For the purpose of this ordinance, certain terms and words are hereby defined. Words used in the present tense shall include the future; the singular number shall include the plural, and the plural the singular. The word "building" shall include the word "structure," the word "lot" includes the word "plot," and the word "shall" is mandatory and not merely permissive or directory.

Accessory building (and structure). A secondary building or structure, or a portion of the main building or structure, the use of which is incidental and subordinate to that of the main building or to the main use of the lot.

Accessory use. A use that is incidental and subordinate to the use of the main building, structure or lot.

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

Apartment. A room or suite of rooms in a multiple dwelling, or in a building in which more than one living unit is established above or on the same floor as nonresidential uses, which room or suite is intended or designed for use as a residence by a single family and which includes culinary accommodations.

Apartment house. A building or portion thereof used or designed as a residence for three or more families living independently of each other, and doing their own cooking in said building, including apartments and apartment hotels.

Automobile sales. The use of land or buildings for display and retail sales of new or used automobiles generally, which may include light trucks or vans, trailers, or recreation vehicles, and including any vehicle preparation or repair work conducted as an accessory use.

Automobile wrecking yard. The use of land or buildings for the dismantling or wrecking of used motor vehicles or trailers, or the storage, sale or dumping of dismantled or wrecked vehicles or their parts. The presence on any lot of three or more vehicles which, for a period exceeding 30 days, have not been capable of operating under their own power and from which parts have been or are to be removed for reuse or sale, shall constitute prima facie evidence of an automobile wrecking yard.

Billiard or pool hall. Any place wherein a billiard table or tables are used, maintained, kept or exhibited for the purpose of profit, or any place where any billiard table or pool table is kept, used, maintained or exhibited where a charge is made for playing billiards or for playing pool.

Boardinghouse. A building, other than a hotel, where for compensation and by prearrangement for definite periods, meals or lodging and meals are provided for three or more persons, but not exceeding 20 persons.

Boat. All types of watercraft, whether registered or unregistered, licensed or unlicensed. The term "boat" shall include any wheeled trailer or other device on which such boat is or may be kept, stored, or transported, whether registered or unregistered, licensed or unlicensed.

Brick. Kiln fired clay or shale brick manufactured to American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International standard C216 or C652 with a minimum thickness of two and one quarter inches when applied as a veneer. Brick also may include concrete facing brick if the coloration is integral to the masonry materials, it is not painted, and it is manufactured to ASTM International standard C1634.

Building. Any structure designed or intended for the support, enclosure, shelter or protection of persons, animals, chattels, or property.

Building line. The line beyond which no part of the building shall not extend, except as specifically provided by local ordinance or other applicable law.

Building setback restriction. An area designated on a subdivision plat in which no building or structure may be constructed and which is located between the adjacent street right-of-way line or other type of easement or right-of-way line and the proposed building.

Clinic. An office or group of offices for one or more physicians, surgeons, or dentists engaged in treating the sick or injured, but not including rooms for the abiding of patients.

Commercial. An occupation, employment, or enterprise that is carried on for profit by the owner, lessee, or licensee.

Community home. A licensed community home as defined by V.T.C.A., Human Resources Code Chapter 123 which must have not more than six persons with disabilities and two supervisors residing in the home at the same time. The limitation on the number of persons with disabilities applies regardless of the legal relationship of those persons to one another. The home may not be established within one-half mile of an existing community home. The term community home shall not include alcoholism or drug treatment center, work release facilities for convicts or ex-convicts, or other housing facilities serving as an alternative to incarceration. To qualify as a community home, an entity must provide the following services to persons with disabilities who reside in the home:

(1)

Food and shelter;

(2)

Personal guidance;

(3)

Care;

(4)

Habilitation services;

(5)

Supervision.

Convenience retail. An establishment offering for retail sale prepackaged food products, household items and other goods commonly associated with the same, and having a gross floor area of less than 5,000 square feet.

Day care center. An establishment providing nonmedical care, protection and supervision for individuals on a regular basis, away from their primary residence for less than 24 hours per day. The term includes nursery schools, preschools, day care centers for adults and children, a children's boarding home, a child placement agency or other place for the care or custody of children under 15 years of age and licensed by the State of Texas pursuant to V.T.C.A., Human Resource Code ch. 42.

Decorative concrete block. Concrete block material that has a highly textured finish, such as split faced, indented, hammered, fluted, ribbed or similar architectural finish; coloration shall be integral to the masonry material and it is not painted. Decorative concrete block shall also include light weight and featherweight concrete block or cinder block units. Decorative concrete block shall have a minimum thickness of three and five-eighths inches when applied as a veneer.

District. A section or sections of the City of Oak Ridge North, Texas, for which regulations governing the use of buildings and lots, the height of buildings, the size of yards, and the intensity of use are uniform.

Dwelling. A building or portion thereof which is designed and used exclusively for residential purposes.

Dwelling, single-family. A building having accommodations for and occupied exclusively by a single family.

Dwelling, two-family, or duplex. A building having accommodations for and occupied exclusively by two families.

Dwelling, multiple. A building having accommodations for and occupied exclusively by more than two families.

Family. Any number of individuals, related by blood, marriage, or adoption, and domestic servants for such a family, living together as a single nonprofit housekeeping unit doing their own cooking, as distinguished from a group occupying a boardinghouse, lodging house, or hotel as herein defined.

Filling station or service station. Any building or lot used for the dispensing, sale or offering for sale at retail of any automobile fuels or oils. When the dispensing, sale or offering for sale is incidental to the conduct of a public garage, or retail store, the lots are classified as a public garage or retail store.

Frontage. All the property abutting one side of a street between two intersecting streets (crossing or termination), measured along the line of the street, or if the street is dead-ended, then all the property abutting on one side between an intersecting street and the dead-end of the street.

Garage, private. An accessory building or portion of the main use building, designed for or used for the housing of motor-driven vehicles which are the property of and for the private use of the occupants of the lot on which the private garage is located. Not more than one of the vehicles may be a commercial vehicle and of not more than one and one-half tons capacity.

Garage, public. A building or portion thereof other than a private garage, designed or used for equipping, repairing, hiring, servicing, selling, or storing motor-driven vehicles.

Grade.

1.

For buildings having walls, adjoining one street only, the elevation of the sidewalk at the center of the wall adjoining the street.

2.

For buildings having walls adjoining more than one street, the average of the elevation of the sidewalk at the center of all walls adjoining the streets.

3.

For buildings having no wall adjoining the street, the average level of the finished surface of the ground adjacent to the exterior walls on the building.

Any wall approximately parallel to and not more than five feet from the street. Where no sidewalk exists, the grade shall be established by the city building inspector.

Group home. A licensed community home as defined by V.T.C.A., Human Resources Code ch. 123 which must have not more than six persons with disabilities and two supervisors residing in the home at the same time. The limitation on the number of persons with disabilities applies regardless of the legal relationship of those persons to one another. The home may not be established within one-half mile of an existing group home. The term group home shall not include alcoholism or drug treatment center, work release facilities for convicts or ex-convicts, or other housing facilities serving as an alternative to incarceration. To qualify as a group home, an entity must provide the following services to persons with disabilities who reside in the home:

(1)

Food and shelter;

(2)

Personal guidance;

(3)

Care;

(4)

Habilitation services;

(5)

Supervision.

Head shop. Any retail establishment open to the public that presents, displays, or offers for sale, distribution, or delivery, smoking paraphernalia items of any kind. "Smoking paraphernalia" shall mean paraphernalia, devices, or instruments, including, but not limited to, pipes, bongs, and hookahs, that are designed or manufactured for the smoking, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the body "controlled substances" as defined by the Texas Controlled Substance Act, Health and Safety Code, ch. 481, as may be amended. "Smoking paraphernalia" shall also mean and include, in the broadest application possible, kits that are used, intended to be used, or commonly known to be used for the ingestion, inhalation, preparation, or injection of illegal substances, and include any device or instrument which has been fabricated, constructed, altered, adjusted, or marked especially for use in the smoking or ingestion of marijuana, hashish, cocaine, methamphetamine, any other "controlled substance," "controlled substance analogue," "synthetic controlled substance," or other substance or chemical that mimics the effect of THC such as synthetic cannabinoids or other controlled substances, or any other substance that violates local, state, or federal law, and is adapted for the purpose of smoking or ingesting by virtue of a distinctive feature or combination of features associated with drug paraphernalia, notwithstanding that it might also be possible to use the smoking paraphernalia for some other purpose. "Smoking paraphernalia" shall also mean and include, in the broadest application possible, kits that are used, intended for use, or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing or harvesting any species of plant which is a controlled substance, or from which a controlled substance can be derived from the manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing or preparing of a controlled substance. "Smoking paraphernalia" does not include lighters, matches, cigarette holders, and devices used to store or preserve tobacco, tobacco cigarettes, cigarette papers or cigars, nor does it include e-cigarette, e-pipe and e-cigar devices or their respective components including, but not limited to, the atomizer unit, liquid nicotine reservoir or nicotine cartridge tank, and cartomizer.

Height of building. The vertical distance from the grade to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof, to the deck line of a mansard roof, or the mean height level between the eaves and ridge for gable, hip and gambrel roofs.

Home occupation. An occupation or profession engaged in by the occupants of a dwelling, the conduct of which does not result in the dwelling being identified as a business by the external and objective evidence of a business, such as signs, displays, deliveries, continuous or repetitive (rather than occasional or sporadic) traffic generated by the home occupation, or by regular gatherings of clients or customers for business purposes. The occupation or profession carried on in any dwelling, structure, or on any lot must be the incidental use and not the principal use of the dwelling, and it shall not involve more than one assistant who does not reside in the dwelling. Further, it shall not involve the storage or use of hazardous or dangerous materials, nor constitute a nuisance, nor be detrimental or injurious to the adjoining property owners, their property, or property value.

Hospital. An institution that is licensed by the state or operated by an agency of the government to provide medical, surgical, psychiatric or emergency medical services to sick or injured persons, primarily on an in-patient basis. The term "hospital" shall not include nursing homes.

Hotel. A building in which lodging or board and lodging are provided and offered to the public for compensation and in which ingress and egress to and from all rooms is made through an inside lobby or office supervised by a person in charge at all hours. As such, it is open to the public in contradistinction to a boardinghouse, a lodging house, or an apartment which are herein defined.

HUD-Code manufactured home. A structure constructed on or after June 15, 1976, according to the rules of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, built on a permanent chassis, designed for use as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when the structure is connected to the required utilities; transportable in one or more sections, and in the traveling mode, at least eight body feet in width or at least 40 body feet in length or, when erected on site, at least 320 square feet. HUD-Code manufactured home includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems of the home. HUD-Code manufactured home does not include a recreational vehicle as defined by 24 C.F.R. Section 3282.8(g).

Industrialized building. A commercial structure that is constructed in one or more modules or constructed using one or more modular components built at a location other than the commercial site and designed to be used as a commercial building when the module or the modular component is transported to the commercial site and erected or installed. An industrialized building includes the structure's plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems. An industrialized building includes a permanent commercial structure and a commercial structure designed to be transported from one commercial site to another commercial site but does not include a commercial structure that exceeds three stories or 49 feet in height. An industrialized building also does not include a commercial building or structure that is installed in a manner other than on a permanent foundation and either is not open to the public or is less than 1,500 square feet in total area when used other than as a school or a place of religious worship.

Industrialized housing. A residential structure that is designed for the occupancy of one or more families, constructed in one or more modules or constructed using one or more modular components built at a location other than the permanent site and 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. Industrialized housing includes the structure's plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems.

Library. A publicly operated facility housing a collection of books, magazines, audiotapes, videotapes, DVDs, or other material for use by the general public.

Lodging house. A building or place where lodging is provided (or which is equipped to provide lodging regularly) by prearrangement for definite periods for compensation, for three or more persons, in contradistinction to hotels open to transients.

Lot. A parcel of land occupied or intended for occupancy by a use permitted in this ordinance including one main building with its accessory buildings, and the open spaces and parking spaces required by this ordinance, and having its principal frontage upon a street or upon an officially approved plat.

Lot, corner. A lot abutting upon two or more streets at their intersection.

Lot, depth of. The mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.

Major street. The frontage road to Interstate 45, Woodson Road, Hanna Road, or Robinson Road.

Manufactured home park. A parcel of land under single entity ownership where lots are planned to be leased for the placement of HUD-Code manufactured homes, accessory uses and service facilities, meeting all requirements of this ordinance, the city's subdivision ordinance, any applicable deed restrictions, and state law.

Manufactured home subdivision. A parcel of land where lots are planned to be sold for the placement of HUD-Code manufactured homes, accessory uses and service facilities, meeting all requirements of this ordinance, the city's subdivision ordinance, any applicable deed restrictions, and state law.

Manufacturing, light. An establishment engaged in the manufacture, predominantly from previously prepared materials, of finished products or parts, including processing, fabrication, assembly, treatment, packaging, incidental storage, sales and distribution or such products, but excluding basic industrial processing.

Manufacturing, medium. An establishment engaged in the manufacturing, compounding, processing, assembling, packaging or testing of goods or equipment within an enclosed structure or an open yard that is capable of being screened from neighboring properties, serviced by a modest volume of trucks or other vehicles.

Metal panel. A panel that covers an exterior wall and that is composed of formed steel construction, structural steel or lightweight metal alloys, including aluminum siding, cold-rolled copper, and lead-coated copper, which shall be designed in accordance with the city's building code.

Mobile home. A structure constructed before June 15, 1976, built on a permanent chassis, designed for use as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when the structure is connected to the required utilities, transportable in one or more sections, and in the traveling mode, at least eight body feet in width or at least 40 body feet in length or, when erected on site, at least 320 square feet. Mobile home includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems of the home.

Nonconforming building, structure or use. A building, structure, or use that lawfully existed prior to the adoption or amendment of this ordinance, or prior to the institution of proceedings associated with the annexation of the underlying property into the City of Oak Ridge North, Texas, but then no longer conforms to this ordinance or an amendment thereto.

Nursing home. An institution that is licensed by the state to provide in-patient services for persons needing regular medical attention and bed care services on a 24-hour basis, but excluding hospitals. ;p0; Office. An establishment providing executive, management, or administrative services, including executive suites.

Office, medical. An office dedicated or otherwise relating to the science of medicine, or to the evaluation, diagnosis or treatment of illnesses, injuries, ailments, or other physical, emotional, psychological, or behavioral conditions.

Office, off-site sales. An office where direct sales distribution, manufacturer representatives, and other similar activities occur provided all sales are conducted off-site and storage and deliveries do not exceed the limitations provided in this appendix A, zoning.

Office, off-site services. An office where services are performed at an off-site location.

Office, professional services. An office for engineers, draftspersons, admin services, and other similar professional services as determined by the city that require a high degree of technical skill, special training or professional license, including, but not limited to, the services of attorneys, accountants, and architects, provided the delivery of client services is performed or otherwise conducted off-site.

Parking space. An area enclosed or unenclosed containing not less than 160 square feet exclusive of the driveways connecting said space with a street or alley. Said parking space and connecting driveway shall be durably surfaced and so arranged to permit satisfactory ingress and egress of an automobile.

Paved. A surface paved or covered with a constructed surface of concrete, asphalt, or similar materials, but excluding debris, to establish a permanent surface for the parking, storage, or placement of any boat, recreational vehicle, or utility trailer.

Place of worship. A church or the use of land or buildings for regular assembly of people for worship and intended primarily for propagating a particular faith or religious belief.

Planned unit development or PUD. A contiguous area to be developed as a single entity according to a unified site design plan, containing one or more of the following uses:

1.

Residential;

2.

Office;

3.

Commercial;

4.

Industrial;

5.

Public or quasi-public; or

6.

Any combination of the same.

Principal use or principal structure. A use or structure that is the primary and chief purpose for the use of land or buildings on a lot.

Research or laboratory service. Establishment engaged in research of an industrial or scientific nature.

Retail. The use of property primarily for the business of making sales of taxable items of a kind the receipts from the sale of which are included in the measure of the sales or use tax imposed by Chapter 151, Texas Tax Code.

Safety services. A facility for conduct of public safety and emergency services, including fire and police protection services and emergency medical and ambulance services.

School. The use of a site for instructional purposes on an elementary or secondary level, approved under the regulations of the state.

Stone. Naturally occurring granite, marble, limestone, slate, river rock, and other similar hard and durable all-weather stone that is customarily used in exterior building construction. Stone may also include manmade cast or manufactured stone product, provided that such product yields a highly textured stone-like appearance, its coloration is integral to the masonry materials, it is not painted, and it is demonstrated to be highly durable and maintenance free. Natural or manmade stone shall have a minimum thickness of two and five-eighths inches when applied as a veneer.

Special exception. A specified use that city council has predetermined to be appropriate and allowed in a designated district if the board of adjustment determines that its particular placement within a designated district will not adversely affect the public and neighborhood interest.

Specific use permit. A use or structure which does not specifically, or without special restriction, conform to the regulations of the zoning district in which the use is located, but which if controlled as to number, area, location or relation to the neighborhood is deemed appropriate to promote the health, safety, or general welfare of the residents of the city, and for which a condition or exception has been recommended by the planning and zoning commission and approved by the city council in accordance with the specific use permit process allowed under section 9 of this appendix. Such conditions shall include, but not be limited to, site plan review, general plan submission, restrictive deed covenants and regulations, additional landscaping, and other conditions as the planning and zoning commission or the city council may deem appropriate.

Special use vehicles. Special use vehicles are collectively defined as any one or more of the following:

1.

A "trailer" is a vehicle that has or resembles one or more of the following characteristics:

a.

Any vehicle designed to be towable by a private passenger car, truck or van;

b.

Any vehicle, which may be referred to as a "semi-trailer" or "tractor-trailer," having wheels at the back but supported at the front by a towing vehicle;

c.

Any vehicle designed to carry or otherwise transport watercraft of all types, and their furnishings, equipment and outboard engines or motors;

d.

Any vehicle designed to carry or otherwise transport antique or collectible cars, miniature automobiles, motorcycles, mopeds, all-terrain vehicles (including, but not limited to, quads, quad bikes, three-wheelers, four-wheelers), recreational utility vehicles, crossover utility vehicles, dune buggies, go-carts, golf mobiles, golf carts, or snowmobiles; or

e.

Any farm wagon or farm implement that can be towed by a private passenger car, truck, or van.

2.

A "house trailer" is a trailer or semi-trailer, other than a towable recreational vehicle, that:

a.

Is transportable on a highway in one or more sections; and

b.

Is less than 40 feet in length, excluding tow bar, while in the traveling mode; and

c.

Is built on a permanent chassis; and

d.

Is designed to be used as a dwelling or for commercial purposes if connected to required utilities; and

e.

Includes plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical systems.

3.

A "recreational vehicle" is a vehicle that has or resembles one or more of the following characteristics:

a.

A vehicle that is self-propelled or towable by a private passenger car, truck, or van, that is designed to be used as a portable dwelling for use during casual travel or camping (e.g., camper trailers, pop-up trailers, casitas, motor-homes, RVs, fifth-wheels, travel trailers, pick-up coaches, etc.); or

b.

Watercraft of any type, and its furnishings, equipment, engines or motors, and its accompanying trailer.

Story. That portion of building, other than a basement, included between the surface of any floor, and the surface of the floor next above it; or if there be no floor above it, then the space between the floor and the ceiling next above it.

Street. A public thoroughfare which affords the principal means of access to abutting properties.

Structure. Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires permanent location on the ground or attachment to something having a permanent location on the ground, including, but without limiting, the general inclusiveness of the foregoing, advertising signs, billboards, poster boards and pergolas.

Structural alterations. Any change of the supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls, partitions, columns, beams or girders, or any complete rebuilding of the roof or the exterior walls.

Trailer. Any structure used for sleeping, business or storage purposes, having no foundation other than wheels, skids, jacks, horses, or skirtings and which is, has been or reasonably may be equipped with wheels or other devices for transporting the structure from place to place whether by motive power or other means. The term "trailer" shall include camp car and house car. For the purposes of this ordinance, a trailer is a single-family dwelling and shall conform to all regulations therefor when not located in a trailer camp or park as herein defined.

Trailer camp or trailer park. A lot or tract of land and facilities and accommodations as are provided by the day, week, month or for a longer period of time, for or without compensation, for two or more trailers when such trailers are being used for human habitation.

Tourist court (auto courts, motels or motor lodges). A group of attached, semidetached, or detached buildings containing individual sleeping or living units, designed for or used temporarily for automobile tourists or transients, with garage attached or providing space conveniently located to each unit and offering to the public daily as well as other longer-term rental rates, and containing a register of guests and/or their vehicles.

Use by right. A use or activity that qualifies under the section will be allowed as a matter of right in that zoning district, subject to all other applicable zoning standards in the zoning code and Code of Ordinance requirements.

Utility trailer. A vehicular structure or device with or without its own mode of power, licensed or unlicensed, designed and/or used for the transportation of goods or materials.

Variance. An authorized deviation from the property development standards for the applicable zoning district where development is proposed that would not be contrary to the public interest and, due to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of the code would result in unnecessary hardship, and so that the spirit of the code is observed and substantial justice done.

Wood. Any organic or engineered wood material used for construction, excluding logs.

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

Yard, front. A yard extending across the front of a lot between the side yard lines, and being the minimum horizontal distance between the street line and the main building or any projection thereof other than closed balconies or open porch.

Yard, rear. A yard extending across the rear of a lot, measured between the side lot lines, and being the minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the rear of the main building or any projections other than steps, unenclosed balconies or unenclosed porches. On corner lots the rear yard shall be considered as parallel to the street upon which the lot has its least dimension. On both corner lots and interior lots the rear yard shall in all cases be at the opposite end of a lot from the front yard.

Yard, side. A yard between the main building and the side line of the lot, and extending from the front lot line to the rear yard line.

(Ord. No. 14-2013, § 2, 3-11-13; Ord. No. 21-2014, § 6, 3-24-14; Ord. No. 08-2015, § 3, 4-13-15; Ord. No. 09-2015, § 3, 4-13-15; Ord. No. 06-2015, § 3, 5-11-15; Ord. No. 33-2015, §§ 2, 3, 10-12-15; 35-2015, § 3, 10-12-15; Ord No. 02-2016, § 3, 1-25-16; Ord. No. 32-2016, § 2, 3, 9-26-16; Ord. No. 21-2017, § 3, 12-18-17; Ord. No. 11-2020, § 2, 3-9-20)