The zoning regulations and districts as herein established have been made in furtherance of a plan, the purpose of which is to promote the heath, safety, morals and general welfare of the City of Palmhurst. They have been designated to lessen the congestion in the streets, to secure safety from fire, panic and other dangers; to avoid undue concentration of population; to facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, playgrounds and other public requirements. They have been established with due and reasonable consideration for the character of the districts, their suitability for particular uses and with a view of conserving the value of property and encouraging the most appropriate use of the land throughout the city.

(Ord. No. 43, § 1, 1-20-1993)

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Accessory means a subordinate use of building customarily incident at the location on the same lot within the main building or use.

Alley means a public thoroughfare not over 30 feet in width.

Apartment means a room or suite of rooms in an apartment house arranged, designated and occupied as the residence of an individual or family.

Apartment house means a building or portion thereof arranged, designed, or occupied by three or more individuals or families, living independently of each other.

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

Depth of lot means the mean horizontal distance between the front lot lines and rear lot lines.

Depth of rear yard means the mean horizontal distance between the rear line of a building other than an accessory building and the rear lot line.

Family means 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.

Front yard means an open unoccupied space on the same lot with a building, between the building and the front line of the lot.

Height. The height of a building or portion of a building shall be measured from the average established grade at the street lot line, or from the average natural ground level, if higher, and if no street grade has been established, to the highest point of the roof's surface if a flat surface; to the deck line of mansard roofs, and to the main height level between eaves and ridge for hip and gable roofs. In measuring the height of a building the following structures shall be excluded: chimneys, cooling towers, elevator bulkhead, penthouses, tanks, water tower, radio towers, television aerials, ornamental cupolas, domes, signs, spires and parapet walls not exceeding four feet in height.

Hotel means a building occupied as the more or less temporary abiding place of individuals who are lodged with or without meals, in which, as a room, and the rooms are occupied singly for hire, in which provisions is not made for cooking in any individual apartment, and in which there are more than 12 sleeping rooms.

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

Lot line, when used to designate the front lot line, means the line of said lot and the easement for street or alley purposes.

Matching-Equivalent-Similar (MES) business means a proposed business that matches, is equivalent to, and is similar to another existing business that is within the corporate limits of Palmhurst, Texas and would be within 1,800 feet from each other. The 1,800-foot distance shall be measured in a straight line, without regard to the intervening structures or objects; from the nearest portion of the existing business building and the nearest portion of the proposed MES business' building (whether said MES building is existing or "yet to-be-built").

Mobile home means a structure designed for human habitation and for being pulled or drawn by motor vehicle.

One-family dwelling means a detached building having accommodation for and occupied by one family.

Private garage means a garage with a capacity for not more than three motor-driven vehicles, for storage only, for private use, and in which not more than space for one vehicle shall be rented to persons not occupants of the premises, In a residence B district, a garage may provide space for the storage of one motor-driven vehicle for each apartment for which the building is arranged or designed.

Public garage means any premises used for the storage, housing or care of a motor-driven vehicle for each apartment for which the building is arranged or designed.

Rear yard means a space occupied by a building or accessory use, as hereinbefore permitted, extending the full width of the lot between a building other than a building of accessory use and the rear lot line. Where there is no alley, the depth of the rear yard may be considered to extend to the center of the alley.

Side yard means an open unoccupied space on the same lot with a building other than a building of accessory use between the building and the side line of the lot and extending from the front yard to the rear yard. Any portion of a lot not a front yard or a rear yard shall be deemed a side yard.

Story means that portion of a building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above, or if there is no floor above, then the space between such floor and the ceiling.

Structural alteration means any change in the supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls, columns, beams or girders.

Tourist camp; motel or motor court means a building or group of buildings designed, arranged, or used for temporary occupancy by persons traveling by automobile in close proximity to the quarters occupied by the owner of the automobile, and providing for three or more such quarters.

Two-family dwelling means a detached building having separate accommodations for and occupied as a dwelling by two families.

Width of side yard means the main horizontal distance between a side wall or a building other than a building of accessory use and the side lien of the lot.

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

(Ord. No. 43, § 18, 1-20-1993; Ord. No. 44, § 12, 1-20-1993; Ord. No. 01-28-2025, § 4, 1-28-2025; Ord. No. 58-2, § 1, 4-15-2025)

The terms and requirements of this chapter shall be applicable not only to all land lying within the boundaries of the city but also to all land lying within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city.

(Ord. No. 43, § 19, 1-20-1993)

Upon enlargement of the city limits, whereby new areas are incorporated within the city limits, unless it is otherwise provided in the ordinance incorporating same, such new area shall, ipso facto, have the same classification as to use and area, and be zoned in accordance with the area adjacent thereto, and where same is adjacent and contiguous to more than one area of different use and area classification, shall be zoned and classified in accordance with the areas having the longest common boundary line with the new territory so added.

(Ord. No. 43, § 16, 1-20-1993; Ord. No. 44, § 10, 1-20-1993)