Article IV. DEFINITIONS

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

Abandonment means a use or structure that is determined to be abandoned by the nonconformities section of this ULDC.

Abattoir means a building used for the slaughtering of animals and includes the processing and storage of animal products and waste that results from the slaughtering process.

Accessory dwelling unit means a secondary dwelling unit established in conjunction with a primary dwelling unit, clearly subordinate to that primary unit. Accessory dwelling units are commonly referred to as granny flats. Accessory dwelling units are not intended for sale or to be rented.

Accessory structure is used to serve the primary function on the same premises; is subordinate in area, extent and purpose to the primary use or structure served; contributes to the comfort, convenience or necessity of occupants of the principal use or structure served; and is located on the same lot and in the same district as the primary use.

Accessory use means a use incidental and subordinate to the principal use, located on the same lot as the principal use and in the same zoning district.

Agriculture refers to use of land that is actively used in the production of food or fiber, including the plowing, tillage, cropping, installing best management practices, seeding, cultivating, harvesting and storing food or fiber produced on site. This term also includes the raising of grazing animals, including but not limited to cattle, horses, sheep, goats or other exotic grazing animals, but excludes swine. This use does not include feedlots, animal hospital, kennel/boarding facility, pet store, livestock distribution, meat packing/processing operations and related uses such as abattoir, slaughterhouse, or rendering plant, stockyard or similar confined animal feeding and holding operations.

Animal hospital means a building in which animals and pets are given medical treatment and are cared for during the time of such treatment. Use as a kennel shall be limited to short-time boarding and such boarding shall be incidental to the hospital use.

Animals include all nonhuman members of the animal kingdom including domestic, exotic, and livestock. This term also includes pet/companion animal operations such as animal hospital, kennel/boarding facility, or pet store and/or live outdoor exhibitions.

Approved means as approved by the City of Baytown authority having jurisdiction.

Appurtenances means the visible, functional, or ornamental objects accessory to and part of a building.

"Appurtenance" shall include lighting, a generator, a tank, or any structure or equipment, which supports the drilling, oil or gas operations and which is three feet or more in height measured from finished grade.

Arterial street means a high volume, medium speed (up to 45 mph) medium capacity street usually shown on the major thoroughfare plan map.

Assisted living facility means a facility regulated by V.T.C.A. Health and Safety Code ch. 247 that provides room, board, and personal care services to its residents within a structure containing multiple living quarters for seven or more elderly or disabled persons who are unrelated to the owner of the establishment by blood or marriage. Assisted living facilities for six or fewer disabled persons are considered and regulated as group homes for disabled persons.

Automobile repair, major means repairs of a nature that usually cannot be done quickly and which will encompass more highly skilled work. Such repairs include removal of the engine head or pan, engine transmission or differential. Often this work is necessary because of a major component failure or an accident. These types of repairs cannot be done while the customer waits, and will often take more than one day to complete. Such repairs include, but are not limited to:

• Accident repairs;

• Automotive machine shops;

• Framework and frame straightening;

• Grinding valves, cleaning carbon or removing the head of engines or crankcases;

• Major engine repair, replacement, rebuilding or reconditioning;

• Paint and body work;

• Radiator re-coring and rebuilding;

• Replacement of body parts and fenders;

• Sandblasting as an accessory use only;

• Tire recapping;

• Transmission and differential repair, replacement, or rebuilding; and

• Welding.

Automobile repair, minor means repairs of a nature that can usually be done quickly with minimum noise, odor or other negative impacts. This includes preventative maintenance or replacement of easily accessible parts that routinely wear out. This does not include removal of the engine head or pan, engine transmission or differential. These types of repairs can be often done while the customer waits, and usually will not take more than one day to complete. Such repairs include but are not limited to:

• Air conditioning maintenance and refrigerant replacement;

• Audio installation and repairs;

• Brake pads, shoes, rotors and drums replacement;

• Chassis lubrication;

• Electrical components repair and replacement;

• Fuel injection systems and carburetor replacement;

• Fuel pumps and fuel lines;

• Ignition systems, sparkplugs, and batteries;

• Motor oil, engine cooling and lubrication, brake fluid, transmission and other fluid replacement;

• Mufflers, tailpipes, water hoses, fan belts, headlights and light bulbs, floor mats, seat covers, wipers and wiper blades, and replacement of grease retainers and wheel bearings;

• Rustproofing;

• Sale of gasoline;

• Sandblasting as an accessory use only;

• Shock absorbers or other suspension systems replacement;

• Tire replacement, repair and servicing, but no recapping;

• Tuning engines, with the exception of grinding valves, cleaning carbon or removing the head of engines or crankcases;

• Washing, polishing and detailing;

• Wheel balancing and alignment;

• Windshield, window replacement; and

• Wiring repairs.

Barn means an accessory building used exclusively for the non-commercial storage of animal feed and/or the sheltering of livestock or farm equipment.

Bars and lounges means establishments that are devoted to the serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption by guests on the premises and in which the serving of food is only incidental to the consumption of those beverages, including, but not limited to, taverns, nightclubs, cocktail lounges, and cabarets.

Berm means a mound or embankment of earth, man made, usually two to six feet in height.

Big box means a singular retail user occupying 35,000 square feet or more of gross floor area, requiring high parking-to-building ratios, and having a regional sales market. The singular retail user may include internal leased space for coffee shops, banking, photography, limited service food and other similar personal services.

Boardinghouse means a multifamily residential use providing room and board, common eating, and sanitary facilities for five or more persons, but not exceeding 20 persons, with two or more rooms that are rented or intended to be rented, but which rooms, individually or collectively, do not constitute separate dwelling units.

Boat and boat parts and accessories sales means a retail facility for marine vehicles 16 feet or greater in size and the accessories thereto.

Boat and RV storage means a facility which is used for the temporary location of boats and recreational vehicle for a fee. This may include a boat slip or boat yard where the storage is covered or uncovered dock space or enclosed dry dock storage.

Brick means kiln-fired clay or shale brick manufactured to ASTM C216 or C652, Grade SW. This includes concrete brick if the coloration is integral, shall not be painted, and it is manufactured to ASTM C1634. An applied brick veneer means a minimum thickness of two and one-quarter inches that does not include underfired clay or shale brick.

Building envelope means the three-dimensional space within which a structure is permitted to be built on a lot and which is defined by regulations governing building setbacks and maximum height.

Building frontage means the portion of a building oriented towards a street or public right-of-way.

Building, heating, plumbing, service contractors, or contractors in general means a business involving the administration and implementation of multidiscipline projects. Requires vehicle and equipment parking and the storage and warehousing of supplies and materials including outdoor storage.

Campground means an area on which campsites intended for occupancy overnight or longer by persons using a tent, recreational vehicle, motor home, or mobile trailer for dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes and is held out as such to the public. Campground does not include any manufactured housing community.

Clinic means a facility used by licensed physicians, dentists, or other health care professionals for the purpose of providing medical, psychiatric, or surgical service for sick or injured persons exclusively on an out-patient basis where overnight lodging is not routine, including emergency treatment, diagnostic services, training, administration, and services to outpatients, employees, or visitors. Clinics include immediate care facilities where emergency treatment is the dominant form of care.

Code of Ordinances means the City of Baytown's Code of Ordinances as set forth at section 1-1 of the Code, constituting the "Code of Ordinances."

Collector street means a relatively low volume street providing circulation within and between neighborhoods. They collect traffic from local streets and distribute them to arterials and may be shown on the major thoroughfare plan map.

Commercial motor vehicle means a motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles used to transport passengers or property that: (1) has a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds including a towed unit with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds; (2) has a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds; or (3) is transporting hazardous materials and is required to be placarded under 49 C.F.R. Part 172, Subpart F.

Commercial waste container means a container, dumpster, collection receptacle, or compactor used to store or transport garbage and/or commercial waste, which is (i) totally enclosed; (ii) of adequate strength and design to prevent leakage of leachates and spillage of other waste during storage, transport and emptying or loading; and (iii) regularly replaced or cleaned to prevent offensive odor and harborage, feeding and propagation of vectors.

Commercial waste enclosure means a structure to be used for the screening and storage of commercial waste container(s) and brush.

Community building means a building to be used for entertainment, recreation, and management that is designed to serve the residential area (primarily townhouses and/or multifamily) in which it is located.

Community service means a use conducted by or a facility or structure owned or managed by the federal, state, county or city government or other government entity that provides a governmental function or service for public benefit, such as libraries, schools, post offices, police and fire stations, public utilizes but not including the operation of a public bar, restaurant or recreational facility as a commercial enterprise.

Conditions means a set of standards with which a property owner must comply in order to obtain any land development permit.

Container means a reusable transport and storage unit for moving products and raw materials between locations or countries, typically made of corrugated weathering steel with a fitted door at one end that is designed to allow multiple units to be craned, fitted and locked for stacking purposes.

Country club means a building or a campus that provides facilities for the purpose of recreation, athletic, and social activities for paying members, their families and invited guests. The buildings and facilities are owned by a corporation operated as a non-profit.

Day care means a non-residential facility providing care for more than six children or six adults at one time and licensed by the state as a group day care center. Such a facility may also be known as a nursery school, day nursery, child care center, day care center for school aged children after school program, or a Head Start program center. It excludes public and private schools or any facility that offers care to individuals for any full 24-hour period.

Decorative concrete block means concrete block with a highly textured finish, such as split faced, indented, hammered, fluted, ribbed or similar architectural finish. The coloration shall be integral to the masonry material and shall not be painted on. Decorative concrete block includes light weight and featherweight concrete block or cinder block units and has a minimum thickness of three and five-eighths inches when applied as a veneer.

Decorative precast concrete panels means products often associated with tilt-up wall construction but is only considered decorative precast concrete panels if post-constructed wall areas have a highly textured finish, integral color or are covered by defined masonry materials that can be laid up unit by unit set in mortar and meet the required percentage of coverage as defined in this ULDC.

Density means the number of dwelling units permitted per net acre of land and is determined by dividing the number of units by the total area of land within the boundaries of a lot or parcel not including the street rights-of-way and land dedicated for public use, such as schools and public parks. In determination of the number of dwelling units permitted on a specific parcel of land, a fractional unit shall not entitle the applicant to an additional unit.

Destroyed structure refers to a structure which, upon determination by an appraisal, requires repairs exceeding 50 percent or more of the appraised value of the structure.

Detention facility means an excavated area that is designed by a professional engineer to temporarily hold and slowly drain excess stormwater in order to allow water levels in the receiving channel to recede. Detention facilities, which are often called "dry ponds" or "detention ponds" are not the same as retention facilities which are designed to hold water indefinitely.

Development review committee or DRC means that committee described in section 1-10 of this ULDC.

Director means the city's director of planning and development services.

Disabled person refers to a person that has one of the following: 1) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of such person's major life activities so that such person is incapable of living independently; 2) a record of having such an impairment; or 3) being regarded as having such an impairment. The term "disabled" shall not include current illegal use of or addiction to a controlled substance.

Dog run means an enclosed outdoor area intended for exercise and containment of a dog.

Dormitory means a building that is owned and/or operated by an educational institution whose primary purpose is to provide living accommodations for individuals associated with the institution. The term "dormitory" shall not include for-profit facilities operated on or near a university campus that provide the same or similar services as a dormitory.

Drilling, oil or gas operations shall mean the drilling, completion or re-working of any type of oil, gas, disposal, exploratory or injection well or pipeline and subsequent life of a well or pipeline or any associated appurtenances or operations, including changes to existing operations and all related equipment and structures, including associated non-residential temporary office structures.

Drilling site means the surface premises used for drilling, oil or gas operations.

Driveway approach means an improvement to provide vehicular access from the roadway to public or private property.

Dwelling unit means a building or portion of a building, other than a mobile home, that is arranged, occupied or intended to be occupied as a residence and includes facilities for sleeping, cooking and sanitation. Dwelling units are further defined as follows:

(1)

Detached single-family dwelling means the use of a lot for one dwelling unit that has no physical connection to another dwelling unit or building;

(2)

Attached single-family dwelling means the use of a lot for one dwelling unit that is joined to another dwelling unit on an adjacent lot at one or more points by a party wall or abutting separate wall, including but not limited to row houses and townhomes; and

(3)

Duplex dwelling means the use of a lot for two dwelling units within a single building.

Entertainment, interior means establishments that are primarily enclosed within a building including motion picture theaters, comedy clubs, art galleries and studios, concert or music halls, (not including adult entertainment of any kind) and which may include such activity centers as indoor miniature golf courses, athletic and health clubs, billiard halls, bowling alleys, arcades, skating and similar uses, and such accessory uses as restaurants and bars.

Entertainment, outdoor means any commercial recreational land use conducted primarily outdoors whose main purpose is to provide the general public with an amusing or entertaining activity and where tickets are sold or fees are collected for the activity. Uses may include, but are not limited to, water parks, golf courses, miniature golf courses, country clubs, athletic fields, and amusement parks.

Environmental analysis means an analysis of predictable short and long-term environmental effects.

Environmentally sensitive area ("ESA") means an area which needs special protection because of its landscape, wildlife or historical value.

Equipment sales and rental facility means an establishment that is engaged in the sale or rental of tools, tractors, construction equipment, farm equipment, or other similar equipment. This includes the servicing of such equipment.

Equipment storage means the storage of any equipment outdoors. The term does not include equipment that is loaded on to a trailer. The term does not include new vehicles or new equipment that is advertised for sale as part of the primary use of the business, such as lawnmowers or playground equipment displayed outside of a retail goods establishment.

Evergreen screen means an arrangement of evergreen shrubs and/or trees that creates a continuous opaque visual screening device at least six feet in height as measured after the first full growing season.

Excavation means any act by which soil, earth, clay, sand, gravel, rock, loam, caliche, dirt, humus or any other similar matter is dug, cut into, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced, relocated or bulldozed over five feet in depth in the earth.

Extraterritorial jurisdiction means that land within three and one-half miles of the corporate limits of the city or as otherwise established by state law.

Facade means that portion of any exterior elevation on the building extending from grade to top of the parapet, wall or eaves and the entire width of the building elevation.

Family means a group of two or more persons, each related to the other by blood, marriage, or adoption; or a group of not more than six persons not related by blood, marriage or adoption that are living together in a dwelling unit.

Family home day care means a dwelling in which a resident of the dwelling provides day care of children, meeting all requirements of state law, the administrative code and this ULDC.

Fence means a barrier of wood, masonry, stone, wire, metal, or other manufactured material or combination of materials or other materials defined in chapter 18 of the Code of Ordinances erected to enclose, screen, separate or decorate areas.

Fire station means a structure for storage of firefighting apparatus (i.e., fire engines and related vehicles), personal protective equipment, fire hose, fire extinguishers, and other fire extinguishing equipment. It may have dormitory living facilities and work areas such as meeting rooms, workshop, or laundry. Living areas are sometimes arranged above the garage bays.

Food service establishment is a facility where food is prepared for consumption on and/or off premises regardless of whether there is a charge for the food with the intent to distribute to persons rather than wholesale distribution.

Footprint, building means the horizontal area as seen in plain view and measured from the outside of all exterior walls and supporting columns. It includes residences, garages, covered carports and accessory structures for which a permit has been obtained. It does not include patios, porches, trellises and decks that are 30 inches or less above the ground.

Frontage means the horizontal distance between the side lot lines measured at the point where the side lot lines intersect the street right-of-way. All sides of a lot that abut a street shall be considered frontage. Reference the definition of radial lots for more information on where the frontage width of curvilinear lots is measured.

Garage sale means a sale as defined in section 82-201 of the Code of Ordinances.

Gas station means a site used for the retail sale of automobile fuels, oils, travel aids, food items, and general merchandise.

Gas station minimart means a facility of less than 10,000 square feet in building size that is associated with the sale of gasoline products, that also offers for sale prepackaged food items and tangible consumer goods, primarily for self-service by the consumer. Hot beverages, fountain-type beverages, and pastries may be included in the food items for sale, but food items that are prepared or individually proportioned on the premises shall be prohibited. The facility may be associated with another use but may not include automobile repair or service of any kind.

Gas station minimart with limited food preparation means a facility associated with the sale of retail gasoline products that also offers for sale prepackaged food and tangible consumer goods for self service by the customer and limited food preparation.

Gas well means a well producing natural gas, including all of its constituent elements including gasoline, distillates, butanes, propane, and other hydrocarbons, and which produces less than one barrel of oil to each 100,000 cubic feet of gas.

Gazebo means a residential accessory structure that is a covered, free-standing structure used for outdoor gathering.

General retail means the sale of goods and/or services directly to the consumer where such goods are available for immediate purchase.

Glazing means a transparent part of a wall or door made of glass.

Golf course means land designed and built for the purpose of playing golf and may include a club house and a golf cart barn. The term does not include putt-golf, miniature golf, or driving ranges.

Goose Creek Oil Field means that area described by Lambert Coordinates in section 62-96 plus the following described area:

Beginning at the most easterly boundary line of the field described in section 62-96 with the intersection of the south bank of Cedar Bayou Stream. Continuing along the south bank meandering in an easterly southerly direction to the north east point of TR 7C in the ABST 65 W Scott thence along the north boundary line in a southerly westerly direction approximately 2,811 feet to a point. Thence in a northwesterly direction approximately 140 feet to the easterly boundary line of the Goose Creek fields. Thence north along said boundary line to the beginning said point on Cedar Bayou Stream being approximate 172.96 acres herein described.

Gravel pit means an open land area where sand, gravel, dirt, and rock fragments are mined or excavated for sale or for off-site use.

Grocery or drug store means an establishment that uses the premises to sell to the ultimate end user, food or drugs, including food and drugs which are manufactured on the premises as an integral part of the retail operation, and includes any such premises which may be described as a warehouse store, discount warehouse, or factory outlet, or a warehouse or wholesale club whose membership is open to other than institutions, government agencies and business.

Group home for substitute care means a facility regulated by the state that provides for the placement of six or more children who are in the conservatorship of the state department of protective and regulatory services, the state department of family and protective services or another state-authorized agency in care outside the children's homes. The term includes group foster care homes, institutional care, adoption centers, or commitment to the state youth commission. Nothing in this ULDC shall be interpreted to restrict the right of a private homeowner to act as a placement option for a relative or to provide state regulated foster care for less than five or fewer children that are in the conservatorship of the state.

Group home for the disabled means a dwelling shared by no more than two resident staff and six disabled persons who are unrelated to the owner of the dwelling by blood or marriage, who live together as a single housekeeping unit in a long-term, family-like environment, in which staff persons provide care services, education and participation in community activities for the residents with the primary goal of enabling the resident to live as independently as possible. The term "group home for the disabled" shall not include alcoholism or drug treatment centers, work release facilities for convicts or ex-convicts or other housing facilities serving as an alternative to incarceration.

Guest housing means attached or detached building that provides living quarters for guests and contains no kitchen or cooking facility. It is a building that is clearly subordinate and incidental to the primary residence on the same lot.

Guest parking means a parking area used exclusively by the guest of residents of the townhouse or multifamily development in which it is located.

Halfway house means a state licensed home for inmates on release from more restrictive custodial confinement or initially placed in lieu of such more restrictive custodial confinement, wherein supervision, rehabilitation, and counseling are provided to mainstream residents back into society, enabling them to live independently. Such placement is pursuant to the authority of the state department of corrections.

Heavy industrial means a use engaged in the basic processing and manufacturing of materials or products predominantly from extracted or raw materials, including, but not limited to uses that have potentially significant external effects due to the involvement of hazardous materials or commonly recognized offensive conditions such as the use of explosives, radioactive materials, poisons, pesticides, or herbicides.

Home occupation means work that is carried out in a dwelling by the resident thereof and is an incidental use to the primary use of the dwelling.

Homeless shelter means a building providing temporary shelter to indigent, homeless people.

Hospital means an institution that is licensed by a state agency to provide primary health services and medical or surgical care to persons, primarily in-patients, suffering from a variety of abnormal physical or mental conditions where overnight care is available. A hospital may include various medical support and accessory uses such as: laboratories; outpatient facilities; training facilities; short-term, on-site medical waste storage (not disposal); short-term warehousing and storage of medical-related equipment and supplies; garages; and other facilities commonly associated with medical institutions.

Hotel means a building with habitable suites/rooms for temporary occupancy by guest(s) who rent the suites/rooms on a daily basis. This term excludes rooming house or boarding house.

Industrialized housing means a residential structure that is: 1) designed for the occupancy of one or more families; 2) constructed in one or more modules or constructed using one or more modular components built at a location other than the permanent site; and 3) designed to be used as a permanent residential structure when the module or the modular component is transported to the permanent site and erected or installed on a permanent foundation system.

Junk shall have the meaning ascribed to it in section 82-131 of the Code of Ordinances.

Junk dealer shall have the meaning ascribed to it in section 82-131 of the Code of Ordinances.

Junk or salvage yard shall have the meaning ascribed to "junk yard" in section 82-161 of the Code of Ordinances.

Kennel means any lot, enclosure, premises, structure or building or outside feature where four or more dogs over the age of six months are kept or maintained for the purpose of boarding or breeding.

Kitchen means a room intended and designed to be used for food preparation and meeting the requirements of the International Building Code for the use for which it is intended (e.g., residential or non-residential).

Landfill, sanitary means a site for the burial of non-hazardous and non-medical farm, residential, institutional, commercial, municipal and industrial waste.

Laundry building means a facility where residents of a multifamily dwelling development may wash and dry their personal laundry.

Light industry means a use engaged in the manufacture, predominately from previously prepared materials, of finished products or parts, including processing, fabrication, assembly, treatment, incidental storage, sales and distribution of such products and excluding heavy industry. Light industry is capably of operating in such a manner as to control the external effects of the manufacturing process, such as smoke, noise, soot, dirt, particulates, light, vibration, odor and the like and does not pose significant risks from explosives, radioactive materials, poisons, pesticides, herbicides, or other hazardous materials in the manufacturing, packaging, fabricating, assembling, or distributing processes.

Live outdoor exhibitions means any live performance outdoors and includes such activities as exhibitions, carnivals, circuses in which humans, animals or machines perform. Such term means and includes those events that are regulated pursuant to chapter 42, article V of the Code of Ordinances.

Livestock means any grazing animal, including but not limited to cattle, horses, mules, asses, burros, sheep and goats.

Loading dock means a recessed bay (in a well) in a building or facility or on a raised slab where trucks are loaded and unloaded. They are commonly found on commercial and industrial buildings and warehouses in particular. The mere existence of an overhead door does not make a location a loading dock. Loading docks may be exterior, flush with the building envelope, or fully enclosed. They are part of a facility's service or utility infrastructure.

Lot means a parcel of land recorded in the public records of the county, or a parcel described by metes and bounds, the description of which has been so recorded. This definition does not address the requirements of the subdivision regulations.

Lot coverage means that portion of the lot that is covered by buildings, structures, or any other manmade improvement on the ground surface which are more impervious than the natural surface, such as paving, driveways, etc. Detention facilities lined with asphalt, concrete, rock or any other like materials are considered impervious surfaces for the purpose of calculating lot coverage.

Lumber and other building materials, retail means an establishment where lumber and other building materials such as brick, tile, cement, insulation, roofing materials, and the like are sold at retail. The sale of items such as heating and plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, paint, glass, and hardware is permitted since it is customarily incidental to the sale of lumber and other building materials.

Major thoroughfare means a designation of collector, minor arterial or principal arterial that may be set forth on the city's major thoroughfare plan.

Management office, on site for multifamily and single-family dwellings means a room or suite of rooms set aside for the use of persons who run the business of leasing or renting dwellings, running the homeowners association, or maintaining the grounds or buildings. Does not include the outside storage of lawnmowers and other equipment or materials for maintenance.

Manufactured home means a single-family detached dwelling that is built to the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 USC Sec 5401).

Manufactured home park shall have the meaning ascribed to it in section 58-1 of the Code of Ordinances.

Manufacturing (custom) means the on-site production or arrangement of goods that are of artistic quality or that involve handmade craftsmanship commonly associated with residential or commercial uses. The term includes the display, sale, and distribution of crafted goods, such as jewelry, pottery, beer, wine, portraits, and furniture.

Manufacturing (heavy) means the mechanical or chemical transformation, assembly, fabrication, packing or other industrial processing of products predominantly from extracted or raw materials, including, but not limited to uses that have potentially significant external effects due to the involvement of hazardous materials or commonly recognized offensive conditions such as the use of flammable, toxic, explosive, or radioactive materials. The term includes the incidental storage, sales, and distribution of such materials.

Manufacturing (light) means the mechanical or chemical transformation, predominately from previously prepared materials, of finished products or parts, including processing, fabrication, assembly, treatment, and packaging of such products; and incidental storage, sales, and distribution of such products.

Masonry materials means and includes that form of construction defined below and composed of clay brick, natural stone, decorative concrete block, stucco, glass block, tilt-wall, rock, synthetic stucco material meeting applicable windspeed requirements, exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS) complying with ASTM-E 330 structural testing and ASTM-C 1093 fastening, or other materials of equal characteristics laid up unit by unit set in mortar. The following materials shall not qualify nor be defined as "masonry materials" in meeting the minimum requirements for exterior construction of buildings, unless specifically approved by variance: exterior plaster or mortar wash surface material; acrylic matrix, synthetic plaster, or other similar synthetic material; cementitious fiber board siding (such as "Hardy Plank" or "Hardy Board").

Medical equipment storage and/or research facilities means a facility whose primary function is the warehousing and storage of medical equipment or the conducting of medical-related research activities totally within an enclosed building.

Medical services establishment means a facility such as a clinic, hospital, laboratory, or medical waste storage and disposal, storage of medical equipment and research facilities.

Medical waste storage and disposal center means a facility whose primary function is to store and/or repackage medical waste for transportation to a processing facility.

Multifamily complex means any residential dwelling complex consisting of four or more units to include, but not be limited to common accessory structures such as garages, laundry buildings, and guest parking.

Neighborhood means: 1) a quarter-mile (approximately 1,300 feet) radius around the nonconforming condition; 2) in commercial areas, the area along a transportation corridor that is between the two closed signalized major thoroughfare intersections in opposite directions from the nonconforming condition and that has a depth at least back to the local streets paralleling the major thoroughfares; or 3) If in a residential subdivision, the residential subdivision of at least ten lots may also meet these criteria.

Nonconforming structure means a structure in existence prior to the adoption of this ULDC that fails to meet one or more of the zoning standards in this Code applicable to such structure.

Nonconforming use means a land use in existence prior the date of adoption of this ULDC that fails to meet one or more of the zoning standards in this Code applicable to such use.

Nursing home means an institution licensed by the state that provides meals, resident care and services for persons who are generally admitted for periods of time exceeding 30 days. Such service includes custodial or attendant care, but may or may not provide for routine and regular medical and nursing services. The term nursing home includes care homes, homes for the aged, convalescent homes, rest homes, and other related institutions not otherwise defined in this section, where such persons are mostly incapable of self-preservation due to age, physical or mental disability, or because of security measures not under the occupants' control. The term "nursing home" excludes facilities that provide surgical or emergency medical services or that provide care for alcoholism, mental disease, drug addiction or communicable disease.

Office means administrative, executive, professional, research or similar facilities that have limited customers. An office may be a room, a suite of rooms, or a portion of a building.

Oil well shall have the meaning ascribed to it in section 62-26 of the Code of Ordinances.

Opaque screening means a method of visually shielding or obscuring one abutting or nearby land use from another nearby or abutting land use. The opaque screen shall be made of any combination of the following: a minimum six-foot-high berm, fence, wall or evergreen screening shrubs six foot high at the at the time of installation or to be six feet high at the end of the first growing season with no visible breaks between shrubs or any combination of the four.

Open space means land use for recreation, resource protection, and/or buffers; usually privately owned and maintained.

Outdoor storage means a holding area for stockpiling, collecting, or displaying of any products, materials, equipment, appliances, and/or personal property of any kind on a stabilized surface or in a structure that includes a roof but has no side walls, or screening or walls without a roof. This term includes a lay-down yard but does not include containers, towing yards, vehicle storage, or vehicle and boat sales, rental or leasing facility.

Outdoor storage (accessory) means a holding area for the accessory use of stockpiling, collecting, or displaying of any products, materials, equipment, appliances, and/or personal property of any kind, which are neither noxious noncombustible, on an asphalt- or concrete-paved surface or in a structure that includes a roof but has no side walls, or screening or walls without a roof. This term includes a lay-down yard as an accessory use but does not include a container, towing yard, vehicle storage, or vehicle and boat sales, rental or leasing facility.

Outside sales and display is an unenclosed area used for retail sales and placement of products as an accessory use associated with the primary retail use on the same premises. This term does not include open air vendors as defined in section 74-26 of the Code.

Overnight accommodations means temporary living quarters provided for public convenience including hotels and motels.

Package store (alcohol) means an establishment which may sell liquor in unbroken original containers on or from the licensed premises at retail to consumers for off-premises consumption only and not for the purpose of resale, except that if the permittee is a hotel, the permittee may deliver unbroken packages of liquor to bona fide guests of the hotel in their rooms for consumption in their rooms. Reference V.T.C.A., Alcohol Code § 11.29.

Packaging means the placement of products into bulk containers or placing hazardous products in to containers of any kind for the purpose of transport to another location. Packaging does not include the placement of non-hazardous products into individual containers for shipment that are picked up on-site by the USPS, FedEx or similar carrier routinely allowed in residential areas.

Park means public land set aside for recreation, culture or passive recreation uses for residents and workers and may include neighborhood parks, community parks and regional parks, trails and sports fields.

Parking, commercial means a parcel of land or a structure used for the temporary parking of vehicles for a fee which may be charged regardless of any other fee for the premises. Structure: a facility with one or more floors used for the temporary storage of vehicles. Delivery of items is not considered commercial parking.

Personal care home means a residential facility where room and board and personal care services are provided within a dwelling unit to not more than six elderly persons, regardless of the relationship to the owner.

Personal care services means assistance with feeding, dressing, moving, bathing, or other personal needs or maintenance or general supervision or oversight of the physical and mental well-being of a person who needs assistance to maintain a private and independent residence in an assisted living environment or who needs assistance to manage the person's personal life, regardless of whether a guardian has been appointed for the person. Personal care services also include the administration of medication by a person licensed to administer medication, as defined by the V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code § 247.002.

Personal pleasure boat means a vehicle designed for operation in water by oars, sails or internal combustion engine for personal use.

Personal service means an establishment engaged in the sale of frequent or recurring services on site such as hairdressing, barbershops, associated trade schools, and shoe repair. This does not include such services as real estate, attorney, accountant and the like which are categorized in office.

Personal storage building means a structure used for solely for the storage of inanimate objects that is not connected to a dwelling or other building and does not have water or sewer service.

Pet kennel means the temporary keeping of pets.

Pets means those animals and fowl normally domesticated in the United States, typically obtained at pet shops, and kept in or around the home for pleasure rather than utility, e.g., dogs, cats, canaries, mynahs, parrots, parakeets, fish, rabbits and rodents and excluding animals defined by state or federal regulations as wildlife, as set forth in state law and in chapter 14 of the Code of Ordinances.

Pet store means a retail store whose primary purpose is to sell products and services that support pets. The sale of pets, grooming and housing for pets shall be an accessory and incidental use in the pet store. Animal housed overnight shall be housed inside the pet store.

Place of assembly means a building or portions of a building in which facilities are provided for civic, educational, religious, deliberation or social purposes for regular or occasional use. Such facilities include theaters, lecture halls, places of worship, lodges, exhibit rooms, banquet facilities and other uses which meet the requirements for "places of assembly" or A1 through A5 occupancy under the International Building Code.

Planning and zoning commission means the body appointed by the city council to exercise the powers and duties set forth at section 2-326 of the Code of Ordinances.

Police station means a building that accommodates police officers and members of staff. The building often contains offices and accommodations for personnel and vehicles, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.

Private open space means usable open space directly associated with a dwelling unit or part of a common area of a development and having clearly delineated boundaries.

Private recreation space means privately owned, maintained and operated outdoor space for the refreshment and relaxation of mind and body through active or passive use.

Property line means the line bounding a parcel, lot or tract.

Public services means a service or a facility provided by a local, state, regional or federal agency that provides a service, function or activity for direct public benefit. This term does not include prisons.

Qualified applicant means the party that meets all the requirements under this ULDC in order to make application under this ULDC.

Radial lot means any lot located along a curved road or at the end of cul-de-sac, and where the distance along the road frontage is less than the amount required per the ULDC for that district. The minimum lot width must be met at the front building line. Side property lines should be radial to the curve of the road or cul-de-sac.

Recreational vehicle means a portable vehicle built on a chassis and designed as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreation, and vacation use, which does not exceed eight feet in width and 40 feet in length, exclusive of tongue. The term recreational vehicle shall also include all portable structures which may be moved under their own power, towed, or transported by another vehicle, and for purposes of this chapter, shall also include other types of vehicles such as, but not limited to, trucks, vans and buses that have been converted to temporary dwellings for travel, recreation, and vacation use, regardless of size.

Recreational vehicle park means a lot used for the accommodation of recreational vehicles for vacation or short term transient lodging and which contains three or more of the following: on-site laundry, restaurant, recreation facilities such as swimming pools, fishing ponds, bicycle paths, a recreation hall or club house, or other similar features and does not contain facilities for the sale or repair of recreational or other mobile vehicles of any kind or for the sale of parts or accessories for such vehicles.

Recycling collection center means a facility at which fabricated paper, glass, metal and plastics are collected and bundled prior to shipment to end user.

Regional commercial means a large commercial development that offers services and products at a scale and function to serve a regional market. Regional market pertains to a broad geographic area rather than a single jurisdiction.

Repair business means an establishment that primarily provides services to individuals and households, rather than to businesses and excluding automotive repair, large equipment repair or activities involving hazardous materials. Typical uses include appliance, shoe, watch or jewelry, computer and musical instrument repair, and the like.

Replacement oil or gas well means an oil or gas well drilled so the well and its housing and other appurtenances are in the same place on the site plan and so located on the property as the well it is meant to replace. "To replace" means that a well has been operating until the time that the work to replace it is commenced. Work to install a new well where an inoperative well exists is not replacement.

Residential proximity slope line means a line that describes a relationship between non-residential setbacks where the non-residential building exceeds the height of the adjacent residential building from which the non-commercial building is required to setback.

Resource extraction means the extraction of minerals including solids (gravel, dirt) or non-solids (gas and oil). Extraction as defined herein also includes the operation, milling, crushing, washing or other preparation customarily performed at the extraction site.

Retail means the activity of offering to sell or rent, or to sell or rent merchandise to a consumer who buys or rents the merchandise as the ultimate consumer or end user, being the last person in the chain of distribution, for personal consumption or use and not for further sale or rent. The use of premises for sales to end user consumers or renting of merchandise to end user consumers including any such premises which may be described as a warehouse store, discount warehouse, or factory outlet, or a warehouse club or wholesale club whose membership is open to other than institutions, government agencies and licensed businesses.

Retention facility means an excavated area that is designed by a professional engineer to capture and store stormwater on a permanent or semi-permanent basis, often indefinitely with the exception of the water volume lost to evaporation or absorption into the soils. Retention facilities, which are often called "wet ponds" or "retention ponds", are not the same as detention facilities which are designed to hold water temporarily and release their volume completely after or during the peak of the storm event.

Roof pitch means a roof having a slope or pitch determined by rise over run in direction of the slope or pitch of the roof, 1:4 slope for example.

School means an institution for the teaching of children or adults including primary and secondary schools, colleges, professional schools, dance schools, business schools, art schools and other similar schools.

Screening means an opaque separation between proprieties made of any combination of the following: six-foot-high berm, wall or fence, or evergreen shrubs. Evergreen shrubs shall be six foot high at the time of installation or shall be six foot high at the end of the first growing season after they are installed with no visible break between the shrubs or any combination of the four.

Self-storage means a facility containing independent, fully enclosed bays that are leased to individuals exclusively for storage of their household goods, small business records, or personal property. The term does not include outdoor storage.

Setback means the unobstructed, unoccupied open space between a structure and the property line of the lot on which the structure is located. Setbacks are unobstructed open space from the ground to the sky and measured as the horizontal distance between a property line and the furthermost projection of the structure, except in cases in which this ordinance specifically allows parking.

Small vet or home kennel means an enclosed premises or building where three or less dogs are housed for medical treatment or for personal use as family pets.

Solar energy facility means a device or combination of devices that use direct sunlight as a source of energy for the non-commercial direct use of the structure on the same lot with the system. Examples include photovoltaic systems, a solar hot water heater, solar panels, or a south-facing window.

Spire means a structure or formation, such as a steeple, that tapers to a point at the top.

Sports court means a space, indoor or outdoor, design used and maintained for basketball, racquetball, shuffleboard or other similar sports that use a court.

Stable means a building in which horses are sheltered and maintained as an accessory use to a principal residential use on the same lot.

Stone means naturally occurring granite, marble, limestone, slate, river rock, and other similar hard and durable all weather stone that is customarily used in exterior building construction. This includes cast or manufactured stone product, provided that such product yields a highly textured stone-like appearance, its coloration is integral to the masonry material and shall not be painted on, and it is demonstrated to be highly durable and maintenance free. Natural or manmade stone shall have a minimum thickness of two and five-eighths inches when applied as a veneer.

Storage building means an accessory structure used for materials, equipment and vehicles that are "in transit" or not in use.

Stucco means conventional three-step hard coat stucco with a minimum thickness of seven-eighths-inch.

Studio means a workshop, work place or work room for a person doing crafts, photography, woodworking, painting textiles for personal pleasure or production on a very small scale.

Supply house means an establishment at which wholesale customers or persons directly representing industry may purchase industrial supplies at wholesale or where such items are repaired or serviced. These establishments do not have retail customers.

Tire sales means a lot on which the principal business is the sale or installation of new, used or retread tires and tubes.

Towing yard shall mean a vehicle storage facility, as defined in section 102-136 of the Code of Ordinances.

Transition buffer zone means an area, which extends inward from the property line of a site, provides protection between land uses consisting of ground cover and trees as ascribed to it in article XIV, chapter 18 of the Code of Ordinances.

Transitional housing means shelter provided to the homeless for an extended period, often as long as 18 months and generally integrated with other social services and counseling programs to assist in the transition to self-sufficiency through the acquisition of a stable income and permanent housing.

Truck stop means a facility for parking, refueling, washing and/or minor repair of commercial vehicles and may include retail sales of food and/or other items, restaurant(s), restroom/shower facilities, and/or temporary sleeping quarters.

Truck terminal means an area and building where cargo is stored and where trucks, including tractor and trailer units, load and unload cargo on a regular basis. May include facilities for the temporary storage of loads prior to shipment. Includes rail to truck, truck to truck and dock to truck.

ULDC means this Unified Land Development Code.

Vegetative buffer shall have the meaning ascribed to it in article XIV, chapter 18 of the Code of Ordinances.

Vegetative buffer zone means an area, which extends inward from the property line of a site, provides protection between land uses, and contains plantings consisting of ground cover, shrubs and trees.

Vehicle and boat sales, rental or leasing facility means and includes a structure(s) and associated real property used for the sale, rental, and leasing of new or used, operable vehicles, including, but not limited to, tractors, tractor trailers, recreational vehicles, buses, boats, and similar size vehicles/equipment.

Vehicle, commercial means a motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles used to transport passengers or property that: (1) has a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds including a towed unit with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds; (2) has a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds; or (3) is transporting hazardous materials and is required to be placarded under 49 C.F.R., Part 172, Subpart F.

Vehicle, non-commercial means a motor vehicle, including a motorcycle, or other device in or by which a person or property is or may be transported or drawn on a public highway, but is otherwise not considered a commercial vehicle, farm vehicle, farm equipment, or farm implement.

Vehicle storage means a room, structure or parking lot that is used to house or store vehicles. It includes structures, buildings, and rooms generally called garages, boathouses, and airplane hangars. This term excludes "parking commercial," "public service," "towing yards," "vehicle repair, major," "vehicle repair, minor" or "boat and RV storage."

Wall means a constructed solid barrier of concrete, stone, brick, tile, masonry, wood or similar material that encloses, borders or decorates an area.

Warehouse and freight movement means a use engaged in storing and distribution of manufactured products or equipment and typically characterized by heavy trucking or rail activity and outdoor storage.

Well means a hole or bore to any sand, formation, strata, or depth which is drilled, bored, sunk, dug or put down for the purpose of either exploring or for ascertaining the existence of any oil, gas, or liquid hydrocarbon for the purposes of producing or recovering and oil, gas or liquid hydrocarbon.

Wholesale and warehouse activities within an enclosed structure means those retail activities typically conducted at facilities such as a "wholesale club," "warehouse store," "discount warehouse," "factory outlet," and other similar retail establishments that sell directly to the public.

Wholesale trade means to offer to sell or rent, or to sell or rent, merchandise other than at retail. Establishments engaged in selling merchandise to other wholesalers or to retailers, generally without transformation, and rendering services incidental to the sale of merchandise and normally operate from a warehouse or showroom/office. Wholesalers are organized to sell or arrange the purchase or sale of goods for resale (i.e., goods sold to other wholesalers or retailers), capital or durable non-consumer goods, or raw and intermediate materials and supplies used in production. The intent is to permit the warehousing of products, and to permit the packaging, sale to other wholesalers or to retailers, assembly or treatment of products within an enclosed structure.

Wild animal means a wild animal as defined in section 14-1 of the Code of Ordinances.

Wine and beer retailer means an establishment licensed by the state to sell ale, wine, and vinous liquors to consumers at retail on or from the licensed premises in unbroken original containers of not less than six ounces for off-premises consumption only and not for the purpose of resale.

Working days or business days means week days that are not holidays celebrated by the city.

Yard, front means the area situated between the front building line and the front lot line extending the full width of the lot.

Yard, rear means the area situated between the rear building line and a rear lot line, and extending the full width of the lot.

Yard, side means the area situated between the side building line and a side lot line, and extending from the front yard to the rear yard.

(Ord. No. 11,866, § 2(Exh. A), 2-23-12; Ord. No. 12,207, § 16, 3-14-13; Ord. No. 12,473, § 18, 2-13-14; Ord. No. 12,902 , §§ 6, 7, 7-23-15; Ord. No. 12,903 , § 4, 7-23-15; Ord. No. 13,062 , § 7, 12-10-15; Ord. No. 13,190 , § 3, 5-12-16; Ord. No. 13,521 , § 2, 7-27-17; Ord. No. 13,523 , § 6, 7-27-17; Ord. No. 13,762 , § 3, 5-10-18; Ord. No. 13,763 , § 7, 5-10-18; Ord. No. 13,764 , § 3, 5-10-18)