Article 5. DEFINITIONS.

Many terms used in this Document are defined in the Land Development Code (LDC). Definitions are only included here if not defined in the LDC, or if the definition for this Document differs from the LDC.

A

Awning

A shade device at least 4 feet deep by the width of the entry being served.

B

Building Facade Line

A line that is parallel to a lot line or internal circulation route curb line, as applicable, and the same distance from the lot line or curb line as the closest portion of a building.

C

Civic Buildings

For purposes of this Subchapter, civic buildings shall consist of the following:

• College or University Facilities

• Community Recreation (Public)

• Cultural Services

• Local Utility Services

• Parks and Recreation Services (General)

• Postal Services

• Public Primary Education Facilities

• Public Secondary Education Facilities

• Safety Services

• Transportation Terminal

Clear Zone

The area dedicated for an unobstructed sidewalk.

Commercial Use

A use that appears in Section 25-2-4, ( Commercial Uses Described ), of the Land Development Code.

Core Transit Corridors

Core Transit Corridors are the following roadways:

1.

South First Street, north of Ben White Boulevard;

2.

East Seventh Street, west of Pleasant Valley Road;

3.

East Fifth Street, from I-35 to Pleasant Valley Road;

4.

West Fifth Street, from Guadalupe Street to Mopac Expressway;

5.

East Sixth Street, from I-35 to Pleasant Valley Road;

6.

West Sixth Street, from Guadalupe Street to Pressler Street;

7.

West Thirty-Fifth Street, from Mopac Expressway eastward until becoming West Thirty-Fifth Street Cutoff, and continuing eastward until becoming West Thirty-Eighth Street, and continuing eastward to Guadalupe Street;

8.

Airport Boulevard from Lamar Boulevard to I-35;

9.

Anderson Lane, from Burnet Road to Mopac Expressway;

10.

Barton Springs Road, east of Robert E. Lee Drive;

11.

Burnet Road, from 45th Street to Anderson Lane;

12.

South Congress Avenue, north of Stassney Lane;

13.

Guadalupe Street;

14.

Lamar Boulevard, from Banyon Street to Ben White Boulevard;

15.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, from Pearl Street to Airport Boulevard;

16.

Riverside Drive from Lamar Boulevard to E. Ben White Boulevard/Highway 71;

17.

Cameron Road, from 51st Street to U.S. Highway 290;

18.

Fifty-first Street, from Cameron Road to Manor Road;

19.

Gaston Place, from Westminster Drive to Wellington Drive;

20.

Briarcliff Boulevard, from Berkman Drive to Westminster Drive; and

Core Transit Corridors, Future

For purposes of Section 4.2.2. of this Subchapter, the following roadways are considered "future core transit corridors" (including all lots with frontage on the listed intersections):

1.

South Congress Avenue from Stassney Lane to Slaughter Lane;

2.

Slaughter Lane from I-35 to Mopac;

3.

Seventh Street from Pleasant Valley Road to U.S. Highway 183;

4.

North Lamar Boulevard from Banyon Street to Howard Lane;

5.

Manor Road from Dean Keaton Street to 183;

6.

Airport Boulevard from Manor Road to I-35;

7.

Fifty-First Street from Cameron Road to Airport Boulevard;

8.

Far West Boulevard from Mopac to western side of Chimney Corner;

9.

Cameron Road from U.S. Highway 290 to U.S. Highway 183;

10.

Mesa Drive from Spicewood Springs to Steck;

11.

Jollyville Road from Great Hills Trail to U.S. Highway 183.

D

Director

Unless otherwise specified, the Director of the Watershed Protection and Development Review Department, or his or her designee.

E

F

Facade Relief

Other non-glass materials that differ in texture from the adjacent facade material and made to be set in frames, as in windows and doors. Examples include, but are not limited to, metal panels, shutters, glass block, and wood panels.

Fully-Shielded Light Fixture

A lighting fixture constructed in such a manner that the light source is not visible when viewed from the side and all light emitted by the fixture, either directly from the lamp or a diffusing element, or indirectly by reflection or refraction from any part of the luminaire, is projected below the horizontal as determined by photometric test or certified by the manufacturer. Any structural part of the light fixture providing this shielding must be permanently affixed.

Full Cut-off

A luminaire light distribution where zero candela intensity occurs at or above an angle of 90 above nadir. Additionally, the candela per 1000 lamp lumens does not numerically exceed 100 (10%) at or above a vertical angle of 80 above nadir. This applies to all lateral angles around the luminaire.

G

Glazing

The panes or sheets of glass set in frames, as in windows or doors. Glass includes tinted, fritted, vision, spandrel, and other forms of sheet formed glass. Vegetative screening is permitted only if approved by Director, and may not be used on front facade.

Greenfield Development

Development on an undeveloped parcel located outside the Urban Roadway boundary.

H

Hardscape

Nonliving components of a streetscape or landscape design, such as paved walkways, walls, sculpture, patios, stone and gravel areas, benches, fountains, and similar hard-surface areas and objects.

Highways

All freeways, parkways, expressways, and frontage roads identified in the Austin Area Metropolitan Transportation Plan, except for Core Transit Corridors described in this Subchapter.

Hill Country Roadways

This roadway type applies on all properties within 1000 feet of those roadway identified in Section 25-2-1103.

I

Internal Block

One or more lots, tracts, or parcels of land bounded by Internal Circulation Routes, railroads, or subdivision boundary lines.

Internal Circulation Route

A public street or a publicly-accessible private drive that is constructed to satisfy the requirements in Section 2.2.5 ( Internal Circulation Routes: Connectivity, Parking, and Sidewalk Requirements for Large Sites ) of this Subchapter.

J

K

L

LDC

The City of Austin Land Development Code.

Light Fixture

The complete lighting assembly (including the lamp, housing, reflectors, lenses and shields), less the support assembly (pole or mounting bracket); a light fixture.

Liner Store

A commercial use on the ground floor of a building located not more than 30 feet from the street right-of-way with an entrance facing the street.

M

Maximum Extent Feasible

No feasible and prudent alternative exists, and all possible efforts to comply with the regulation or minimize potential harm or adverse impacts have been undertaken. Economic considerations may be taken into account but shall not be the overriding factor in determining "maximum extent feasible."

Maximum Extent Practicable

Under the circumstances, reasonable efforts have been undertaken to comply with the regulation or requirement, that the costs of compliance clearly outweigh the potential benefits to the public or would unreasonably burden the proposed project, and reasonable steps have been undertaken to minimize any potential harm or adverse impacts resulting from the noncompliance.

N

Net Frontage Length

Determined by subtracting required Internal Circulation Routes, side or compatibility setbacks, easements, drive aisles, sidewalks, and stairs that occur at the building perimeter from the total property length, as measured along the front lot line from property line to property line. (See Figure 48.) In the case of a curved corner, the Director may determine the end point for purposes of measuring net frontage.

(See Figure 48 set forth in Exhibit A attached to Ord. 20130606-088; the diagram (in Figure 45) provides an example for determining Net Frontage Length. The net frontage length along the Principal Street for the example above would be the total sum of lengths A and B. Required Internal Circulation Routes, drive aisles, and perimeter sidewalks are not included.

Nonresidential Zoning Districts

The following are the City of Austin nonresidential zoning districts for purposes of this Subchapter:

• NO

• P

• LO

• GO

• CR

• LR

• GR

• W/LO

• CS

• CS-1

• CH

• IP

• MI

• LI

• R&D

O

P

Pad-Site Building

A building that is intended for a single commercial use and that is physically separate from the other buildings on the site. Typically used in the context of retail shopping center development, a building or building site that is physically separate from and smaller than the principal building and reserved for free-standing commercial uses. Typical pad site uses include, by way of illustration only, free-standing restaurants, banks, and service stations.

Planting Zone

An area adjacent to the curb in which street trees are planted and street furniture such as benches, bicycle racks, and newspaper boxes are placed.

Portico

See awning.

Principal Building

A building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot on which it is located.

Principal Entrance

The place of ingress and egress most frequently used by the public.

Principal Street

In this Subchapter, the principal street of a lot or site is the street with the highest priority that is adjacent to the lot or site. Street priorities are as follows, from highest to lowest:

• Core Transit Corridor;

• Internal Circulation Route;

• Urban Roadway;

• Suburban Roadway; and

• Highway or Hill Country Roadway (Unless the higher road runs parallel to the highway and is within 660 feet of the Highway or within 1,000 feet of the Hill Country Roadway (i.e., a highway development would not have to orient to the Urban/Suburban Roadway next to a highway).

If a lot is adjacent to more than one street of equally high priority, the principal street is: the street with the highest level of transit service, as determined by the Director; or, if the streets do not have transit service or the level of transit service is equal, the street designated by the lot owner.

Q

R

S

Significant Stand of Trees

Three or more Class 1 or Class 2 tree specimens with a minimum measurement of two-inch Diameter at Breast Height, meeting the standards outlined within Section 3.5.2 of the Environmental Criteria Manual, and a minimum of 150 sq. feet of critical root zone preserved.

Street-Facing Facade

A wall of a building that is within 60 degrees of parallel to a street lot line; and is not behind another wall, as determined by measuring perpendicular to the street lot line. The length of a street-facing facade is measured parallel to the street lot line.

Suburban Roadways

All roadways that are not Transit, Hill Country, Highway, or Urban Roadways.

Supplemental Zone

An area between the clear zone and the building edge for active public uses such as a plaza, outdoor cafe or patio.

T

Trademarked Design Feature

An external design feature, including colors, shapes, and materials, of a building that is trademarked by a building occupant.

Urban Roadways

Urban Roadways are roads located within the following boundaries other than those designated as Core Transit Corridors and Highways:

• 183 from Burnet to Hwy 71

• Hwy 71 from 183 to Loop 1

• Loop 1 from Hwy 71 to Lake Austin

• Lake Austin from Loop 1 to Exposition

• Exposition from Lake Austin to 35th

• 35th from Exposition to Loop 1

• Loop 1 from 38th to RM 2222

• RM 2222 from Loop 1 to Mesa

• Mesa from RM 2222 to Spicewood Springs Road

• Spicewood Springs Road from Mesa to 360

• 360 from Spicewood Springs Road to Great Hills Trail

• Great Hills Trail from 360 to 183

• 183 from Great Hills Trail to Braker

• Braker from 183 to Burnet

• Burnet from Braker to 183

V

Vertical Mixed Use (VMU) Building

A building that meets the requirements set forth in Section 4.3. of this Subchapter.

W

X

Y

Z

Source: Ord. 20060831-068; Ord. 20070809-058; Ord. 20100225-079; Ord. 20100408-049; Ord. 20100624-113; Ord. 20130606-088.