For the purpose of this Chapter, the following words and terms as used herein are defined to mean the following:

Words used in the present tense include the future; words in the singular number include the plural number; the 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 discretionary.

Accessory structure or use means a subordinate building having a use customarily incidental to and located on the lot occupied by the main building; or a use that is customarily incident to the main use of the property. A building housing an accessory use is considered an integral part of the main building when it has any part of a wall in common with the main building, or structure or is under an extension of the main roof and designed as an integral part of the main building. Such as detached garage, carports, storage structure, workshops, studios, greenhouse, guesthouse, and gazebos. The main or primary building or structure must be in place and constructed, or under construction on the site before an application for an "accessory structure" will be considered and allowed.

Alley means a minor way which is used primarily for vehicular service access to the back or side of properties otherwise abutting on a street.

Alteration means any addition, removal, extension, or change in the location of any exterior wall of a main building or accessory building.

Amusement center means an amusement center is a business wherein there are located machines which require the deposit of money therein to be activated for an individual's entertainment, and from which said business establishment derives fifty percent (50%) or more of its gross income.

Amusement Redemption Machine means any electronic, electromechanical, or mechanical contrivance designed, made, and adapted solely for bona fide amusement purposes if the contrivance rewards the player exclusively with noncash merchandise prizes, toys, or novelties, or a representation of value redeemable for those items, that have a wholesale value available from a single play of the game or device of not more than 10 times the amount charged to play the game or device once or $5.00, whichever is less.

Amusement Redemption Machine Premises or Amusement Redemption Machine Establishment means any business location that has more than three (3) Amusement Redemption Machines is subject to their gross receipts being audited by the officials of the City to determine whether or not fifty percent (50%) or more of their income is derived from said machines, then said business shall be declared an Amusement Redemption Machine Establishment.

Amusement Redemption Machine Specific Use Permit means a permit to operate an Amusement Redemption Machine Establishment.

Apartment means a room or a suite of rooms within an apartment house arranged, intended or designed for a place of residence of a single family or group of individuals living together as a single housekeeping unit.

Apartment house means a building or portion thereof arranged, intended or designed for three (3) or more families or housekeeping units living independently of each other.

Bar means any commercial establishment that derives fifty-one percent (51%) or more of its annual gross sales receipts from the sale of alcoholic beverages as defined by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code and has a valid on-premises consumption license issued by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

Bedroom means a room designed with the intent to be used for sleeping purposes, or a room that may be capable of being used for sleeping purposes and that has privacy from other areas of the dwelling.

Boat Slip is a designated area in a marina or along a dock and over water for the tying up or for storage of a boat, similar to a parking area for a boat or vessel.

Building means an enclosed structure, anchored to permanent foundation, and having exterior or party walls and a roof, designed for the shelter of persons, animals or property. When divided by other than common contiguous walls, each portion or section of such building shall be regarded as a separate building, except that two (2) buildings connected by a breezeway shall be deemed as one building.

Condominium means the separate ownership of single units or apartments in a multiple unit structure or structures with common elements. (as defined by the Texas Property Code)

Convenience storage facilities means a masonry structure which is partitioned into small sections for the purpose of renting individual storage rooms to individuals or corporations for the purpose of storing belongings but from which there will be no general storage business or warehousing business operated or any other type of business operation.

Customary home occupations means occupations ordinarily carried on in a home that are not detrimental or injurious to adjoining property. Any use or activity conducted entirely within a dwelling by the residents thereof, which is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling for residential purposes and does not create customer and/or client traffic and does not change the character of the neighborhood.

Dental Clinics means a facility that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body.

Depth of Lot means the mean horizontal distance between the front and the 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 center line of the alley where an alley exists, otherwise the rear lot line.

District means a section of the City for which the regulations governing the area, height and use of buildings are uniform.

Dock is a structure extending alongshore or out from the shore into a body of water, to which boats may be moored. The term "dock" includes the anchoring system and any walkways or bridges that will attach to the structure itself, a pier, a floating dock, or other similar structure. A dock may not include habitable space or living quarters or other elements not necessary to the function of a dock, such as space conditioning, or toilet.

Dwelling means a building or portion thereof, designed exclusively for residential occupancy, including one-family, two-family and multiple family structures, boarding and lodging houses, apartment houses, but not hotels, house trailers or mobile homes.

Dwelling, Multi-Family means a building intended or designed as a residence for more than one (1) family or housekeeping units living independently of each other.

Dwelling, One-Family means a detached building arranged, intended or designed for occupancy by one (1) family.

Dwelling, Two-Family means a building arranged, intended or designed for occupancy by two (2) families.

Family means any number of individuals living together as a single housekeeping unit, whether related or unrelated, living together as the functional equivalent of a family, sharing household responsibilities and activities, in which each resident has access to all parts of the dwelling, are a close group with social, economic, and psychological commitments to each other, as distinguished from a group occupying a boarding house or hotel.

Family does not include larger institutional group living, situations such as dormitories, fraternities, sororities, monasteries, convents, residential care facilities or military barracks, nor does it include such commercial group living like transient renters, boardinghouses, lodging houses and similar situations.

Food Establishment means an operation that stores, prepares, packages, serves, or otherwise provides food for human consumption such as: food service establishment, a retail food store, a satellite or catered feeding location, a temporary food establishment, a mobile food unit, a roadside vendor, a catering operation if the operation provides food directly to a consumer or to a private conveyance uses to transport people. The words "food service establishment" shall mean any place where food is prepared and intended for individual portion service or any site at which individual portions of food are provided, including retail restaurant, food store, bars, night clubs, saloon, cantinas, taverns, pubs, bakeries, schools, daycares, continental breakfast (hotel/motel), catering establishments, commissary, delicatessen-type operations that prepares sandwiches intended for individual portion, a grocery store that serves food, a group residence, a bed and breakfast where consumption is on or off the premises, or any operation that is conducted from a mobile unit. The term applies regardless of whether there is a charge for food. The term does not include private homes where food is prepared or served for individual family consumption, or a private home if only food that is not potentially hazardous is prepared for sale or service at a function, such as a religious or charitable organization's bake sale, food served at the location of food vending machines and supply vehicles. It shall not matter for all food establishments whether there is a charge for the food.

Front-of-building area means that area located between the front property line and the building facade and extending from side property line to side property line.

Front Yard means a yard across the full width of the lot from the front line of the main building to the front line of the lot.

Garage means an accessory building principally for storage of motor vehicles.

Garbage, Garbage Container Locations, Garbage Container Requirements means all development over the occupancy of a four-plex and all commercial development must dedicate a space within its development plans to locate and maintain a garbage container. The space designated for the location of the garbage container cannot be located in the public right-of-way, cannot be located in the front-yard setback, and cannot diminish and/or occupy areas designated for parking. It is further required that all garbage containers and the area designated for its location must be enclosed and/or screened from the public's view.

General Hospital means the term "general hospital" means any establishment offering services, facilities, and beds for use for more than twenty-four (24) hours for two (2) or more unrelated individuals requiring diagnosis, treatment, or care for illness, injury, deformity, abnormality, or pregnancy, and regularly maintains, at a minimum, clinical laboratory services, diagnostic X-ray services, treatment facilities including surgery or obstetrical care or both, and other definitive medical or surgical treatment of similar extent.

Grade or Grade Plane means ground level or a reference plane representing the average finish grade level adjoining the building at exterior walls, or the average level of the finished ground at the center of all walls to a building.

Gross Floor Area means the gross floor area of a building shall be measured by taking outside dimensions of the building at each floor, excluding the floor area of basements or attics when not occupied as living quarters.

Hardship in the context of a variance request in this Chapter refers to a situation where a property owner faces significant difficulties or challenges in complying with the existing regulations for reasons beyond their control. These reasons could include unique physical or geographical conditions, or other factors that make it difficult for the property owner to conform to the existing law. All requests for variances must be supported by strong evidence and a compelling argument to justify the variance.

Height means 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, to the highest point of the roof's surface if a flat surface; to the deck line of mansard measuring the height of a building, the following structures shall be excluded: chimneys, cooling towers, radio towers, ornamental cupolas, domes or spires, elevator penthouses, tanks, water towers and parapet walls not exceeding four (4) feet in height.

Hotels and Motels means a building occupied or used as a more or less temporary abiding place of individuals or groups of individuals who are lodged, with or without meals, and in which there are more than twelve (12) sleeping rooms, and no provisions for cooking in individual rooms.

Impound Lot means a garage, parking lot, or any other facility or area having the capacity to hold vehicles; which is owned or operated by any person other than a governmental entity; and the primary purpose of which is the involuntary storage of vehicles (i.e., towed vehicles).

Institution means a building occupied by a non-profit corporation or non-profit establishment for public use.

Landscaping/Landscaping Material means shall consist of live plant materials that achieve a minimum of 80% coverage of the required dedicated area within one year of planting.

Laundromat means a business establishment wherein there are washing and drying machines being used by the general public by the deposit of money therein and wherein they can cause wearing apparel and other personal items to be laundered.

Linen Cabinet a stand-alone structure that allows for the storage of linens and as a drop-off location for service companies to replace soiled linens for clean, pressed linens.

Lot means land occupied or to be occupied by a building and its accessory buildings, and including such open spaces as are required under this Ordinance, and having its principal frontage upon a public street or officially approved place.

Lot Front Line means the line of an interior lot which is adjacent to the street. On corner lots, it is the prolongation of the front lot line of adjacent interior lots as originally platted.

Lot Lines means the lines bounding a lot as defined herein.

Lot Rear Line means the boundary line which is opposite and most distant from the front lot line.

Lot Corner means a lot abutting upon two (2) or more streets at their intersection. A corner lot shall be deemed to front on that street on which it has its least dimension, unless otherwise specified by the building inspector.

Nightclub means any business holding a mixed beverage permit from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission or the appropriate State agency.

Non-Conforming Uses means a building or premises occupied by a use that does not conform to the regulations of the use in the district in which it is situated.

Non-Residential Uses means any uses other than a residential use. In calculating number of parking spaces, the category of non-residential uses does not include "storage/warehousing" that is freestanding and separate from other uses, and also not include "outdoor amusement or theme park" establishments.

Open Spaces means area included in any side, rear or front yard of a lot other than the building space which is measured as the outside dimensions of the floor area of the building. Therefore, in determining the percent of coverage of buildings allowed on a lot, the projections of the buildings, such as eaves, cornices, porches, stairways, carports, etc., are considered as site/land open spaces and not building space.

Parking, Parking Requirements, Off-Street Parking. All parking requirements of a building or premises, must be provided on the same property for which the building permit is issued, and the same may not be located on any property that is not contiguous and joined to the building site, unless the requirements for off-site parking in Section 20-14(A)(6) are complied with and a permit for an off-premises or off-site parking lot has been approved in accordance with the requirements of Section 20-14(A)(6). All parking areas, and access thereto must be of a concrete or asphalt surface. All parking lot construction shall conform to Article 2, Section 2.18, Parking Lots, of the Standards and Specifications for the Acceptance of Public Improvements for the City of South Padre Island, Texas.

Permanent makeup means permanent cosmetics, derma-pigmentation, micropigmentation, and cosmetic tattooing.

Permitee means a person in whose name a Specific Use Permit to operate an Amusement Redemption Machine Premise has been issued.

Persons means the word "person" shall, for the purpose of this ordinance, mean every person, firm, co-partnership, association, partnership, corporation or society; and the term "person" shall include both singular and plural and the masculine shall embrace the feminine gender.

Places of Worship means a facility principally used for people to gather together for public worship, religious training, or other religious activities. This use does not include home meetings or other religious activities conducted in a privately occupied residence.

Planned Development District means any separate zoning district created pursuant to the provisions of Section 20-23 of the City of South Padre Island Zoning Ordinance.

Planned Unit Development means any master-planned real estate development, encompassing one or more authorized land uses, which is created pursuant to Section 20-23 of this Chapter.

Primary Care Physician's Office means is a facility which provides both the first contact for a person with an undiagnosed health concern as well as continuing care of varied medical conditions, not limited by cause, organ system, or diagnosis.

Public facility means any property owned and/or operated by the City of South Padre Island or any governmental entity.

Public Service Facility means a building, structure, or group thereof, which is intended to be used as, or perform as, a public utility, is considered to be and is defined as a "public service facility." Electrical power plants, electrical power distribution substations, any form of antennas or towers twelve (12) feet or greater in height, water and sewer treatment plants or pumping stations, sewage lift stations, and other similar public service structures are examples of "public service facilities." "A public service facility" may be publicly or privately owned, and may be regulated by the state, municipality, or other governmental agency; the primary purpose of such a facility is to provide to the public electrical, gas, transport, communications, water, sewage, and other such services. The erection, construction, alteration, operation or maintenance of a "public service facility" is regulated by this Ordinance; however, all underground facilities and mains or minor above ground facilities such as electrical transformers, sewer cleanouts, cable T.V. connection boxes, antennas or towers less than twelve (12) feet in height, water meters, and the like are exempt from this definition.

Recreational Center means a building which is totally enclosed, both with ceilings and walls, within which there is located facilities for the conduct of sports and other related recreational activities and there may be located outdoor swimming pools directly adjacent to said enclosed facilities and which are an integral part of the main facility. Any recreational center may also have located within the sport facilities a pro shop wherein items are sold in connection with sports and recreational activities, a nursery to care for the children of the participants, and a beauty shop for the participants located therein.

Rear Yard means a yard between the rear lot line and the rear line of the main building and the side lot lines.

Side-of-building-area means for corner lots, that area located between the street side property line and the building façade extended from the front of building area to the rear property line.

Side Yard means a yard between the main building and the adjacent side line of the lot, and extending entirely from the front yard to the rear yard.

Special Hospital means the term "special hospital" means any establishment offering services, facilities, and beds for use for more than twenty-four (24) hours for two (2) or more unrelated individuals who are regularly admitted, treated, and discharged and who require services more intensive than room, board, personal services, and general nursing care, and has clinical laboratory facilities, diagnostic X-ray facilities, treatment facilities, or other definitive medical treatment, has a medical staff in regular attendance, and maintains records of the clinical work performed for each patient.

Street means any public thoroughfare dedicated to the public and not designated as an alley.

Story means that portion of a building between the upper surface of any floor and the upper surface of the floor next above it, or if there be no floor above it, then the space between such floor and the ceiling next above or the roof. A story is measured as the vertical distance from top to top of two successive tiers of beams or finished floor surfaces and, for the topmost, from the top of the floor finish to the top of the ceiling joists or, where there is not a ceiling, to the top of the roof rafters.

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

Substance Abuse Treatment Facility may be any facility that offers treatment for persons with chemical dependency and conforms to license requirements of the Texas Health and Safety Code. This definition of Substance Abuse Treatment Facility shall include faith-based chemical dependency treatment programs that are exempt from licensure by the Texas Department of Health. This definition of Substance Abuse Treatment Facility does not include hospital narcotic drug detoxification treatment.

T-Pole is a temporary pole with power connected that shall be permitted only temporarily to allow a contractor a temporary source of power and only during construction. A T-Pole shall not be allowed alone without ongoing construction and shall be allowed temporarily only during construction on the same site. A T-Pole shall be set in the ground a minimum of four (4) feet, solidly tamped, and project a minimum of twelve (12) feet out of the ground, unless otherwise approved by the Building Official. The T-Pole shall be set so that it will not be under or within ten (10) feet horizontally of other lines.

Tandem Parking means for single-family dwellings, two-family dwellings, Townhouses, and those multi-family developments of twelve (12) units or less which provide fully enclosed individual garages or carports or open uncovered parking for each dwelling unit, tandem parking spaces may be used as a design option in meeting the parking requirements of this Ordinance. The use of tandem parking shall meet the following requirements:

(a)

A tandem parking space shall be a minimum of nine (9) feet in width and thirty-six (36) feet in length, and shall count as the equivalent of two, regular parking spaces, with a minimum of nine (9) feet wide by eighteen (18) feet long per parking space.

(b)

Tandem parking spaces shall only be permitted for those multi-family projects of twelve (12) units or less in which individual fully enclosed garages or individual carports or individual open uncovered parking spaces are provided for each individual dwelling unit, and where each nine (9) foot by thirty-six (36) foot or larger tandem parking space whether covered or uncovered shall be dedicated to a specific dwelling unit by means of a restrictive covenant or condominium declaration, firmly binding the assignment of the clearly marked parking spaces to a specific dwelling unit in the project. A copy of the recorded document reflecting the book and page of the Cameron County Clerk's records where the document will be found shall be placed on file in the offices of the South Padre Island Planning and Building Department prior to the initiation of such tandem parking.

(c)

All tandem parking spaces shall be entirely located upon private property. No portion of any tandem parking space shall utilize the public right-of-way or other public property.

(d)

Tandem parking spaces shall be paved in either a concrete, asphalt, or paver block surface.

Townhouse means a Townhouse is a single-family dwelling unit constructed in a series or group of attached units with property lines separating such units.

Travel Trailer park means an area designed and used for the temporary occupation by automobile trailers and providing for one (1) or more of such quarters.

Tree means palm trees 5 trunk feet or greater; and evergreen trees, canopy/shade trees, ornamental trees having a minimum trunk caliper of three inches or more at planting, or a height of seven feet or more at planting as measured from the ground to the point at which the lowest branches sprout from the tree.

Urgent Care Centers provide walk-in, extended hour access for acute illness and injury care that is either beyond the scope or availability of the typical primary care practice or retail clinic.

Width of Side Yard means the horizontal distance between the side wall of a building which includes eaves, cornices, porches, stairways, carports or any projection of the building and the side line of the lot.

Yard means an open space of ground between a building and the adjoining lot lines, unoccupied and unobstructed by any portion of a structure from the ground upward, except as otherwise 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 least horizontal distance between the lot line and the main building shall be used.

(Ord. No. 2D, 6-16-1976; Ord. No. 2H, 10-20-1976; Ord. No. 77B, 7-1-1981)