Houston Code of Ordinances § 33-101 Definitions; figures; appendices.
Sec. 33-101. - Definitions; figures; appendices.
(a) As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed below unless the context of their usage clearly indicates another meaning:
Artificial lot means an area within the contiguous tract(s) or parcel(s) held under common ownership and designated on the building permit application that is delineated by the planning official for the sole purpose of satisfying the requirements of this article.
Association means a natural unit of vegetation characterized by a relatively uniform species composition and often dominated by a particular species.
Block face means that portion of a block that abuts a street between two intersecting streets.
Building setback area means the area of building line restrictions along a street as established by or pursuant to division 3 of article III of chapter 42 of this Code.
Building site means:
(1) The tract or parcel of land which is designated on the building permit application, together with all contiguous tracts or parcels of land held under common ownership and any existing buildings and appurtenant parking;
(2) If designated, an artificial lot contained therein and delineated by the planning official; or
(3) A city-funded construction or reconstruction project that includes the entire width of the pavement of a public street and is at least 30 feet in length.
Caliper means the minimum diameter of a tree as measured six inches above the ambient grade for trees up to and including four inches in diameter, 12 inches above the ambient grade for trees having a diameter exceeding four inches but not exceeding eight inches and 54 inches above the ambient grade for trees having a diameter greater than eight inches.
Consumer price index means the "Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers" as established by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Department of Labor.
Corridor tree means a tree of a species listed on the street tree list that has a caliper of 20 inches or more and is situated in the building setback area along a local street or along a major thoroughfare, other than a portion of a major thoroughfare that has been designated as a green corridor.
Cost adjustment shall be the increase in any cost specified in this article as subject thereto and calculated by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for the period from January 2002 to the third month preceding the date the cost is payable where the sum of money is computed to the nearest cent according to the following formula:
(A/B-1) × Cost subject to adjustment
In the foregoing formula:
'A' is the index value of the 'Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, U.S. city average, All Items (1982-1984=100),' as published in the Monthly Labor Review by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor of the United States of America ('index') applicable to the third month immediately preceding the month during which the computation is required to be performed.
'B' is the index value of such Index applicable to January 2002.
Deciduous plants means those which shed their leaves at one time each year, usually in the autumn.
Designated tree means a specific tree designated by the city council as having particular historical or arboricultural significance under section 33-103 of this Code.
Dripline means an imaginary circle drawn around a tree, extending to the tree's branching limit.
Esplanade means an unpaved area between two paved roadway sections.
Evergreen plants means those that do not lose all of their leaves at one time, though they shed their old leaves intermittently, as new leaves come out.
Existing vegetation to be preserved means any viable grouping of or single existing evergreen or deciduous trees and associated understory for which tree or buffer preservation credit is being requested.
Green corridor means any portion of a major thoroughfare that has been designated as a green corridor under section 33-104 of this Code.
Green corridor tree means a tree of a species listed on the street tree list that has a caliper of 15 inches or more and is situated in the building setback area of a green corridor.
Landscape buffer means the shielding or obscuring of one land use from another by the planting of evergreen trees or shrubs, or both, or the erection of a screening fence designed to minimize the transmission or propagation of noise, light, vibration, or dust, from traffic or other activity on one property to adjoining public or private properties.
Local street means a public street that is not a major thoroughfare.
Mulch means any covering except fresh grass clippings placed on soil to conserve moisture, minimize weed growth and protect plants from extremes in temperature.
Multifamily residential means any building, or portion thereof, which is designed, built, rented, leased, let out or hired out to be occupied, or which is occupied as the home or residence of three or more families living independently of each other, and shall include flats, apartments and a condominium created under chapter 82 of the Texas Property Code.
Nonresidential use means all uses other than single-family or multifamily residential use.
Parking lot means a paved, surfaced or leveled area designed and ordinarily used for accessory or public parking of motor vehicles, including commercial parking areas available for lease and leased premises available for public parking. The term shall not include parking garages.
Parking lot tree means a tree of a species listed on the parking lot tree list and includes both large and small parking lot trees as provided on the list.
Parking lot tree list means a list of trees issued and revised from time to time by the director of parks and recreation, which, based upon recognized arboricultural standards, shall designate trees that are required to be used for planting in parking lots. The director may only decline to include and may only remove otherwise suitable trees on the basis of health or disease concerns or warnings. The list shall be subdivided into large trees and small trees based upon canopy size characteristics.
Parking space means an individual vehicle parking space within a parking lot, which shall be computed on the basis of the provisions of chapter 26 of this Code.
Parkway means the area lying between the street curb or the edge of the roadway paving and the adjacent property line.
Parkway tree means a tree of a species listed on the street tree list that is situated in the parkway area adjacent to any tract or parcel of land and that has a caliper equal to or greater than 1½ inches.
Protected tree means a corridor tree, designated tree, green corridor tree or parkway tree.
Protected tree replacement requirement means the requirement established in section 33-105(b) or section 33-122(c), as applicable, of this Code.
Public street or right-of-way means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way which is held by the city, a county, the state or otherwise by the public in fee or dedication when any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel.
Remove or removal means to take a tree away from its existing position, and includes such actions that may be reasonably expected to damage a tree sufficiently to cause it to die.
Roadway means that portion of a public street which is improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the curb, berm, or shoulder. In the event that a public street includes two or more separate roadways, "roadway" means each such roadway separately.
Root collar means an encircling structure of bandlike markings or a marked color change (from the tree bark) located at the highest part of the root system joining into the trunk of the tree at or slightly below the surrounding soil line.
Shrub means any plant, deciduous or evergreen, which is generally multistemmed and sold by height or spread and measured in inches or feet.
Sidewalk means the paved portion of a public street right-of-way which is between the curb lines, or the lateral lines of a roadway, and the adjacent property lines and is improved and designed for or is ordinarily used for pedestrian travel.
Single-family residential means a building (attached or detached) designed to contain one or two separate living units with facilities for living, sleeping, cooking or eating.
Specimen tree means an exemplary tree of good health and true to species habit and form, containing a minimum caliper of 1½ inches.
Street tree means a tree of a species listed on the street tree list.
Street tree list means a list of trees issued and revised from time to time by the director of parks and recreation, which, based upon recognized arboricultural standards, shall designate trees that are required to be used for planting adjacent to and within street rights-of-way within the city. The director may only decline to include and may only remove otherwise suitable trees on the basis of health or disease concerns or warnings. The list shall be subdivided into categories of trees that may be planted under power lines and trees that shall not be planted under power lines. The categories of trees that may be planted under power lines shall include live oak trees.
Temporary classroom building means a building(s) built on skids and which is utilized by a public school district for the purpose of eliminating the shortage of classrooms in order to bring the student/teacher ratio into compliance with state law.
Total tree planting requirement means the total number of trees, if any, that must be planted under this article, excluding any which might be planted as part of a landscape buffer and further excluding the protected tree replacement requirement.
Total tree requirement means the total number of trees that must be provided under this article, excluding any which might be provided as part of a landscape buffer, and further excluding the protected tree replacement requirement. This sum shall be made up of:
(1) Any street and parking lot trees to be planted; and
(2) Planting equivalency credits earned pursuant to section 33-123.
Tree means any evergreen or deciduous tree which at the time of planting has a caliper equal to or greater than 1½ inches as measured six inches above the root collar, which is not less than six feet in height as measured from the root collar, and which meets the Standard for Nursery Stock Specifications as established by the American Association of Nurserymen (1986 ed.).
Understory means the small tree, shrub and grass constituents of a plant association, excluding canopy vegetation.
Visibility triangle means the triangular area adjacent to the intersection of any public street or public alley within which no obstruction may be placed which would block the sight lines for vehicular traffic. The triangle is established by measuring a distance of 45 feet from the intersection of the extended curb or edge of the pavement of major thoroughfares, and 25 feet from the extended edge of the curb or pavement of local streets. A straight line connecting the ends of each measured distance which forms the hypotenuse shall establish the visibility triangle (see figure A). The visibility triangle shall not contain any visual or physical impediments or obstructions to the vertical view between 30 inches and seven feet in height.
(b) All references in this article to letter-designated or letter-and-number designated figures or appendices shall mean the applicable figure or appendix as attached to Ordinance No. 91-1701.
(Ord. No. 03-159, § 5, 2-12-03; Ord. No. 09-84, §§ 2—4, 2-11-09; Ord. No. 09-1266, § 2, 12-9-09)