This chapter shall be known and may be cited as "The City of Princeton Zoning Ordinance."

Zoning regulations and districts are herein established in accordance with a comprehensive plan for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, morals and general welfare of the citizens of the city. They are designed to lessen congestion in the streets; to secure safety from fire, panic, and other dangers; to provide adequate light and air; to prevent the overcrowding of land, and to avoid undue concentration of population; to facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, wastewater, schools, parks and other public requirements. They have been established with reasonable consideration for the character of each district and its peculiar suitability for the particular uses specified; and with a view to conserving the value of buildings and encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the city.

(a)

Zoning district boundaries delineated on zoning district map. The boundaries of the zoning districts set out herein are delineated upon the zoning district map of the City of Princeton, Texas, said map being hereby adopted as part of this chapter as fully as if the same were set forth herein in detail.

(b)

Regulations for maintaining zoning district map.

(1)

Two original, official and identical copies of the zoning district map are hereby adopted bearing the signature of the mayor and attestation of the city secretary and shall be filed and maintained as follows:

(2)

One copy shall be filed with the city secretary, to be retained as the original record and shall not be changed in any manner.

(3)

One copy shall be filed with the city manager or his/her designee and shall be maintained up-to-date by posting thereon all changes and subsequent amendments for observation in issuing building permits and for enforcing the zoning ordinance. A written record (logbook) shall be kept by the city manager or his/her designee of all changes made to the zoning district map.

(4)

Reproductions of the official zoning district map may be made for information purposes.

(a)

Rules for determining district boundaries. The district boundary lines shown on the zoning district map are usually along streets, alleys, property lines, or extensions thereof. Where uncertainty exists as to the boundaries of districts as shown on the official zoning map, the following rules shall apply.

(1)

Boundaries indicated as approximately following streets, highways or alleys shall be construed to follow the centerline of such street, highway or alley. Boundaries indicated as approximately following platted lot lines shall be construed as following such lines.

(2)

Boundaries indicated as approximately following city limits shall be construed as following city limits.

(3)

Boundaries indicated as following railroad or utility lines shall be construed to be the centerline of the right-of-way; if no centerline is established, the boundary shall be interpreted to be midway between the right-of-way.

(4)

Whenever a street, alley or other public way is vacated by official action of the city council, or whenever a street or alley area is franchised for building purposes, the zoning district line adjoining each side of such street, alley or other public way shall be automatically extended to the centerline of such vacated street, alley or way, and all areas so involved shall then and henceforth be subject to all regulations of the extended districts.

(5)

Where physical features of the ground are at variance with information shown on the official zoning district map, or if there arises a question as to how a parcel of property is zoned and such question cannot be resolved by the application of subsection (a), or the zoning property is invalidated by a final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, the property shall be considered as classification A - Agricultural district, temporarily. In an area determined to be temporarily classified as A - Agricultural district, no person shall construct, add or alter any building or structure or cause the sale to be done, nor shall any use be located therein or on the land which is not permitted in an A - Agricultural district, unless and until such territory has been zoned to permit such use by the city council. It shall be the duty of the city council to determine a permanent zoning for such area as soon as practicable.

(a)

Permanent zoning concurrent with annexation. An area or areas being annexed to the City of Princeton shall ordinarily be given permanent zoning concurrently with the annexation.

(b)

Temporary classification. In instances in which the zoning of an annexed territory concurrently with the annexation is impractical, the annexed territory shall be temporarily classified as Agricultural (A). the procedure for establishing permanent zoning on annexed territory shall conform to the procedure established by law for the adoption of original zoning regulations.

(c)

Regulations in areas temporarily classified. Until permanent zoning is established by the planning and zoning commission and approved by the city council, the regulations shall follow the requirements outlined in this chapter regarding that classification.

(a)

Compliance with zoning regulations required. All land, buildings, structures or appurtenances thereon located within the City of Princeton which are hereafter occupied, used, erected, altered, removed, placed, demolished or converted shall be occupied, used, erected, altered, removed, placed, demolished or converted in conformance with the zoning regulations prescribed for the zoning district in which such land or building is located as hereinafter provided.

(b)

Building permits prohibited without plat. No permit for the construction of placement of a building or buildings upon any tract or plot shall be issued unless the plot or tract is part of a plat of record, properly approved by the planning and zoning commission and city council and filed in the plat records of county or counties in which the plot or tract is located.

(c)

Exclusions. Nothing herein contained shall require any change in the plans, construction or designated use of a building under construction at the time of the passage of this chapter and which entire building shall be completed within one year from the date of passage of this chapter.

(d)

One main building on a lot or tract. Only one main building for one-family or two-family use with permitted accessory buildings may be located upon a lot or tract. Every dwelling shall face or front upon a public street or approved place other than an alley. Where a lot is used for retail and dwelling purposes, more than one main building may be located upon the lot but only when such buildings conform to all the open space, parking and density requirements applicable to the uses and districts. Whenever two or more main buildings or portions thereof are placed upon a single lot or tract and such buildings will not face upon a public street, the same may be permitted when the site plan for such development is approved by the city council. No parking area, storage area or required open space for one building shall be computed as being open space, yard or area requirements for any other dwelling or other use.

(e)

Architectural standards—Residential and nonresidential.

(1)

[Standards applicable.] These standards shall apply, except where otherwise indicated, to all new residential and nonresidential construction and remodeling and/or rebuilding of existing residential and nonresidential buildings as may be defined in other city ordinances or standards in all zoning districts within the corporate city limits.

(2)

Architectural design. Compliance with architectural design standards shall be a condition of either building construction plans, site plan, preliminary/final plat, or general development requirements.

(3)

Construction materials. The use of unfinished concrete blocks or unfinished tilt wall panels to meet the masonry requirement is prohibited from use unless they are textured. All exterior finishes must meet the Princeton masonry requirements, in subsection (e).

(4)

Masonry requirements. All structures shall be constructed with a minimum of 80 percent masonry coverage (excluding the total window area), except as noted in this subsection. All permanent structures shall be compatible in architectural style, including the use of brick, Austin stone, cast stone, stucco, textured tilt wall construction, or other textured masonry surface approved by the planning and zoning commission and the city council. The remaining 20 percent of exterior finishing materials shall complement the building design and masonry materials used. Any deviation of less than the 80 percent masonry coverage shall require approval of a variance from the zoning board of adjustment, only after finding that the spirit of this chapter is not compromised. Manufactured homes are exempted from the masonry requirements. Exterior walls may not be constructed with metal siding. Structures with sides facing a thoroughfare as identified on the city master thoroughfare plan shall be required to have 100 percent masonry installed on the side facing the thoroughfare.

(5)

Windows. Windows shall be consistent with the design and construction of the building. Total window area shall meet the current International Energy Conservation Code requirements.

(6)

Roof design and materials. Sloped, gabled or pitched roofs visible from a public street shall be made of 30-year composite shingles, slate, or pre-finished metal or other quality roofing materials. Colors shall be consistent with subsection (f).

(7)

Awnings/canopies. The use of decorative awnings/canopies is permitted, provided all awnings are designed to be compatible with the structure on which they are located. Awnings and canopies shall be of a consistent pattern, size, shape, material and shall be consistent with or complementary to construction of the building and approved with site plan approval in nonresidential developments.

(8)

Archways. Archways may be used in conjunction with doorways or windows and shall have an architectural style consistent with the basic design.

(9)

Exterior lighting. Lighting fixtures shall be of a design complementary to the building illumination shall be compatible with surrounding development.

(10)

Utility equipment and gutters. Utility equipment and gutters shall be constructed of quality materials and consistent with the design and color of the primary structure. Utility equipment (e.g., rooftop air conditioning units, meters, etc.) shall be screened from public view and utility access will be underground (e.g., telephone, electric cables) in nonresidential and residential developments.

(11)

Health standards. All situations involving health regulations (food preparation, related equipment) shall be in accordance to the applicable International Building Code and the Food Establishment Rules set forth by Collin County Health Authority or the city's appointed official.

(12)

Trash receptacles. Guidelines for metal and/or commercial/industrial trash receptacle screening:

a.

Refuse enclosures shall be screened from public view on all four sides with an eight-foot solid, opaque screen of either masonry, landscaping treatment or other compatible building or landscape material.

b.

Trash receptacle areas should not be placed in an area along a public street. Such areas should be located to allow for convenient access by refuse vehicles.

c.

When located in a highly visible area, trash receptacle screening walls should be softened with landscape materials on earth berms.

d.

Screening doors on the enclosure should be finished with a high quality material and durable finish and shall be consistent with or complementary to construction of the building.

(13)

Sign design. The design of a sign shall complement the architectural design of the nonresidential building, and shall be included in the color rendering required in subsection (e). The design and placement shall follow the City of Princeton Sign Ordinance.

(14)

Procedure for determining alternative exterior materials and design.

a.

Exceptions to the material requirements may be permitted on a case-by-case basis. All requests for alternative exterior building materials and architectural design shall be noted and described on a site plan with elevation drawings to be submitted to the planning and zoning commission for recommendation to the city council for final approval. If requested by the city, an elevation drawing indicating architectural design elements or a sample of the material may be required to be submitted with the site plan.

b.

The planning and zoning commission and city council may approve an alternative exterior material if it is determined it is equivalent or better than masonry according to the criteria listed in subsection (e), masonry requirements.

c.

Consideration for exceptions to the above requirements shall be based only on the following:

1.

Architectural design and creativity.

2.

Compatibility with surrounding developed properties.

(15)

Residential repetition of elevation and floor plan. Unless otherwise approved by the zoning administrator, the following residential design standards shall be followed:

a.

A minimum of seven platted residential lots must be skipped on the same side and four lots must be skipped on the opposite side of a street before rebuilding the same single family residential unit with an identical (or nearly identical) street elevation design. Identical or nearly identical street elevation design means little or no variation in the articulation of the facade, height or width of facade, placement of the primary entrances, porches, number and placement of windows, and other major architectural feature.

b.

The identical (or nearly identical) floor plan shall not be repeated on neighboring, side by side lots or directly across the street.

(f)

Nonresidential architectural style elements. These style elements provide a pallet of architectural elements that would be considered conforming to the intent of the architectural design standards as they relate to nonresidential developments.

(1)

Conforming architectural design. A site plan where new buildings are to be constructed on a site development with existing buildings shall complement the overall design and incorporate as many of the architectural elements of existing buildings as reasonable.

(2)

Color. The primary exterior color of buildings shall be comprised of earth tones and shall be used on at least 85 percent of that building facade (except glass area). Masonry materials such as stone, rock and brick are encouraged. Secondary accent colors may be used on up to 15 percent of the exterior facade and shall complement the base color. Colors shall be specifically approved on building elevations submitted as part of the general development requirements.

(3)

Nonconforming architectural design. Site plans where the primary elements of the buildings on site are not consistent with the nonresidential architectural design standards shall require approval of the city council with a recommendation by the planning and zoning commission. Consideration for approval will be in the form of a variance request in writing demonstrating the need for said variance. The following shall be used as a guide for considering variance requests:

a.

That special conditions and circumstances exist which are particular to the land, structure or building being proposed, which is not applicable to other land, structures or buildings.

b.

That literal interpretations of the provisions of these standards would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other properties using the same standards.

c.

That special conditions and circumstances do not result from the actions of the applicant.

d.

That granting the variance request will not confer on the applicant any special privileges that are denied by these standards to other lands, structures or buildings.

e.

No nonconforming structures or buildings shall be considered grounds for the issuance of a variance.

f.

Financial hardships shall not be considered grounds for the issuance of a variance.

(g)

Landscaping and fencing. The following requirements shall be satisfied prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for residential use.

(1)

Fence requirement:

a.

Each lot within a residential planned development shall construct a six-foot fence of approved material within the required side and back yard, measured at the adjacent grade. No fence shall be constructed within the required front yard or beyond the front building line, unless approved elsewhere in this chapter. Fences shall follow the city's fence ordinance as is exists or subsequently amended, and shall be constructed with steel posts.

b.

Each lot within a residential or nonresidential development that adjoins a different zoning district shall be required to construct the required fencing or wall separating the zoning districts. The required fencing or wall shall be constructed at the time of the development, unless otherwise approved by the city council.

c.

Applicability table:

(2)

Grass. The required front, side and rear yards shall be sodded, plugged, sprigged hydro-mulched or seeded, except that solid sod shall be used in swales, or when necessary to prevent erosion. Grass areas shall be established with complete coverage within a six-month period from time of plantings, and shall be re-established, if necessary, to ensure grass coverage of all areas.

(3)

Irrigation. An automatic underground irrigation, sprinkler or other water system outfitted with a rain and freeze detector shall be provided for the required front and side yards.

(4)

Landscaping. A minimum landscaping along the front building line shall include ground covering, shrubs, perennial plantings that shall be approved at time of final plat submissions.

(5)

Tree planting. The following tree planting requirements shall be satisfied prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for all residential zoned lots:

a.

A minimum of one tree, with a minimum caliper width of two inches and at least eight feet in height, shall be provided on each residential lot. At least one tree shall be located in the required front yard.

b.

Trees utilized to satisfy this requirement must be selected from the tree pallet located in the city's landscaping ordinance, as it may be amended. (Ordinance No. 2008-05-13)

(h)

Drainage regulations. Refer to the Princeton Design Standards for stormwater drainage and flood control design provisions.

(i)

Parkland dedication. See City of Princeton Parkland Dedication Ordinance, as currently amended.

(Ord. No. 2018-09-24, § 2, 9-24-2018)