle traffic.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Block means an area of land surrounded on all sides by streets or other transportation rights-of-way or by physical barriers such as water bodies or public open spaces. Blocks are normally divided into lots. See Figure B-1, Block, below.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Block Frontage means the section of a block fronting on a street between two intersecting streets or other block boundary.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Buffer means a designated area that is designed to absorb, preclude, or mitigate the impacts of development on neighboring uses or natural areas by some combination of construction design, vegetative plantings, fences, and/or maintenance practices which will be permanently maintained.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Bufferyard means a unit of land, together with a specified type and amount of planting thereon, and any structures which may be required between land uses to eliminate or minimize conflicts between them. See Figure B-2, Bufferyards, below.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Building means a structure that has a roof and walls, and which is intended to shelter people, animals, property, or business activity, and includes any structure used or intended to be used for supporting or sheltering a use or occupancy. The term "building" shall be construed as if it were followed by the words "or part or parts thereof and all equipment therein."

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Building Area shall mean the sum in square feet of the round areas occupied by all buildings and structures on a lot.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Building Façade, Primary means any façade that faces a public street or open space.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Building Frontage means the width of a building along the street that the primary façade of the building faces.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Building Height means the height of a building. See Height.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Building Line means a line between which line and any street line of a lot, tract, or parcel of land, no building or part of a building may be erected or altered.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Building Permit means an official document or certificate issued by the City which authorizes the construction or siting of any building.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Building, Principal means a building, or buildings, in which is conducted the principal use of the lot in which it is situated. In any residential district, any dwelling shall be deemed to be the principal building of the lot on which the same is situated.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Calendar Day means consecutive days including Saturday, Sunday, or holidays.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Caliper means a method of measuring the diameter of a tree trunk. The measurement is taken six inches above the ground up to and including four inch caliper size. If the caliper as six inches above the ground exceeds four inches, the caliper is measured at 12 inches above the ground. The measurement is taken according to the methodology set out in the most current edition of the American Standard for Nursery Stock, published by the American Nursery and Landscape Association.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Candela means a measure of luminous intensity, equal to the intensity of a light source that emits monochromatic radiation of frequency 540x1012 hertz with a radiant intensity in that direction of 1/683 watt per steradian.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Cash Contribution refers to an equivalent cash value contribution to the City for parkland property acquisition or parkland development costs in lieu of dedication of actual parkland property.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Certificate of Occupancy means a statement setting forth that a building or structure complies with this UDC, and that the building or structure may be used for the purposes stated therein.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Changeable Copy means an element of a sign which allows for sign messages to be routinely changed, either manually (using removable inserts with characters or graphics) or electronically (using display panels).

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Channel is a natural or artificial watercourse of perceptible extent, with a definite bed and banks to confine and conduct continuously or periodically flowing water. Channel flow is that water which is flowing within the limits of a defined channel.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Child-Care Facility means a facility licensed, certified, or registered by the department to provide assessment, care, training, education, custody, treatment, or supervision for a child who is not related by blood, marriage, or adoption to the owner or operator of the facility, for all or part of the 24-hour day, whether or not the facility is operated for profit or charges for the services it offers.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

City means the City of Magnolia, Texas.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Clearing means the destruction and removal of vegetation by manual, mechanical, or chemical methods.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Cluster means a development pattern or design technique in which lots are grouped together, rather than spread evenly throughout a parcel as in conventional subdivision development. Cluster development allows the remaining land to be used for recreation, open space, and the preservation of natural resources.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Commencement of Construction means that a building permit or other written permit required to be issued by the City has been issued, and work has commenced under such permit. This is recognizable upon an inspection of the property and which work is of a nature and character that reflects a good faith intention to continue the work until completion, such as the clearing of rights-of-way, rough-grading of the roadway, the installation of a drainage system or storm water management facilities, and the placement and active maintenance of erosion and sediment control measures.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Commercial Outdoor Sales Event means periodic outdoor sales of goods by occupants of a commercial parcel.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Commercial Retail means commercial and retail uses that do not include regular outside storage or sales. The term includes uses that are comparable to the following:

1. Furniture and home furnishings stores;
2. Electronics and appliance stores;
3. Paint and wallpaper stores;
4. Hardware stores;
5. Food and beverage stores;
6. Health and personal care stores;
7. Clothing and clothing accessory stores;
8. Sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores;
9. General merchandise stores; and
10. Miscellaneous store retailers.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Commission means the City of Magnolia Planning and Zoning Commission.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Community Park refers to a larger park that serves a broader purpose than other types of parks. The main focus is on meeting community-based recreation needs, as well as preserving valued landscapes and open spaces. The location of community parks is determined by the quality and suitability of the site, relevant to its proximity to new development and other parks and open spaces. A community park serves two or more neighborhoods and has a primary service area within one mile of its location. A community park is sized to meet its needs and is typically a minimum of 10 to 25 acres.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Comprehensive Plan means the most current and legally adopted City of Magnolia Master Plan, including all adopted maps, charts, and explanatory materials, as provided by the legislature of Texas.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Conforming means that a use, structure, or site complied with all applicable development regulations at the time the use was established, the building permit for the structure was issued, or the site work has begun.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Congregate Care Facility means a shared residential living environment for six or more people which integrates shelter and service needs of functionally impaired or socially isolated older persons (age 50 or older) who are otherwise in good health and can maintain a semi-independent life style and who do not require constant supervision or intensive health care as provided by an institution. Each resident has his/her own bedroom (or may share a bedroom) and may have a separate living room, kitchen, dining area, or bathroom, and may share living, dining, and bathroom facilities with other older persons, such as in a common dining facility.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Construction means the erection of a new building or structure, or the installation of infrastructure, on a parcel proposed for development.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Covenant (or "Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions") means a restriction on the use or development of land, or which requires affirmative actions to be performed (e.g., the payment of dues to a homeowners' association), that is set forth in a recorded agreement, and that runs with the land (e.g.., it is binding upon subsequent owners of the property).

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Cul-de-Sac means a short public way that has only one outlet for vehicular traffic and terminates in a vehicular turn-around.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Curfew means a time defined by the City when outdoor lighting is reduced or extinguished.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Cut-Off means the point at which all light rays emitted by a lamp, light source, or luminaire are intercepted by a shield that prevents their continuation. For sign, the term “cut-off” refers to the use of shields to direct light so light rays shine exclusively on the sign.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Cut-Off Angle means the angle formed by a line drawn from the light source to the ground and a line perpendicular to the ground from the light source, above which no light is emitted.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Cut-Off Fixture means an outdoor lighting fixture, or luminaire, with shields, reflectors, or panels that direct and cut off the light at an angle that is less than 90 degrees.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Cut-Off Luminaire means a luminaire in which 2.5 percent or less of the lamp lumens are emitted above a horizontal plane through the luminaire’s lowest part and 10 percent or less of the lamp lumens are emitted at a vertical angle 80 degrees above the luminaire’s lowest point.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Day Care Center means a child-care facility that provides care at a location other than the residence of the director, owner, or operator of the child-care facility for seven or more children under 14 years of age for less than 24 hours a day, but at least two hours a day, three or more days a week.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

dBA means the intensity of a sound expressed in decibels read from a calibrated sound level meter utilizing the A-level weighing scale and the slow meter response, as specified by the American National Standards Institute.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Dedication means the transfer of private property to public or common ownership for a public purpose. The transfer may be a fee-simple interest (e.g., a deed or title) or less than fee simple interest (e.g., an easement). Dedication requires the acceptance of the property or property interest in order to be complete.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Demolish or Demolition means to raze or destroy, whether entirely or in significant part, a building, structure, site, or object. Demolition includes the removal of a building, structure, or object from its site, the removal or destruction of the façade or surface, or the alteration to such an extent that repair is not feasible or is so costly so as to be prohibitive, rendering the property unfit for use. Demolition includes demolition by neglect.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Density means the number of dwelling units allowed on an acre of land. Density is measured as gross density and net density, which are measured as follows:

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Density, Gross is calculated by dividing the number of dwelling units by the site area.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Density, Net is calculated by dividing the number of dwelling units by the net buildable area, which excludes the area of open space.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Developer means any person, firm, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, association, or corporation who participates as owner, promoter, developer, or agent in the planning, platting, or development of a subdivision or development.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Development means any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, minimum dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation, drilling operations, and changes to drainage channels.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Development Approval means any written authorization from a governmental entity that authorizes the commencement of development.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Development Disability means either:

1. A severe, chronic disability of a person that:
   1. Is attributable to an intellectual or physical impairment or combination of intellectual and physical impairment;
   2. Is manifested before the person reaches age 22;
   3. Is likely to continue indefinitely;
   4. Results in substantial functional limitations in three or more of the following areas of major life activity:
      1. Self-care;
      2. Receptive and expressive language;
      3. Learning;
      4. Mobility;
      5. Self-direction;
      6. Capacity for independent living;
      7. Economic self-sufficiency;
   5. Is not attributed solely to mental illness;
   6. Reflects the person's need for a combination and sequence of special, interdisciplinary, or generic care, treatment, or other services which are of lifelong extended duration and are individually planned and coordinated; or
2. A substantial developmental delay or specific congenital or acquired condition in a person from birth through age nine which, without services or support, has a high probability of resulting in those criteria in this definition in life that may be considered to be a developmental disability.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Diameter at Breast Height (“DBH”) means a measurement of the size of a tree that is equal to the diameter of its trunk measured four and one-half feet above the adjacent natural grade.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Drainage means the process by which surface water (usually from rainfall) moves across the land surface.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Drainage Areas means delineated areas that currently contribute or are proposed to contribute to drainage to a specific location or point.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Drainage Facility means any system of artificially constructed drains, including open channels and storm water sewers, used to convey storm water, surface water, or groundwater, either continuously or intermittently, to natural water courses.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Drip-line means a generally circular line, the circumference of which is determined by the outer reaches of a tree's widest branching points.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Driveway means a private accessway, primarily for vehicles, leading from a street to a dwelling unit, parking lot, parking garage, or loading area.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Duplex means a building designed as a single structure, containing two separate living units, each of which is designed to be occupied as a separate permanent residence for one family, and each of which has its own primary outside entrance. Duplexes may be configured side-by-side or over-and-under.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Dwelling means a building, or portion thereof, used as a place of residence, containing sleeping, cooking, and sanitary facilities, excluding commercial lodging facilities.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Dwelling, Attached means two or more dwelling units in a single structure or attached structures, each of which could have a single lot, which are separated from each other by a dividing wall. Such units may be side-by-side, back-to-back, or both. This includes twin homes and townhouses.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Dwelling, Multi-Family means a structure that contains more than two dwelling units, with either direct access to the outside or through a common hallway, with a separate kitchen facility and living quarters in each unit. The phrase includes multi-family buildings and multiplexes and does not include buildings configured as attached dwellings.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Dwelling, Single-Family Detached means a dwelling unit, designed for and occupied by not more than one family and having no roof, wall or floor in common with any other dwelling unit.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Dwelling Unit means one or more rooms physically arranged so as to create an independent housekeeping establishment for occupancy by one family, with separate facilities for all of the following: sanitation, living, sleeping, cooking, and eating.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Earthen Berm means a man-made mound of earth used to shield or buffer properties, buildings, or structures from adjoining property or rights-of-way, or to control the direction of surface water flow.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Easement means any portion of a parcel that is subject to an agreement between the property owner and another party or the public which grants the other party or the public the right to make limited use of that portion of the property for a specified purpose.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Effective Date means the day, month, and year that this Code is duly adopted by the City Council of the City of Magnolia.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Electronic Message Center means a variable message sign that utilizes computer-generated messages or some other electronic means of changing copy. These signs include displays that use incandescent lamps, LEDs, LCDs, or a flipper matrix, to display the variable messages, and which may enable changes to be made to messages from locations other than at the sign itself.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Elevated Building means a non-basement building:

1. Built, in the case of a building in Zones A1-30, AE, A, A99, AO, AH, B, C, X, and D, to have the top of the elevated floor, or in the case of a building in Zones V1-30, VE, or V, to have the bottom of the lowest horizontal structure member of the elevated floor elevated above the ground level by means of pilings, columns (posts and piers), or shear walls parallel to the floor or the water, and
2. Adequately anchored so as not to impair the structural integrity of the building during a flood of up to the magnitude of the base flood. In the case of Zones A1-30, AE, A, A99, AO, AH, B, C, X, and D, the term “elevated building” also includes a building elevated by means of fill or solid foundation perimeter walls with openings sufficient to facilitate the unimpeded movement of floodwaters. In the case of zone V1-30, VE, or V, the term “elevated building” also includes a building otherwise meeting the definition of “elevated building”, even though the lower area is enclosed by means of breakaway walls if the breakaway walls meet the standards of Section 60.3 (e) (5) of the National Flood Insurance Program regulations.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Emergency means a serious, unexpected, and often dangerous situation requiring immediate action.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Encroachment means an advancement or intrusion beyond the lines or limits as designated and established be the UDC, and to infringe or trespass into or upon the possession or right of others without permission.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Engineer shall mean a registered professional engineer registered in the State of Texas.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Enlargement means the expansion of a building, structure, or use in volume, size, area, height, length, width, depth, capacity, ground coverage, or in number.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Erected means constructed upon or moved onto a site.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Erosion means the wearing away of solid or rock fragments by water, ice, rain, wind, earth gravity, or other geologic event.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Existing Construction means for the purposes of determining rates, structures for which the “start of construction” commenced before the effective date of the FIRM or before January 1, 1975, for FIRMs effective before that date. The term “existing construction” may also be referred to as “existing structures”.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Existing Light Fixtures means those outdoor light fixtures already installed at the time the ordinance from which this Code is derived is adopted.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Existing Manufactured Home Park or Subdivision means a manufactured home park of subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed before the effective date of the floodplain management regulations adopted by the City.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Expansion to an Existing Manufactured Home Park or Subdivision means the preparation of additional sites by the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads).

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Facade means an elevation of a building that faces a street or that includes a principal public entrance.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Family means a single individual or a group of individuals living together under one common roof.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Family Home means a home that provides regular care in the caretaker's own residence for not more than six children under 14 years of age, excluding children who are related to the caretaker, and that provides care after school hours for not more than six additional elementary school children, but the total number of children, including children who are related to the caretaker, does not exceed 12 at any given time. The term does not include a home that provides care exclusively for any number of children who are related to the caretaker.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Farmers' Market, Permanent means the seasonal selling or offering for sale at retail of home-grown vegetables or produce, occurring in a pre-designated area, where the vendors are generally individuals who have raised the vegetables or produce or have taken the same on consignment for retail sale.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Fascia means the horizontal plain just below the roof or coping, and above the wall or supports.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Fence means a structure serving as an enclosure, barrier, or boundary.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Fence, Open means a fence, including gates, which have 50 percent or more of the surface area in open spaces which affords direct views through the fence.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Fence, Solid means any fence which does not quality as an open fence.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Filing means the depositing on land, whether submerged or not, of sand, gravel, earth, or other materials. Deposit of biodegradable materials and other materials that are subject to decomposition or significant settling (such as garbage and other organic matter) shall not be considered filing.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Flood or Flooding means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:

1. The overflow of inland or tidal waters.
2. The unsafe and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Flood Insurance Rate Map (“FIRM”) means an official map of a community, on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Flood Insurance Study means the official report provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The report contains flood profiles, water surface elevation of the base flood, as well as the Flood Boundary-Floodway Map.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Floodlight means an artificial light so directed or diffused as to give a comparatively uniform illumination over a rather large given area. See Figure F-1, Floodlights, below.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Flood Protection System means those physical structural works for which funds have been authorized, appropriated, and expended and which have been constructed specifically to modify flooding in order to reduce the extent of the areas within a community subject to a “special flood hazard” and the extent of the depths of associated flooding. Such a system typically includes hurricane tidal barriers, dams, reservoirs, levees, or dikes. These specialized flood modifying works are those constructed in conformance with sound engineering standards.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Floodplain or Flood-Prone Area means any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source (see “Flood or Flooding”).

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Floodplain Management means the operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage, including but not limited to emergency preparedness plans, flood control works, and floodplain management regulations.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Floodplain Management Regulations means zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances (e.g., floodplain ordinance, grading ordinance, and erosion control ordinance) and other applications of police power. The term describes such State and City regulations, in any combination thereof, which provide standards for the purpose of flood damage prevention and reduction.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Floodproofing means any combination of structural and nonstructural additions, changes, or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood damage to real estate or improved real property, water, and sanitary facilities, structures and their contents.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Floodway (Regulatory Floodway) means the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than a designated height.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Floor Area Ratio ("FAR") means a measure of the allowable size of floor area on a lot compared to the size of the lot. FAR gives developers flexibility in deciding whether to construct a low building covering most of the lot or a tall building covering only a small part of the lot, as long as the total allowable floor area coverage is not exceeded.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Footcandle means the illuminance measured one foot from a one-candela source.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Foster Home means a child-care facility that provides care for not more than six children for 24 hours a day.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Front Elevation means the horizontal linear dimension that includes the elevation of the primary building entrance, whether public or private, and any elevation that fronts on or most directly faces public or private street right-of-way or a street or access easement.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Frontage means the distance for which property abuts on a street, road, highway, or other public way measured along the dividing line between the public way and private property.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Front Elevation means the horizontal linear dimension that includes the elevation of the primary building entrance, whether public or private, and any elevation that fronts on or most directly faces public or private street right-of-way or a street or access easement.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Fueling Station means a gasoline service station that:

1. Is associated with grocery stores and warehouse clubs; or
2. Includes a convenience store.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Full Cut-Off means a shielded light fixture that emits no light above a horizontal plane touching the lowest part of the fixture.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

General Residential Operation means a child-care facility that provides care for more than 12 children for 24 hours a day, including facilities known as children's homes, halfway houses, residential treatment centers, emergency shelters, and therapeutic camps.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Glare means visual discomfort or impairment caused by a bright source of light in a direction near one’s line of sight.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Grade means the average natural level of ground adjoining or around a structure or for the purpose of flood damage prevention, the heights of a surface relative to a fixed height such as mean sea level (“MSL”).

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Groundcover means low growing plants that are planted in such a manner as to form a continuous cover over the ground, such as turf, liriope, ground cover jasmine, or like plants that can be maintained at or below two feet in height. The phrase "groundcover" includes grasses, ornamental grasses, vines, and other herbaceous material.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Gross Floor Area (“GFA”) is the sum of the total horizontal areas of every floor of every building on a lot. The measurement of gross floor area shall be computed by applying the following criteria:

1. The horizontal square footage is measured from the outside face of all exterior walls.
2. Cellars, basements, penthouses, attics, covered or uncovered porches, balconies and decks, enclosed storage or mechanical areas, mezzanines, and similar structures shall be included as GFA wherever at least seven feet are provided between the finished floor and the ceiling.
3. No deduction shall apply for horizontal areas void of actual floor space (e.g., elevator shafts and stairwells). The protected upper floors of open atriums and foyers shall not be included.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Groundcover means low growing plants that are planted in such a manner as to form a continuous cover over the ground, such as turf, liriope, ground cover jasmine, or like plants that can be maintained at or below two feet in height. The phrase "groundcover" includes grasses, ornamental grasses, vines, and other herbaceous material.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Groundwater means that portion of the subsurface water that occurs beneath the water table in soils and geologic formations that are fully saturated.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Group Day Care Home means a child-care facility that provides care at the residence of the director, owner, or operator of the child-care facility for seven or more children under 14 years of age for less than 24 hours a day, but at least two hours a day, three or more days a week.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Habitable Floor means any floor usable for living purposes, which includes working, sleeping, eating, or cooking, or a combination thereof. A floor used for storage purposes only is not a "habitable floor."

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Hard Surfaced means any surface used for movement of vehicular and/or pedestrians which is properly designed and paved with concrete.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Heavy Retail, Home Center means retail and/or service activities that have seasonal outside service or outside storage areas, and / or larger than average enclosed floor areas devoted to commercial use, as listed below:

1. Home centers that display and sell principally furniture, floor coverings, pianos and organs, and large appliances; 
2. Lumber and other building materials that does not cover more than 24 percent of the sales area;
3. Lawn, garden equipment, and related supplies stores, where the merchandise is within an enclosure;
4. Warehouse clubs and super stores; and
5. Recreational equipment rental where the equipment is stored within an enclosure.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Heavy Retail, Lumberyard and Equipment means retail and/or service activities that have primarily outside service or outside storage areas, or partially enclosed structures, as listed below:

1. Permanent retail operations that are located outside of enclosed buildings, except nurseries;
2. Lumber and other building materials;
3. Lawn, garden equipment, and related supplies stores, where the merchandise is displayed outdoors;
4. Recreational equipment rental where the equipment is stored outdoors;
5. Heavy truck or recreational vehicle leasing or sales;
6. Manufactured home sales; and
7. Industrial or construction equipment leasing or sales.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Hedge means a plant or series of plants, shrubs, or other landscape material, so arranged as to form a physical barrier or enclosure.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Height is the vertical distance from the established grade to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof, the deck line of a mansard roof, or to the average height between eaves and the ridge for gable, hip, shed, or gambrel roofs. For other cases, height is measured as the vertical distance from the established grade to the highest point of a structure as herein defined. Where a building or structure is located on a slope, height shall be measured from the average grade level adjacent to the building or structure.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Highest Adjacent Grade means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Home Business means a lawful business, occupation or activity conducted for financial gain from within a dwelling unit, where:

1. Such use is incidental and accessory to the use of the building as a residence by the person engaged in the home business and up to three employees who do not live in the building; and
2. Such use does not involve any of the following:
   1. Sale of goods to customers on the premises;
   2. Opening of the home to the public for the sale of goods or services without an invitation or appointment;
   3. Mechanical equipment that is not normally associated with domestic household use; or
   4. Modification of the exterior of the home.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Homeowner means and refers to those individuals who accept a deed to a lot or a dwelling unit.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Impervious Surface are areas that do not allow significant amounts of water to penetrate.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Improved means that land has been altered with:

1. Any man-made, immovable item which becomes part of, is placed upon, or is affixed to land; or
2. Has been altered to better suit a particular purpose.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Indoor Commercial Amusements means uses that provide commercial amusement indoors (except sexually oriented businesses), including, but not limited to:

1. Bowling alleys and pool rooms;
2. Indoor sports arenas;
3. Movie theaters and live theaters;
4. Indoor skating rinks (ice or roller); and 
5. Video arcades.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Indoor Recreation means uses that provide recreation opportunities indoors for the public (open to the community) or residents of a subdivision or development, which are not commercial in nature. Specifically excluded from the definition are health and exercise clubs and commercial amusement uses. This phrase includes:

1. Community recreation centers;
2. Gymnasiums;
3. Indoor swimming pools; or
4. Tennis, racquetball, or handball courts.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Industrial Unit means a building unit or assembly of closed construction fabricated in an off-site facility, that is substantially self-sufficient as a unit or as a part of a greater structure and that requires transportation to the site of intended use. "Industrialized unit" includes units installed on the site as independent units, as part of a group of units, or incorporated with standard construction methods to form a completed structural entity. "Industrialized unit" does not include a manufactured or mobile home.

Effective on: 11/10/2020

Industrialized Housing means a residential structure that is:

1. Designed for the occupancy of one or more families;
2. Constructed in one or more modules or constructed using one or more modular components built at a location other than the permanent site; and
3. Designed to be used as a permanent residential structure when the module or the modular component is transported to the permanent site and erected or installed on a permanent foundation system.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lamp means the component of a luminaire that is the source of light, commonly referred to as a bulb.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Land Clearing means any person-made change of the land surface, including removing vegetative cover, excavating, filling, and the related transport of excavated materials on City streets.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Land, Improved means vacant land that has been provided with power, water, sewage, streets and sidewalks, and other infrastructure.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Land Plan refers to a General Plan or Master Plan for an area proposed for partial or complete subdivision. The plan shows the proposed locations of land uses, streets, phasing of development, important physical features, and other applicable information for the entire area to be subdivided.

Effective on: 2/11/2020

Landowner means the holder of legal title to land.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Landscape Architect means an individual registered by the State of Texas to practice the profession of landscape architecture.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Landscaped Area means any area that is landscaped, including modifications of the existing landscape for an aesthetic or functional purpose, such as drainage enhancements or the preservation and maintenance of existing vegetation, together with minor structures and appurtenances such as outdoor furniture, retaining walls, and water features, public art, and fountains.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Landscape Maintenance Program, Long-Term means a program setting out the type and frequency of care of landscaped and natural areas, including mowing, watering, applying fertilizer, and periodic work to remove invasive exotic species and promote the health of the vegetation in the natural areas.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Landscape Maintenance Program, Short-Term means a program for maintenance that is needed for the first two years after planting of landscape material, to ensure that trees get sufficient water and other care, and that areas of groundcover are kept free of weeds or other material that prevent it from stabilizing. In natural areas, the program may require intensive initial care to keep out invasive species.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Landscape Surface Area means the vegetated surface area of land (not covered by buildings, storage areas, pavement, or other impervious surface). See Figure L-1, Landscape Surface Area, below.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Landscape Surface Ratio ("LSR") means the ratio of landscaped surface to a unit of land area.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Landscaping means plant material such as lawns, groundcover, trees, bushes, and the like, in formal, informal, or natural arrangements.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Land Surveyor means a registered land surveyor registered in the State of Texas.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Light Fixture means the physical unit, permanently installed or portable, that holds a lamp used for illumination. Such fixture may include parts to redirect the light produced by the lamp.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Light Industry means uses that involve research and development, assembly, compounding, packaging, testing, or treatment of products from previously prepared materials, with limited outside storage and limited external impacts or risks; or wholesale uses; or rental or sale of large items that are stored outside. For illustrative purposes, light industry uses include:

1. Assembly, testing, or refurbishing of products, instruments, electronics, office and computing machines, and fixtures from pre-manufactured components;
2. Offices of general contractors, specialty subcontractors, or tradesmen which include:
   1. Bay door access to indoor storage of tools, parts, and materials;
   2. Parking of commercial vehicles; or
   3. Outdoor storage areas that are smaller than the area of the first floor of the building that are used for storage of materials or vehicles that are less than 12 feet in height.
3. Communications facilities, except wireless telecommunications facilities;
4. Data centers, server farms, telephone exchange buildings, and telecom hotels;
5. Food production and packaging other than meat and seafood processing and restaurants;
6. Furniture making or refinishing; 
7. Manufacture of textiles or apparel;
8. Screen printing of apparel;
9. Printing and publishing, except copy centers (which are commercial and personal services), and except printing presses that require a Stationary Source permit or Title V permit for air emissions (which are heavy industry);
10. Research and development, scientific testing, and product testing;
11. Disassembly of consumer electronics and / or appliances into component parts, where all operations and storage are within an enclosed building;
12. Manufacture or compounding of pharmaceutical products, dietary supplements, health and beauty products, and herbal products; and
13. Packaging of products.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Light Pollution means any adverse effect of artificial light including, but not limited to, glare, light trespass, sky glow, energy waste, compromised safety and security, and impacts on the nocturnal environment.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Light Trespass means light that falls beyond the property it is intended to illuminate.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Loading Space means a durably paved, off-street space used for loading and unloading from vehicles, except passenger vehicles, in connection with the use of the property on which such space is located.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Local Street means a street that provides access to individual lots or land uses.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot means a plot, parcel or tract of land for which its boundaries have been established by a legal instrument such as a recorded deed, court order, or a recorded plat, adequate for occupancy by a permitted use, together with such yards or open spaces within the lot lines as may be required by this UDC, and fronting upon a public street. A lot is intended as a legal entity for the transfer of title or for building development, or both, including the development of a single ownership with two or more buildings for separate occupancy, except or provided for townhouses.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot, Corner means a lot which abuts two or more streets at their intersection, or upon a curved street, provided that the two sides of the lot intersect to form an interior angle or not more than 135 degrees.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot Depth means the distance between front and rear lot lines. If these lines are not parallel, the mean dimension shall be deemed to be the lot depth.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot Width means the width of the lot at the building setback line measured parallel to the street right-of-way line, or measured at the street line if no front yard is required.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot, Double Frontage means a lot which runs through a block from street to street and which has frontage on each street.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot, Interior means a lot which is not a corner lot.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot Line means the boundary line of a lot. There are five types of lot lines, as follows:

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot Line, Front of an interior lot is the line separating the lot from the street or easement of principal access. The front lot line of a corner lot shall be the lot line with the least frontage. Front lot lines are not necessarily straight lines.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot Line, Rear is the boundary opposite and generally parallel to the front lot line. The rear lot line of a triangular or irregularly shaped lot shall be for the purpose of this ordinance a line not less than ten feet long, lying wholly within the lot, more or less parallel to and the greatest distance from the front lot line. The rear lot line intersects with the side lot line at a point. There may be more than one rear lot line if the side lot lines do not meet and are not connected by a single line.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot Line, Rear Street means a lot line that is opposite the front lot line that is coterminous with a street right-of-way line.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot Line, Interior Side is any lot line that is not a front or rear lot line that separates one lot from another lot.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot Line, Street Side means a side lot line that is coterminous with a street right-of-way line.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot of Record means a lot held in separate ownership as shown on the records of the Dodge County Registrar of Deeds at the time of the passage of a regulation or regulations establishing the zoning district in which the lot is located.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lowest Floor means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking or vehicles, building access, or storage in an area other than a basement area is not considered a building’s lowest floor; provided that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable non-elevation design requirement of Section 60.3 of the National Flood Insurance Program regulations.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lumen means the unit of luminous flux, the total amount of light falling uniformly on or passing through an area of one square foot, each point of which is one foot from a one-candela source, yielding an illuminance of one footcandle at that distance (the output of lamps and bulbs is customarily measured in lumens, a common 100 watt incandescent light bulb, for example, having an output less than 1,800 lumens).

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Luminaire means the complete lighting unit (fixture), consisting of a lamp, or lamps and ballasts (when applicable), together with the parts designed to distribute the light (reflector, lens, diffuser), to position and protect the lamps, and to connect the lamps to the power supply.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Maintain means to perform ordinary repairs and maintenance, as necessary.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Major Change means a change to the plan that increases density or floor area, decreases open space, bufferyards, or parking, or which alters the alignment or layout of streets by more than five feet. For conditional approvals granted prior to the effective date of this UDC, any use proposed not contained in the original advertisement shall be considered a major change.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Manufactured Home means a structure transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. The term “manufactured home” does not include a “recreational vehicle”.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Manufactured Home Park or Subdivision means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Master Plan means the most current and legally adopted City Master Plan, including all adopted maps, charts, and explanatory materials, as provide by the legislature of Texas (see also Comprehensive Plan).

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Mean Sea Level means, for the purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (“NGVD”) of 1929 or other datum, to which base flood elevations shown on a community’s Flood Insurance Rate Map are referenced.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Medical Office means a use where medical, dental, psychiatric, psychological, chiropractic, and other outpatient services are performed.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Mini-park is intended for passive use and limited recreational activity of the immediate neighbors. They are typically developed within apartment complexes, manufactured home parks, and other heavily populated developments and are designed to serve the needs of the immediate population.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Minor Change means a change to the plan that does not increase density of floor area, does not decease open space, bufferyards, or parking, or does not alter the alignment or layout of streets by more than five feet.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Mitigation means any action taken to lessen the specified undesirable impacts of a proposed land use or land disturbance activity, including those which adversely affect the health or longevity of a natural feature, pose a visual intrusion or conflict, or otherwise be deemed incompatible with surrounding properties.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Mixed Housing means a residential development that consists of a variety of lot sizes and more than one housing type.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Mixed Use means development in which a combination of residential and commercial uses (e.g., residential-over-retail), or several classifications of commercial uses (e.g., office and retail), are located on the same parcel proposed for development.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Modular structure means a structure not built on-site, but which is placed on a permanent foundation and meets the state building code standards.

Effective on: 11/10/2020

Monument means a boundary marker, as required by this UDC, intended to fix the physical location of property lines.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Multi-Family means:

1. Buildings that contain two or more dwelling units that:
   1. Are accessed by from interior elevators or hallways, or from individual exterior entrances; and
   2. Are separated by interior walls and/or floors.
2. Multi-family does not include boarding houses, dormitories, fraternities, sororities, bed and breakfast establishments, single-family attached, or hotels and motels.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Multiplex means a multi-family building type that is designed to resemble a large single-family home. Units may have either private or shared access and may be arranged in a variety of configurations, including back-to-back, side-to-side, or over-under. Multiplex buildings contain three to five dwelling units per building.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Neighborhood Park refers to the basic unit of the park system, which is intended to serve as a recreational focus of the neighborhood. It is typically one quarter to one half mile distance from all areas it serves and uninterrupted by arterial roads, highways, and other barriers to safe use. The site should be accessible from throughout its service area by way of interconnecting sidewalks or trails. The minimum size of a neighborhood park is five acres. The shape of the parkland shall be conducive to meeting its purpose as an area for both active and passive recreation.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

New Construction means, for the purposes of determining insurance rates, structures for which the “start of construction” commenced on or after the effective date of an initial FIRM or after December 31, 1974, whichever is later, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures. For floodplain management purposes, the term “new construction” means structures for which the “start of construction” commenced on or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by a community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

New Manufactured Home Park or Subdivision means a manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed on or after the effective date of floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Nonconforming Lot means a lot legally established prior to the effective date of this UDC which does not meet the standards of the district in which it is located. This can involve minimum area, or dimensional requirements of the lot.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Nonconforming Sign means any sign, legally established prior to the effective date of this UDC, which does not fully comply with the standards of this UDC.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Nuisance means anything that interferes with the use or enjoyment of property, endangers personal health or safety, or is offensive to the senses such as noise, dust, odor, smoke, gas, pollution, congestion, lighting, and litter.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Nursery, Retail means an enterprise that conducts the sale of plants grown off of the premises. The terms also include, as an accessory use, the sale of a limited selection of items (e.g., soil, planters, pruners, mulch, lawn or patio furniture, garden accessories, etc., but not power equipment) that are directly related to the care and maintenance of landscapes.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Nursery, Wholesale means an enterprise that conducts the sale of plants grown on the premises. The terms also include, as an accessory use, the sale of a limited selection of items (e.g., soil, planters, pruners, mulch, lawn or patio furniture, garden accessories, etc., but not power equipment) that are directly related to the care and maintenance of landscapes.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Nursing Home means a residential facility that is maintained primarily for the care and treatment of inpatients under the direction of a physician. The patients in such a facility require supportive, therapeutic, or compensating services and the availability of a licensed nurse for observation or treatment on a twenty-four-hour basis. Nursing care may include but is not limited to terminal care; extensive assistance or therapy in the activities of daily living; continual direction, supervision, or therapy; extensive assistance or therapy for loss of mobility; nursing assessment and services which involve assessment of the total needs of the patient, planning of patient care, and observing, monitoring, and recording the patient's response to treatment; and monitoring, observing, and evaluating the drug regimen. The term includes intermediate nursing facilities for the mentally retarded or developmentally disabled.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Occupancy means the use of land, buildings, or structures.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Off-Street Parking Area or Vehicular Use shall refer to all off street areas and spaces designed, used, required, or intended to be used for parking, including driveways or access ways in and to such areas.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

100-Year Flood means the base flood having a one percent chance of annual occurrence.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Opacity means the measurement of the screening effectiveness of a bufferyard or fence, expressed as the percent of view across the bufferyard or fence that may be blocked to a height of 35 feet, based on the expected volume of landscape material at a variety of heights that is likely to result from a given planting program.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Open Space means land areas that are left undeveloped from ground to sky in order to meet the open space ratio or other landscaping requirements (e.g., bufferyards, parking lot landscaping, etc.) of this UDC.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Outdoor Commercial Amusements means uses that provide commercial amusement outdoors (except sexually oriented businesses), including, but not limited to: 

1. Amusement parks or theme parks;
2. Fairgrounds;
3. Miniature golf establishments; 
4. Golf driving ranges;
5. Water slides; and 
6. Batting cages.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Outdoor Lighting Fixture means any type of fixed or movable lighting equipment that is designed or used for illumination outdoors. The term includes billboard lighting, street lights, searchlights, and other lighting used for advertising purpose, and area lighting. The term does not include lighting equipment that is required by law to be installed on motor vehicles or lighting required for the safe operation of aircraft.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Outdoor Storage means storage of items for a period of more than 24 consecutive hours outside of an enclosed building (T-structures, lean-to type structures, or roofed-over, fenced-in areas are not enclosed buildings). The intent of the definition is to include items that are comparable to any of the following:

1. Personal or business property or supplies, except passenger vehicles and light trucks stored in driveways, carports, or parking lots that are intended for overnight parking.
2. Business inventory for sale or lease, except nursery plants.
3. Raw materials or industrial inputs for processing.
4. Appliances, machinery, vehicles, or other items to be repaired.
5. Fuel stored in above-ground tanks.
6. Construction materials and construction equipment.
7. Landscape maintenance equipment.
8. Recyclable materials.

The phrase "outdoor storage" is not intended to encompass the term "disposal," or uses that involve the long-term storage or transfer of solid waste.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Outdoor Recreation means public or private parks, neighborhood swimming pools, neighborhood ball fields, tennis courts, and other such uses providing recreational opportunities for the community at a neighborhood scale.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Owner means one or more persons, including corporations, who have title to the property, building, or structure in question.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Parapet Wall means a portion of a building wall that extends above the level of the roof. See Figure P-1, Parapet Wall, below.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Parcel means a lot or a contiguous group of lots in single ownership or under single control, which may be considered as a unit for purposes of development.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Parcel Proposed for Development means any legally described parcel of land which is designated by the owner or developer as land to be used or developed as a single unit, or which has been developed as a unit as determined by the responsible official or decision-maker. Parcels proposed for development are often, but not necessarily, subdivided into individual lots.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Parking Aisle means the area of a parking lot or parking structure which provides for vehicular access to off-street parking stalls. The phrase “parking aisles” does not include the word “driveway” or the phrase “access point”.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Parking Lot means an area designated for off-street parking.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Parking Garage means a structure designed to accommodate vehicular parking spaces that are fully or partially enclosed or located on the deck surface of a building. The phrase includes free-standing parking structures, deck parking, and parking pedestals under buildings.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Parking Space means an area that is used for parking of motor vehicles that:

1. Is accessible from a street, aisle, or alley and meets the applicable dimensional requirements of this UDC; or
2. Is accessible from a street or alley, is located in a residential driveway, garage, or carport, and meets the dimensional requirements for a standard parking space set out in this UDC.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Parkland refers to the actual property on which the public park will be situated. It is also referred to as the property to be dedicated by the property owner to the City pursuant to these parkland dedication requirements.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Parkland Contribution refers to the actual dedication of parkland property to the City by way of plat note and/or general warranty deed.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Parkland Improvements include those improvements to the City-owned parkland that allow the parkland to be utilized as public parks, including, but not limited to, new construction, renovation, and replacement of existing facilities that are functionally obsolete or unsafe.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Patio House means a dwelling type that is a detached or semi-detached unit (e.g., attached by a common wall to another dwelling unit) for a single-family, with one dwelling unit from ground to roof. Each dwelling unit's lot is fully enclosed by a wall located at the lot line, creating a private yard, referred to as a patio, between the house and the wall. All living spaces, such as living rooms, dens, and bedrooms, face into the yard or patio.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Pavement Width or Width of Pavement means the portion of a street that is available for vehicular traffic; or, where curbs are installed, it is the portion between the face of curbs.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Pawn Shop means an establishment that is engaged in the business of:

1. Lending money on the security of pledged goods; or 
2. Purchasing goods on the condition that the goods may be redeemed or repurchased by the seller for a fixed price within a fixed price.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Pedestrian View Plane means the exterior wall area located between two feet and 10 feet above the exterior grade.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Permit means one or more documents issued by the City allowing a person to begin an activity provided for in this UDC or other codes, ordinances, and regulatory provisions administered by the City. A permit allows only the work or development specified in the permit.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Person means one or more individuals, corporations, partnerships, associations, labor organizations, legal representatives, mutual companies, joint stock companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, receivers, and fiduciaries.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Personal Services means nonmedical services that used frequently by a consumer, such as:

1. Copy centers;
2. Small item repair services and shops;
3. Parcel service drop-off locations and mailbox services;
4. Nail salons, beauty and barber shops, skin care, tanning salons, and day spas; and
5. Laundry and dry-cleaning services, except dry cleaner processing plants that use petrochemical solvents.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Pervious means a surface that allows rainfall to infiltrate into the ground.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Photometric Study means a lighting design layout which illustrates the proposed lighting setup for a proposed site or renovation. It will determine the contrast ratio between light and dark areas on the layout. The study can be referenced against IESNA or CIBSE lighting practices.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Photovoltaic Arrays means a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic power generation employs solar panels composed of a number of solar cells containing a photovoltaic material.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Physical or Mental Handicap means any physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Physical or Mental Impairment includes any:

1. Physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological; musculoskeletal; special sense organs; respiratory, including speech organs; cardiovascular; reproductive; digestive; genitourinary; hemic and lymphatic; skin; and endocrine; or
2. Mental or psychological disorder, such as intellectual and developmental disabilities, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Plat means a document prepared by a registered land surveyor or engineer, which, at a minimum, delineates property lines and shows monuments and other landmarks for the purpose of identifying property by reference to the plat.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Plat, Final means a map of a land subdivision prepared in a form suitable for filing of record with necessary affidavits, dedications and acceptances, and with complete bearings and dimensions of all lines defining lots and blocks, streets, alleys, public areas, and other dimensions of land. (See also Plat and Plat, preliminary).

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Plat, Preliminary means a map of a proposed land subdivision showing the character and proposed layout of the tract in sufficient detail to indicate the suitability of the proposed subdivision of land. (See also Plat and Plat, final).

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Portable building means any building planned for the continuing purpose of being easily moved intact from one location to another.

Effective on: 11/10/2020

Primary Access means the point at which a lot or parcel takes access to the public street system, ordinarily by a drive that connects to the street. Where there are several possible accesses, the one located or configured to have the most traffic is the primary access.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Principal Building means the main building on a property in terms of size, area, and function.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Principal Structure means a structure in which the principal use of the lot on which it is located is conducted.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Principal Use means the main (predominant) use of a lot or parcel.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Private Park is one that is owned in fee and fully maintained by a homeowners’ association or other designated organization. They are designed and constructed by the developer and for use of residents only within the neighborhood.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Property Line means any boundary line of legally described property. In context, the phrase "property line" may refer to the parcel proposed for development, abutting properties, or to distant properties (e.g., for the purposes of separating land uses).

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Property Owner means a person or persons having an ownership interest in a real property located within the geographic boundaries of Magnolia, Texas.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Proposed for Development means any legally described parcel of land which is designated by the owner or developer as land to be used or developed as a single unit, or which has been developed as a unit as determined by the responsible official or decision-maker. Parcels proposed for development are often, but not necessarily, subdivided into individual lots.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Private Club means a building in which members of a community or association may gather for social, educational, or cultural activities.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Protected Tree means a single live oak or magnolia tree with a diameter of 12 inches or other trees with a diameter of 16 inches or greater, measured at DBH.

Effective on: 2/12/2019

Public Assembly means a place where the people assemble for civic, educational, cultural, or day care purposes. The term includes the following:

1. Places of worship; theaters; conference centers;
2. Cultural or arts centers; museums; and aquariums;
3. Libraries;
4. Pre-schools;
5. Elementary, middle, and high schools; and 
6. Adult day care.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Public Improvement means any improvement, facility or service, together with customary improvements and appurtenances thereto, necessary to provide for public needs. The phrase includes streets, alleys, pedestrian ways or paths, storm sewers, flood control improvements, water supply and distribution facilities, sanitary sewage disposal and treatment, and public utility and energy services.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Public Utility means publicly-owned or investor-owned or regulated entities which provide services to the general public (e.g., water, sewer, telephone, solid waste, cable, gas, and electric).

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Public Water means a water supply system designed to provide public potable water fit for human consumption.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Recreational Vehicle means a vehicle which is:

1. Built on a single chassis;
2. Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;
3. Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and
4. Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel or seasonal use.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Recycling Collection Facility  means a facility or land use, regardless of name or title, at which recoverable resources, such as newspapers, magazines, glass, metal, plastic materials, tires, grass and leaves, and similar items, except hazardous waste and medical waste are collected, cleaned, sorted, stored, flattened, shredded, dismantled, crushed, bundled, or separated by size, grade, quality, or type, and compacted, baled, or packaged for shipment or delivery for the eventual manufacture of new products.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Redevelopment means any of the following:

1. The complete demolition of a principal building, followed by the construction of a new building; or
2. The destruction of a principal building to an extent that is equal to or greater than 50 percent of its assessed value, followed by reconstruction and repurposing of the building for a type of use for which the original building was not designed; or
3. Expansion of a principal building by more than 50 percent of its floor area.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Residential Property means real property which is dedicated or restricted to use for single-family or multifamily residential purposes and which is not actually used for another purpose, or real property upon which there exists a single-family residence or multifamily residential purpose and which is not actually used for another purpose, or real property upon which there exists a single-family residence or multifamily residence. In the case of an apartment building or other multifamily residential structure, each unit of occupancy may be considered a separate residential property. The term “residential property” does not include a hotel, motel, or other similar accommodations not intended or generally utilized for long-term occupancy.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Restaurant, Drive-In or Drive-Through means a restaurant located either within a retail center, or situated on its own freestanding pad, which:

1. Contains a drive-in or drive-through facility;
2. Primarily serves food that is prepared and packaged within five minutes; and
3. Customarily serves food in disposable containers.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Restaurant, No Drive-In or Drive-Through means an establishment that serves prepared meals to customers for consumption on-site or off-site, but does not include drive-in or drive-through facilities (but may include designated parking spaces for "curbside pickup" of food ordered in advance if the curbside pickup is a clearly subordinate function to the restaurant's operations), and includes:

1. Full-service restaurants;
2. Limited-service eating facilities; and
3. Special foodservices.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Resubdivision means and shall also include the consolidation of two or more lots, plats, tracts, parcels, or other divisions of land into one or more lots, plats, tracts, parcels, or other divisions of land.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Right-of-Way means any land held, owned or otherwise controlled by the City for the specific but not exclusive purpose of vehicular, pedestrian, and/or other form of transportation whether or not such transportation use is actually or presently undertaken on such land. Right-of-way may be granted by a property owner, usually in the form of a dedication for public use, or a strip or strips of land, title to which rests in the public for the purpose stated in the dedication.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Runoff means that portion of precipitation, snowmelt, or irrigation that has not evaporated or infiltrated into the soil, but instead flows on the land surface.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sag Lens refers to a type of luminaire that is used more commonly for street lighting or to illuminate large areas, such as ballfields. The luminaire’s lens is made of convex tempered glass that reduces light trespassing onto adjacent properties and into the sky. See Figure S-1, Sag Lens, below.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sanitary Sewer Line means a sanitary sewer collection system in which sewage is carried from individual lots, by a system of pipes, to a central treatment and disposal plant, or to other pipes that run to a central treatment and disposal plant.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sanitary Sewer System means a central treatment and disposal plant and related systems and pipes including, but not limited to, sanitary sewer lines.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Screening means a structure of planting that conceals from public view the area behind such structure or planting.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Searchlight means a light fixture having a narrow beam intended to be seen in the sky.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sediment means soils or other surface transported and/or deposited by the action of wind, water, ice, or gravity as a product of erosion.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Senior Adult means a person 55 years of age or older.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Setback means a stated minimum distance from a lot line to a building, structure, or use. See Figure S-2, Setback, below.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Shopping Center means a group of retail, service, or restaurant establishments that are planned, developed, owned, or managed as a unit, with off-street parking that serves all of the uses in the center located on the parcel proposed for development.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Shrub means any of the following:

1. A woody plant of less size than an understory tree, and usually with several stems from the same root;
2. Perennial plants that reach at least three feet in height; and
3. Ornamental grasses that reach at least three feet in height.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sidewalk means a pedestrian way extending along, parallel to, and within an easement or the right-of-way of a public or private street.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sidewalk Sales and Farmers' Markets means sales that are conducted by either the store owner or occupant, outside their store, or by one or more commercial farms, on:

1. A public sidewalk;
2. A private sidewalk; or
3. Pedestrian areas adjacent to a sidewalk, such as pedestrian plazas.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sight Distance Triangle means the triangular area formed by a diagonal line connecting two points located on intersecting street right-of-way lines, or a right-of-way line and the curb or edge of a driveway.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign means a name, display, identification, device, notice, figure, painting, drawing, message, placard, poster, word, bulletin board, symbol, letter, numeral, emblem, trademark, flag, or banner, pennant, or other illustration which is affixed to or painted or represented directly or indirectly upon a building, or other outdoor surface, or parcel of land and which directs attention to an object, product, place, activity, person, institution, organization, or business, and is visible from any alley, street, highway, sidewalk, or other public way, whether such is placed out of doors or in windows. The term sign does not include any display of official notices of courts or other public offices, nor the flag, emblem or insignia of a nation, political unit, school, or religious group. The term "sign" shall not include the merchandise, which is for sale on the premises, the packaging or container for such merchandise, or any writings or other symbols on such merchandise, container, or packaging.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign Area means the sum of the areas of the sign enclosed within a projected rectangle or within a single continuous perimeter composed of squares or rectangles which enclose the extreme limits of the words, letters, announcement, logo, pictorial element, etc., together with any frame, background area of sign, structural trim or other material, color or condition which forms an integral part of the display, but excluding the necessary supports or uprights on which such sign is placed.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Canopy or Awning is located or printed on a canopy or awning.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Changeable Copy means a sign whose informational content can be changed or altered by manual or electric, electro-mechanical, or electronic means. Changeable signs include the following types:

1. Manually active: signs that have alphabetic, pictographic, or symbolic informational content can be changed or altered by manual means.
2. Electrically activated: signs whose alphabetic, pictographic, or symbolic informational content can be changed or altered on a fixed display surface composed of electrically illuminated or mechanically driven changeable segments. Includes the following two types:
   1. Fixed message electronic signs: signs whose basic informational content has been pre-programmed to include only certain types of information projection, such as time, temperature, predictable traffic conditions, or other events subject to prior programming.
   2. Computer controlled variable message electronic or video displays: signs whose informational content can be changed or altered by means of computer-driven electronic impulses.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign Face means the part of the sign that is or can be used to identify, advertise, communicate, inform or convey a visual representation which attracts the attention of the public for any purpose. "Sign face" includes any background material, panel, trim, frame, color and direct or self-illumination that differentiates the sign from the building, structure, backdrop surface or object upon which or against which it is placed. The sign structure shall not be included as a portion of the sign face provided that no message, symbol or any of the aforementioned sign face criteria are displayed on or designed as part of the sign structure, unless it is outlined in neon.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Feather is a wind device that contains a harpoon pole or staff driven into the ground for support. See Figure S-3, Feather Flag, below.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Freestanding means a sign that is not attached to a building.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign Height means the height of a sign.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Illuminated means a sign designed to give forth artificial light or designed to reflect light derived from any source.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Inflatable means a sign or component of a sign that is supported by one or more air chambers that may be sealed or kept inflated by blowers. The phrase includes, but is not limited to balloons, tubes in motion, and inflatable sign structures.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Marquee means a sign affixed to a hood, awning, or permanent roof-type construction that projects from the wall of a building above an entrance (e.g., as traditionally found on movie theaters, live theaters, and comparable uses).

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Monument means free standing sign which is separate from buildings and the entire bottom of which is in contact with or in close proximity to the ground.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Nameplate means a small sign that is attached to a principal building near the primary entrance, which contains copy that is scaled for pedestrian use.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Neon means any colored tubular lighting bent or formed into a design or lettering of which the primary source of light is gaseous. Anything within the boundary of the outline of the neon will be considered a part of the sign face.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Off-premises means a sign that directs the attention of the public to any goods, merchandise, property, business, service, entertainment, or amusement conducted or produced that is bought or sold, furnished, offered, or transferred elsewhere than on the premises where such sign is located or to which it is affixed. Signs that display only noncommercial messages are not included in this definition.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, On-premise means a sign which advertises a business, product, service, or activity offered, sold, or conducted on the premises on which the sign is located.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Parapet means a sign extending above a roof line or which serves as a parapet.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Parasitic - A sign affixed to a sign structure in addition to signs specifically designed for said sign structure. 

Effective on: 7/11/2017

Sign, Pylon means any sign that is affixed to one or more pylons or poles, designed configured in one of the following ways:

1. The combined width of the poles or pylons is less than 60 percent of the width of the sign face; or
2. Two poles support the sign face, one on each end, and the clearance under the sign is more than 30 inches.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Roof means a sign that is totally supported by or affixed to the roof of a building.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Sidewalk means any type of temporary, self-supporting, freestanding sign that is designed to be placed on a hard surface, without the need for installing posts, anchors, or other supports into the ground. Sidewalk signs include A-frame signs, signs suspended from A-frames, signs suspended from U-frames or H-frames that are installed into a portable base, and other comparable types of signs.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Sock means a temporary sign constructed of flexible material, designed to fit over a permanent sign face or mount. Sock signs are typically installed while a new permanent sign is being designed and fabricated.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Structure means any devise or material that supports, has supported, or is capable of supporting a sign in a stationary position, including decorative covers or sign roofs.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Swing means a sign that is suspended from a horizontal support (a swingpost) that is attached to a vertical support mounted in the ground. A swing sign may also include riders. See Figure S-4, Illustrative Swing Signs, below.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Temporary means a sign or advertising display that is intended for short-term display, which is constructed of cloth, canvas, fabric, paper, plywood, corrugated plastic, metal, or other light material. Temporary signs are not permanently affixed to sign structures, structures, or buildings.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Vehicle means a sign attached to or painted on a vehicle parked and visible from the public right-of-way, unless said vehicle is used for transporting people or materials in the normal operations of the business and it is properly parking in a designated parking space. Signs attached to trailers or inoperable vehicles are presumed to be vehicle signs if they are parked in plain view from the right-of-way. Bumper stickers are not vehicle signs. See Figure S-5, Illustrative Vehicle Sign, below.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Wall means a sign that is fastened to or painted on a wall of a building or structure in such a manner that the wall serves as the supporting structure or forms the background surface. Wall signs do not project more than 12 inches from the building to which they are attached.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Window means any sign, poster, or other similar material affixed on commercial properties or that is painted directly on a window, affixed to the inside of a window, or hung within 12 inches of a window promoting any message, including but not limited to, grand openings and special events (commercial and non-commercial), provided the sign or signs do not exceed 25 percent of each window area, is not illuminated, or within three feet of a public door.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sign, Yard means a form of temporary free-standing sign that is commonly placed in residential yards. It refers to U-frame signs (including bag signs), small H-frame signs, and stake signs. See Figure S-6, Illustrative Yard Signs, below.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Single-Family (also called "Single-Family Detached") means dwelling units that are:

1. Located in individual buildings that are constructed on:
   1. Individual lots; or
   2. Land that is designated as a limited common element in a declaration of condominium;
2. Separated from each other by outside walls; and
3. Intended for the use of a single housekeeping unit.

The term does not include patio/garden homes or townhomes.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Single-Family Attached means housing types with two or more dwelling units that are located in a single structure or attached structures:

1. Which are separated from each other by an un-penetrated dividing side wall (e.g., side-by-side duplexes and all types of townhomes); and / or
2. Which are separated by a floor (e.g., over-under duplexes and duplex townhomes), but have ground floor entrances for each unit.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Site Plan refers to a scaled plan for multi-family and nonresidential development showing uses and structures proposed for a parcel of land as required by this UDC. It generally includes lot lines, streets, building sites, building sites, reserved open space, buildings, landscaping, screening, buffering, and the location of proposed utilities and infrastructure improvements.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sky Glow means the brightening of the nighttime sky that results from scattering and reflection of artificial light by moisture and dust particles in the atmosphere. Sky glow is caused by light directed or reflected upwards or sideways and reduces one’s ability to view the night sky.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sound Amplification Device means the speaker or mechanism from which amplified sound emanates.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sound Nuisance means any sound which unreasonably annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the peace, comfort, repose, health, or safety of a reasonable person of ordinary tastes and sensitivities.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Spotlight means a light fixture having a narrow beam.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Start of Construction means the date the building permit was issued, provided that the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, placement or other improvement was within 180 days of the permit date. The actual start means either the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring of slab or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of execution; or the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation. Permanent construction does not include land preparation, such as clearing, grading and filling; nor does it include the installation of streets and/or walkways; nor does it include excavations for a basement, footings, piers, or foundations or the erection of temporary forms; nor does it include the installation on the property of accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the main structure.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

State means the State of Texas.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Streamer means strips (called "fringe streamers") or tightly spaced geometric shapes (called "flag streamers" or "pennant streamers") made of cloth, fabric, vinyl, flexible plastic, or other lightweight material that are fastened to a stringer, which is secured or tethered so as to allow movement of the strips or shapes in the wind. Streamers are signs.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Street means a strip of land, comprising the entire area within the right-of-way, intended for use as a means of vehicular and pedestrian circulation to provide access to more than one lot, whether designated as a street, highway, thoroughfare, parkway, throughway, road, avenue, boulevard, lane, place, or however otherwise designated. The term does not include the establishment of a common driveway for access purposes for no more than three separate parcels that are contiguous to one another.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Street, Arterial means a street that serves, or is designed to serve, as a connection between uses which generate heavy traffic volumes or between other arterial streets.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Street, Collector means a street that serves or is designed to serve as the connection from minor streets to the arterial street system, such as the main entrance street of a residential development, or as a secondary connection between arterial streets.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Street, Cul-de-sac means a short, independent, minor street having only one point of ingress and egress, terminating in a circular turn-around or other approved termination.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Street, Local means a street which serves or is designed to serve primarily as access to abutting properties.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Street Frontage means the linear measurement of a parcel along a street line, private road, or right-of-way to which the parcel abuts.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Street Line means a property line of a lot which coincides with a line indicating the limits of an existing or proposed right-of-way.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Street, Marginal Access means a local street, parallel and adjacent to an arterial street, but separated from it by a long strip, which provides access to abutting properties and control of intersections with the arterial street.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Street, Private means any street right-of-way that is not dedicated to public use, and which is maintained by a private entity, such as a property owners' association.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Street, Public means any street right-of-way dedicated to public use or maintained by a federal, state, or local unit of government.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Street Right-of-Way means the area of right-of-way that includes an existing or future public street, which may be represented on a plat, deed, or other conveyance, or acquired by prescription. The street right-of-way may also include areas for sidewalks, utilities, parkways, medians, and drainage.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Storm Water Management means the mitigation of the hydrological impacts of lost natural runoff storage by the use of constructed storage facilities.

1. For water quantity control, a system of vegetative, structural, and other measures that may control the volume and rate of storm water runoff which may be caused by land disturbing activities or activities upon the land; and
2. For water quality control, a system of vegetative, structural, and other measures that control adverse effects on water quality that may be caused by land disturbing activities or activities upon the land.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Storm Water Runoff means surplus surface water generated by rainfall that does not seep into the earth but flows over land to flowing or stagnant bodies of water.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Structure means any constructed or erected man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location on land or in water, whether or not affixed to the land, as well as manufactured homes.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Subdivider means any person, firm, partnership, corporation or other entity, acting as a unit, subdividing or proposing to subdivide land.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Subdivision means the division or redivision of a lot, tract, or parcel of land, by any means, including by means of a plan or a description by metes and bounds, into two or more lots, tracts, parcels, or other divisions of land, for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, of the transfer of ownership, or of building development.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Substantial Damage means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damage condition would be equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Substantial Improvement means any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the structure before “start of construction” of the improvement. This includes structures which have incurred “substantial damage”, regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either:

1. Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of State or City health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been identified by the City code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary conditions; or
2. Any alteration of a “historic structure”, provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as a “historic structure”.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Surety means a form of financial guarantee that improvements will be made. Surety provides the City with the financial resources to install required improvements if the developer fails to do so. Surety may include bonds, cash, letters of credit, or other financial instruments approved by the City as appropriate to the type and scale of improvements for which the surety is required.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Surface Water means natural or artificial bodies of water greater than one acre in extent at the normal annual water level, as depicted on USGS topographic quadrangles and/or as determined by on-site surveys by a surveyor, landscape architect, or professional engineer. The phrase does not include retention basins or other storm water management facilities, farm ponds, or other facilities associated with agricultural operations, sewage lagoons, and other facilities for which normal maintenance and repair is necessary.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Surveyor means a land surveyor registered by and licensed to practice in the State of Texas.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Text Amendment means a change to the text of the UDC, adopted by Ordinance of the City Council, including amendments that supplement, modify, or repeal any of this UDC's present or future provisions.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Tower means a free-standing structure that is used to mount one or more antennae or small wind energy conversion systems. The word tower includes monopoles, guyed towers, lattice towers, and stealth towers.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Townhouse means a single-family attached dwelling unit, with a single unit going from ground to roof and with individual outside access.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Tract means a contiguous area of land.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Tree, Evergreen means a broad leaf evergreen tree or cone-bearing evergreen tree that, at maturity, typically has a height of greater than 35 feet. For the purposes of this UDC, evergreen trees that typically have a height of 12 to 35 feet at maturity are considered understory trees, and evergreens that typically have a height of less than 12 feet at maturity are considered shrubs.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Tree, Canopy means a tree with a canopy that, at maturity, would occupy the upper level of a forest in a natural ecological situation. These trees are commonly called shade trees. They typically reach heights of more than 50 feet at maturity.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Tree, Noncanopy means a tree with a canopy that would occupy the intermediate level of a forest in a natural ecological situation. They are also found as dominant species in old field succession. These trees are commonly called ornamental trees. Understory trees are deciduous trees that typically reach heights of 12 to 44 feet at maturity, and evergreen trees that typically reach heights of 12 to 35 feet at maturity.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Trucking means storage, warehousing and distribution that are part of the operation of a light industrial or heavy industrial facility, and parcel service drop-off locations that are part of the operation of a parcel service processing facility. Trucking also means trucking facilities for the service and storage of trucks and large equipment, excluding salvage materials.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Utility means a commodity or service which is of public consequence and need such as electricity, gas, sewer, water, transportation, television cables, or telephone service.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Utility Easement means the same as “Easement”.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Vehicle means every devise in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices moved solely by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. 

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Veterinarian, Small Animal means veterinary clinics and hospitals that provide care for small domestic animals. The term does not include large animal and livestock veterinarians.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Wallpack means a floodlight mounted on the wall of a building or other structure.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Water Body means any watercourse, lake, or pond that is defined by a bank or shore, in which water can be found on a year-round basis.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Water Quality means those characteristics of storm water runoff, usually from a land disturbing activity, that relate to the chemical, physical, biological, or radiological integrity of the water.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Water Surface Elevation means the height, in relation to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 (or other datum, where specified), of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine areas.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Xeriscaping means landscaping and gardening in ways which reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water from irrigation.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Yard means an at-grade area of a lot that is not improved with, as follows:

1. Generally, a yard is the area between the lot line and the portion of the principal building that is closest to the lot line; and
2. A required yard is the area between the lot line and the required setback in relation to that lot line.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Yard, Front means an area that extends across the full width of the lot between the front lot line and the required front setback line.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Yard, Side Street means a yard extending from the front setback line to the rear lot line, located between the side street lot line and the side street setback line.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Yard, Rear means a yard extending the full width of the lot between the rear lot line and the rear setback line. For a corner lot, the rear yard does not extend beyond the side street setback line.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Yard, Interior Side means a yard that extends from the front setback line to the rear setback line, between the interior side lot line and the interior side setback line.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Zoning Map means the Official Zoning Map of Magnolia, Texas.

Effective on: 1/1/1901