(Ordinance 09-O-02 adopted 1/28/2009)
Purpose and Intent. The purpose of this Chapter
is to define words with a special meaning relative to the goals and
purposes of this Unified Development Code. Words not listed in this
section shall be defined using the Webster’s Third New International
Dictionary, unabridged.
Residential use types include the occupancy of living accommodations
on a wholly or primarily non-transient basis.
The use of a site for only one dwelling unit, other than
mobile home or modular home.
A single-family dwelling constructed as part of a series
of dwellings, all of which are either attached to the adjacent dwelling
or dwellings by party walls or are located immediately adjacent thereto
with no visible separation. Included under this use category is townhouse
and condominium.
The use of site for two dwelling units, within a single building,
other than a mobile home or modular home.
The use of a site for two or more townhouse dwelling units,
constructed with common or abutting walls each located on a separate
ground parcel within the total development site, together with common
area serving all dwelling units.
The use of a site for four or more dwellings units intended
for separate ownership, together with common area serving all dwelling
units.
The use of a site for three or more dwelling units, within
one or more buildings.
The use of a site for residential occupancy of living accommodations
by groups of more than six persons not defined as a family, on a weekly
or longer basis. Typical uses include occupancy of fraternity or sorority
houses, dormitories, residence halls, halfway houses, or boarding
houses.
A dwelling that is manufactured in two or more modules at
a location other than the home site and which is designed as residence
when the modules are transported to the home site, and the modules
are joined together and installed on a permanent foundation system
in accordance with the appropriate Code requirements. Modular residence
construction shall be in accordance with the Texas Manufactured Housing
Standards Act and shall include the plumbing, heating/air conditioning
and electrical systems to be contained in the structure. The term
modular home or residence shall not mean nor apply to a mobile home
as defined in the Texas Manufactured Housing Standards Act, nor is
it to include building modules incorporating concrete or masonry as
a primary component.
The use of a site for residential occupancy of a manufactured
home (or mobile home if on premises prior to the adoption of this
Code) on a weekly or longer basis. Typical uses include mobile home
parks or mobile home subdivisions. An incorporated city may prohibit
the installation of a mobile home for use or occupancy as a residential
dwelling within its corporate limits. Any such prohibition must be
prospective and shall not apply to a mobile home previously legally
permitted and used or occupied as a residential dwelling within the
city. Permits for such use and occupancy must be granted by an incorporated
city for the replacement of a mobile home within its corporate limits
with a HUD-Code manufactured home. (Texas Revised Civil Statutes,
Article 5221-f(4A)).
Commercial use types include the sale, rental, service, and
distribution of goods, and the provision of services other than those
classified as Industrial or Civic Uses.
Offices or private firms or organizations which are primarily
used for the provision of executive, management, or administrative
services. Typical uses include administrative offices, and services
including real estate, insurance, property management, investment,
personal, travel, secretarial services, telephone answering, photocopy
and reproduction, and business offices of public utilities, organizations
and associations, or other use classifications when the service rendered
is that customarily associated with administrative office services.
Establishments or places of business engaged in sale from
the premises of feed, grain, fertilizers, pesticides, and similar
goods or in the provision of agriculturally related services with
incidental storage on lots other than where the service is rendered.
Typical uses include hay, feed and grain stores, and tree service
firms.
Establishments or places or [of] business primarily engaged
in automotive related or heavy equipment sales or services. The following
are automotive, and equipment use types:
Washing and cleaning of automobiles and related light equipment.
Typical uses include auto laundries or car washes.
Provision of fuel, lubricants, parts and accessories, and
incidental services to motor vehicles.
Parking of motor vehicles on a temporary basis within a privately
owned off-street parking facility, other than accessory to a principal
use. Typical uses include auto rental agencies, trailer rental agencies,
and taxicab parking and dispatching.
Sale or rental of automobiles, noncommercial trucks, motorcycles,
motor homes (RVs), recreational vehicles or boats, including incidental
storage, maintenance, and servicing. Typical uses include new and
used car dealerships, motorcycle dealerships, and boat, trailer, and
recreational vehicle dealerships.
Sale or rental of trucks, tractors, construction equipment,
agricultural implements, manufactured homes, and similar heavy equipment,
including storage, maintenance, and servicing. Typical uses include
truck dealerships, construction equipment dealerships, mobile home
dealerships, and sales (but specifically excluding dismantling or
salvage of vehicles).
Repair of automobiles[,] noncommercial trucks, motorcycles,
motor homes, recreational vehicles, or boats, including the sale,
installation, and servicing of equipment and parts. Typical uses include
muffler shops, auto repair garages, tire sales and installation, wheel
and brake shops, body and fender shops, and similar repair and service
activities (but specifically excluding dismantling or salvaging of
vehicles).
Repair of trucks, tractors, construction equipment, agricultural
implements, and similar heavy equipment. Typical uses include truck
repair garages, trucking yard terminal, tractor and farm implement
repair services, and machine shops (but specifically excluding dismantling
or salvaging of vehicles).
Long term storage of operating or non-operating vehicles.
Typical uses include storage of private parking tow-a-ways or impound
yards (but specifically excluding dismantling or salvaging of vehicles).
Use of a site for retail sale of alcoholic beverages for
consumption on the premises, including taverns, bars, cocktail lounges,
and similar uses, that derive 75 percent or more of the establishment’s
gross revenue from the on-premise sale of alcoholic beverages.
Establishment that holds, and is limited to, a Texas Brewpub
License (LP) along with a Wine and Beer Retailer’s Permit (BG)
as found in the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code in which beer is produced
on the premises and may also include on-site consumption, sale, and
distribution. Food sales or a restaurant may also be included as well.
Establishment that holds, and is limited to, a Texas Manufacturer’s
License (BA) or Brewer’s Permit (B) in which beer is produced
in a quantity that exceeds the maximum volume specified in the Texas
Brewpub License (BA) as established in the Texas Alcoholic Beverage
Code.
Establishments primarily engaged in the provision of maintenance
and custodial services to firms rather than individuals. Typical uses
include janitorial, landscape maintenance, or window cleaning services.
Establishments or places of business primarily engaged in
the sale, rental or repair of equipment and supplies used by office,
professional and service establishments to the firms themselves rather
than to individuals, but excludes automotive, construction and farm
equipment. Typical uses include office equipment and supply firms,
small business machine repair shops, hotel equipment and supply firms.
A use providing education or training in business, commerce,
language, or other similar activity or occupational pursuit, and not
otherwise defined as a home occupation, college, or university, or
public or private educational facility.
Campground facilities providing camping and/or parking areas
and incidental services for travelers in recreational vehicles or
tents. Typical uses include recreational vehicle parks.
Establishment or places of business engaged in the preparation
and retail sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises,
including taverns, bars[,] cocktail lounges, and similar uses other
than a restaurant as that term is defined herein.
Establishment or places of business primarily engaged in
providing sports, entertainment, or recreation for participants or
spectators. The following are commercial recreational use types:
Uses conducted within an enclosed building. Typical uses
include bowling alleys, billiard parlors, ice and roller skating rinks,
penny arcades, electronic video games, and indoor racquetball courts.
Uses conducted in open or partially enclosed or screened
facilities. Typical uses include driving ranges, miniature golf courses,
golf courses, swimming pools, tennis courts, and outdoor racquetball
courts.
Predominantly spectator uses conducted within an enclosed
building. Typical uses include motion picture theaters, meeting halls,
and dance halls.
Predominantly spectator uses conducted in open or partially
enclosed or screened facilities. Typical uses include sports arenas,
racing facilities, and amusement parks.
Establishments primarily engaged in the provision of broadcasting
and other information relay services accomplished through the use
of electronic and telephonic mechanisms but excluding those classified
as Major Utility Facilities. Typical uses include television studios,
telecommunication service centers, telegraph service offices, film
recording, sound recording, and cable television operations.
Establishments or places of business primarily engaged in
construction activities and incidental storage on lots other than
construction sites as well as the retail or wholesale sale, from the
premises, of materials used in the construction of buildings or other
structures, but excluding retail sale of paint, fixture, and hardware,
and those classified as one of the Automotive and Equipment Service
use types. Typical uses include building materials stores, tool equipment
rental or sales, building, plumbing, electrical, or mechanical contractors.
Establishments which provide services, primarily to individuals,
of a convenient and limited nature, often in access-controlled facilities
which make twenty-four-hour operation possible. Typical uses include
the renting of private postal and safety deposit boxes to individuals
and automated banking machines.
Establishments primarily engaged in the provision of repair
services to individuals and households rather than firms but excluding
Automotive and Equipment Service use types. Typical uses include appliance
repair shops, watch or jewelry repair shops, or musical instrument
repair shops.
Storage services primarily for personal effects and household
goods within enclosed storage areas having individual access, but
excluding uses such as workshops, hobby shops, manufacturing, or commercial
activity. Typical uses include mini-warehousing and mini-storage units.
Means premises where spirit is manufactured and includes
every place therein where it is stored or wherefrom it is issued.
Facilities provided by an establishment or place of business
for the purpose of allowing a customer or patron to transact business,
whether it be pick-up, drop-off, ordering, or service, from a motor
vehicle.
A use engaged in the preparation and retail sale of food
and beverages, including sale of alcoholic beverages when conducted
as an accessory or secondary feature and producing less than fifty
(50) percent of the gross income. A general restaurant may include
live entertainment with amplified sound. Typical uses include restaurants,
coffee shops, dinner houses, dinner theater, and similar establishments
with incidental alcoholic beverage service.
Services related to the eradication and control of rodents,
insects, and other pests, with incidental storage on lots other than
where the service is rendered.
Establishments primarily engaged in the provision of financial
and banking services. Typical uses include banks, savings and loan
institutions, loan and lending activities, and similar services.
A business that serves alcoholic beverages and has applied
for and received a food and beverage certificate from the Texas Alcoholic
Beverage Commission because the business received 60 percent or less
of its revenue from the sale of alcoholic beverages.
Establishments or places of business primarily engaged in
the retail sale of food (with incidental sale of beer and wine) or
household products for home consumption. Typical uses include groceries,
delicatessens, meat markets, retail bakeries, and candy shops. Restaurants
are specifically excluded from this definition.
Establishments engaged in undertaking services such as preparing
the human dead for burial and arranging and managing funerals. Typical
uses include funeral homes or mortuaries.
Shall mean a for-profit business located in a building or
place that contains:
amusement redemption machines; or
electronic, electromechanical, or mechanical contrivances that,
for consideration, afford a player the opportunity to obtain a prize
or thing of value, the award of which is determined solely or partially
by chance, regardless of whether the contrivance is designed, made,
or adopted solely for bona fide amusement purposes.
Sale or rental of commonly used goods, and merchandise for
personal or household use. Typical uses include providing the following
products or furniture stores, and establishments providing the following
products or services: household cleaning and maintenance products,
drugs, cards, stationery, notions, books, tobacco products, cosmetics,
and specialty items, flowers, plants, hobby materials, toys, and handcrafted
items; apparel, jewelry, fabrics, and like items; cameras, photography
services, household electronic equipment, records, sporting equipment,
kitchen utensils, home furnishing appliances, art supplies and framing,
arts, and antiques, paint and wallpaper, carpeting and floor covering,
interior decorating services, office supplies, bicycles, and auto
parts (inside a building with no repair services).
Lodging services involving the provision of room and/or board.
Typical uses include hotels, motels and inns.
Boarding and care services for dogs, cats, and similar small
animals. Typical uses include boarding kennels, pet motels, or dog
training centers.
Establishments primarily engaged in the provision of laundering,
dry cleaning or dyeing services other than those classified as Personal
Services. Typical uses include bulk laundry and cleaning plants, diaper
services, or linen supply services.
Establishments or places of business engaged in retail sale
for consumption off the premises of alcoholic beverages. Typical uses
include liquor stores, bottle shops, or any licensed sale of liquor
beer or wine for off-site consumption.
A use providing consultation, diagnosis, therapeutic, preventative,
or corrective personal treatment services by doctors, dentists, medical
and dental laboratories, physical therapists, optometrists, and similar
practitioners of medical and healing arts for humans licensed for
such practice by the State of Texas.
A use engaged in the loaning of money on the security of
property pledged in the keeping of the pawnbroker, and the incidental
sale of such property.
Establishment or places of business primarily engaged in
providing informational, instructional, personal improvement and similar
services of a nonprofessional nature. Typical uses include photography
studios, driving schools, health, or physical fitness studios, reducing
salons, dance studios, handicraft and hobby instruction.
Establishments or places of business primarily engaged in
providing frequently or recurrently needed services of a personal
nature. Typical uses include beauty salons, barber shops, seamstresses,
tailors, shoe repair shops, tanning salons, dry cleaning pick-up station
services, and coin-operated laundries.
Retail sales, veterinary services, grooming, boarding when
totally within a building, of dogs, cats, birds, fish, and similar
small animals customarily used as household pets. Typical uses include
pet stores, small clinics, dog bathing and clipping salons, and pet
grooming shops but excluding uses for livestock and large animals.
A use providing professional or consulting services in the
fields of law, architecture, design engineering, accounting, and similar
professions.
Establishments primarily engaged in research of an industrial
or scientific nature but excluding product testing. Typical uses include
electronics research laboratories, space research and development
firms, and pharmaceutical research.
Places of business primarily engaged in the storage, sale,
dismantling or other processing of used or waste materials which are
not intended for reuse in their original forms. Typical uses include
automotive wrecking yards, junkyards, or salvage yards.
An integrated grouping of commercial activity, primarily
of a retail and personal service nature, in a building complex having
the individual establishments joined by a common covered pedestrian
mall or walkway.
Boarding, breeding, or raising of horses not owned by the
occupants of the premises or riding of horses by other than the occupants
of the premises or their nonpaying guests. Typical uses include boarding
stables or public stables.
Veterinary services and hospitals for animals. Typical uses
include pet clinics, dog and cat hospitals, and veterinary hospitals
for livestock and large animals.
Means any place or premises in which wine is manufactured
from any fruit, or brandies are distilled as a byproduct of wine or
other fruit, or cordials are compounded, except a place or premises
that manufactures wine for sacramental purposes exclusively.
Industrial use types include the on-site extraction or production
of goods by methods not agricultural, and storage and distribution
of products.
A use engaged in the basic processing and manufacturing of
materials or products predominately from extracted or raw materials,
or a use engaged in storage, or manufacturing processes utilizing
flammable or explosive materials, or storage or manufacturing processes
which potentially involve hazardous or commonly recognized offensive
conditions.
A use engaged in the manufacture, predominantly 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,
but excluding basic industrial processing. Typical uses include winery,
sheet metal shop, welding shop and machine shop.
Establishments or places of business primarily engaged in
wholesaling, storage, distribution and handling of materials and equipment
other than live animals and plants. The following are wholesaling,
storage and distribution use types:
Wholesaling, storage, warehousing services within enclosed
structures. Typical uses include wholesale distributors, storage warehouses
and moving and storage firms.
Open air storage, distribution and handling of materials
and equipment. Typical uses include monument and stone yards, grain
elevators, open storage yards, and petroleum products storage and
distribution.
A use involving the on-site extraction of surface or subsurface
mineral products or natural resources. Typical uses include quarries,
borrow pits, sand and gravel operations, oil and gas extraction, and
mining operations.
Stockyard services involving the temporary keeping of livestock
for slaughter, market or shipping. Typical uses include stockyards
and animal sales in auction yards.
Civic use types include the performance of utility, educational,
recreational, cultural, medical, productive, governmental, and other
uses which are strongly vested with public or social importance.
Offices, administrative, clerical, or public contract services
that deal directly with the citizen, together with incidental storage
and maintenance of necessary vehicles. Typical uses include federal,
state, county, and city offices.
Landing fields, aircraft parking and service facilities,
and related facilities for operation, service, fueling, repair, storage,
charter, sales, and rental or [of] aircraft, and including activities
directly associated with the operation and maintenance of airport
facilities and the provision of safety and security.
Land used or intended to be used for the burial of the dead
and dedicated for cemetery purposes, including columbariums, crematoriums,
mausoleums, and mortuaries when operated in conjunction with and within
the boundary of such cemetery.
A use providing meeting, recreational, or social facilities
for a private or nonprofit association, primarily for use by members
and guests. Typical uses include private social clubs and fraternal
organizations.
Educational institutions of higher learning which offer a
course of study designed to culminate in the issuance of a degree
as defined by the Education Code of the State of Texas.
A recreational facility for use by residents and guests of
a particular residential development, planned unit development, church,
private primary educational facility, private secondary educational
facility, club, or lodge, or limited residential neighborhood, including
both indoor and outdoor facilities.
A use providing bed care and in-patient services for persons
requiring regular medical attention, such as nursing home, but excluding
facilities providing surgical or emergency medical services, facilities
providing care for alcoholism, drug addiction, mental disease, or
communicable disease.
A library, museum, or similarly registered nonprofit organizational
use displaying, preserving, and exhibiting objects of community and
cultural interest.
A public school offering instruction at the elementary school
level in the branches of learning and study required to be taught
in the public schools of the State of Texas.
A private or parochial school offering instruction at the
elementary school level in the branches of learning and study required
to be taught in the public schools of the State of Texas.
A publicly operated use providing housing and care for individuals
legally confined.
A use providing counseling, guidance, recuperative, or similar
services to persons requiring rehabilitation assistance as a result
of mental illness, alcoholism, detention, drug addiction, or similar
condition, on a daytime care basis.
A facility providing medical, psychiatric, or surgical service
for sick or injured persons, primarily on an in-patient basis, and
including ancillary facilities for out-patient and emergency treatment,
diagnostic services, training, research, administration, and services
to patients, employees, or visitors.
A facility providing medical, psychiatric, or surgical services
for sick or injured persons exclusively on an out-patient basis, including
emergency treatment, diagnostic services, training, administration,
and services to out-patients, employees, or visitors.
Services which are necessary to support principal development
and involve only minor structures such as lines and poles which are
necessary to support principal development.
A facility supporting maintenance, repair, vehicular or equipment
servicing, material storage, and similar activities, including corporation
yards, equipment service centers, and similar uses having characteristics
of commercial services or contracting or industrial activities.
Generating plants, electrical switching facilities and primary
substations, refuse collection or disposal facilities, water and wastewater
treatment plants, and similar facilities.
Military facilities of the federal and state governments.
Publicly owned and operated parks, playgrounds, recreation
facilities, and open spaces.
Railroad yards, equipment servicing facilities, and terminal
facilities.
A use located in a permanent or temporary building and providing
regular organized religious worship and religious education incidental
thereto, but excluding private primary or private secondary educational
facilities, community recreational facilities, and parking facilities.
A property tax exemption obtained pursuant to Property Tax Code of
the State of Texas shall constitute prima facie evidence of religious
assembly use.
Facilities for the conduct of public safety and emergency
services, including police and fire protection services and emergency
medical and ambulance services.
A facility for loading, unloading, and interchange of passengers,
baggage, and incidental freight or package express between modes or
[of] transportation, including bus terminals, railroad stations, airport
terminals, and public transit facilities.
Agricultural use types include the on-site production of
plant and animal products by agricultural methods.
The growing of horticulture and floricultural specialties,
such as flowers, shrubs, or trees intended for ornamental or landscaping
purposes, but excluding retail sales. Typical uses include wholesale
plant nurseries and greenhouses.
(Ordinance 09-O-02 adopted 1/28/2009; Ordinance 22-O-03.02-01 adopted 3/2/2022; Ordinance
2022-O-05.25-01 adopted 5/25/2022)
The following section contains definitions applicable to this
ordinance.
A permitted sign erected on property in conjunction with
a particular use that has been discontinued for a period of 30 days
or more.
Any motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer, or watercraft
that is inoperative and left unattended on public or private property;
or that has remained illegally on public or private property; or that
has remained on public or private property and (a) does not display
valid registration plates or (b) displays registration plates of another
vehicle.
A portion of a roadway designed to allow vehicles to safely
decelerate for turns onto intersecting streets or safely accelerate
to merge with the prevailing traffic flow.
A residential use, structure, or building incidental to the
principal permitted or conditionally approved use on a site, whether
comprising a portion of the principal structure on the site or located
within an accessory structure or building.
A building or use that is all of the following: a) constructed
or located on the same zoning as the main building, or use served,
except as may be specifically provided elsewhere in this Ordinance;
b) clearly incidental to, subordinate in purpose to, and serving the
principal use; and c) either in the same ownership as the principal
structure, building or use or is clearly operated and maintained solely
for the comfort, convenience, necessity, or benefit of the occupants,
employees, customers, or visitors of the principal use.
Abutting and directly connected to or bordering.
Property that touches or is directly across a street from
the subject property.
In the case of the granting of an administrative exception,
an allowance for adjustment of a numerical standard by the City Manager
or Board of Adjustment may be made, up to 10% from the minimum or
maximum numerical standard. The standard is measured in decimal numbers,
not percentages. For example, a 15-foot setback could be adjusted
by +/- 1.5 feet. And a 35% impervious cover limit (0.35) could be
adjusted upwards by 10% up to 38.5% or 0.10 x 0.35 = 0.385, instead
of the original 35%.
Those decisions that are made by the City Manager.
That person designated by the City Council to administer
and enforce the provisions of this Unified Development Code.
means, but is not limited to, an adult arcade, adult bookstore,
adult cabaret, adult lounge, adult novelty shop, adult service business,
or adult theater.
Adult Arcade
means a movie arcade, game arcade, or other business that
primarily offers still or motion pictures or games that emphasize
specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
Adult Bookstore
a.
b.
means a business:
that primarily offers books, magazines, films or videotapes,
periodicals, or other printed or pictorial materials that emphasize
specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas; and
in which at least 35 percent of the gross floor area is devoted
to offering merchandise described in above in (2)(a).
Adult Cabaret
means a business that primarily offers live entertainment
that emphasizes specified sexual activities or specified anatomical
areas.
Adult Lounge
means an adult cabaret that serves alcoholic beverages.
Adult Novelty Shop
means a business that primarily sells products that emphasize
specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, and in
which at least 35 percent of the gross floor area is devoted to the
sale of those products.
Adult Service Business
means an adult encounter parlor, adult retreat, nude modeling
studio, or a commercial enterprise that holds itself out to be primarily
in the business of offering a service that is distinguished or characterized
by an emphasis on depicting, describing, or relating to specified
sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
Adult Theater
means a business that primarily exhibits motion pictures
that emphasize specified sexual activities or specified anatomical
areas.
Farming activities, including but not limited to plowing,
tillage, cropping, installation of best management practices, seeding,
cultivating, and harvesting for production of food and fiber products
(except commercial logging and timber harvesting operations), the
grazing and raising of livestock, aquaculture, sod production, orchards,
nursery, and other products cultivated as part of a recognized commercial
enterprise.
Land carried on the Williamson County Appraisal District
tax rolls as agricultural land, or which is used for the purpose of
conducting agricultural activities.
The use of land for the production and primary processing
of food and fibers for sale, including cultivating, dairying, horticulture,
pasturing, floriculture, silviculture, viticulture, animal and poultry
husbandry, and such incidental accessory facilities as greenhouses
and nurseries, provided that the operation of such accessory facilities
shall be clearly secondary to normal agricultural activities. Agriculture
includes, but is not limited to, the related activities of tillage,
fertilization, pest control, harvesting, and marketing. It also includes,
but is not limited to, the activities of feeding, housing, and maintaining
of animals such as cattle, dairy cows, sheep, goats, hogs, horses,
and poultry and handling their byproducts.
The total number of units permitted by the City for a tract
of land. Allowable Density is based on the Gross Density and then
factoring in the lot standards from Table 5.1 [4-4]).
An amended plat is used to correct errors or omissions as
long as it does not remove covenants Amended Plat - Any changes made
to an approved preliminary or final plat. Also see grade elevation
and grade-related terms.
A multifamily dwelling unit.
The grade of the finished ground level at the midpoint of
each exterior surface of a sign, or that of a structure to which a
sign has been attached.
A sign constructed on a single set of supports with messages
visible on any side.
Any animated, rotating, fluttering or nonstationary device
made of flexible materials designed to attract attention.
That portion of a building having more than one-half (1/2)
of its height below lot grade elevation.
A house that is used as a lodging facility for paying guests.
A Bed and Breakfast is generally a smaller lodging facility than a
hotel.
Conservation practices or systems of practices and management
measures that control soil loss and reduce water quality degradation
caused by nutrients, animal waste, toxicants, and sediment. Agricultural
BMPs include, but are not limited to, strip cropping, terracing, contour
stripping, grass waterways, animal waste structures, ponds, minimal
tillage, grass and naturally vegetated filter strips, and proper nutrient
application measures. BMPs [sic]
An area of land bounded by streets, or by a combination of
streets and public parks, cemeteries, railroad rights-of-way, banks
of waterways, or municipal boundary lines.
The properties abutting on one side of a street and lying
between two nearest intersecting or intercepting streets, or nearest
intersecting or intercepting street, nonsubdivided land, watercourse,
or municipal boundary.
The BOA reviews and makes recommendations of on [sic] an
appeal of an Administrative Decision and Administrative Exception
or Variance to a zoning decision.
A residential building or portion thereof, other than a motel,
or hotel, which contains lodging rooms which that accommodate not
more than 20 persons who are not members of the keeper’s family.
Lodging with or without meals is provided for compensation on a weekly
or monthly basis.
means a group of two (2) or more organizations where the
same five (5) or fewer common owners own a controlling interest in
each group and taking into account the ownership of each common owner
only to the extent ownership is identical with respect to each organization,
the common owners are in control of more than fifty (50) percent of
each organization.
Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District
A strip or area of land, identified on a site plan or in
a zoning ordinance, established to separate one type of land use from
another land use. Normally, the area is landscaped or kept in open
space use.
A building surrounded by an open space on the same lot.
The vertical distance measured from the finished grade elevation
to the highest point of the underside of the building beams, in the
case of a flat roof; to the deck line of a mansard roof; and to the
mean level of the under side of rafters between the eaves and the
ridge of a gable, hip, or gambrel roof.
An agent of the City who inspects building construction for
plan/permit compliance.
A written authorization to construct, erect, or alter a structure
or building as issued by the City Manager.
Any building which houses a primary or principal use of the
land on which it is located.
A line measured a distance specified by this ordinance from
the front, rear, and side lot lines on which no building or structure
may be erected.
The diameter of a tree trunk measured at four feet above
the root collar.
A roof-like structure of a permanent nature which may be
freestanding or projected from a wall of a building or its supports.
Any type of building sign attached to, in any manner, or
made a part of a canopy.
Canopy trees are trees that occupy the uppermost layer in
a forest.
Land used for the burial of the dead, and dedicated for cemetery
purposes, including columbaria, crematories, mausoleums, and mortuaries,
when operated in conjunction with and within the boundary of such
cemetery.
The certificate issued by the City Manager or designee that
permits the use of a building or premises in accordance with the approved
plans or permits and the provisions of law for the use and occupancy
of the building in its several parts, together with any special stipulations
or conditions of the building permit.
Any place, home or institution that receives nine (9) or
more children under the age of fourteen (14) years, and not of common
parentage, for care apart from their natural parents, legal guardians,
or custodians, when received for regular periods of time for compensation,
provided that this definition shall not include public or private
schools organized, operated, or approved under Texas laws, custody
of children fixed by a court of competent jurisdiction, children related
by blood or marriage within the third degree to the custodial person,
or to churches or other religious or public institutions caring for
children within the institutional building while their parents or
legal guardians are attending service, activities, or meetings.
The Mayor and City Council for the City of Liberty Hill.
The removal of trees and brush from the land not including
the ordinary mowing of grass.
A building in which one or more specializing physicians and/or
dentists have their offices. A clinic shall not include in-patient
care (i.e., no overnight accommodation of patients).
A development concept which encourages and permits variations
in residential developments by allowing deviation in lot size, type
of dwelling, lot coverage and open space from that which is normally
required in the applicable zoning district. Dwelling units are concentrated
in a selected area or selected areas of the development tract in order
to provide natural habitat or other open space uses (including agriculture)
on the remainder.
shall mean owned by the same person or owned by persons within
a parentsubsidiary group, brother-sister group, or a combination of
those groups subject to the constructive ownership and attribution
rules located in the Internal Revenue Code, I.R.C. section 1563(e).
shall mean a construction activity that is completed in separate
stages, separate phases, or in combination with other construction
activities. A common plan of development (also known as a “common
plan of development or sale”) is identified by the documentation
for the construction project that identifies the scope of the project,
and may include plats, blueprints, marketing plans, contracts, building
permits, a public notice or hearing, zoning requests, or other similar
documentation and activities. A common plan of development does not
necessarily include all construction projects within the jurisdiction
of a public entity (e.g. a City or County). Construction of roads
or buildings in different parts of the jurisdiction would be considered
separate “common plans,” with only the interconnected
parts of a project being considered part of a “common plan”
(e.g. a building and its associated parking lot and driveways, a building
complex, etc.). Where discrete construction projects occur within
a larger common plan of development or sale, but are located one-half
(1/2) mile or more apart, and the area between the projects is not
being disturbed, each individual project can be treated as a separate
plan of development or sale, provided that any interconnecting road,
pipeline or utility project that is part of the same “common
plan” is not included in the area to be disturbed.
Any radio, television or communication antenna or tower for
uplink, downlink, relay, broadcast or reception of communication signals,
but not including either mobile transmitters and receivers or any
such facilities with a transmission power of less than seven (7) watts.
Community service is a use that can be allowed in a residential
area with a special use permit. Community Service is for such uses
for volunteer service organizations, church services, and other similar
services for the benefit of the community (not necessarily a City
service).
A sign that advertises or solicits support for a nonprofit
community use, public use or social institution. Such signs may include,
but shall not be limited to: seasonal holidays such as Christmas or
Easter, school or religious activities, sports boosters, or events
of community interest. Such signs shall be placed only by: units of
local, state or federal governments; nonprofit organizations; schools,
the chamber of commerce; or normally recognized religious organizations.
Any system, whether publicly or privately owned, serving
multiple lots, dwelling units, businesses, commercial or industrial
establishments for the collection, transportation and disposal of
sewage or industrial wastes of liquid nature, including various devices
for the treatment of such sewage and industrial wastes.
A source of water and a distribution system, including treatment
and storage facilities, whether publicly or privately owned, serving
or providing potable water to multiple lots, dwelling units, businesses
or commercial or industrial developments.
Evidence that people of ordinary prudence would rely on in
conducting their own affairs.
The adopted City of Liberty Hill Drainage Master Plan.
The Comprehensive Plan of The City of Liberty Hill, as approved
by the City Council, including any amendments. or extensions.
The adopted City of Liberty Hill Utility Plan.
A specific use that would not be appropriate generally or
without restriction, the granting of which shall be based upon a finding
by the Planning and Zoning Commission that certain conditions governing
the proposed conditional use as detailed in this Ordinance Code exist,
that the use conforms to the Comprehensive Plan and that it is compatible
with the existing neighborhood.
The maps, drawings, and specifications indicating the proposed
location and design of improvements to be installed in a subdivision/site
plan.
Williamson County, Texas.
A public road or street which that is part of the Highway
Maintenance System of Williamson County.
Features which that have been determined to be of critical
importance to the protection of one or more environmental resources.
They include such features as bluffs, springs, canyon rim rocks, caves,
sinkholes and wetlands.
A region measured outward from the trunk of the tree representing
the essential area of the roots that must be conserved or preserved
for the tree’s livelihood. The CRZ is measured as one foot of
radial distance outward from the trunk for every inch of the tree
caliper, and may not be less than a radius of eight feet[.]
A drainage structure placed beneath an embankment typically
with a span of less than twenty (20) feet.
Calendar day, unless otherwise specified.
A condition where the principal structure of a historic resource
has become unsafe as a result of 1) the deterioration of the foundations,
exterior walls, roofs, chimneys, doors, or windows, so as to create
or permit a hazardous or unsafe condition to exist, or 2) the deterioration
of the foundations, exterior walls, roofs, chimneys, doors, windows,
the lack of adequate waterproofing, or the deterioration of interior
features which that will or could result in permanent damage, injury,
or loss of or loss to foundations, exterior walls, roofs, chimneys,
doors, or windows.
The allowable, proposed or existing number of dwelling units
per acre within a defined and measurable area. Floodplain and areas
designated for stormwater detention and retention shall not be included
in density calculations.
An increase in the number of units per acre not to exceed
120% of the Maximum Development Density (e.g., Maximum Density Bonus
in Medium Density Residential is 4.8 units per acre).
To change the runoff characteristics of a parcel of land
in conjunction with residential industrial, commercial, or institutional
construction or alteration.
Land that is unconstrained by such conditions as steep slopes,
floodways, floodplains, or adverse soil or water conditions that preclude
development, and that does not have a significant environmental resource
identified such as wetland, critical environmental features, or critical
riparian habitats.
A person with freehold, possessor, or contractual interest
in land proposed for development. See also “Subdivider”
[sic].
The construction or substantial alteration of open lands,
or agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial, institutional,
or transportation facilities or structures including any man-made
change to improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited
to buildings and other structures, dredging, fill, grading, paving,
clearing, excavation, dumping, extraction, or storage of equipment
or materials. Development includes the process of subdivision.
Applications submitted to the City for consideration of a
permit for construction.
Means, for the purposes of a forestation, reforestation,
or payment of “fees-in-lieu” into a fund: A) the release
of the development bond, if required; B) acceptance of the project’s
streets, utilities, and public services by the responsible Department(s);
or C) designation by the City Council (Planning and Zoning Commission)
that a development project has been completed, or a particular stage
of a staged development project, including a planned unit development,
has been completed.
Any sign that is structurally unsound, has defective parts,
or is in need of painting or maintenance.
A sign that is freestanding and whose primary purpose is
to give directions to parking lots, exits, entrances, drive-through
windows or similar locations.
A sign with two faces that are usually, but not necessarily,
parallel.
A place of business operated for the retail sale of products,
services, or entertainment. It is designed to allow its patrons to
be served or accommodated while remaining in their motor vehicles.
Such business may also be designed to accommodate pedestrian traffic.
A private access road, drive, or lane to an individual residence,
which is contained within the lot or parcel and is not intended to
serve any other lot or parcel of land.
A building, or portion thereof, designed or used exclusively
for residential occupancy, including single-family dwellings, two-family
dwellings, and multiple-family dwellings (not including hotels and
motels).
A dwelling that is joined to another dwelling at one or more
sides by a wall or part [party] walls.
A dwelling that is entirely surrounded by open space on the
same lot.
A building, or portion thereof, containing three (3) or more
dwelling units.
A building containing one (1) dwelling unit only.
One room, or rooms connected together, constituting a separate,
independent housekeeping establishment for human occupancy, or rental
or lease on a weekly, monthly or longer basis, and physically separated
from any other rooms or dwelling units which may be in the same structure,
and containing independent cooking and sleeping facilities.
A right to land generally established in a real estate instrument
or on a recorded plat to permit the use of land by the public, a legal
entity, or particular persons for specified uses.
A more or less self-contained biological community together
with the physical environment in which the community’s organisms
occur.
An education facility is a public or private school (not
a day care) for primary or secondary education. This also includes
other educational services such as driver’s education, beauty
school, etc.
Contributing Zone.
All land generally to the west and upstream of the Edwards
Aquifer Recharge Zone that provides drainage into the Edwards Aquifer
Recharge Zone.
Recharge Zone.
The boundaries of the recharge zone shall encompass all land
over the Edwards Aquifer, recharging the same, as determined by the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ formerly TNRCC) and
the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (BSEACD).
A self-illuminated or externally illuminated sign or sign
structure in which electric wiring, connections and/or fixtures are
used, as part of the sign, to provide illumination.
A building with walls on all sides, where items are stored
for a fee.
A bar preventing one from making an allegation or a denial
that contradicts what one has previously stated as the truth.
Any act by which soil or rock is cut into, dug, quarried,
uncovered, removed, displaced, or relocated including the conditions
resulting therefrom.
Any sign erected, mounted or displayed prior to the adoption
of this subchapter[.]
The architectural style, design, and general arrangement
of the exterior of a historic resource, including the color, nature,
and texture of building materials, and the type and style of all windows,
doors, light fixtures, signs, or other similar items found on, or
related to, the exterior of a historic resource.
The unincorporated area that is contiguous to the corporate
boundaries of the municipality and that is located within one-half
mile of those boundaries (in the case of a municipality with fewer
than 5,000 inhabitants). The ETJ increases as population increases.
The entire building wall (including street wall face, parapet,
fascia, windows, doors, canopy and roof) on any completed building.
Applies to a Certificate of Design Compliance. In the case
of a request of a Demolition of a Historical Site, the Front Facade
of said historic building may remain after demolition as an easement
to protect the facade in perpetuity.
Two or more persons occupying a dwelling unit and using common
cooking facilities, provided that unless all members are related by
blood or marriage, or legal adoption, no such shall contain more than
four (4) nonrelated persons. Family members related by blood or marriage
shall be a father, mother, son, daughter, grandfather, grandmother,
grandson and granddaughter.
A private residence where eight (8) or fewer children receive
care and supervision for periods of less than 24 hours per day.
A “Soil Conservation and Water Quality Plan”
prepared by the Soil Conservation District.
A barrier made of wire, wood, metal, masonry, or other material
used as a screen or enclosure for a yard or open space. It includes
a wall, gate, or structure which that functions to enclose an open
space or yard; however, a retaining wall, freestanding sign, or landscape
structure is not considered a fence except for that portion which
that functions as a fence.
A deposit of materials of any kind placed by artificial means.
A final plat is a subdivision or drawing intended for recordation
in the plat records of the county in which the subdivision is located.
Final plat submittal will normally be consolidated with construction
plan/development permit submittal. There are three types of final
plats.
A final plat that requires a preliminary plan and concurrent
construction plans for streets and infrastructure of the Land Development
Code. The preliminary plan must be approved prior to the final plat
approval.
Fiscal surety is for the purpose of securing the estimated
cost of completing capital improvements, should the City find it necessary
to complete the improvements instead of the landowner or developer.
Fiscal surety can be in the form of a line of credit or Assurance
of Bonds.
A sign, other than a flag sign, that extends outward for
more than six inches from the facade of any building, and is rigidly
affixed thereto.
A sign with flashing, blinking or moving lights, regardless
of wattage, whether directly or indirectly illuminated, except for
time and temperature signs. This includes a sign that uses traveling
lights, traveling lighted messages, or flashing lights.
A sign erected parallel to, attached within six inches of,
and supported throughout its length by the facade of a building. A
flat sign does not extend above that building.
Base Flood (Elevation) (BFE).
The (flood) elevation of the lowest habitable floor of any
building as established in a flood elevation certificate executed
by a Texas licensed property line or land surveyor. A floor used only
for storage purposes is not a habitable floor, nor is an unfinished
area or enclosure usable solely for parking of vehicles or building
access considered habitable. Where the boundaries of the flood and
mudflow related erosion areas having special hazards have been designated
as Zone A, M and/or E.
Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).
Map which depicts the minimum special flood hazard area to
be regulated by this Ordinance Code (unless a Floodway Map is available).
Floodplain.
Land typically adjacent to a body of water with ground surface
elevations that are inundated by the base flood.
Flood Protection Elevation (FPE).
The base flood elevation plus one foot.
Floodway.
The channel of a river of or [sic] other watercourse and
adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the
base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation
more than a designated height.
Floodway Fringe.
That portion of the floodplain outside the floodway.
Floodway Map.
Map depicting floodways and special flood hazard areas which
that are regulated by this Ordinance Code.
100-Year Floodplain.
An area along or adjacent to a stream or body of water that
is capable of storing or conveying floodwaters during a 100-year frequency
storm event, or a 100-year flood.
See “Rules of Measurement” [Section 8.03]
Prolonging the flow time of runoff to reduce the peak discharge.
A sign supported by a sign structure secured in the ground,
and which is wholly independent of any building, fence, vehicle or
other support. Freestanding signs may have more than one section,
one of which may be changeable.
The length of all the property fronting on one side of a
street between the two nearest intersecting streets, measured along
the line of the street; or if dead-ended, then all of the property
abutting on one side between an intersection street and dead end of
the same.
A type of multifamily housing. Dwelling units share a common
outside access. Ownership is not a factor in this type of unit, and
may be either rental or condominium.
A map or plat designed to illustrate the general design features
and street layout of a proposed subdivision which is proposed to be
developed and platted in sections.
The City will maintain an electronic mapping system in National
Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 elevation. Surveys and plats
submitted for review and Flood Elevation Certificates are required
to be referenced to NGVD. The GIS interface for the City is ArcView
(an ESRI Product).
Global Positioning System - a technology used to identify
exact geographical coordinates for use in surveying and planning.
A measurement determined by averaging the elevations of the
finished ground at all corners and/or other principal points in the
perimeter wall of the building.
Existing Grade.
The vertical location of the existing ground surface prior
to excavating or filling.
Finished Grade.
The final grade or elevation of the ground surface conforming
to the proposed design.
Any stripping, excavating, filling, including hydraulic fill,
stockpiling or any combination thereof. Grading does not include plowing,
disking and cultivating for lawn establishment or renovation.
The total area of all floors of a building measured to the
outside surfaces of the exterior walls.
The number of dwelling units allowed per the base zoning
district multiplied by the total site acreage. This number will be
affected by Lot Standards in Table 5.1 [4-4].
The total amount of acreage of raw land.
(Gross Density = Gross Site Area * Maximum Development Density)
A credit guarantee that a prospective developer provides
to the City of Liberty Hill to provide assurances to the City that
the work on the development (particularly infrastructure improvements)
will be made according to original plans as approved.
Health Officer for Williamson County.
The vertical dimension measured from finished grade to the
highest point of the thing being measured. See also: Building Height.
A permit issued, or to be issued, by the City Manager, authorizing
work on a historic resource within a designated historic district
or landmark.
A historic resource comprised of 2 or more properties which
that are significant as a cohesive unit and contribute to historical,
architectural, archeological, or cultural values, which has been identified
by the Historic Preservation Commission and duly classified pursuant
to the procedures of the Texas Historical Commission. A historic district
includes all property within its boundaries, and may overlay any zoning
district.
Any individual historic resource that is significant and
contributes to historical, architectural, archeological, or cultural
values, which has been identified by the Texas Historical Commission
and duly classified.
An area of land, building, structure, or object, or a group
or combination thereof, including appurtenances and environmental
setting which that may be significant in national, state, or local
history, architecture, archeology, or culture.
An accessory use as a personal service or profession or use
customarily conducted within a dwelling carried on by a resident thereof,
which does not change the residential character of the dwelling.
The coordinate number and street name assigned to any structure
or parcel of land.
Any sign that is directly lighted by an external source.
Any sign that transmits light through its face or any part
thereof[.]
A person who is the applicant’s father, mother, son,
daughter, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, or granddaughter.
A material, that does not allow infiltration.
All buildings, roads, parking and driveways, paving, patios,
decks, stoops, porches, steps, walkways, piers, or swimming pools
constructed on a lot which that [sic] reduce the infiltration capacity
of the land or result in increased stormwater runoff. Wooden decks
and walkways (or portions thereof) shall be credited by fifty (50)
percent of there [sic] the total square footage.
Not capable of being put into practice or of being done or
accomplished.
A sign, generally informational, that has a purpose secondary
to the use of the lot on which it is located, such as “no parking,”
“entrance,” “loading only,” “telephone,”
an address, and other similar directives limited to four square feet.
A special or exclusive type of planned industrial area designed
and equipped to accommodate a community of industries, providing them
with all necessary facilities and services in attractive surroundings
among compatible neighbors. Industrial parks may be promoted or sponsored
by private developers, community organizations or government organizations.
The passage or movement of water into the soil surface. Also
means, potable or nonpotable water from dripping or leaking pipes,
valves, plumbing or fixtures, or seep water, rain water or stormwater
entering in sewer lateral lines on private property through cracks,
pipe joints, openings or other defects in the lateral line[.]
A sign that is either expanded to its full dimensions or
supported by gases contained within the sign, or sign parts, at a
pressure greater than atmospheric pressure.
A sign designating only the direction of ingress or egress
of a parking area or driveway, such as “in,” “entrance,”
“exit,” “one way,” “do not enter”
or “no exit.”
A sign displayed inside a building that is not within five
feet of windows or doors.
A stream which that has a period of zero flow for at least
one week during most years. Where flow records are available, a stream
with a 7Q2 flow of less than 0.1 ft3/s
is considered intermittent.
A “bona fide intrafamily transfer” means a transfer
to a member of the owner’s immediate family of a portion of
the owner’s property for the purpose of establishing a residence
for that family member.
Any facilities owned and maintained in common by the inhabitants
of the development, including, but not limited to, drives, water systems,
sewer systems, parking areas, open space, club houses, amenities,
and developed recreation areas.
An open area where waste or scrap materials (including but
not limited to scrap iron and other metals, paper, rags, rubber tires,
and bottles) are bought, sold, exchanged, stored, baled, packed, disassembled,
or handled. A “junk or salvage yard” includes an auto
wrecking yard, but does not include uses established entirely within
enclosed buildings.
The raising of fish or shellfish in any natural or man-made,
enclosed or impounded, water body.
Any activity that removes the vegetative ground cover.
Any one of the types of landfills regulated by the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), including but not limited
to municipal solid waste, industrial rubble, and land clearing debris
landfills.
Any combination of trees, ground cover, shrubs, vines, flowers
or lawn planted in the ground or in ground-level containers.
A landscaped area or areas within the shortest line defining
the perimeter or exterior boundary of the parking or loading area,
or similar paved area, excluding driveways or walkways, providing
access to the facility (as applied to parking and loading facilities
or to similar paved areas).
A landscaped area adjoining and part of the landscaped interior[.]
A plan, showing dimensions and details for planting in a
landscaped area.
A trafficway including toll roads for through traffic, in
respect to which owners or occupants of abutting property or lands
and other persons have no legal right of access to or from the same,
except as may be permitted by the public authority having jurisdiction
over such trafficway.
A space within the main building or on the same lot which
that provides for the standing, loading, or unloading of trucks or
other vehicles.
A trademark or company name symbol.
A portion of a subdivision or tract of land having frontage
on a street or road which that is intended for development and which
meets the requirements as a legal building site per this Ordinance
Code.
The area of a horizontal plane bounded by the front, side,
and rear lot lines, but not including any area occupied by the waters
of a recorded river or stream segment.
A lot situated at the intersection of two (2) or more streets.
On a corner lot, the front lot line is defined as that lot line which
contains the narrowest of all street frontages abutting a public street
or public/private right-of-way. However, for lots abutting any street
designated as minor collector or higher in classification, all lot
lines abutting such higher order streets shall be deemed front lot
lines.
The mean horizontal distance between the front lot line and
rear lot line of a lot, measured within the lot boundaries.
A lot other than a corner or reversed corner lot.
That boundary of a lot that is along an existing or dedicated
public street, or, where no public street exists, is along a public
way.
Any boundary of a lot that is not a front lot line or a side
lot line but generally running parallel to, and opposite of, a front
lot line.
Any boundary of a lot that is not a front lot line or a rear
lot line but generally running perpendicular to the front or rear
lot lines.
A parcel of land which that has been legally subdivided and
recorded in the official public records of Williamson County.
A corner lot, the street side lot line of which is substantially
a continuation of the front lot line of the first lot to its rear.
A lot having a pair of opposite lot lines along two (2) more
or less parallel public streets, and which is not a corner lot. On
a “through lot,” both street lines shall be deemed front
lot lines.
The horizontal distance between the side lot lines of a lot
measured at the narrowest width within the first thirty (30) feet
of lot depth immediately in back of the front yard setback line.
The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area of a building
or structure, including the basement. An unfinished enclosure constructed
of flood-resistant materials used solely for parking of vehicles,
storage, or building access in an area other than a basement is not
the lowest floor, as long as it is supplied with water equalizing
vents.
Simple majority.
The next whole number beyond fifty percent of the members
present and voting (e.g., three out of either four or five; four out
of either six or seven)[.]
Absolute majority.
The next whole number beyond fifty percent of all members
authorized to vote, including those not present or present but not
voting.
Supermajority.
The next whole number beyond a specified percent greater
than fifty percent (e.g., two-thirds or three-fourths). A supermajority
requirement may be either simple or absolute[.]
A structure constructed on or after June 15, 1976, according
to the rules of the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development, transportable in one or more sections, which, in the
traveling mode, is eight (8) feet or more in width or forty (40) body
feet or more in length, or when erected on-site, is three hundred
and twenty (320) or more square feet, and which is built on a permanent
chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent
foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes
the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems. The
term does not include a recreation vehicle as that term is defined
by 24 C.F.R. Section 3282.8(g).
Any permanent roof-like structure projecting beyond a building
or extending from a facade, along and projecting beyond the wall of
the building, generally designed and constructed to provide protection
from the weather.
Any sign attached to, in any manner, or made a part of a
marquee.
Each Zoning District has a maximum number of units per acre
that can be placed on a tract. This number ONLY provides the maximum
number of units allowed on the site. The Net Yield is the total number
of units that can be placed on a site after having factored in (see
below) environmental constraints, right-of-way, drainage areas, impervious
cover limitations, minimum lot size standards, all setbacks, and maximum
lot coverage.
The act of exploring for or recovering stone, soil, peat,
sand, gravel, limestone, coal, granite or other mineral resources
from the ground for sale or for use off the property where it is recovered;
it does not include removal of loose, surface stone, excavation related
solely to agricultural activities or preparation of individual building
sites.
For the purposes of these regulations, a minor plat subdivision
is defined as a subdivision:
Involving not more than five (5) lots fronting on an existing
approved street; and
Not involving any new street or prospectively requiring any
new street for access to interior property; and
Not requiring extension of public sewage or water lines to serve
properties at the rear; and
Creating no new or residual parcels not conforming to the requirements
of these regulations and related ordinances.
A development project that includes two or more types of
uses.
A structure that was constructed before June 15, 1976, transportable
in one or more sections, which [sic], transportable in one or more
sections, which, in the traveling mode, is eight (8) feet or more
in width or forty (40) body feet or more in length, or when erected
on-site, is three hundred and twenty (320) or more square feet, and
which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a
dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to
the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning,
and electrical systems.
Any site, lot, parcel, or tract of land that is improved,
used, or intended for the accommodation of mobile homes that are used
for living purposes.
A sign which is attached directly to the ground or is supported
by a sign structure that is placed on or anchored in the ground and
is independent from any building or other structure.
The same as hotel, except it is designed to accommodate any
number of guests, the building or buildings are designed primarily
to serve tourists traveling by automobile, and ingress and egress
to rooms need not be through a lobby or office.
Any passenger vehicle, truck, truck-trailer, or semi-trailer
propelled or drawn by mechanical power.
Any electrical sign having a continuous message flow across
its surface by utilizing lights or other electrical impulses that
form various words and/or designs, including but not limited to time
and temperature signs.
A commercial sign identifying more than one business or organization
located on the premises.
Components and processes present in or produced by nature,
including but not limited to, soil types, geology, slopes, vegetation,
surface water, drainage patterns, aquifers, recharge areas, climate,
floodplains, aquatic life, and wildlife.
The ground surface in its original state before grading,
stripping, excavation, landscaping, or filling.
Those plant communities that develop in the absence of human
activities.
A condition where landforms or biological communities, or
both, have developed by natural process in the absence of human intervention.
shall mean a traffic impact analysis for developments taking
access from public streets that would result in a trip generation
of more than an average of five hundred (500) trips per day based
upon the latest edition of the ITE Trip Generation Manual or more
net new daily vehicle trips or if the application is for a public
or private primary, intermediate, or secondary educational facilities.
Net Site Area includes only the portions of a site that lie
in an uplands zone and have not been designated for wastewater irrigation.
Net Site Area is the aggregate of:
100 percent of land with a gradient of 15% or less;
40% of the land with a gradient of more than 15% and not more
than 25%; and
20% of the land with a gradient of more than 25% and not more
than 35%.
(Impervious Cover calculations are based on the Net Site Area.)
Net site area can include floodplains in the calculations
(except for areas above the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone) if floodplains
are used as public space for such uses as public open space, parks,
or hike and bike trails.
The total number of units allowed (not yet permitted) based
on the Preliminary Yield and Lot Standards for a tract.
National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 elevation reference
points set by the National Geodetic Survey based on mean sea level.
Surveys submitted for review and Flood Elevation Certificates are
required to be referenced to NGVD.
Sound Level.
The weighted sound pressure level obtained by the use of
the sound level meter and frequency-weighting network, as specified
in the American National Standards Institute specifications.
Sound Pressure.
The instantaneous difference between the actual pressure
and the average or barometric pressure at a given point in space as
produced by sound energy.
Except as otherwise defined herein, any sign with a valid
permit that was erected or displayed prior to the effective date of
this subchapter, or any subsequent amendment hereto, and does not
conform with one or more of its provisions.
A structure that was lawfully erected but which does not
conform to the currently applicable requirements and standards prescribed
in the regulations for the district in which the structure is located
by reason of adoption or amendment of this Code.
Any use of land, buildings, or structures, lawfully existing
at the time of the enactment of this Code, or of any amendment hereto,
governing use for the zoning district in which such use is located,
which does not comply with all regulations of this its [sic] amendments.
Pollution generated by diffuse land use activities rather
than from an identifiable or discrete source or facility. It is conveyed
to waterways through natural processes, such as rainfall, storm runoff,
or groundwater seepage rather than by deliberate discharge. Nonpoint
source pollution is not generally corrected by “end-of-pipe
treatment,” but rather, by changes in land management practices.
Resources that are not naturally regenerated.
Material which that is capable of causing injury to living
organisms by chemical reaction or is capable of causing detrimental
effects upon the physical or economic well-being of individuals.
For the purposes of this Ordinance Code, noxious plants include:
poison ivy, poison oak, kudzu and other plants that cause harm either
because they are capable of causing harm to humans and animals by
chemical reaction or are nonnative invasive species which that overwhelm
native species and determined to be undesirable by the county or the
state.
A use of property or course of conduct that interferes with
the legal rights of others by causing damage, annoyance, or inconvenience.
Any land used to raise or store trees, shrubs, flowers, and
other plants for sale, facilities for the display and sale of those
items and/or of gardening supplies, and accessory greenhouses, storage
buildings, or customer parking areas.
Any use of, or activity upon, the premises.
Any matter or material that yields an odor which that most
persons find to be offensive.
Any sign located, or proposed to be located, at any place
other than upon the property of the business or other activity identified
on such a sign. For purpose of this subchapter, easements and other
appurtenances shall be considered outside such property. Community
service signs, as approved by the City Council, are exceptions to
this definition.
Structures or actions that compensate for undesirable impacts.
A site or portion of a site located off of a public road
devoted to the loading or unloading of motor vehicles or trailers,
including loading berths, aisles, access drives, and landscaped areas.
The space located off of a public road, designed, intended,
used or required to park one passenger vehicle.
Any sign located or proposed to be located at any place,
if otherwise permitted by this subchapter, within the property boundaries
for the business or other activity identified on such sign.
Common Usable Open Space.
Usable open space available for use by the occupants of more
than one dwelling unit; controlled and maintained by a property owner
or an incorporated nonprofit homeowners’ association; or dedicated
in fee to, and maintained by, a public agency and devoted to use by
residents who will occupy the dwellings. It does not include any space
with a dimension of less than ten (10) feet in any direction or an
area of less than one hundred (100) square feet.
Open Space.
Any land developed or undeveloped, reserved or dedicated,
as yards, parks, landscaped green areas, and recreational areas, and
is exclusive of areas developed for off-street parking, structures
and streets.
Private Open Space.
An open area outside of a building adjoining and directly
accessible to a dwelling unit, reserved for the exclusive use of residents
of the dwelling unit and their guests.
Shared Open Space.
An open area within a residential development reserved for
the exclusive use of residents of the development and their guests.
A piece or tract of land that remains within a subdivision
but which that does not meet the minimum requirements of the Ordinance
Code for a lot and is therefore not usable as a building site.
A tract of land designated on a subdivision plat for future
development, or not designated for any specific purpose, that has
not been evaluated for compliance with the requirements of this Ordinance
Code for adequate facilities or zoning requirements and is, therefore,
not usable as a legal building site. Outparcels may be the subject
of a record plat or resubdivision provided the lot(s) created meet
all requirements of the Ordinance Code prior to plat approval.
A vertical false front or wall extension above the roof line.
In the context of subdivision platting, a parcel is either
a tract of land platted for a designated purpose other than as a legal
building site (e.g. to meet the open space requirements of the Ordinance
Code; to provide a well site, to provide a sewerage disposal parcel),
or a tract of land that may meet zoning requirements for area, width,
depth, etc., but is not intended for development due to environmental
constraints, density restrictions or other legal encumbrances.
A contiguous legally-created lot, parcel, outlot, outparcel
or residue owned and recorded as the property of the same persons,
or controlled by a single entity.
The party responsible for a sign shall be:
A stream containing surface water throughout an average rainfall
year, as shown on the most recent 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle
published by the United States Geologic Survey.
A type of Fiscal Surety that can be used to guarantee site
improvements.
A sign for which a valid permit has been issued.
The federal government, the State, a county, municipal corporation,
or other political subdivision of the State, or any of their units,
or an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, executor, Manager,
fiduciary, or representative of any kind, or any partnership, firm,
association, public or private corporation, or any of their affiliates,
or any other entity.
A project developed pursuant to a subdivision or site plan,
proposed to be developed in sections.
The soils, topography, land slope and aspect, and local climate
that influence the form and species composition of plant communities.
A Planned Unit Development District (PUD) is intended to
provide a development that is more sensitive to the natural environment,
creates an improved sense of place, or otherwise enhances the standard
pattern of development in Liberty Hill. Development is required to
provide a higher level of amenity to its users or residents than would
be required under the normal standards of this code. A PUD may be
used to permit new or innovative concepts in land use not permitted
by other zoning districts in this code or to permit development projects
that existing districts do not easily accommodate. This district is
appropriate in areas where the Comprehensive Plan reflects the specific
uses proposed in the PUD or mixed use as a land category. Rezoning
to the PUD district requires a specific PUD ordinance and a General
Development Plan from the property owner. See Section 3.6(6) [3.07.05]
for further information on PUD applications and applicability. Generally
a PUD is understood as a parcel of land or contiguous parcels of land
of a size sufficient to create its own environment, controlled by
a single landowner or by a group of landowners in common agreement
as to control, to be developed as a single entity, the environment
of which is compatible with adjacent parcels and the intent of the
zoning district or districts in which it is located; the developer
or developers may be granted relief from specific land use regulations
and design standards, and may be awarded certain premiums in return
for assurance of any overall quality of development, including any
special feature which that will be of exceptional benefit to the community
as a whole and which that would not otherwise be required by this
Ordinance Code.
As used in this Ordinance Code, plat shall be a map of a
tract of land showing boundaries of individual lots, outlots, parcels,
and outparcels, and streets, easements and rights-of-way prepared
in accordance with this Ordinance Code as an instrument for recording
in the official Public Records of Williamson County.
A plat prepared by a licensed surveyor or registered engineer
and submitted to the City for final approval which that is duly acknowledged
by the owners or proprietors of the land, or by some duly authorized
agent of such owners or proprietors, in the manner required for the
acknowledgement of deeds and which that is to be filed for record
in the office of the county clerk of Williamson County.
A tentative drawing made by a licensed surveyor or registered
engineer for inspection purposes only, showing the entire tract of
land for which subdivision is sought. The drawing shall accurately
describe all of said subdivision or addition by metes and bounds,
locating the same with respect to an original corner of the original
survey of which it is a part and giving dimensions thereof of said
subdivision or addition, and dimensions of all streets, alleys, squares,
parks, or other portions of same intended to be dedicated to public
use, or for the use of purchasers or owners of lots fronting thereon
or adjacent to.
A sign that is mounted on one or more freestanding poles
or other supports so that the bottom edge of the sign face is not
in direct contact with a solid base or the ground.
A sign relating to: a political party, the election of a
person to public office, or a matter to be voted upon at an election
called by a public body.
Any sign not permanently affixed to a building or structure,
or not permanently attached to a mobile vehicle.
Postal services, including post offices, bulk mail processing
or sorting centers, operated by the United States Postal Service.
In existence prior to the effective date of a specific regulation
or Ordinance Code.
Preliminary Yield is the number of residential units [that]
can fit on the Developable Land. This does not yet factor lot standards
found in Table 5.1 [4-4].
A zoning location, together with all buildings and structures
thereon.
A main or primary use of land, as distinguished from an “accessory
use”. More than one principal use may exist on a tract if done
so completely in accordance with this Ordinance Code.
The cutting and removal of trees for personal use, generally
restricted to clearing of fewer than ten (10) trees on a site.
A private access, drive, or lane to more than one residence
which that is contained within the lot or parcel and which is not
dedicated to the public.
Any proposal for new or changed use, or for new construction,
alteration, or enlargement of any structure, that is subject to the
provisions of this Ordinance Code.
Any temporary sign, on premises, that may identify the project
under construction by providing any of the following information:
the project name, address and/or telephone number, the architect,
the contractor, the developer, the financing organization, the subcontractor
and/or materials vendor.
Any sign affixed to a wall of a building in a nonparallel
manner.
The lines bounding a zoning area, as defined herein.
Any street, avenue, boulevard, highway, sidewalk, alley,
drain, or similar place which that is owned or controlled by a governmental
entity. Also, a strip of land used, or intended to be used, wholly
or in part, by said governmental entity.
The entire system of sewage collection, treatment, and disposal.
Also applies to all effluent carried by sewers whether it is sanitary
sewage, industrial wastes, or stormwater runoff.
Any transmission line or electric generating station; or
water, sewer, electric, gas, telephone, and television or data cable
service line.
Shore-dependent recreation facilities or activities provided
by public agencies which that are available to the general public.
As defined by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
(TCEQ)
See “Right-of-Way”.
A temporary sign erected by the owner, or his agent, advertising
for the rental, leasing or sale of the real property upon which the
sign is located.
A lot or parcel of land in a zoning district where permitted,
on which development rights transferred from a sending parcel, are
used.
The reasonable rehabilitation of disturbed land for useful
purposes, and the protection of the natural resources of adjacent
areas, including water bodies.
A vehicle built on a single chassis that is four hundred
(400) square feet or less at the longest horizontal projection, self
propelled or towable, and designed primarily for temporary living
while traveling or camping.
An enclosed building where recyclable materials separated
from other waste materials, including, but not limited to, scrap metals,
paper, textiles, glass, and plastics, are received for the purpose
of processing for upgrading, particle size reduction, volume reduction,
removal of undesired materials, baling, packing, disassembly, handling,
or storage.
The process of developing land which that is or has been
developed.
A resource that can renew or replace itself and, therefore,
with proper management, can be harvested indefinitely.
A residential structure occupied as a dwelling place of one
or more persons in which the use and management of sleeping quarters
and all appliances for cooking, ventilation, heating, or lighting
are under one person’s control.
Any sign erected at a private residence identifying its address
or the resident’s name.
Apartment Building.
A type of multifamily dwelling with a common entrance and
common amenities, such as garages, yards, and utilities.
Condominium.
A type of ownership arrangement in which an owner has legal
title over a single unit in a multifamily dwelling or nonresidential
development and over an equal portion of the land upon which the structure
stands. A condominium is not a type of structure per se, but rather
a form of ownership.
Detached Dwelling.
A dwelling that is entirely surrounded by open space on the
same lot.
Duplex.
A dwelling not a mobile home or manufactured home, on its
own lot, and designed, arranged, or used exclusively for the use and
occupancy of two families living independently of each other.
Dwelling[,] Attached.
A dwelling that is joined to another dwelling at one or more
sides by a party wall or walls.
Efficiency Unit.
A dwelling unit consisting of 1 principal room exclusive
of bathroom, kitchen, hallway, closets, or dining alcove directly
off the principal room providing such dining alcove does not exceed
125 sq. ft. in area.
Any dedicated area where a street, highway, thoroughfare,
parkway, road, avenue, alley or other vehicular use facility is or
will be constructed for public use.
A habitat that is strongly influenced by water and which
that occurs adjacent to streams and/or wetlands.
A permanent structure used for the display and sale of locally
produced agricultural products.
A sign erected over or on, and wholly or partially dependent
upon, the roof of any building for support.
Any sign that revolves around one or more fixed axis.
Any waste materials, except garbage, including but not restricted
to, paper, rags, boxes, cartons, wood excelsior, rubber, leather,
tree branches, yard trimmings, tin cans, metals, mineral matter, glass,
crockery, dust, and the residue from the burning of combustible materials.
A condition where surface water is present for extended periods,
especially early in the growing season, and when surface water is
absent, the water table is often near the land surface.
Soils or other materials transported by wind or surface water
as a product of erosion.
A nonbranched woody plant, less than twenty-four (24) inches
in height and having a diameter of less than one-half (1/2) inch measured
at two (2) inches above the root collar.
The removal of single, scattered, mature trees or other trees
from uneven-aged stands by frequent and periodic cutting operations.
The careful and planned removal of trees, shrubs, and plants
using specific standards and protection measures under an approved
forest conservation plan.
means, but is not limited to, an Adult arcade, Adult bookstore, adult novelty store, or adult video store, Adult cabaret, Adult motel, Adult motion picture theater, Adult theater, Escort agencies, Nude model studios, and Sexual encounter centers as defined in the City of Liberty Hill Code of Ordinances, Chapter 5, Article 5.05, Sexually Oriented Businesses, Section 5.05.003, Definitions.
A grouping of retail business and service uses on a single
site with common parking facilities.
A movable sign not affixed or attached to the ground or to
any building or structure.
Any device or representation that is used to visually communicate
its subject to others. Customary displays of merchandise, objects
or materials placed, without lettering, behind a store window are
neither signs nor parts of signs.
The square foot area enclosed by the perimeter of the sign.
Sign area shall include all lettering, wording, and accompanying designs
and symbols, together with the background on which they are displayed,
any frame around the sign and “cutouts” or extensions.
However, sign area shall not include any sign structures that are
esthetically pleasing.
A supporting structure erected, used or intended for identification
or to attract attention, with or without a sign thereon, situated
upon or attached to the premises, upon which any sign may be fastened,
affixed, displayed or applied, provided, however, this definition
shall not include a building, fence, wall or earthen berm.
Areas that erode two (2) feet or more per year.
A business or organization being the sole business occupant
of a premises.
Any tract, lot or parcel of land or combination of tracts,
lots or parcels of land, which are in one ownership, or are contiguous
and in diverse ownership and where development is to be performed
as part of a unit, subdivision, or project as shown on an application.
A sign (made of any material) that is tacked, nailed, posted,
pasted, glued or otherwise attached to trees, poles, stakes, fences
or other objects, with the subject matter appearing thereon not being
applicable to the use of the premises upon which such sign is located.
The overburden and reject materials as piled or deposited
during surface mining.
The prevention of soil movement by any of various vegetative
and/or structural means of soil movement.
Any stable for the housing of horses or mules, operated for
remuneration, hire, sale, or stabling, or any stable, not related
to the ordinary operation of a farm.
An accessory building, not related to the ordinary operation
of a farm, for the housing of horses or mules owned by a person or
persons living on the premises and which horses or mules are not for
hire or sale.
The date of issue of the building permit for any development,
including new construction and substantial improvements, provided
that the actual start of the construction or improvement was within
three hundred and sixty-five (365) days of permit issuance. The actual
start of construction is the placement of slab or footings, piles,
columns, or actual placement of a manufactured home. For substantial
improvement, the start of construction is the first alteration of
any structural part of the building.
A slope of over fifteen percent (15%) grade or greater incline,
which is characterized by increased runoff, erosion and sediment hazards
for slopes.
For quantitative control, a system of vegetative and structural
measures that control the increased volume and rate of surface runoff
caused by man-made changes to the land; and for qualitative control,
a system of vegetative, structural, and other measures that reduce
or eliminate pollutants that might otherwise be carried by surface
runoff.
Part of a building between any floor and the floor next above,
and if there be no floor above, then the ceiling above. A basement
is a story if its ceiling is five (5) feet or more above the finished
grade, or if it is used for business purposes, or if it contains any
dwelling units other than one (1) dwelling unit for the caretaker
of the premises.
All lands lying within a measured distance from the top of
each bank of a perennial or intermittent stream, intended to protect
the stream, its water quality, and riparian habitat.
A public or private right-of-way which that affords a primary
means of vehicular access to abutting property, whether designated
as a street, avenue, highway, road, boulevard, lane[,] throughway,
or however otherwise designated, but does not include driveways to
buildings.
Anything constructed or erected, other than a fence or retaining
wall, which requires location on the ground or if attached to something
having a location on the ground, including but not limited to, buildings,
advertising boards, poster boards, mobile homes, manufactured homes,
gas and liquid storage tanks, garages, barns, and sheds.
Subdivision means the division of a lot, tract, or parcel
of land into two or more lots, plats, sites, or other division of
land for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of sale or of building
development provided that this definition of a subdivision shall not
include a bona fide division or partition of agricultural land not
for development purposes.
Minor subdivisions in which all lots are fifteen (15) acres
or larger.
Any subdivision not defined as a minor, or farmstead, subdivision.
The division of a parcel or lot of record which that creates
one (1) to five (5) lots or any number of farmsteads, which do not
have frontage on a public road, or private right-of-way.
Subdivision Preliminary Plan is a map or drawing of a proposed
subdivision plan which upon approval establishes an agreement to the
layout. This agreement includes the location and width of proposed
streets, lots, blocks, floodplains, and easements. A preliminary plan
approval is required prior to final plat approval, except under certain
conditions[.]
Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the
cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would
equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the
damage occurred.
Any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure,
the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the market
value of the structure (less land value) either: (a) before the improvement
or repair is started; or (b) if the structure has incurred substantial
damage and been restored, before the damage occurred. Substantial
improvement occurs when the first alteration of any wall, ceiling,
floor, or other structural part of the building commences. The minimum
repairs needed to correct previously identified violations of local
health, safety, or sanitary codes, and alterations to historic structures
which that do not preclude their continued designation as historic
structures are not considered substantial improvements.
A type of building sign that is suspended from the underside
of a predominantly horizontal plane surface and is supported by such
surface.
A sign installed on an arm, mast or spar that is also not
permanently fastened to an adjacent wall or an upright pole.
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (formerly Texas
Natural Resources Conservation Commission TNRCC)
An electrical sign utilizing lights going on and off periodically
to display the current time and temperature in the community.
The existing configuration of the earth’s surface including
the relative relief, elevation, and position of land features.
One of a group of attached, single-family dwellings that
are designed as single structures, with each dwelling unit separated
by firewalls, fire separations, or similar party walls. No more than
two (2) dwellings units shall be contained within said separation.
A Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) is a human scale,
walkable community with moderate to high residential densities and
a mixed use core. Compared with conventional suburban developments,
TNDs have a higher potential to increase modal split by encouraging
and accommodating alternate transportation modes. TNDs also have a
higher potential for capturing internal trips, thus reducing vehicle
miles traveled. That the development encourage walking and biking,
enhance transit service opportunities, and improve traffic safety
through promoting low speed, cautious driving while fully accommodating
the needs of pedestrians and bicyclists.
Transfer.
A transfer of development rights from a transferor parcel
to a receiving parcel by instrument(s) of transfer.
Transferee.
A person to whom development rights are transferred and all
persons who have any lien, security interest, or other interest with
respect to development rights held by the transferee.
Transferor.
A person who transfers development rights and all persons
who have any lien, security interest, or other interest with respect
to development rights held by a transferor.
Transferor Parcel.
A parcel of land from which development rights may be transferred.
A transferor parcel may be less than all of a lot owned by an original
transferor.
An outdoor facility or enclosed building that receives municipal
solid waste and/or rubble from collection vehicles and reloads the
materials into trailers or other containers for the purpose of transporting
it to a processing or final disposal facility.
A plant community whose species are adapted to the diverse
and varying environmental conditions that occur along the boundary
that separates aquatic and terrestrial areas.
Anything that is built, installed, or established to facilitate
or provide a means of transport from one place to another.
Alley.
A narrow roadway for access to an area of commercial, multifamily
or industrial structures.
Arterial.
An interregional road conveying traffic between growth areas.
Efficient movement is the primary function of arterial roads; hence
private access and frontage should be controlled and limited to high-volume
generators of vehicle trips.
Major Collector.
A principal traffic artery within residential areas that
may provide routes to local facilities, serves as the main entrance
to a sizeable development, or a combination of developments.
Minor Collector.
A street which, in addition to providing access to properties
abutting thereon, carries traffic to an activity center or higher
classification street. It may be a loop street or may link local and/or
collector streets.
Street Direction.
The direction any street or road travels the longest in distance
(i.e., north-south or east-west).
Texas Department of Transportation
A sign suspended from a building and located under a permanent
canopy projecting from a building.
All sites above floodplains and away from them.
Upper story residential is a secondary use to a commercial
use, where the commercial use is on the first floor and the upper
story is used for residential purposes. This is allowed with a Special
Use Permit.
The purpose or activity for which the land or building thereon
is designed, arranged or intended, or for which it is occupied or
maintained.
A public corporation, company or special district organized
to provide a service to the subdivision. As used herein, “utility”
shall include, but not be limited to, electric, gas, or telephone
companies and water and sanitation districts.
The termination of, or termination of an interest in, an
easement, right-of-way, or public dedication of land.
A grant of relief to a person from the requirements of this
Ordinance Code when specific enforcement would result in unnecessary
hardship. A variance, therefore, permits construction or development
in a manner otherwise prohibited by this Ordinance Code. The Board
of Adjustment (BOA) shall review Variance requests.
Every device, including major parts thereof, in, on, or by
which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn on
a transportation facility, except devices moved by human or animal
power, or devices used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks.
A permanent or temporary sign affixed to a vehicle. The primary
purpose of this display is to attract the public’s attention
to the subject matter identified on the sign, rather than to serve
the customary purpose of a vehicle.
Capable of being seen (whether or not legible) by a person
of normal height and visual acuity while walking or driving on a public
road.
A facility where sand and gravel is are [sic] washed during
processing.
Ashes, discarded wood, abandoned, discarded, or unused objects
or equipment such as furniture, appliances, cans, or containers; garbage
or refuse of any kind, whether liquid or solid; or any accumulation
of any foul, decaying, or putrescent substances.
Any natural or artificial stream, river, creek, ditch, channel,
canal, conduit, culvert, drain, waterway, gully, ravine or wash, in
and including any area adjacent thereto, which is subject to inundation
by reason of overflow or flood water.
Birds that frequent and often swim in water, nest, and raise
their young near water, and derive at least part of their food from
aquatic plants and animals.
All land lying within an area which that drains into a river,
river system, or other watercourse.
Land transitional between terrestrial and aquatic systems
where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land
is covered by shallow water. Classification of areas as wetlands shall
follow the “Classification of Wetlands and Deep-Water Habitats
of the United States” as published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS/OBS-79/31).
A strip of land having vegetation that provides habitat and
a safe passageway for wildlife.
Any sign painted on, applied to, projected upon or within
the exterior or interior of a building glass area, including doors,
or located within five feet of the interior of a building glass area,
including doors, whose identification, message, symbol, insignia,
visual representation, logo type, or any other form of information
can be read from off premises or from the public right-of-way. Merchandise
displays shall not be considered window signs.
A “yard” extends along a lot line, and to a depth
or width specified in the yard requirements for the zoning district
in which such zoned area is located. Also, the area between the lot
line and the building setback line.
Corner side yard.
A side yard on the street side of a corner lot.
Front Yard.
A yard extending along the full length of the front lot line
of the zoned area.
Rear Yard.
A yard extending along the full length of the rear lot line
of the zoned area.
Side Yard.
A yard extending along a side lot line measured from the
front yard to the rear yard.
Side Yard, Corner.
A side yard which that adjoins a public street.
Side Yard, Interior.
A side yard that is located immediately adjacent to another
zoned area or to an alley separating such yard from another zoned
area.
A district that is fixed on the base zoning area only upon
City Council approval of a specific development application meeting
the requirement of this Ordinance Code.
A special district that is placed over the base zoning area
which imposes additional restrictions.
A written statement or certificate issued by the City Manager
(or his designee) authorizing buildings, structures, or uses in accordance
with the provisions of this Ordinance Code.
(Ordinance 09-O-02 adopted 1/28/2009; Ordinance 22-O-03.02-01 adopted 3/2/2022; Ordinance
23-O-022 adopted 7/12/2023; Ordinance 23-O-016 adopted 5/10/2023)
This section shall describe standards and procedures for determining
measurements for various items described in this Ordinance Code.
1 acre = 43,560 ft2
1/2 acre = 21,780 ft2
1/4 acre = 10,890 ft2
1 mile = 5,280 feet
The build-to line shall be measured from an exterior wall
to the property line such that the accuracy of the building placement
shall be within a foot, as authorized.
The building height shall be measured from finished grade
to the highest point on a flat roof or a mansard or the midpoint between
the cornice and the eave on a pitched roof.
The number of dwelling units divided by the gross area of
the lot reflected as a number of units per acre.
The sum of the gross horizontal areas of all floors of the
building measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls, or
from the centerline of walls separating two buildings but excluding
areas where the floor to ceiling height is less than six (6) feet.
The “floor area” of structures devoted to bulk storage
of materials, including, but not limited to grain elevators and petroleum
storage tanks, [and] multilevel storage racks shall be determined
on the basis of height in feet, i.e., ten (10) feet in height shall
equal one (1) floor.
The Gross Floor Area minus the area of stairwells, elevator
shafts, equipment rooms, interior vehicular parking or loading, areas
devoted exclusively to storage; and minus all floors below the first
floor level, except when these used for human habitation or service
to the public. Net floor area shall be used for calculating parking
requirements.
The gross floor area of the building or buildings on a zoning
area divided by the total area of such zoning area. The “floor
area ratio” requirements, as set forth under each zoning district,
shall determine the maximum floor area allowable for the building
or buildings (total floor area of both principal and accessory buildings)
in direct ratio to the gross area of the zoning area.
The total horizontal area included within the lot lines of
a site.
The total land area covered by all principal and accessory
structures on a site, including projections, shall be considered in
determining lot coverage except the following: Eaves projecting less
than 2.5 feet from a building. Trellises and similar structures which
that do not have solid roofs. Uncovered and unenclosed decks, porches,
landings, balconies, and stairways (the portion of which is less than
thirty (30) inches above grade).
The horizontal distance from the midpoint of the front lot
line to the midpoint of the rear lot line or to the most distant point
on any other lot line where there is no rear lot line.
The average horizontal distance between the side lot lines
measured at right angles to the lot depth from the required front
yard setback and from the required rear yard setback or from the rearmost
point of the lot depth in cases where there is no rear lot line.
The minimum distance, extending across the full width of
the lot, between the property line and the nearest exterior wall or
structure. Rules for setback averaging are shown in the diagrams.
Wall area shall be measured by calculating the continuous
uninterrupted wall area (not including windows) on the elevation where
a sign is to be placed.
Yards include the required setbacks and open space for individual
lots. No yard for one lot shall be considered a yard for another lot
as well, except in planned developments. Yards shall be measured from
the property line of the site or street line to the nearest exterior
wall of a structure.
(Ordinance 09-O-02 adopted 1/28/2009)
