(a)

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

(b)

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 use means a use subordinate to and incidental to the primary use of the main building or to the primary use of the premises.

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

Apartment means a room, or suite of rooms, in a multifamily dwelling or apartment house arranged, designed or occupied as a place of residence by a single-family, individual or group of individuals.

Apartment house means any building or portion thereof, which is designed, built, rented, leased or let to be occupied as three or more dwelling units or apartments or which is occupied as a home or place of residence by three or more families living in independent dwelling units.

Area of the lot means the net area of the lot and shall not include portions of streets and alleys.

Basement means a building story which is partly underground, but having at least one-half of its height above the average level of the adjoining ground. A basement shall be counted as a story in computing building height.

Block means an area enclosed by streets and occupied by or intended for buildings; or if said word is used as a term of measurement, it shall mean the distance along a side of a street between the nearest two streets which intersect said street on said side.

Board means zoning board of adjustment as provided for in section 140-342.

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

Brewery, distillery or winery means an establishment with a floor area of more than 15,000 square feet for the manufacture, blending, fermentation, processing, packaging and sale of alcoholic beverages (such as beer, ale, wine or spirits) that takes place wholly inside a building.

Building means any structure built for the support, shelter and enclosure of persons, animals, chattels or movable property of any kind. When subdivided in a manner sufficient to prevent the spread of fire, each portion so subdivided may be deemed a separate building.

Building ends means those sides of a building having the least dimension as compared to the front or rear of a building. As used herein for the building spacing regulations for a multiple-family dwelling, the term "building end" shall be interpreted as being the most narrow side of a building regardless of whether it fronts upon a street, faces the rear of the lot or is adjacent to the side lot line or another building.

Building line means a line parallel or approximately parallel to the street line at a specified distance therefrom making the minimum distance from the street line that a building may be erected.

Cellar means a building story with more than one-half its height below the average level of the adjoining ground. A cellar shall not be counted as a story in computing building height.

Central preparation facility/commissary means a facility that is an approved and permitted retail food establishment at which food is prepared, stored, and wrapped; and the mobile food unit is supplied with fresh water and ice; and emptied of waste water into a proper waste disposal system; and cleaned, including washing, rinsing, and sanitizing of those food-contact surfaces or items not capable of being immersed in the mobile food unit utensil-washing sink. Use of a private residence as a central preparation facility is prohibited.

Certificate of occupancy means an official certificate issued by the city through the enforcing official which indicates conformance with or approved conditional waiver from the zoning regulations and authorizes legal use of the premises for which it is issued.

City manager means the chief administrative officer of the city.

Clinic means a group of offices for one or more physicians, surgeons or dentists to treat sick or injured out-patients who do not remain overnight.

Convalescent home means any structure used for or customarily occupied by persons recovering from illness or suffering from infirmities of age.

Court means an open, unoccupied space, bounded on more than two sides by the walls of a building. An inner court is a court entirely surrounded by the exterior walls of a building. An outer court is a court having one side open to a street, alley, yard or other permanent space.

Coverage means the percent of a lot or tract covered by the roof or first floor of a building. Roof eaves to the extent of three feet from the walls of a building shall be excluded from coverage computations.

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

Dwelling, multiple-family, means any building or portion thereof, which is designed, built, rented, leased or let to be occupied as three or more dwelling units or apartments or which is occupied as a home or residence of three or more families.

Dwelling, one-family, means a detached building having accommodations for and occupied by not more than one family, or by one family and not more than three boarders and lodgers.

Dwelling, two-family, means a detached building having separate accommodations for and occupied by not more than two families, or by two families and not more than three boarders and lodgers.

Dwelling unit means a building, or portion of a building, which is arranged, occupied or intended to be occupied as living quarters and includes facilities for food preparation and sleeping.

Family means any number of individuals living together as a single housekeeping unit, in which not more than three individuals are unrelated by blood, marriage or adoption.

Floor area means the total square feet of floor space within the outside dimensions of a building, including each floor level, but excluding cellars, carports or garages.

Floor area ratio (FAR) means the ratio between the total square feet of floor area in a structure and the total square feet of land in the lot or tract on which the structure is located.

Food truck court means an area designed to accommodate two or more mobile food units and offering food and/or beverages for sale to the public as the primary use of the property; functioning as a single business.

Height means the vertical distance of a building measured from the average established grade at the street line or from the average natural front yard ground level, whichever is higher, to:

(1)

The highest point of the roofs surface if a flat surface;

(2)

To the deck line of mansard roofs; or

(3)

To the mean height level between eaves and ridge for hip and gable roofs and, in any event, excluding chimneys, cooling towers, elevator bulkheads, penthouses, tanks, water towers, radio towers, ornamental cupolas, domes or spires and parapet walls not exceeding ten feet in height.

If the street grade has not been officially established, the average front yard grade shall be used for a base level.

Legal height means the maximum height of a building permitted by any airport zoning ordinance or other ordinance restricting the height of structures.

Living unit means the room or rooms occupied by a family and must include cooking facilities.

Lodginghouse means a building where lodging for four or more persons is provided for compensation.

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 chapter and having its principal frontage upon a public street or officially approved place.

Lot coverage means the percentage of the total area of a lot occupied by the base (first story or floor) of buildings located on the lot or the area determined as the maximum cross sectional area of a building.

Lot depth means the mean distance between the front and rear lot lines (see appendix illustration 2.).

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

Lot of record means a lot which is part of a subdivision, the plat of which has been recorded in the office of the county clerk of the county or a parcel of land, the deed for which it is recorded in the office of the county clerk of the county prior to the adoption of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived.

Lot width means the width of a lot at the front building line. (See appendix illustration 1.)

Main building means the building, or buildings, on a lot which are occupied by the primary use.

Microbrewery, microdistillery, or winery means an establishment with a floor area of 15,000 square feet or less for the manufacture, blending, fermentation, processing, packaging and sale of alcoholic beverages (such as beer, ale, wine or spirits) that takes place wholly inside a building.

Nonconforming use means a building, structure or use of land lawfully occupied at the time of the effective date of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived or amendments thereto, and which does not conform to the use regulations of the district in which it is situated. (See section 140-277.)

Occupancy means the use or intended use of the land or buildings by proprietors or tenants.

Open space means the area included in any side, rear or front yard or any unoccupied space on the lot that is open and unobstructed to the sky, except for the ordinary projections of cornices, eaves, porches and plant material.

Parking space means an enclosed or unenclosed paved surface area of not less than 180 square feet, usually measuring nine feet by 20 feet or ten feet by 18 feet, connected to a paved private driveway aisle or access apron which, in turn, connects to a publicly maintained street or paved public alley. A paved surface on private property is further defined as being concrete, hot mix asphaltic concrete, cold mix limestone rock asphalt, or one or more courses of asphalt oil and rock aggregate on a flexible base, except any gravel or stone parking space and connecting driveway that was in existence prior to the adoption of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived is exempt. If an alley or a portion of an alley is to be paved, it shall be paved with concrete or hot mix asphaltic concrete in accordance with the city's minimum standards for residential streets. Any parking adjacent to a public street wherein the parking maneuver is done on the public street shall not be classified as off-street parking in computing the parking area requirements for any use. Any parking spaces adjacent to a paved public alley, with parking aprons as required to provide adequate width for the parking maneuver to be made on paved surface, will be classified as off-street parking spaces. All required off-street parking spaces shall be clearly marked with paint or some other permanent pavement marking material.

Planning and zoning commission means the agency appointed by the city council as an advisory body to it and which is authorized to recommend changes in the zoning.

Private garage means an accessory building housing vehicles owned and used by occupants of the main building; if occupied by vehicles of others, it is a storage space.

Residence means the same as a dwelling; also defined as the same when used with district and area of residential regulations.

Roominghouse. See Lodginghouse.

Sign means an outdoor advertising device that is a structure or that is attached to or painted on a building or that is leaned against a structure or displayed on premises.

Story means the height between the successive floors of a building or from the top floor to the roof. The standard height for a story is 11 feet, six inches.

Street means any thoroughfare or public driveway, other than an alley, and more than 30 feet in width, which has been dedicated or deeded to the public for public use.

Street line means a dividing line between a lot, tract or parcel of land and a contiguous street use; the right-of-way line.

Structural alterations means any change in the supporting member of a building, such as a bearing wall, column, beam or girder.

Structure. See Building.

Tax relief means relief from annual City Ad Valorem taxation for properties located in a designated historic district or properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a Recorded Texas Landmark, State Archaeological Landmark, or locally designated landmark.

Thoroughfare. See Street.

Yard means an open space other than a court, on the lot in which a building is situated and which is not obstructed from a point 40 inches above the general ground level of the graded lot to the sky, except as provided for roof overhang and similar special architectural features and plant material.

Yard, front, means an open, unoccupied space on a lot facing a street extending across the front of a lot between the side lot lines and from the main building to the front lot or street line with the minimum horizontal distance between the street line and the main building line as specified for the district in which it is located. (See appendix illustrations 3 and 5.)

Yard, rear, means an open, unoccupied space, except for accessory buildings as herein permitted, extending across the rear of a lot from one side lot line to the other side lot line and having a depth between the building and the rear lot line as specified in the district in which the lot is situated. (See appendix illustration 3.)

Yard, side, means an open, unoccupied space or spaces on one side or two sides of a main building and on the same lot with the building, situated between the building and a side line of the lot and extending through from the front yard to the rear yard. Any lot line, not the rear line or a front line, shall be deemed a side line. (See appendix illustrations 3 and 4.)

Variance means an adjustment in the application of the specific regulations of this chapter to a particular parcel of property which, because of special conditions or circumstances peculiar to the particular parcel, is necessary to prevent the property from being deprived of rights and privileges enjoyed by other parcels in the same vicinity and zoning district. (See section 140-345.)

Zoning district map means the official certified map upon which the boundaries of the various zoning districts are drawn and which is an integral part of this chapter.

(Ord. of 9-7-1970, §§ 22-100, 22-101; Ord. No. 2016-069, § 2, 7-11-2016; Ord. No. 2017-021, § 2, 3-27-2017; Ord. No. 2022-123, § 1a, 11-14-2022)