25-100. Certain words in this [zoning] ordinance are defined as follows:

Accessory use (permanent) means a use that is customarily incidental, appropriate and subordinate and incidental to the principal use of land or buildings and that is located upon the same lot/tract therewith.

Accessory building (residential) means, in a residential district, a subordinate building that is attached or detached and is used for a purpose that is customarily incidental and secondary to the main structure but does not change the character of the principal use and/or involve the conduct of a business. Examples may include, but are not limited to, the following: a private garage for automobile storage, tool shed, greenhouse, home workshop, children's playhouse, storage building, garden shelter, etc.

Alley means a public way 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 area of the lot shall be the net area of the lot and shall not include portions of streets and alleys.

Automobile means a four-wheeled, self-propelled vehicle designed for passenger transportation, including electric or natural gas automobiles that run on electricity or natural gas.

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 of adjustment means zoning board of adjustment as provided for in section 21.

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 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.

Building official means the person designated to enforce the zoning and building regulations of the City of The Colony.

Cargo container means a premanufactured structure, of metal construction, that is delivered to a site as a fully contained unit. This shall include a container that is designed as a shipping container and used for portable storage; but shall exclude storage sheds that are assembled at the site. A cargo container, as defined herein, shall be considered a structure for purposes of the International Building Code.

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.

Certificate of occupancy and compliance 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 council means the governing body of the City of The Colony, Texas.

City manager means chief administrative officer of the City of The Colony, Texas.

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 four feet from the walls of a building shall be excluded from the coverage computations.

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

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

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.

Heavy load vehicle means a self-propelled vehicle having a manufacturer's recommended gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of greater than 10,000 pounds, such as tractor-trailers, buses, vans, and other similar vehicles. The term "truck" shall be construed to mean "heavy load vehicle" unless specifically stated otherwise.

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 roof's 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.

Light load vehicle means a self-propelled vehicle having no more than two axles such as a pick-up truck or van but excluding recreation vehicles and vehicles designed for commercial hauling or for the moving of home furnishings and similar articles.

Living unit means The room or suite of rooms occupied by a family and must include cooking facilities to qualify as a living unit.

Lodging house 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 building, and including such open spaces as are required under this ordinance and having its principal frontage upon a public street or officially approved place and complying with section 16 of this [zoning] ordinance.

Lot depth means the mean distance between the front and rear lot lines.

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 Denton County.

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/tract which are occupied by the primary use.

Motel means an inn or group of cabins designed for occupancy by paying guests, a hotel.

Nonconforming use means a building structure or use of land lawfully occupied at the time of the effective date of this ordinance or amendments thereto, and which does not conform to the use regulations of the district in which it is situated.

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

Open space means 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 and porches but not including dedicated streets or other dedicated public space.

Parking space means an enclosed or unenclosed all-weather surfaced area of not less than 180 square feet (measuring approximately nine feet by 20 feet) not on a public street or alley, together with an all-weather surfaced driveway connecting the area with a street or alley permitting free ingress and egress without encroachment on the street or alley. Any parking adjacent to a public street wherein the maneuvering is done on the public street shall not be classified as off-street parking in computing the parking area requirements for any use.

Planning and zoning commission means the agency appointed by the city council as an advisory body to it relative to zoning matters and the physical development of the city and its environs.

Portable accessory building means an accessory structure.

Residence. Same as "dwelling;" also when used with "district," an area of residential regulations.

Room means a building or portion of a building which is arranged, occupied or intended to be occupied as living or sleeping quarters, but not including toilet or cooking facilities.

Rooming house. See "lodging house."

Sexually oriented business means an inclusive term used to describe collectively the following businesses: adult arcade, sexually oriented media store, adult cabaret, adult motel, adult motion picture theatre, adult theatre, escort agency, sex shop, nude model studio, or sexual encounter center.

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 the premises to promote a person, group, commodity or item or to attract attention to the premises or some object or item.

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.

Story, half means the space between the top floor and the roof which may be used for residence purposes but which, because of roof slope and structural design, does not cover more than 50 per cent of the area of the ground floor of the building.

Street means any thoroughfare or public driveway, other than an alley, more than 30 feet in width and 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, the right-of-way line.

Structural alterations means Any change in the supporting member of a building, such as a bearing wall, column, beams or girders.

Structure. Same as "building."

Thoroughfare. Same as "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 30 inches above the general ground level of the graded lot to the sky, except as provided for roof overhang and similar special architectural features.

Yard, front means an open, unoccupied space on a lot facing a street extending across the front of the 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 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 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.)

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 the zoning ordinance.

(Ord. No. 09-1820, § 2, 7-20-2009; Ord. No. 2011-1984, § 4, 3-22-2011; Ord. No. 2016-2242, § 4, 12-6-2016; Ord. No. 2020-2416, § 5, 12-1-2020)