This article may be cited and referred to as "The Mission Zoning Ordinance."

Certain words and terms in this article are defined for the purpose hereof as follows:

Words used in the present tense include the future tense; [and] words in the future tense include the present tense; words in the singular number include the plural number, and words in the plural number include the singular number; the word "building" includes the word "structure"; the word "lot" includes the word "plot"; the word "shall" is mandatory and not permissive; the word "may" is permissive and not mandatory.

1.

Accessory use or building. A subordinate use or structure customarily incident to and located on the lot occupied by the main use or structure and conforming with setback and other regulations concerning location.

2.

Adopted policies. A written administrative directive discussed at a public meeting and officially adopted by a majority vote of the city council.

3.

Alley. A minor public right-of-way which is used primarily for vehicular and utility service access to the back or side of properties otherwise abutting on a public street.

4.

Apartment house. See Dwelling, multiple.

5.

Apartment. A room or suite of rooms located in a building with other such rooms or suites arranged, designed, or to be occupied as a residence by a family. (See Dwelling unit.)

6.

Associated recreation. Recreational uses which are an integral part of a common ownership or associated or high density residential development (example: homeowners association with a private club, swimming pool and tennis courts).

7.

Authorized agent. An architect, builder, developer, or other person empowered to act on behalf of other persons.

8.

Bar, cocktail lounge, tavern, saloon, cantina. An establishment where alcoholic beverages are sold for on-premises consumption, other than a restaurant as defined in this section.

8A.

Bed and breakfast facility. An owner-occupied private home which offers lodging for paying guests and which serves meals only to those guests. One off-street parking space per available room shall be required.

9.

Boardinghouse. A building other than a motel or hotel where lodging and meals for five or more persons are provided for compensation.

10.

Building. Any structure designed to be built for the support, enclosure, shelter, or protection of persons, animals, chattel, or property of any kind.

11.

Buffer. A visual screen made of wood, masonry, landscape material or other permanent material so adjacent properties will be screened from the proposed commercial or industrial use. Such buffer shall be horizontal to the ground, opaque, and a minimum of six feet in height.

12.

Building coverage. See Lot coverage.

13.

Building setback line. A line defining an area on the building lot between the street right-of-way line and all other property lines and the building line within which no building shall be constructed, encroach or project except as specifically authorized in an adopted ordinance of the City of Mission.

a.

Front building setback line. A line parallel to the street right-of-way line which the building faces, and takes its primary access from.

b.

Side building setback line. A line parallel to an adjacent lot or street right-of-way on a corner lot, which the building sides up to.

c.

Rear building setback line. A line parallel to an adjacent lot, alley, or street in the case of double frontage lots, which the building backs up to and has its rear or secondary access from.

13A.

BYOB. Bring your own bottle, beer, beverage, or booze.

13B.

BYOB establishment. An establishment that allows patrons to bring alcoholic beverages onto the premises for possession and consumption, excluding a residence, an establishment by a governmental entity, a private club permitted pursuant to V.T.C.A. Alcoholic Beverages Code, Ch. 32 or a fraternal organization or veteran's organization as defined by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code.

13C.

BYOB permit. A permit issued pursuant to this chapter to operate a BYOB establishment.

14.

Carport. A roofed structure open on at least two sides covered with a roof supported by structural steel or wood columns or masonry piers of minimum size for structural safety.

14A.

Cemetery. Land used or intended to be used for the interment of human remains and dedicated for cemetery purposes including, but not limited to, crematories, mausoleums, and mortuaries when operated in conjunction with and within the boundary of such cemetery. The above term may also be applied to a pet and/or animal cemetery.

State Law reference— V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code chs. 711—715.

14B.

City facilities: Public improvements undertaken by the City of Mission for the benefit of the general public that primarily deal with utility service delivery to magnify water, sanitary sewer, and/or storm sewer improvements. Such city facilities shall not be interpreted to mean new buildings since such would be classified as institutional.

15.

Comprehensive plan. The comprehensive plan of the City of Mission and includes any unit or a part of such unit separately adopted and any amendment to such plan or parts thereof.

16.

Conditional use. A use which may be suitable in certain locations in a zoning district if developed and operated under specific conditions and/or for a limited period of time.

17.

Condominium. A multifamily dwelling unit, within which designated dwelling units are conveyed fee simple title, with an undivided interest in the building's common elements, to include, but not be limited to, halls, stairs, elevators, roof, parking space, and the land when the building is not constructed on leased land.

17A.

Crematorium: A structure containing a retort used or intended to be used for cremation of human remains.

17B.

Credit access business. Has the meaning given that the term in the Texas Finance Code § 393.601.

18.

Director of planning. The duly authorized employee or representative of the city in charge of the planning function for the city and charged with implementation and enforcement of the subdivision, zoning and other growth-related ordinances.

19.

District. A section of the City of Mission for which the regulations governing the areas, heights, or uses of buildings are uniform.

19A.

A commercial establishment that provides a driveway approach for motor vehicles so the business can provide service to such motorist patrons while they are awaiting in their vehicles for their goods and services.

20.

Dwelling unit. Any building or portion thereof which is designed for or used primarily for residential occupancy, but not including hotels, boardinghouses or mobile homes, trailers, motor coaches or other recreational vehicles.

a.

Single-family. A building designed for and/or occupied exclusively by one family as a separate dwelling unit.

b.

Duplex. A building designed for and/or occupied exclusively by two families living independently of each other.

c.

Triplex. A building designed for and/or occupied exclusively by three families living independently of each other.

d.

Fourplex. A building designed for and/or occupied exclusively by four families living independently of each other.

e.

Multiple. A building designed for and/or occupied exclusively by five or more families living independently of each other.

f.

[Determination of unit size.] The determination of whether one family is living independent of another is based on one or more of the following criteria:

(1)

Separate sanitary facilities.

(2)

Separate kitchen facilities.

(3)

Separate entrances.

(4)

Separate utilities.

20A.

Expressway Corridor means the commercially or industrially zoned areas along, or within 600 feet north and south, of U.S. Expressway 83 from Taylor Road to Moorefield Road; and the commercially or industrially zoned properties along Bryan Road commencing from Lots 13-10 and 13-11, West Addition to Sharyland leading southward to the GSA facility serving the Anzalduas Bridge crossing, more particularly depicted in Attachment A.

Editor's note— Attachment A has not been included herein; a copy may be found in the office of the city secretary.

21.

Family. One or more persons related by blood, adoption, or marriage, living together as a single housekeeping unit, exclusive of household servants, or a number of persons not exceeding four adults, not related by marriage, and their dependent children and/or parents, living together as a single housekeeping unit.

22.

Garage apartment. A dwelling unit attached to a private garage.

23.

Garage, commercial. A building or premises used for storage, repair, rental, or servicing of motor vehicles.

24.

Garage, private. An accessory building, attached or detached, designed or used for the storage of motor-driven vehicles owned and used only by the occupants of the building to which it is accessory.

25.

Guesthouse. An accessory building designed for the temporary occupancy of guests of the primary dwelling for which there is no remuneration and is not rented or otherwise used as a separate domicile.

26.

Height. The height of a building or portion of a building shall be the vertical distance from grade to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof, the deckline of a mansard roof, and the mean height level between eaves and ridge for hip, gable, or gambrel roofs. In measuring the height of a building, the following structures shall be excluded: chimneys, cooling towers, elevator bulkheads, mechanical rooms, tanks, water towers, radio towers, television antennas, ornamental cupolas, domes or spires, and parapet walls not exceeding four feet in height.

27.

Home occupation. An activity carried on by a member of the immediate family, residing on the premises, that meets the provision of section 1.56.

28.

Hotel and/or motel: A building occupied as a temporary abiding place of individuals at which parking may be conveniently located at each unit and where there are more than six sleeping rooms provided, for compensation. A building that is condo-owned but hotel-used shall be considered a hotel.

29.

Institution. A nonprofit organization or building, public or private for the benefit of the public, or educational facilities, churches, temples, hospitals, clubs, fire stations, police stations, libraries, museums, city offices, public parks, public parking lots, drainage ponds larger than one acre (small ponds may be permitted in all other zoning districts), water tower sites, etc., but not to include minor public utility properties such as lift station sites, or regional drain ditches or current canal systems.

30.

Loading space. A space within the main building or on the same lot therewith, providing for the standing, loading, or unloading of trucks and having a minimum dimension of 12 [feet] by 35 feet and a vertical clearance of at least 14 feet.

31.

Lot. An undivided tract or parcel of land having frontage on a public street, or upon an approved open space, having direct street access, and which is, or in the future may be, offered for sale, conveyance, transfer, or improvement, which is designated as a distinct and separate tract, and which is identified by a tract or lot number or symbol in a duly approved subdivision plat which has been properly filed of record.

a.

Corner lot. A lot abutting upon two or more public streets at their intersection.

b.

Lot depth. The length of a line connecting the midpoints of the front and rear lot lines.

c.

Lot, double frontage. A lot abutting on two nonintersecting public streets as distinguished from a corner lot.

d.

Lot, frontage. The length of street frontage between property lines.

e.

Lot, interior. A lot other than a corner lot.

f.

Lot, irregular. Any lot not having equal front and rear lot lines, or equal side lot lines; a lot, the opposite lot lines of which vary in dimension and the corners of which have an angle of either more or less than 90 degrees. A lot fronting on a sharp curve or a cul-de-sac.

g.

Lot lines. The lines bounding a lot as defined herein.

(1)

Front lot line. The property line between the front yard and the contiguous street right-of-way boundary.

(2)

Rear lot line. The property line between the rear yard and the adjacent property or right-of-way, and contiguous with the legal boundary of such use.

(3)

Side lot line. The property line between two adjacent lots or between the side yard and the contiguous street right-of-way boundary on corner lots.

h.

Minimum lot area. The minimum area of the lot includes internal sidewalks, recreation areas, floor space, parking area, open space and utility easements, but does not include any public right-of-way, street easements, or alley easements.

i.

Lot width. That distance measured along a straight line connecting the mid-point of the two side lot lines.

31A.

Lot coverage. The extent to which the lot's surface or subsurface area is occupied by materials that absorb and are impermeable. The term "building coverage," as used in the zoning ordinance, is hereby amended to read "lot coverage." Lot coverage shall also include the lot area under mobile homes, recreational vehicles, or any other structure without a permanent foundation.

32.

Lot of record. A parcel of land which is part of a subdivision, the map or plat of which has been recorded in the office of the county clerk of Hidalgo County; or a parcel of land not a part of an urban or town lot subdivision, the deed of which has been recorded in the office of the county clerk of Hidalgo County prior to August 26, 1974, which has not been divided since recording.

33.

Maneuvering space. The space entirely on private property required for maneuvering vehicles in such a manner as to preclude the backing of any vehicle into any street right-of-way.

33A.

Mobile food unit. A food service operation mounted on a chassis which is designed to be towed over roads or mounted on a motor-propelled vehicle.

33B.

Mobile food park. Any parcel where two or more mobile food units congregate on a continuous, regular basis selling food, including prepackaged or beverages to the public.

34.

Mobile home. A movable or portable dwelling which is constructed on a chassis, and which is designed to be towed over Texas roads and highways under special permit, designed for year-round occupancy, designed primarily to be used without a permanent foundation, but which may sit on a permanent foundation, and designed to be connected to utilities. It may consist of one or more units that can be telescoped when transported and expanded later for additional capacity, or of two or more units, separately transportable, but designed to be joined together into one integral unit. The following shall not be included in this definition:

a.

Travel trailers, pickup coaches, motor homes, camping trailers, or other recreational vehicles.

b.

Manufactured modular housing which is designed to be set on a permanent foundation, and which uses standard sheathing, roofing, siding, and electrical plumbing, and heating systems which comply with chapters of the Mission City Code.

35.

Mobile home park. A unified development of five acres or more for mobile homes arranged on a tract of land owned by an individual or a single business entity for the purpose of renting or leasing spaces, and meeting the requirements of the mobile home park ordinance.

36.

Mobile home subdivision. A unified development of five acres or more for mobile homes arranged on a tract of land in such a manner as to provide an individual lot (see definition 31) for each of the mobile homes.

37.

Modular homes. A dwelling unit in which more than 50 percent of the structure is constructed at other than the construction site, brought to the site in modules, and set on a permanent foundation.

38.

Mobile home space. An area within a mobile home park which is designed for and designated as the location for a single mobile home and the exclusive use of its occupants.

39.

Nightclub, discotheque, disco or dancehall. An establishment whose primary activity is the provision of facilities for dancing including a dance floor, and live entertainment or amplified music. Such establishment may or may not provide on-premises consumption of alcoholic beverages. Schools of dance are exempted from this definition.

40.

Nonconforming use. A building, structure or use of land lawfully occupied at the time of the effective date of this section or amendments thereto, and which does not conform to the use regulations of the district in which it is situated.

40A.

Original townsite. The original townsite will be identified by the boundaries as follows:

North: FM 495

South: U.S. Expressway 83

East: Bryan Rd.

West: Holland Avenue

41.

Parking area. Space used exclusively for the parking of vehicles and where no other business is conducted.

42.

Parking space. A paved all-weather surfaced area, not closer than six feet from the back edge of the curb, the width and length of which shall exceed by a minimum of two feet the dimensions of the type of vehicle normally to be parked in the space, and connected with a street or alley by a driveway affording satisfactory ingress and egress. The minimum dimension of a parking space shall be in accordance with the adopted ordinances of the City of Mission regarding off-street parking.

43.

Person. Any individual, association, firm, corporation, governmental agency or political subdivision.

44.

Planned shopping center. A group of architecturally unified commercial establishments built on a site which is planned, developed, owned, and managed as one operating unit related in its location, size, and type of shops to the trade area that the unit serves. The unit provides on-site parking in definite relationship to the types and total size of the stores.

45.

Planned unit development (PUD). Includes a combination of different dwelling types and/or a variety of land uses which creatively complement each other and harmonize with existing and proposed land uses in the vicinity, and comply with provisions of the ordinances governing planned unit developments.

46.

Portable building. A temporary building that does not have a foundation and is transportable.

47.

Recreational vehicle or travel trailer. A vehicular, portable structure built on a chassis, designed to be used as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreational and vacation uses, permanently identified travel trailer by the manufacturer of the trailer and, when factory equipped for the road, it shall have a body width not exceeding eight feet and a body length not exceeding state maximums.

47A.

Regulated lender. A lender who holds a regulated loan or consumer loan license under the Texas Finance Code ch. 342. (Credit-based lenders i.e., payday loans, title loans and other collateral lenders.)

48.

Restaurant. A building or portion of a building, where the primary business is the on-premises sale of prepared food, with adequate facilities for the preparation of the food to be sold, the adequacy of said kitchen facilities to be based upon the seating capacity of the restaurant and the type of menu offered.

49.

Retail. The sale of goods directly to a consumer. Engaged in, pertaining to, or relating to the sale of merchandise at retail. To sell by individual items or by the piece, directly to a consumer.

50.

Right-of-way line. A dividing line between a lot, tract, or parcel of land and the public right-of-way.

51.

Sign. A name, identification, image, description, display or illustration which is affixed to, painted or represented directly or indirectly upon a building, structure or piece of land, and which directs attention to an object, product, place, activity, facility, service, event, attraction, person, institution, organization or business and which is visible from any street, right-of-way, sidewalk, alley, park or other public property. Customary displays of merchandise or objects and material without lettering placed behind a store window are not signs. Included in this definition are the following signs:

a.

Animated sign: A sign with action or motion, flashing color ranges requiring electrical energy, electronic or manufactured sources of supply, but not including wind actuated elements such as flags, banners, or special items.

b.

Directional sign: A sign containing directional information about public places owned or operated by federal, state or local governments or their agencies; publicly or privately owned natural phenomena; historic, cultural, scientific, educational and religious sites; and areas of natural scenic beauty or naturally suited for outdoor recreation deemed to be in the interest of the traveling public and having statewide or regional significance.

c.

Freestanding sign: A sign which is supported by one or more columns, uprights or braces in or upon the ground.

d.

Illuminated sign: A sign in which a source of light is used in order to make readable the message. This definition shall include internally and externally lighted signs and reflectorized, glowing or radiating signs.

d(1).

Institutional sign: An on-premises sign which calls the attention of the general public to a permitted institutional use or message.

e.

Nameplate: A sign not more than one square foot in area, attached to a building, identifying the owner or lessor, and his title or occupation.

f.

Off-premises sign: A sign, including the supporting sign structure, which directs the attention of the general public to a business, service, or activity not usually conducted or a product not usually offered or sold upon the premises where such a sign is located. None of the following shall be deemed an off-premises outdoor advertising sign:

(1)

Directional and other official signs authorized by law.

(2)

Real estate signs.

(3)

Political signs.

(4)

Signs which have a significant portion of their face area devoted to giving public service information such as, but not limited to, time, date, temperature, weather, or similar information.

g.

Official signs: Shall mean directional and other official signs authorized by law, including signs pertaining to natural wonders and scenic and historic attractions, and signs which have as their purpose the protection of life and property.

h.

On-premises sign: A sign which directs the attention of the general public to a lawful use of the premises on which it is located, including signs or sign devices indicating the business transacted at, services rendered, goods sold or produced on the premises, name of the business, name of the person, firm or corporation occupying the premises.

i.

Political sign: Any sign whose sole purpose is the transmittal of information concerning an upcoming political issue or campaign, or a public issue of potential concern to the community as a whole.

j.

Portable sign: A freestanding and movable sign, designed to be temporary and mobile. This definition includes signs attached to trailers, but does not include signs permanently placed on the sides of motor vehicles.

k.

Private directional sign: A sign not erected by or under authority of any governmental agency, which contains only information designed to direct pedestrian or vehicular traffic and which contains no advertising material or a business name. Examples of private directional signs include signs bearing only the word "entrance" or "exit" located on or near a parking lot. No sign which contains the name of a business or activity or any other advertising material shall be considered a private directional sign, even though such sign may also contain the word "entrance" or "exit." A sign containing the word "parking" at any parking lot where any person is charged any fee or other monetary consideration for parking shall be considered an advertising sign, not a private directional sign.

l.

Real estate signs: Any sign smaller than three feet by four feet, temporarily advertising the sale or lease of the property upon which it is located, or any permanent sign affixed to a gate or entryway advertising only the name and address of a subdivision, apartment complex or residential district.

52.

Residential storage building. Any building either portable or constructed on site, utilized for storage purposes, and not requiring plumbing, and electrical wiring, and not used for residential purposes.

53.

Servant's quarters. An accessory building or portion of a main building located on the same lot as the main building and used as living quarters for servants employed on the premises and not rented or otherwise used as a separate domicile.

54.

Space. A plot of ground within a mobile home or recreational vehicle park designated for the accommodation of one mobile home or one recreational vehicle, together with such open space as required by this chapter [ordinance].

54A.

Storage unit facility. A building or group of buildings, divided into separate compartments which are rented to meet temporary storage needs. Related activities, such as retail sale of packing and moving materials and rental of moving equipment, are allowed as incidental uses. Any authorized storage unit facility must be located on a tract of land with minimum of two acres.

55.

Street. A public or private thoroughfare which affords the principal means of access to abutting property, excluding alleys.

56.

Setback. See Building setback line.

57.

Structure. Anything constructed, erected, or built up; or composed of parts and joined together in a permanent manner.

58.

Structural alterations. Any change in the supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls, columns, beams, or girders.

59.

Tourist court. See Hotel and/or Motel.

60.

Townhouse. A single-family dwelling unit constructed in a series, or a group of units having common walls, each on a separate lot.

a.

Townhouse condominium: A single dwelling unit, meeting townhouse construction requirements, within which designated dwelling units are conveyed fee simple title, with an undivided interest in the building's common elements, to include, but not be limited to, parking spaces, common areas, and the land upon which the building is constructed.

61.

Wholesale. The sale of commodities for the purpose of resale, as to retailers or jobbers rather than to consumers directly; opposed to retail. Of, pertaining to, or engaged in sale at wholesale.

62.

Yard. An open space between a building and the adjoining lot lines, unoccupied and unobstructed by any portion of a structure from the ground upward, except as otherwise herein provided. In measuring a yard for the purpose of determining the width of a side yard, the depth of a front yard, or the depth of a rear yard, the minimum horizontal distance between the lot line and the main building shall be used.

a.

Front: A yard extending across the front of a lot between the side lot lines, and being the minimum horizontal distance between the right-of-way line and wall of the main building or any projections thereof other than the projections of the usual uncovered steps, uncovered balconies, or uncovered porch. On residential corner lots, the front yard shall be considered as parallel to the street upon which the lot has its least dimension except where corner lots may be square in dimension and/or have double frontage, at which time the front yard shall correspond to the lot's side adjacent to the longest block face in which it occurs and to which the majority of the existing structures front.

b.

Rear: A yard extending across the rear of a lot and being the required minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the rear of the main building or any projection thereof other than the projections of uncovered steps, uncovered balconies, or uncovered porches. On all lots, the rear yard shall be in the rear of the front yard.

c.

Side: A yard between the main building and the side line of the lot, and being the minimum horizontal distance between a side lot line and the side of the main buildings or any projections thereof.

(Ord. No. 1185, § 1, 8-23-1982; Ord. No. 1428, § 1, 11-9-1987; Ord. No. 1453, § 1, 4-25-1988; Ord. No. 1463, § 1, 8-8-1988; Ord. No. 1727, § 1, 4-12-1993; Ord. No. 1779, § 1, 9-13-1993; Ord. No. 1934, § 1, 2-13-1995; Ord. No. 3209, § 5, 1-22-2007; Ord. No. 3236, § 1, 4-9-2007; Ord. No. 3283, § 1, 9-10-2007; Ord. No. 3324, § 1, 10-10-2007; Ord. No. 3319, § 1, 11-13-2007; Ord. No. 3804, § 1, 8-13-2012; Ord. No. 4203, § A, 3-23-2015; Ord. No. 4329, §§ 1(a)1.a., b., 3-14-2016; Ord. No. 4476, § 3, 3-13-2017; Ord. No. 5175, § 1, 5-23-2022; Ord. No. 5348 meeting, § 1(a), 7-24-2023; Ord. No. 5359 meeting, § 1(a), 8-28-2023; Ord. No. 5636 meeting, § 1, 4-28-2025)