Chapter 15.94
DEFINITIONS1
Sections:
15.94.010 General provisions.
A. Purpose. For the purposes of this zoning code, certain terms are hereby defined. The purpose of these definitions is to promote consistency and precision in the interpretation of this code. The meaning and construction of words and phrases as set out shall apply throughout this code except where the context of such words or phrases clearly indicates a different meaning or construction.
B. Tenses and Genders. Words used in the present tense shall include the past and future tense and vice versa; words in the singular form shall include the plural form and vice versa. Any gender includes the other gender.
C. Words Not Defined. Words and phrases used in the zoning code that are not specifically defined shall be construed according to their common and ordinary meaning. In cases of uncertainty, the planning director shall determine a word’s meaning.
D. Conflict Between Definitions. In case of conflict between two definitions, the more specific or specialized definition shall apply. [Ord. 2010-126 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 2010-123 § 3 (Exh. A)].
15.94.020 Definitions.
“Abandoned” means a structure or land use, the development or operation of which has ceased or been suspended.
Abandoned Sign. See “Sign, abandoned.”
“Abate” means to end or correct a nuisance, emergency, or nonconformance.
“Abut” or “abutting” means the same as “adjacent.”
“Access” means the place or way by which pedestrians and/or vehicles obtain ingress to and/or egress from a property or use.
“Accessory building or structure” means a building or structure the use of which is subordinate and incidental to the main building or use on the same parcel or building site.
“Accessory use” means a land use subordinate and incidental to the principal use on the same parcel or building site.
“Actual construction” means the placing of construction materials in their permanent position fastened in a permanent manner, except that where a basement, subterranean room or garage, swimming pool, or spa is being excavated, such excavation shall be deemed to be actual construction, or where demolishing or removal of an existing building or structure has begun, such demolition or removal shall be deemed to be actual construction, providing in all cases that actual construction work is diligently carried on until the completion of the entire building or structure involved.
“Addition” means any construction that is attached to an existing building or facility and which increases the size or capacity of a building or facility in terms of site coverage, height, length, width, or gross floor area.
“Adjacent” or “adjoining” means joined contiguous to and in contact with each other so that no third property intervenes.
“Administrative office” means a place of business for the rendering of service or general administration, but excluding retail sales.
Administrative Use Permit (AUP). See “Use permit.”
“Advertise” means a public notice or announcement of items or services through the use of newspaper, handbills, radio, signs, television, or other means of public communication.
“Affordable unit” means a dwelling unit within a residential development project that is reserved for sale or rent and offered at an affordable housing cost, as defined in California Health and Safety Code Sections 50052.5 and 50053 (as amended or superseded), to persons and families of very low, lower and moderate income.
“Agent” means any person authorized to act for the owner of a property by virtue of a written statement of authorization, a proof of contract to purchase or lease the property.
“Alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility” has the same meaning as in California Health and Safety Code Section 11834.02(a), which defines it to mean any premises, place, or building that provides 24-hour residential nonmedical services to adults who are recovering from problems related to alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug misuse or abuse, and who need alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug recovery treatment or detoxification services.
“Aliso Viejo Community Association (AVCA)” means an incorporated association comprised of landowners in the city of Aliso Viejo. The primary function of AVCA is to operate and maintain land and facilities which are owned by AVCA.
“Alley” means a public or private way permanently reserved as a secondary means of access to abutting property.
Allowed Use. See “Permitted use.”
“Alteration” means any physical change in the internal or external composition of a building or other structure.
“Alteration, structural” means any change in the supporting members of a structure such as bearing walls, partitions, columns, beams or girders, floor joists or roof joists, roof rafters, foundations, piles, or similar components.
“Amateur radio” means radio communication activities carried out by a person named in an amateur operator/primary license station grant on the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Licensing System (ULS) as the control operator of an amateur station.
“Amenity” means a natural or manmade feature which provides a visual or recreational enhancement for a property.
“Ancillary facilities” means, for churches, temples, and other places of worship, those secondary facilities associated with and supporting the primary use of the site for worship and other activities including, but not limited to, additional classrooms, meeting or worship rooms (other than the main auditorium), community centers, cafes, bookstores, and similar facilities.
Animal Boarding. See “Kennel.”
“Animal grooming” means a place used for the washing, trimming and treatment of skin problems for animals or pets. May be an accessory use at animal clinics, kennels or animal hospitals.
“Animal hospital,” “animal clinic” or “veterinary clinic” means a place where animals no larger than the largest breed of dogs are given medical and surgical treatment. A facility primarily for treatment of outpatients, where only short-term critical patients are kept longer than 24 hours. The term does not include the boarding of animals.
“Antenna” means a device for transmitting or receiving radio, television, satellite, microwave, or any other transmitted signal.
“Antenna, dish” or “satellite dish” means any parabolic, spherical, and/or disc antenna of either solid or mesh type construction, designed and used for receiving or transmitting telecommunications signals, including without limitation radio and television transmissions from or to any source or receptor including orbiting satellite transmitters.
“Apartment” means a dwelling unit within an apartment building or complex, designed and used for occupancy by one family, typically on a rental basis.
“Apartment building” means a building in a single ownership with three or more dwelling units per building and, typically, with units occupied on a rental basis.
“Apartment complex or project” means two or more apartment buildings constructed and operated as one residential entity.
“Appeal” means a request by a project applicant or other individual or agency for a reviewing authority to modify, reconsider, or reverse a decision rendered by a subordinate reviewing authority or city staff.
“Appellant” means those persons or agencies filing appeals.
“Applicant” means a person who is required to file an application for a permit under this zoning code.
Arcade, Video. See “Video arcade.”
“Architectural projection” means anything attached to and extended outside the outer face of the exterior wall of a structure and not intended for shelter or occupancy, such as stairs, balcony, fireplace, etc.
“Area, buildable lot or site” means the net lot or site area less any slope areas with a ratio of 2:1 or steeper.
“Area, buildable project” means the net site area within a development project less any slope areas with a ratio of 2:1 or steeper.
“Area, gross lot or site” means the horizontal area within the boundaries of a lot or site including perimeter rights-of-way and easements and areas set aside for public schools, parks, and other public uses.
“Area, lot or site” means the horizontal area within a lot or site expressed in square feet, acres, or other area measurement.
“Area, net lot or site” means the horizontal area within the boundaries of a lot or site less perimeter rights-of-way and easements and areas set aside for public schools, parks, and other public uses.
“Area per unit” means the area of a building site, in square feet, divided by the number of dwelling units on the building site.
“Attached structures” means two or more structures which are physically connected with a wall, roof, deck, floor, architectural features or any other connection that exceeds 30 inches in height above the finished grade and is a minimum 48 inches in width. Also, for the purposes of zoning, structures separated by 30 inches or less shall be considered attached whether they are joined by any physical connection or not.
“Attic” means the uninhabitable space between the upper surface of the top floor and the roof above. An attic is not considered a story unless it is habitable, as defined by the California Building Code.
“Auto parts and supply store” means an establishment that offers for sale vehicle parts and supplies where 25 percent or more of the available retail area is devoted to the storage, display and sale of such products.
“Auto repair, major” means general repair, rebuilding, or reconditioning of motor vehicles or trailers, including but not limited to engine overhaul and rebuilding, transmission and differential repair, body work, frame work, welding, and major painting service, regardless of the weight of the vehicle.
“Auto repair, minor” means vehicle repair less extensive than that defined under “Auto repair, major,” such as tune-up, brake, lube, muffler and tire shops and the associated sale of motor vehicle parts and accessories.
“Automobile wrecking” or “automobile dismantling” means the storage or taking apart of damaged or wrecked vehicles or the sale of such vehicles or their parts.
Automotive Service Station. See “Gas station.”
“Awning” means a roof-like cover that is attached to and projects from the wall of a building or other structure.
“Balcony” means an outdoor platform construction that projects from the wall of a building and is surrounded by a railing.
“Balloon” means a flexible, nonporous bag or similar object capable of being filled with air or gas such as helium.
“Bar” means any commercial establishment licensed by the State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to serve any alcoholic beverages on the premises for which the license has been issued. The term “bar” also includes taverns, pubs, and cocktail lounges.
“Base district” or “base zoning district” means a land area of the city within which only certain land uses and structures are permitted and certain standards are established for the development of land.
“Basement” means an area of a structure partially above ground and having no more than 50 percent of its height above finish grade on each and every side. A basement is not considered a story unless over 50 percent of its height is above finished grade on any side.
“Bed and breakfast” means an establishment primarily engaged in providing lodging for short-term occupancy (i.e., less than 30 days) for the general public with access typically provided through a common entrance to guest rooms having no cooking facilities. Meals may or may not be provided.
“Bedroom” means any habitable room other than a kitchen, bathroom, hallway, dining room, closet or living room that can be used for sleeping purposes and that meets the requirements of the California Residential, Building, Mechanical, and Electrical Codes.
“Berm” means a mound of earth, either natural or manmade.
“Bicycle parking space” means a space on a bicycle storage rack designed to secure the frame and both wheels of the bicycle where the cyclist supplies only a padlock.
“Bicycle storage rack” means a stationary bicycle storage rack designed to secure the frame and both wheels of the bicycle where the cyclist supplies only a padlock.
“Bikeway” means a bicycle pathway, either a bike lane, bike trail, or bike route.
“Billboard” or “outdoor advertising structure” means a sign or sign structure of any kind or character erected or maintained for the purpose of advertising a business, activity, service, or product not sold or produced on the premises upon which said structure is placed.
“Block” means a unit of land bounded by streets or by a combination of streets and public land, railroad rights-of-way, waterways or any other barrier to the continuity of development.
“Boarding house” or “rooming house” means a building or portion thereof with two or more guest rooms used to provide lodging for compensation, with access typically provided through a common entrance to guest rooms. Guest rooms have no cooking facilities and are rented on a monthly basis or longer (i.e., for 30 days or more). Meals may or may not be provided.
“Brew pub” or “microbrewery” means a commercial business that engages in the retail sale of beer, some or all of which is brewed on the premises in compliance with applicable state and federal laws. The sale of food and other alcoholic beverages may be included.
“Buffer area” means an area of land separating two distinct parcels of land that acts to soften or mitigate the effects of one land use on the other.
“Building” means an enclosed structure having a roof supported by exterior walls. See also “Structure.”
Building, Accessory. See “Accessory building or structure.”
“Building coverage” means a percentage referring to that portion of a lot covered only with principal and accessory buildings. See also “Floor area ratio (FAR).”
“Building frontage” means the portion of a building face on which the primary entry to the building is located. There is only one building frontage per building.
“Building frontage for signage” means the portion of a building or activity that faces either a public right-of-way or parking area.
“Building height” or “structure height” means the vertical distance from finish grade to the topmost point of a building or other structure. Chimneys, finials and other architectural details identified by the director are not included in the measurement of building height.
“Building line” means the exterior wall surface of a building, exclusive of architectural projections or eaves.
“Building, principal” means the building containing the main or principal use of the premises.
“Building, principal residential” means a residential building that is the principal building on a residential lot.
“Building, relocatable” means a building that is not placed on a permanent foundation and is designed to be movable from one location to another without the need for a special permit such as that required to move a conventional house. Relocatable buildings include but are not limited to mobilehomes, construction trailers, and modular buildings.
“Building site” means a parcel or contiguous parcels of land in single or joint ownership established in compliance with the development standards for the applicable zoning district and applicable subdivision regulations. The terms “site” and “building site” are interchangeable for the purposes of this code.
“Business” means any lawful commercial endeavor engaging in the manufacturing, purchase, sale, lease, or exchange of goods and/or services.
“Business park” or “industrial park” means a development incorporating office, industrial, commercial or other business uses, primarily of a nonretail nature, wherein the buildings and permitted uses are planned and developed as a single project. (See also “Office park.”)
“California Coastal Act” or “Coastal Act” means the California Coastal Act of 1976, California Public Resources Code Division 20 (Section 30000 et seq.), as amended or superseded.
“Cannabis” means all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa Linnaeus, Cannabis indica, or Cannabis ruderalis, whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin, whether crude or purified, extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds, or resin. “Cannabis” also means the separated resin, whether crude or purified, obtained from marijuana. “Cannabis” also means marijuana as defined by California Health and Safety Code Section 11018 as enacted by Chapter 1407 of the Statutes of 1972.
“Cannabis cultivation” means any activity involving the planting, growing, harvesting, drying, curing, grading, or trimming of cannabis.
“Cannabis delivery” means the commercial transfer of cannabis or cannabis products, and includes origination or termination within the city as well as a delivery business.
“Cannabis dispensary” means a facility where cannabis, cannabis products, or devices for the use of cannabis or cannabis products are offered, either individually or in any combination, for retail sale, including an establishment that delivers cannabis and cannabis products as part of a retail sale.
“Cannabis manufacturing” means conducting the production, preparation, propagation, or compounding of manufactured cannabis, or cannabis products either directly or indirectly or by extraction methods, or independently by means of chemical synthesis or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis at a fixed location that packages or repackages medical cannabis or cannabis products or labels or relabels its container.
“Canopy” means a roof structure connected to and projecting from a building. The structure may be constructed of any material.
“Car/van pool” means a shared ride by two or more persons in motor vehicles.
“Caretaker” means a person who lives on the premises for the purposes of managing, operating, maintaining, or guarding the primary use or uses permitted on the premises.
“Caretaker’s residence” means an accessory structure containing living quarters and kitchen facilities for housing persons responsible for administering, overseeing, or maintaining security for the main use on the site.
“Carport” means a roofed structure or portion of a building, open on two or more sides, for the parking of motor vehicles.
“Cellular” means a wireless communications technology that is based on a system of interconnected cell sites.
“Cemetery” means land used for the burial of the dead, including mausoleums, and mortuaries when operated in conjunction with and within the boundary of such cemetery.
“Centerline” is an engineering term that includes:
1. A section line, half-section line or quarter-section line whenever a mapped highway is plotted on the “Master Plan of Arterial Highways” along a section, half-section or quarter-section line.
2. A line shown as a centerline on a map entitled “Precise Plan of Highway Alignments” and any amendments thereto.
3. A line shown as a centerline on a recorded tract map, an approved record of survey map or a parcel.
4. A line in the center of the ultimate street right-of-way.
“CEQA” means the California Environmental Quality Act, as amended or superseded.
“Certificate of occupancy” or “certificate of use and occupancy” means a permit issued by the city prior to occupancy of a structure or the establishment of a land use to assure that the structure or parcel is ready for occupancy or use and that all ordinance requirements and project conditions of approval have been fulfilled.
“Certified local coastal program” means a plan for the use of property within the coastal zone which has been adopted by the city and certified by the California Coastal Commission pursuant to the California Public Resources Code.
“Charitable films” means all activities described under the definition of “Film, video and still photography,” carried out by a nonprofit organization which qualifies under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code as a charitable organization. No person receives a profit, directly or indirectly, from the marketing and production of the film or from showing the film, videotape or photographs.
“Check cashing facility” means a person or business that for compensation engages, in whole or in part, in the business of cashing checks, warrants, drafts, money orders, or other commercial paper serving the same purpose. Check cashing facility does not include a state or federally chartered bank, savings association, credit union, or industrial loan company. A retail seller engaged primarily in the business of selling consumer goods, including consumables, to retail buyers that cashes checks or issues money orders for a flat fee as a service that is incidental to its main purpose or business is also considered a check cashing facility.
“Child day care center,” “nursery” or “preschool” means a child day care facility used primarily for the provision of daytime care, training or education of children at a nonresidential location. The maximum number of children accommodated is determined by state licensing provisions and city use permit conditions. Rooms accessory to a church and used for religious education on not more than two days a week are not considered child day care centers.
“Child day care facility” means a facility which provides nonmedical care to children under 18 years of age in need of personal services, supervision, or assistance essential for sustaining the activities of daily living or for the protection of the individual on less than a 24-hour basis at any location other than their normal place of residence. “Child day care facility” includes both child day care centers and child day care homes.
“Child day care home, large” or “family day care home, large” means, as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 1596.78, a child day care facility which regularly provides care, protection and supervision for seven to 14 or fewer children in the provider’s own home for periods of less than 24 hours per day, including children under the age of 10 years who reside at the home.
“Child day care home, small” or “family day care home, small” means, as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 1596.78, a child day care facility which regularly provides care, protection and supervision of eight or fewer children in the provider’s own home for periods of less than 24 hours per day, including children under the age of 10 years who reside at the home.
“Chimney” means a structure made of masonry, metal or other material, extending vertically above the roof of a building for the purpose of carrying off heat, smoke, soot, and/or ash.
“Church” means a structure that is used primarily for religious worship and related religious activities.
“City” means the city of Aliso Viejo, California, unless another city is specified.
“City clerk” means the city clerk of the city of Aliso Viejo or his or her authorized representative.
“City council” means the city council of the city of Aliso Viejo. The city council shall serve as the planning agency for the city pursuant to California Government Code Section 65100.
“City engineer” means the city engineer of the city of Aliso Viejo or his or her authorized representative.
“City manager” means the city manager of the city of Aliso Viejo or his or her authorized representative.
“City property” means any real property owned by the city, other than public streets, utility easements, and any property held in a proprietary capacity by the city which is not subject to right-of-way licensing and franchising.
Cleaning Plant, Dry Cleaning Plant or Laundry Plant. See “Dry cleaning or laundry plant.”
“Clubs and lodges” means buildings and facilities owned or operated by an association of persons for some common purpose, but not including organizations which provide goods or services and which are customarily carried on as businesses.
“Coastal Commission” means the California Coastal Commission, established pursuant to the California Coastal Act (California Public Resources Code Division 20).
“Coastal development permit” means a permit issued by the city or the Coastal Commission which is an approval of a use subject to the provisions of the California Coastal Act.
“Coastal zone” means that area of land and water extending seaward to the state’s outer limit of jurisdiction specified on a coastal zone map adopted by the State Legislature as adjusted by the Coastal Commission pursuant to the requirements of the California Coastal Act.
“Code” means this zoning code unless another code, ordinance or law is specified (see also “Municipal code”).
“Commercial” means a land use or other activity involving the sale of goods or services for financial gain.
“Commercial center” or “shopping center” means a cluster of commercial businesses consisting of two or more establishments in one or more buildings sharing common facilities such as off-street parking, access, signage and landscaping and under single or multiple ownership.
“Commercial district” means a zoning district whose stated purpose is to provide for commercial and other nonresidential land uses.
“Commercial marijuana activity” includes the cultivation, possession, manufacture, distribution, processing, storing, laboratory testing, labeling, transportation, distribution, delivery or sale of marijuana and marijuana products, whether undertaken on a for-profit or nonprofit basis.
“Commercial recreation” means a use or activity where the primary intent is to provide amusement, pleasure or sport, but which is operated for financial gain. It includes establishments where food and beverages are sold as a secondary or ancillary use but does not include restaurants, nightclubs or cocktail lounges as a primary use.
“Commercial vehicle” means a vehicle customarily used as part of a business for the transportation of goods or people.
“Common area – commercial” means the area within a shopping center or business park which is not designed for rental to tenants and which is available for common use by all tenants or groups of tenants and their invitees. Examples: parking and its appurtenances, sidewalks, landscaped areas, public toilets, and service facilities.
“Common area – residential” means the area within a residential development which is not designed as a residential building site, which is owned in common by homeowners in the development, and which is available for common use or enjoyment by all property owners in the development and their invitees. Examples: recreation areas, clubhouses, landscaped areas, open space areas, and natural areas.
Communications Antenna. See “Antenna.”
“Communications equipment building” means a building housing operating mechanical or electronic switching and microwave equipment of a telephone or other communications system.
“Community apartment project” means a residential project in which an undivided interest in the land is coupled with the right of exclusive occupancy of any apartment located thereon.
“Community facility” means a governmental, quasi-governmental, or nonprofit, noncommercial use established for the benefit or enjoyment of the population of the community in which it is located. Examples include fire and police stations, public and private schools, churches, recreation centers, water tanks and utility installations.
“Community garden” means an area of land with small plots on which vegetables, herbs and other crops are grown and which is managed and maintained with the active participation of the gardeners themselves, rather than tended only by a professional staff.
“Conditional use” means a land use that, because of special requirements or characteristics, may be allowed in a particular zoning district only after the granting of a use permit which imposes conditions necessary to assure that the use will not be detrimental to the public health, safety, and welfare and that it will be compatible with other uses in the same zone or vicinity.
Conditional Use Permit (CUP). See “Use permit.”
“Condominium” means condominium projects, community apartment projects and stock cooperatives, as defined in California Civil Code Section 1351. More generally, pursuant to California Civil Code Section 1351, an undivided interest in common in a portion of real property coupled with a separate interest in space in a residential, industrial or commercial building on such real property, such as an office or store or dwelling. A condominium may include, in addition, a separate interest in other portions of such real property.
“Condominium conversion project” means a project to divide one or more parcels of real property into condominiums and the creation of separate ownership of the units therein with a separate interest in the space within all structures thereon.
“Construction trailer” means a trailer the use of which is incidental to new construction on a site, including but not limited to temporary office space for the direction of on-site construction activities.
“Convenience store” means a retail store under 5,000 square feet in gross floor area, open up to 24 hours per day and selling primarily food, beer, wine, liquor and sundries for off-site consumption.
“Conversion project” means an apartment house or multiple or group dwelling which is existing, under construction or for which building permits have been issued, and which is proposed for conversion to a residential condominium, community apartment, residential stock cooperative or planned development.
“Cooperative apartment” or “co-op apartment” means a dwelling unit within a stock cooperative.
Corner Lot. See definitions under “Lot.”
“Country club” means a club organized and operated by an association primarily for social and outdoor recreation purposes of an identified membership where fees may be required, including incidental accessory uses and structures.
“County” means the county of Orange, California, unless another county is specified.
“Courtyard” means an open, unoccupied space, which is unobstructed from ground to sky, other than a yard, on the same lot with a building and bounded on two or more sides by the walls of a building.
“Covered parking” means a parking stall or stalls within a carport, a garage, or completely under the overhanging portion of a building.
“Cultivation” means any activity involving the planting, growing, harvesting, drying, curing, grading, or trimming of marijuana.
“Cyber cafe” means an establishment that provides more than four computers and/or electronic devices for access to the World Wide Web, Internet, e-mail, software programs, word processing, video games or any computer networking to its users for compensation, including but not limited to memberships, or for public access. A cyber cafe shall not include businesses where personal computer access is incidental to the permitted use. The term “cyber cafe” shall also include a personal computer (PC) cafe, Internet cafe, PC arcade and cyber center.
“Dance studio” means any premises on which there is a program of instruction involving live dance offered indoors.
Day Care Center. See “Child day care center.”
“Decibel” means a unit used to express relative difference in power or intensity, usually between two acoustic or electric signals, equal to 10 times the common logarithm of the ratio of the two levels. A related term, “dB(A),” means the frequency response curve which resembles the normal frequency hearing curve for most humans.
“Decision-making authority” or “decision-making body” means a person or group of persons charged with making decisions on proposals, applications, or other items brought before the city.
“Deck” means a platform where the top horizontal surface is 30 inches or higher above adjacent ground and which may be either freestanding or attached to a building and is supported by pillars, posts or walls.
“Delivery” means the commercial transfer of marijuana or marijuana products to a customer or other recipient. “Delivery” also includes the use by a retailer of any technology platform owned and controlled by the retailer, or independently licensed under California law, that enables customers to arrange for or facilitate the commercial transfer by a licensed retailer of marijuana or marijuana products.
“Demolish” or “destroy” means, other than immediate replacement or reconstruction, the removal, destruction, wrecking, tearing down, dismantling, or razing of a building or structure to an extent that the building or structure is nonfunctional.
“Density” means the number of dwelling units per gross acre of land.
“Density bonus units” means those additional residential units granted pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 15.58 AVMC which exceed the maximum residential density for the development site.
“Density, gross” means the ratio expressed by the number of residential dwelling units divided by gross acreage.
“Density, net” means the ratio expressed by the number of residential dwelling units divided by net acreage.
“Design” means the physical aspects of a development, road improvement, or other construction project. Design includes, but is not limited to, such items as street alignment, grading, landscaping, site layout, building elevations, and signage.
“Detached buildings and structures” means two or more buildings or structures that are each structurally independent and freestanding and not connected by walls, roofs, floors, decks, supports, trellises, architectural features or any other structure, fixture or device that exceeds 30 inches in height above the finished grade.
“Development” means, on land, in or under water, the placement or erection of any solid material or structure; discharge or disposal of any dredged material or of any gaseous, liquid, solid, or thermal waste; grading, removing, dredging, mining, or extraction of any materials resulting in a change in the density or intensity of use of land, including, but not limited to, subdivision pursuant to the Subdivision Map Act, and any other division of land, including lot splits, except where the land division is brought about in connection with the purchase of such land by a public agency for public recreational use.
“Development agreement” means a contract between the city or the county and a developer, which may specify conditions, terms, restrictions, and regulations pertaining to all aspects of a development project.
“Development plan” means a plan created to describe a proposed development on a specific building site.
“Development project” means a public or private-sector venture involving the development, construction, structural or site modification, or redevelopment of commercial, industrial, residential, or other properties.
“Development standard” means a numerical maximum or minimum requirement set for each zoning district and regulating the development of building sites. Such standards include, but are not limited to, building setbacks, street frontage, and lot sizes.
“Director” means the “director of planning services” or “planning director” or “community development director” of the city of Aliso Viejo or his or her authorized representative, unless another director or department head is specified.
“Disabled person” means persons defined in 42 U.S.C. 423 and including handicapped persons as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 50072.
“Discretionary action” means an action taken on a development project or land use application based on the individual choice or judgment of the decision-making authority.
“Distribution” means the procurement, sale, and transport of marijuana and marijuana products between entities for commercial use purposes.
“District,” “zone” or “zoning district” means a base district or overlay district.
“Domicile” means an individual’s legal residence and permanent home. A domicile is not lodging, which is only a temporary residence. (See “lodging.”) A dwelling unit that is rented by a person on a month-to-month, or longer, basis is presumed to be the renter’s domicile if the renter has no other legal residence or permanent home. Indicia of legal residency include, but are not limited to, evidence that the resident uses the street address for government identification purposes, such as a driver’s license, and for tax-filing purposes.
“Drive-in” or “drive-through” means designed or operated so as to enable persons to receive a service or purchase or consume goods while remaining within a motor vehicle.
“Driveway” means a private roadway or accessway providing direct vehicular access to a garage, parking lot or use which requires vehicular access. A street or alley is not considered a driveway.
“Driveway approach” means a designated area between the curb or traveled way of a street and the street right-of-way line that provides vehicular access to abutting properties. When vehicular access to a building site is provided by way of a common driveway, the driveway approach is the line of intersection where the individual driveway abuts the common driveway.
“Dry cleaning or laundry establishment” means an establishment or business maintained for the pick-up, delivery, dry cleaning and laundering of fabrics and apparel.
“Dry cleaning or laundry plant” means a central processing facility for cleaning of clothing and fabrics collected from and returned to patrons and to dry cleaning and laundry establishments.
“Duplex” means a permanent building containing two dwelling units on a single lot.
“Dwelling” means a building or portion thereof designed and used for residential occupancy, but not including hotels or motels.
“Dwelling, attached” means a main dwelling unit attached to one or more other main dwelling units by means of a roof or common interior wall.
Dwelling, Efficiency. See “Efficiency apartment.”
“Dwelling, main or principal” means the dwelling unit permitted as the principal use of a parcel, either by itself or with other dwelling units (as in multifamily buildings).
“Dwelling, multifamily” means a dwelling within a building on a single building site, which building contains separate living units for three or more rental or homeownership households, including but not limited to apartments, condominiums, and townhomes.
“Dwelling, patio home” means a single-family detached dwelling shifted to one side of the lot, i.e., placed on the lot so that one side setback is zero or nearly zero and the other side setback is larger than if both side setbacks were approximately equal.
“Dwelling, single-family” means one main dwelling unit on a single parcel or building site.
“Dwelling, single-family attached” means a single-family dwelling attached to one other main dwelling, either on a separate lot or on the same lot.
“Dwelling, single-family detached” means a single-family dwelling not attached to any other main dwelling.
“Dwelling, townhome” means a main dwelling unit attached typically to two or more other main dwelling units by means of a roof and/or interior wall, with each dwelling unit occupying its own lot.
“Dwelling unit” means one or more rooms, including a bathroom and kitchen, designed or used for occupancy by a single family for living and sleeping purposes.
“Easement” means a recorded right or interest in the land of another, which entitles the holder thereof to some use, privilege or benefit in, on, over or under said land.
Eating and Drinking Establishment. See “Restaurant.”
“Eave line” means the bottom of the roof eave or parapet.
“Educational institution” means a private or public elementary or secondary school, college or university which gives general academic instruction equivalent to the standards prescribed by the State Board of Education.
“Efficiency apartment” means a small dwelling unit over 225 square feet in floor area within a multifamily structure, usually consisting of a single room.
“Elevation” means (1) a drawing, photo or other image of the side, front, or rear of a building; or (2) the vertical distance above sea level, usually expressed in feet.
“Eligible tenant” means a tenant who has had a valid lease in a unit that is proposed to be converted in connection with a condominium conversion project for a minimum of six months prior to the first tenant notification concerning the filing of an application for a condominium conversion project pursuant to Section 66427.1(b) of the Subdivision Map Act.
Emergency Shelter. See “Homeless or emergency shelter.”
“Employee” means any person hired by a firm, business, educational institution, nonprofit agency, corporation, government agency, or other entity to perform work.
“Employee’s quarters” means living quarters, with or without cooking facilities, for the housing of domestic employees located upon the same building site as the employer’s dwelling.
“Enclosed” means contained on all sides by walls which are pierced only by windows, vents, or customary entrances and exits.
“Environmental impact report (EIR)” means a detailed statement setting forth the environmental effects, considerations, and mitigation measures pertaining to a project pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the State CEQA Guidelines.
“Environmental review” means the process of determining the impacts of proposed projects on the environment. The review process is carried out in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act, the State CEQA Guidelines and the environmental review guidelines and procedures of the city.
“Equestrian trail” means a right-of-way or easement, public or private, designated for the riding of horses. Such trails may also include pedestrian use (hiking trails) and off-road nonmotorized bicycle use.
“Equine” means a category of domestic animal which includes horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules.
“Exception” or “exception permit” means a city-approved deviation from a development standard based on the following types of findings by the decision-making authority: (1) a general finding such as that notwithstanding the deviation, the resulting structure or development will still be consistent with the goals and/or policies underlying the development standard; and (2) one or more specific findings justifying the particular deviation requested.
“Existing use” means the land use on or within a lot or structure.
“Exterior property line” means a property line abutting a public or private street.
“Family” means one or more related or unrelated persons occupying a dwelling unit and operating as a single housekeeping unit. “Family” does not include occupants of a fraternity, sorority, boarding house, short-term rental, lodging house, club, motel, or any other type of transitory lodging.
Family Day Care Home, Large. See “Child day care home, large.”
Family Day Care Home, Small. See “Child day care home, small.”
“Feasible” means capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account environmental, physical, legal and technological factors.
“Fence” means an artificially constructed barrier, such as wooden posts, concrete, iron, etc., used as a boundary, means of protection, privacy screening or confinement. Does not include natural barriers such as hedges, shrubs, trees, or other natural growth.
“Film, video and still photography” means all activity attendant to staging or shooting commercial motion pictures, television shows or programs, commercial advertisements, commercial promotion and training films, and professional still photography for any purpose.
“First story” means the lowest story of a building which qualifies as a story, as defined in this chapter (see also “Basement”).
“Fitness facility” means any premises in which a range of indoor and/or outdoor fitness activities and classes are offered, including weight training, aerobics, gymnastics, swimming, and racquet sports.
“Floor area, gross” or “GFA” means the total square footage of all floors and mezzanines of a building, including the exterior walls thereof but excluding courtyards and other outdoor areas.
“Floor area, net” means the area included within the surrounding walls of a building, exclusive of vent shafts, elevator shafts, stairways, exterior corridors or balconies, rooms containing only mechanical and electrical equipment used for service of the building, utility shafts and parking areas. Exterior roofed atrium areas open on two or more sides and exterior roofed balconies or walkways open on one side are not included in net floor area.
“Floor area ratio (FAR)” means numerical value obtained by dividing the gross floor area of all buildings, not including parking structures, located on a building site by the gross land area of the building site.
“Foot-candle” means a unit of measure of the intensity of light falling on a surface equal to one lumen per square foot.
“Fraternity house” or “sorority house” means a building, or portion of a building, occupied by a chapter of a regularly organized college fraternity or sorority officially recognized by an educational institution.
“Frontage” means the side of a lot abutting a street.
“Ft.” means foot or feet.
“Fuel modification zone” means a strip of land where flammable native vegetation has been removed and/or modified and partially or totally replaced with drought-tolerant, fire-resistant plants.
“Game machine” means any electric or electronic machine (e.g., pinball, video games) that provides amusement, enjoyment or entertainment and that may be operated upon the insertion of a coin or token. This term shall not include juke boxes, children’s mechanical rides (e.g., horses, rocket ships), or machines that sell merchandise.
“Garage” means a building, or a portion of a building, remaining permanently available for the parking of motor vehicles.
“Gas station” or “automotive service station” means a retail business engaged primarily in the sale of motor fuels and those incidental goods and services which are required in the day-to-day operation of automotive vehicles and the fulfilling of motorists’ needs.
“General plan” means the general plan of the city of Aliso Viejo.
“Government Code” means the California Government Code.
“Grade, average” means the elevation determined by averaging the highest and lowest elevations of a parcel, building site, or other defined area of land.
“Grade, average finish” means the elevation determined by averaging the highest and lowest elevations of a parcel, building site, or other defined area of land after final grading.
“Grade, finish” means the ground elevation at any point after final grading.
“Grading” means the excavation, filling in, spreading, or moving of earth, sand, gravel, rock, or other material on a lot, building site, street right-of-way or other land area.
“Gross acreage” means the land area, expressed in acres, within a parcel or group of contiguous parcels minus any right-of-way for arterial highways not including collector streets. Each acre so determined is a gross acre.
Gross Density. See “Density.”
Gross Floor Area or GFA. See “Floor area, gross.”
Gross Lot or Parcel Area. See “Area, gross lot or site.”
“Ground level” means the highest elevation of the existing ground.
“Group instruction” means noncounseling, instructional services that are provided to groups of five or more persons at a time. Examples of group instruction uses include, but are not limited to, classes in photography, fine arts, crafts, or dance or music; driving schools; swim schools; and yoga or martial-arts studios. Group instruction does not include “sports training centers” and it may or may not be associated with a health club.
“Group quarters” means a facility that houses groups of seven or more unrelated persons not organized as a household. Examples of group quarters include, but are not limited to, institutions, dormitories, shelters, military quarters, and assisted living facilities.
“Guest house” means an attached or detached residential room or rooms which has sanitary facilities but no kitchen or cooking facilities, and which is not rented but is used primarily for sleeping purposes for members of the family occupying the main dwelling and their nonpaying guests or domestic employees.
“Habitable area” means the interior area of a dwelling unit which may be occupied for living purposes by humans. Habitable area does not include a garage or any accessory structure.
“Habitable room” means any room usable for living purposes, which includes working, sleeping, eating, cooking or recreation, or a combination thereof. A room designed and used only for storage purposes is not a habitable room.
“Handicapped” means persons defined in 42 U.S.C. 423 as disabled and as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 50072.
“Hazardous waste” means a waste or combination of wastes which, because of its quantity, concentration, toxicity, corrosiveness, mutagenicity, radioactivity, or flammability, or its physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics, may: (1) cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness; or (2) pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.
“HCD” means the State Department of Housing and Community Development.
“Health club” means a commercial establishment having members who pay a fee to use its health and fitness facilities and equipment. “Health club” can also be an ancillary recreational use to an office establishment that provides health and fitness facilities and equipment for its employees.
“Health facility” means “Health Facility,” as defined by California Health and Safety Code Section 1250, i.e., “a facility, place or building that is organized, maintained, and operated for the diagnosis, care, prevention, and treatment of human illness, physical or mental, including convalescence and rehabilitation and including care during and after pregnancy, or for any one or more of these purposes, for one or more persons, to which the persons are admitted for a 24-hour stay or longer.”
“Hedge” means a grouping of vegetation planted, grown, maintained and shaped in a linear pattern which forms a solid barrier similar in shape and proportion to a fence or wall.
“Home occupation” means an occupation or activity conducted as an accessory use within a dwelling unit incidental to the residential use of the property.
“Homeless or emergency shelter” means a facility that provides shelter and other related services to homeless individuals and families on a short-term basis.
“Hotel” means a building or portion thereof with access provided through a common entrance, lobby or hallway to guest rooms which are rented on a daily basis and which has cooking facilities in less than 25 percent of the guest rooms.
“Household” means all persons living in a dwelling unit as a single housekeeping unit, whether or not they are related. A single person living in an apartment as well as a family living in a house are both considered a household. “Household” does not include individuals living in dormitories, boarding and rooming houses, short-term rentals, prisons, or other group quarters unless mandated by state or federal law. See “Single housekeeping unit.”
“Improvement” means the construction of infrastructure and all related appurtenances, bridges, utilities, pedestrian-ways, bikeways, equestrian trails, or landscaping and irrigation in connection with an approved development or public works project, whether involving the subdivision of land or not.
“Improvement plans” means engineering drawings for the construction of street, trail, water, sewer, drainage, drainage facilities, landscape facilities, and appurtenances.
“In.” means inch or inches.
Industrial Park. See “Business park.”
“Institution” means a social, educational, governmental, health, or religious organization.
“Intensity” means the level of development or activity associated with a land use, as measured by one or more of the following: (1) the amount of parking required for the use per this code; (2) the operational characteristics of the use such as hours of operation, the inclusion of dancing or live entertainment as part of the use; (3) the floor area or floor area ratio of the use; (4) the percentage of the building site occupied by the use or by the structure containing the use.
Interior Property Line. See definitions under “Lot line.”
“Joint use of parking” means the shared use of off-street parking facilities by more than one business or household when so approved by discretionary action. The same parking spaces are counted to satisfy the off-street parking requirements of more than one land use, e.g., use of the same parking facility to satisfy the off-street parking requirements of a church and an office building.
“Junk” means any worn-out, cast-off or discarded material.
“Junk or salvage yard” means any property used for the breaking-up, dismantling, sorting, storage, distribution, or sale of any scrap, waste material or junk.
“Kennel” means any property where four or more dogs or four or more cats over the age of four months are kept or maintained for any commercial purpose, except veterinary clinics and animal hospitals. The term includes “animal boarding.”
“Kitchen” means a room or portion of a room in a structure used or designed to be used for cooking or the preparation of food. The installation of a cooking appliance, whether a stove, range, microwave, toaster oven or other cooking appliance, plus a sink with running water constitutes a kitchen within this definition.
“Laboratory, dry” means a laboratory where dry materials, electronics, and/or large instruments are tested and analyzed, with limited piped services. Dry laboratories may require controlled temperature and humidity as well as dust control.
“Laboratory, wet” means a laboratory where chemicals, drugs or biological matter is tested and analyzed, and which typically requires water, direct ventilation, specialized piped utilities and protective measures.
Land Use Intensity. See “Intensity.”
“Landfill, sanitary” means an area designed and used for the disposal of solid waste on land by spreading it in layers, compacting it and covering it daily with soil or other approved cover material.
“Landscaping” means the planting and maintenance of some combination of trees, groundcover, shrubs, vines, flowers or lawn. In addition, the combination or design may include natural features such as rock and stone, and manmade structural features including but not limited to fountains, reflecting pools, art work, screens, walls, fences, and benches.
“Laundromat” means a facility where patrons wash, dry, or dry clean clothing or other fabrics in machines operated by the patron.
Laundry Plant. See “Dry cleaning or laundry plant.”
“Licensee” means the holder of any state issued license related to marijuana activities, including but not limited to licenses issued under California Business and Professions Code Division 10.
“Live entertainment” means any act, play, revue, pantomime, scene, dance, or song, or any combination of the foregoing, performed in person either indoors or outdoors by one or more persons, with or without compensation for their performance. Excludes “adult live entertainment.”
“Live/work unit” means a building consisting of a dwelling unit and limited office or commercial use, generally configured as multi-story, with the nonresidential use on the first floor and residential uses on the upper floor or floors.
Living Area. See “Habitable area.”
“Lodging” or “lodgings” means a temporary residence or place to live that includes sleeping accommodations. Lodging is not a domicile because the former is a temporary residence and the latter is a permanent one. (See “domicile.”)
“Loft” means a partial floor near the top of a house just below the roof, usually unpartitioned.
“Lot” means an area of land under one ownership which is identified as a lot or parcel on a recorded final map, parcel map, record of survey recorded pursuant to an approved division of land, certificate of compliance, or lot line adjustment. The terms “lot” and “parcel” are interchangeable for purposes of this code. Types of lots and their definitions are as follows:
1. “Corner lot” means a lot abutting two streets intersecting at an angle of not more than 135 degrees. If the angle of intersection is more than 135 degrees, the lot is an “interior lot.”
2. “Flag or panhandle lot or building site” means a lot or building site having its only vehicular access by way of a narrow accessway which serves no other property and which is less than 40 feet wide and more than 20 feet long.
3. “Interior lot” means a lot abutting only one street or abutting two streets which intersect at an angle greater than 135 degrees.
4. “Irregular shaped lot” means a lot which does not conform to a standard rectangular shape, including gore-shaped lots or lots having fewer or more than four sides.
5. “Key lot” means a lot with a side lot line that abuts the rear lot line of one or more adjoining lots.
6. “Reverse corner lot” means a corner lot, the rear of which abuts the side of another lot.
7. “Through or double-frontage lot” means a lot with frontage on two parallel or approximately parallel streets.
Lot Area. See definitions under “Area.”
“Lot coverage” means that percentage of a lot which, when viewed directly from above, is covered by a structure or structures, or any part thereof, excluding projecting roof eaves.
“Lot depth” means the distance between the midpoint of the front lot line and the midpoint of the rear lot line.
“Lot frontage” means the length of the front lot line.
“Lot line” or “property line” means any boundary of a lot. The classifications of lot lines and their definitions are as follows:
1. “Front lot line” means:
a. On an interior lot, the line separating the lot from the street.
b. On a corner lot, the shorter line abutting a street. (If the lot lines are equal or approximately equal, the director shall determine the front lot line.)
c. On a through lot, the lot line abutting the street providing primary access to the lot.
2. “Interior lot line” means any lot line not abutting a street.
3. “Rear lot line” means a lot line which does not intersect the front lot line and which is most distant from and most parallel to the front lot line. In the case of an irregularly shaped lot or a lot bounded by only three lot lines, for the purposes of determining setbacks and other provisions of this code the rear lot line is a 10-foot-long line within the lot parallel to and most distant from the front lot line.
4. “Side lot line” means any lot line which is not a front or rear lot line.
“Lot line adjustment” means the reconfiguration of lot lines where an equal or lesser number of lots are created.
“Lot width” means the minimum horizontal distance between the side lot lines measured at a point midway between the front and rear lot line.
“Mail services” means a commercial business which conducts the retail sale of stationery products, provides packaging and mail services (both U.S. Postal and private service), and provides mailboxes for lease.
“Main building” means the building containing the principal use on the premises.
Main Dwelling. See “Dwelling, main or principal.”
“Manufacture” means to compound, blend, extract, infuse, or otherwise make or prepare a marijuana product.
“Manufactured home” or “mobilehome” means a residential building transportable in one or more sections which has been certified under the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974.
“Marijuana” means all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L., whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds or resin. It does not include:
1. Industrial hemp, as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 11018.5; or
2. The weight of any other ingredient combined with marijuana to prepare topical or oral administrations, food, drink, or other product.
“Marijuana accessories” means any equipment, products or materials of any kind which are used, intended for use, or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, smoking, vaporizing, or containing marijuana, or for ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing marijuana or marijuana products into the human body.
“Marijuana products” means marijuana that has undergone a process whereby the plant material has been transformed into a concentrate, including, but not limited to, concentrated cannabis, or an edible or topical product containing marijuana or concentrated cannabis and other ingredients.
“Massage” means any method of pressure on, or friction against, or stroking, kneading, rubbing, tapping, pounding, vibrating, or stimulating the external parts of the human body with the hands or with the aid of any mechanical or electrical apparatus, or other appliances or devices, with or without such supplementary aids as rubbing alcohol, liniment, antiseptic, oil, powder, cream, lotion, ointment, or other similar preparations. The term “massage” also includes the following businesses, callings, or occupations:
1. Acupressure;
2. Anatomy care;
3. Body wrap;
4. Holistic health center or practitioner;
5. Holistic therapy;
6. Hydrotherapy;
7. Public bath;
8. Sauna;
9. Sports massage;
10. Herbal massage;
11. Massage parlor;
12. Reflexology.
“Maximum residential density” means the maximum number of residential units permitted by this zoning code and the land use element of the city’s general plan at the time of application excluding the units added by a density bonus awarded pursuant to Chapter 15.58 AVMC.
“Mining” means the process of obtaining sand, gravel, rock, aggregate, clay, or similar materials from an open excavation in the earth for financial gain, but not including the removal of minerals extracted by underground methods.
“Ministerial action” means an action taken using fixed standards with little or no personal judgment or discretion regarding approval or denial.
“Mini-storage facility” means a self-storage facility comprising a building or buildings containing various size storage compartments not exceeding 500 square feet each, and wherein each compartment is offered for rent or lease to the general public for the private storage of materials excluding materials sold at the facility or delivered directly to customers.
“Mixed use building or development” means a building or development that is occupied, arranged, designed, or intended for combinations of land uses; including but not limited to residential, commercial, office, business park, civic, cultural, educational, or recreational uses.
“Mobile noise source” means a fixed transportation route or facility which generates noise impinging on nearby areas due to vehicle travel on said route or facility.
“Mobile recycling unit” means an automobile, truck, trailer, or van licensed by the Department of Motor Vehicles, which is used for the collection of recyclable materials. A mobile recycling unit also includes the bins, boxes or containers transported by trucks, vans, or trailers and used for the collection of recyclable materials.
Mobilehome. See “Manufactured home.”
“Mobilehome park” or “mobilehome development” means any area or tract of land used to accommodate mobilehomes for human habitation, including pads for mobilehomes, clubhouses, recreation facilities, and other ancillary structures and facilities. The term includes mobilehome parks and mobilehome subdivisions.
“Model home complex” means residential dwelling units and a sales office located in a residential development which are being used to illustrate the design of the units to potential home buyers during initial sale of units.
Modification. See “Wireless: Modification.”
“Motel” means a building or group of buildings containing guest rooms rented on a weekly basis or less, with cooking facilities in less than 25 percent of the guest rooms and with most or all guest rooms gaining access from an exterior walkway.
“Motor vehicle” means a self-propelled device used or intended to be used for the transportation of freight or passengers upon a street or highway, excepting a device moved by human power or a device used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. A motor vehicle does not include a self-propelled wheelchair, motorized tricycle, or motorized quadricycle if operated by a person who by reason of physical disability is otherwise unable to move about as a pedestrian.
Multifamily Dwelling or Residence. See “Dwelling, multifamily.”
“Multi-tenant” means a building occupied by more than one business or organization.
“Municipal code” means the municipal code of the city of Aliso Viejo.
“Mural” means a display or illustration painted on a building or wall within public view that does not draw attention to a product, place, activity, person, establishment, institution, organization, or place of business.
“Neon band” means a neon light tube used to accent the lines of a sign or building, which follows the building form of the structure.
“Noncommercial” means a land use or other activity that does not involve the sale of goods or services for financial gain.
“Noncommercial coach” means a vehicle, with or without motive power, designed and equipped for human occupancy for classrooms and other nonresidential and noncommercial uses.
“Nonconforming lot” means a lot or parcel which was lawful and in conformance with applicable zoning regulations when established but which, due to subsequent ordinance changes, does not conform to the current lot standards applicable to the zoning district in which it is located.
“Nonconforming structure” means a structure which was lawful and in conformance with applicable zoning regulations when constructed but which, due to subsequent ordinance changes, does not conform to the current development standards applicable to the zoning district in which it is located.
“Nonconforming use” means a land use which was lawful and in conformance with applicable zoning regulations when established but which, due to subsequent ordinance changes, is not currently permitted in the zoning district in which it is located or is permitted only upon the approval of a use permit or other entitlement and no such entitlement has been approved.
“Nonconformity” means a land use, lot or structure which was lawful when established or constructed but, due to subsequent ordinance changes, is not in conformance with this zoning code. The term “nonconformity” does not include uses, lots, or structures which were not lawful when established or constructed.
“Notice” means a written notice given by personal service upon the addressee, or given by the United States mail, postage paid, addressed to the person to be notified at his or her last known address.
“NPDES” means National Pollution Discharge Elimination System as defined in the Federal Clean Water Act.
Nursery, Day Care. See “Child day care facility.”
“Occupancy, short-term” means the short-term use or possession, or the right to the short-term use or possession, of any portion of any room or rooms offered for remuneration for dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes, regardless of the purpose for which such rooms are rented.
“Office park” means a development incorporating office, commercial or other business uses, primarily of a nonindustrial and nonretail nature, wherein the buildings and permitted uses are planned and developed as a single project (see also “Business park”).
Off-Site Parking. See “Parking, off-site.”
“Open space” means any parcel or area of land or water, public or private, which is kept in a substantially undeveloped state for the purposes of preservation, recreation, education or other outdoor use.
“Open space areas” means area not covered by structures and not serving motor vehicles (such as parking areas, loading areas, driveways, streets, or alleys).
“Open space, common” means the percentage of a lot (as identified on a recorded parcel or tract map) dedicated to open space area accessible to all residents of the development, including courtyards, recreational facilities, walkways and trails.
“Open space, exclusive” means the area of open space reserved for the exclusive use of the resident of a unit and their guests, such as balconies, fenced patios, etc.
“Open space, usable” means open space which is predominately level with slopes less than five percent, but which may contain some steeper land, and which has utility for active or passive recreation activities. Usable open space is a minimum of 15 feet in width and 300 square feet in area and may include both open land and facilities such as tot lots, swimming pools, basketball courts, tennis courts, picnic facilities, walkways, and trails.
“Organizational documents” means the declaration of restrictions, chapters of incorporation, bylaws and any contracts for the maintenance, management or operation of all or any part of a condominium conversion project.
“Outdoor storage, permanent” means the use of a premises or part of a premises not enclosed by a building for the permanent storage of materials or equipment.
“Outdoor storage, temporary” means the use of a premises or part of a premises not enclosed by a building for the storage of materials or equipment for a period of not greater than 30 days.
“Outpatient medical uses, large” means an office facility where health services, and managerial, administrative, and clerical functions relating to medicine, physical or mental, are conducted, where persons are not admitted for a 24-hour stay or longer, and where six or more patients are receiving services at any given time. The services may be preventative, diagnostic, treatment, therapeutic, rehabilitative, or counseling in nature.
“Outpatient medical uses, small” means an office facility where health services, and managerial, administrative, and clerical functions relating to medicine, physical or mental, are conducted, where persons are not admitted for a 24-hour stay or longer, and where five or fewer patients are receiving services at any given time. The services may be preventative, diagnostic, treatment, therapeutic, rehabilitative, or counseling in nature.
“Owner” means any person, corporation, or agency having a legal or equitable interest in a property, including any successor or assignee or agent of any of the aforesaid.
“Owners’ association” means an association in which individual owners share common ownership interests and responsibilities for buildings, open space, landscaping, and/or facilities.
Panhandle Lot or Flag Lot. See definitions under “Lot.”
“Parade” means a parade, procession, march, pageant, review, ceremony, or exhibition which is conducted in, on, upon, or along any portion of any public street, sidewalk, or other property owned or controlled by the city, so as to impede, obstruct, impair, or interfere with the free use of such public street, sidewalk, or other public property of the city.
“Parapet” means an architecturally integrated low wall, railing, or screen along the top edge of a building’s roof.
“Parcel” means a contiguous quantity of land under one ownership. The terms “lot” and “parcel” are interchangeable for purposes of this code.
“Parcel map” means a map, prepared by a registered civil engineer or licensed land surveyor, showing the subdivision of land into four or fewer lots in accordance with the provisions of the California Subdivision Map Act and this zoning code and which shows detailed information sufficient for recordation by the county recorder.
“Park” means a playground, swimming pool, athletic field, picnic area, or other open space area used for active and/or passive recreational use.
“Parking accessway” means a vehicular passageway that provides access and circulation from a street access point into a parking lot to parking aisles or between parking areas.
“Parking facility” means an area, either open or enclosed, designed or used for the parking of motor vehicles.
“Parking lot” means an open area on the ground which is used for the parking of motor vehicles.
“Parking, off-site” means parking serving a use on an adjacent parcel.
“Parking space or stall” means a designated area within a parking facility designed and used for the temporary parking of one motor vehicle.
“Parking structure” means a structure which is open or enclosed and is used for the parking of motor vehicles.
“Parkway” means a piece of land located between the rear of a curb and the front of a sidewalk or between the sidewalk and property line, usually used for planting low ground cover and/or street trees and separating pedestrians from vehicles within the right-of-way.
“Patio” means a level, surfaced area directly adjacent to a principal building open on one or more sides whose principal use shall be for outdoor entertaining and recreation.
“Patio cover” means a solid or open roof structure not exceeding 12 feet in height and covering a patio or deck. Patio covers may be detached or attached to another structure.
Patio Home. See “Dwelling, patio home.”
“Pedestrian ways” means a paved right-of-way for pedestrians that is separate and protected from the traveled portion of the roadway, and free from vehicular traffic.
“Permit” means any permit issued pursuant to the provisions of this code, together with the application required for such permit, the conditions upon which such permit is issued, and the plans, specifications, reports, and approved amendments pertaining thereto.
“Permitted use” means a land use allowed within a zoning district under this zoning code and subject to the applicable provisions of this code.
“Permittee” means the person to whom a permit is issued pursuant to the provisions of this code.
“Person” includes any individual, firm, copartnership, joint venture, association, corporation, limited liability company, estate, trust, business trust, receiver, syndicate, or any other group or combination acting as a unit on a for-profit or nonprofit basis or otherwise, and it includes the plural as well as the singular.
“Personal communications services” means any form of commercial communications service utilizing digital wireless radio communications technology, having the capacity for multiple communications services and the routing of calls to individuals, regardless of location. “Personal communications services” shall also mean and include “personal wireless services” as defined in Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
“Pet” or “domestic pet” means a domestic animal that is not maintained as a work animal, and is of a species that is commonly kept within or given access to an owner’s house or dwelling unit as per the Orange County animal control ordinance.
“Planned community” means communities developed per land use plans and development agreements or other specific applications that identify specific land uses, levels of development allowed, and required public facilities.
“Planned unit development” means a residential, commercial, office, industrial or other type of development characterized by comprehensive planning for the entire project, the clustering of buildings to preserve open space and natural features, and provision for the maintenance and use of open space and other facilities held in common by the property owners within the project.
“Planning director” means the director of planning services of the city of Aliso Viejo or his or her duly appointed designee.
“Police chief” means the chief of police services of the city of Aliso Viejo or the authorized representative therefor.
“Porch” means a covered deck at an entrance to a dwelling, which may or may not use columns or other ground supports for structural purposes.
“Precise plan” or “precise plan of development” means the plan or plans for a project, development, or other entitlement approved by the decision-making authority. A precise plan may include site, grading, architecture, landscaping plans and may also include a plan text describing the project design, development phasing, and other characteristics.
“Precise plan of highway alignment” means a plan, supplementary to the master plan of arterial highways, which establishes the highway centerline and the ultimate right-of-way lines and may establish building setback lines.
“Premises” means a property ownership, usually consisting of a building or buildings with their surrounding appurtenant land.
Primary Residence. See “Dwelling, main or principal.”
“Principal building or structure” means the primary or main structure on a property.
“Principal use” means the primary or predominant use of any parcel or structure.
“Private residence” means a house, an apartment unit, a mobile home, or other similar dwelling.
“Property line” means a line separating parcels of real property having separate legal descriptions or separating such a parcel from a public right-of-way.
“Public agency” means the United States, the state of California, the county of Orange, the city of Aliso Viejo, or any political subdivision or agency thereof.
“Public facilities” means structures and uses principally of an institutional nature and serving a public need, such as hospitals, public schools, libraries, museums, post offices, police and fire stations, public utilities, and other public services.
“Public street” means any highway, street, alley or other public right-of-way for motor vehicle travel under the jurisdiction and control of the city, which has been acquired, established, or dedicated for street purposes.
“PUC” or “Public Utilities Commission” means the California Public Utilities Commission or the state administrative agency, or lawful successor, authorized to regulate and oversee telecommunications carriers, services and providers in the state of California.
“Quasi-public” means a use owned or operated by a nonprofit institution providing educational, cultural, recreational, religious entity, or similar types of public programs or services.
“Queue area” means an area provided for motor vehicles to assemble in line while waiting to complete a directed or controlled movement or to obtain goods or services, such as from a drive-through facility.
Rear Lot Line. See definitions under “Lot line.”
“Recreational vehicle” means a vehicle towed or self propelled on its own chassis or attached to the chassis of another vehicle which is designed or used for recreational or sporting purposes. The term “recreational vehicle” shall include, but not be limited to, travel trailers, pickup campers, camping or tent trailers, motor coach homes, converted trucks or buses, boats and other watercraft, boat trailers, and all-terrain vehicles.
“Recyclable material” means reusable material including metals, glass, plastic, green wastes and paper, which are intended for reuse, remanufacture or reconstitution for the purpose of using the altered form. Recyclable material does not include toxic, noxious or hazardous materials. Recyclable material may include used motor oil.
“Recycling” means the process by which waste products are reduced to raw materials for transformation into new products.
“Recycling collection center or facility” means a center for the acceptance by donation, redemption, or purchase of recyclable materials from the public not including recycling of the materials. Such centers may include unattended donation collection boxes, reverse vending machines and attended collection facilities. An attended collection facility is a collection facility which occupies an area of not more than 800 square feet and may include:
1. A mobile recycling unit (see “Mobile recycling unit”);
2. Bulk reverse vending machines or a grouping of reverse vending machines; or
3. Kiosk-type units which may include permanent structures.
“Recycling recovery facility” or “materials recovery facility” means a facility for the collection, sorting and transport of recyclable material, not including the actual recycling of the material.
“Regular activities of the news media” means the filming, videotaping or photographing for the purpose of a television news broadcast or reporting for print media by reporters, press photographers or news cameramen.
“Religious institution” means a structure that is used primarily for religious worship and related religious activities, including, but not limited to, a church, temple, chapel or similar place of worship.
Relocatable Building. See “Building, relocatable.”
“Remuneration” means compensation, money, rent, or other bargained-for consideration given in return for occupancy, possession, or use of real property.
“Research and development” means the pursuit of knowledge or creation of products in technology-intensive fields. Examples include but are not limited to research and development of computer software, information systems, communications systems, transportation, geographic information systems, multi-media and video technology, drugs, medical technology and genetics. Laboratories may also be included in this use (see also “Laboratory, dry” and “Laboratory, wet”). Development and construction of prototypes may be associated with this use.
“Residential care facility” means a “community care facility,” as defined by California Health and Safety Code Section 1502, as amended or superseded, or a “residential care facility for the elderly,” as defined by California Health and Safety Code Section 1569.2(o)(1), as amended or superseded. (See Health and Safety Code Sections 1502(a)(1) through (18) for types of community care facilities; Section 1505 for uses that are not community care facilities.)
“Residential district” means zoning districts for residential uses.
“Residential project” means a development project which will result in the construction of new dwelling units in the city. Such projects may or may not involve the subdivision of land.
“Restaurant” means a commercial business providing for the preparation, retail sale, and on-site consumption of food and beverages. Restaurants include, but are not limited to, cafes, coffee shops, sandwich shops, ice cream parlors, fast food establishments, and establishments with similar uses. If any seating is provided in conjunction with a store where there is the preparation and retail sale of food and beverages, that use shall be classified as a restaurant. The term “restaurant” may also include the licensed sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises.
“Restaurant, drive-through” means a restaurant that prepares and sells quickly prepared foods and/or beverages and where patrons may order and be served while remaining in their cars.
“Retail” means the selling of goods or services directly to the ultimate consumer.
“Reverse vending machine” means a machine which accepts recyclable materials, such as aluminum cans, newspapers, or other materials, from the public and dispenses money in return.
“Riding and hiking trails” means a trail or way designed for and used by equestrians, pedestrians and cyclists using nonmotorized bicycles.
“Right-of-way” means an area or strip of land, either public or private, on which an irrevocable right of passage has been established for the use of vehicles or pedestrians or both (see also “Ultimate right-of-way”).
Rooming House. See “Boarding house.”
“Runoff” means water that flows at a rate above the infiltration rate of soil which causes water to drain away on the soil, landscaping, pavement or other surface.
“Sale” includes any transaction whereby, for any consideration, title to marijuana is transferred from one person to another, and includes the delivery of marijuana or marijuana products pursuant to an order placed for the purchase of the same and soliciting or receiving an order for the same, but does not include the return of marijuana or marijuana products by a licensee to the licensee from whom such marijuana or marijuana product was purchased.
“Salvage” means any material which is to be reclaimed, reused, or saved from destruction.
“Sanitary sewer” means a conduit designed to carry sewage.
Satellite Dish Antenna. See “Antenna, dish” or “satellite dish.”
“Scenic highway” means any highway designated a scenic highway by an agency of the county, state or federal government.
“School” means any institution of learning for minors, whether public or private, offering instruction in those courses of study required by the California Education Code and maintained pursuant to standards set by the State Board of Education. This definition includes a nursery school, preschool, kindergarten, elementary school, middle or junior high school, senior high school, or any special institution of education, but it does not include a vocational or professional institution of higher education, including a business school, community or junior college, college, or university.
“School, vocational or trade” means a public or private school operated for the express purpose of teaching its students, primarily adults, the skills needed to perform a certain job or task, including test-taking and other specialized instruction. Vocational schools generally focus on training for a specific task or job and do not include broad education.
“Screening” means solid walls, solid fences or dense hedges for the purpose of concealing from view the area behind such structure or hedges.
“Secondhand store” means a profit or nonprofit business or organization that engages in, or specializes in, the sale or resale of secondhand merchandise or goods, and whose goods may be principally donated or sold on consignment. This classification does not include antique shops.
“Senior citizen” means any person who is 62 years of age or older.
“Service, commercial” means retail establishments that primarily render services rather than goods. Such services may include but are not limited to copy shops, printing services, small appliance repair, salons, photo processing, and postal and packaging services.
“Setback” means a minimum horizontal distance between the building line and the lot line or, when abutting a street, the minimum horizontal distance between the building line and the ultimate right-of-way line. See also “Yard.”
Setback Area. See “Yard.”
“SF,” “sf,” “sq.ft.,” or “sq/ft” means square feet.
“Shopping center” or “commercial center” means a commercial development or group of commercial establishments, primarily of a retail nature, planned, developed, managed and maintained as a unit, with common landscaping, amenities, and off-street parking provided to serve all uses on the property.
“Short-term” means for a duration of fewer than 30 days.
“Short-term rental” means the use of any dwelling unit, or any portion of any dwelling unit, for short-term occupancy. See “Dwelling unit”; “Occupancy, short-term.”
“Sidewalk” means a pedestrian walkway which parallels and is usually separated from but may be adjacent to the street.
Sign Definitions. The following definitions beginning with the word “Sign” apply throughout this code, including the sign regulations in Chapter 15.34 AVMC:
“Sign” means any device used for visual communication or attraction, including any announcement, declaration, demonstration, display, illustration, insignia, or symbol used to advertise or promote the interests of any person, together with all parts, materials, frame, and background thereof. “Sign” and “advertising device” shall not include the following for purposes of this code:
1. Official notices issued by any court, public body or officer.
2. Notices posted by any public officer in performance of a public duty or by any person in giving any legal notice.
3. Intra-community directional signs, warning or informational signs or structures required or authorized by federal, state, or local authority.
“Sign, abandoned” means any sign which was lawfully erected, but whose use has ceased or whose structure has been abandoned by its owner for a period of 90 or more consecutive days.
“Sign, accessory” means any sign whose copy refers to the products, facilities, or services available on the premises.
“Sign, advertising device” means any balloon, flag, pennant, banner, propeller, oscillating, rotating, pulsating or stationary light, or other contrivance (except lawfully permitted signs) used to attract attention.
“Sign, advertising statuary” means any imitation or representation of a person or thing which is sculptured, molded, modeled, or cast in any solid or plastic substance, material, or fabric and used to identify or advertise a product or service.
“Sign alteration” means any change of copy, sign face, color, size, shape, illumination, position, location, construction, or supporting structure of any sign.
“Sign area” means the measurement of a sign’s surface pursuant to AVMC 15.34.100.
“Sign, attached” means any sign that is permanently affixed to a building, including wall signs.
“Sign, attraction board” means a sign that displays copy that may be changed from time to time pertaining to events, attractions or other changeable information.
“Sign, banner” means a sign made of fabric, plastic, or other flexible material containing an affixed message.
“Sign, building-mounted” means any sign which is attached to the exterior of a building including the parapet, with the display surface of the sign parallel to the building wall, and which does not project more than 12 inches from the building, or project above the height of the wall or parapet.
“Sign, channel letters” means individual letters or figures, illuminated or not, affixed to a building, sign or sign structure.
“Sign, colonial” means a temporary residential real estate sign constructed of a single vertical post with a horizontal crossbar from which a real estate sign is suspended.
“Sign, commercial” means a sign designed to advertise, promote, or draw attention to a commercial activity, including the sale, lease, or rental of any property.
“Sign, community” means a community announcement or community identification sign.
“Sign, community announcement” means a sign providing information on community services and activities in the city by means of a fixed or changing communication from an owner of at least 100 acres of real property and with street frontage in excess of 10 miles within the city.
“Sign, community identification” means a monument sign identifying a commercial area, business park or other nonresidential development by an owner of at least 100 acres of real property and with street frontage in excess of 10 miles within the city.
“Sign, construction” means a sign which states the name of the future site occupant and/or the name, address, and phone number of related construction, architectural, and financial firms.
“Sign copy” means any word, letter, number, figure, design, or other symbolic representation incorporated into or depicted upon a sign.
“Sign design standards” means a detailed description of prescribed sign type, size, illumination, location, construction, materials, text, font, and colors for a commercial center or specific site.
“Sign, directional safety” means a sign necessary for public safety that is designed to be viewed from on site or adjacent to the site by pedestrians or motorists.
“Sign, electronic” means a sign that displays a fixed or changing communication controlled electronically by means of a series of lights on a fixed display screen.
“Sign elevation” means a scale drawing of the side, front, or rear of a given structure.
“Sign face” means the surface, or that portion of a sign that is visible from a single point as a flat surface or a plane, together with the frame and the background.
“Sign, flag” means an advertising device that will float, play, or shake in an air current. National flags or flags of political subdivisions are excluded from this definition.
“Sign, flashing or animated” means a sign intermittently reflecting light, or which has any illumination that is not maintained in constant intensity, color, or pattern, including electronic reader board signs.
“Sign, freestanding” means any sign that is permanently or temporarily attached to the ground and which does not have a building as its primary structural support.
“Sign, government facility” means a sign identifying a facility operated by or for city, county, state, federal or other official government agencies.
“Sign, grand opening” means a sign announcing the grand opening in connection with the opening of a business, major remodeling under an active building permit, or new owner of a business.
“Sign, ground level” means the highest elevation of the existing ground surface under a sign.
“Sign height” means the vertical distance measured from ground level along the base of the sign or sign structure, excluding any berm, to the highest point of the sign or sign structure.
“Sign, human” means animals or human beings, live or simulated, holding or carrying a sign, designed or used so as to attract attention to a premises or activity.
“Sign, identification” means a sign limited to the identifying name, symbol or insignia, or any combination thereof, of a building, use, or person occupying the premises on which the sign is located.
“Sign, illegal” means a sign constructed or erected without compliance with all applicable laws and/or regulations.
“Sign, illuminated” means a sign that has characters, letters, figures, designs, or outline backlighted or internally illuminated by electric lights or luminous tubes as a part of the sign.
“Sign, incidental” means a small-size sign intended for informational purposes as opposed to identification or advertising purposes. Examples include entry and exit signs, directional signs, parking signs, address signs and similar.
“Sign, logo” means a name, symbol, or trademark of a company, business or organization.
“Sign, major tenant” means a tenant of a commercial center with a gross lease space equal to or greater than 15,000 square feet. Examples of major tenants are supermarkets, combined drug variety/garden stores, and hardware/home improvement centers.
“Sign, minor tenant” means a tenant of a commercial center with a gross lease space less than 15,000 square feet.
“Sign, mixed use building” means a building that is occupied, arranged, designed, or intended for combinations of land uses; including but not limited to residential, commercial, office, business park, civic, cultural, educational, or recreational uses.
“Sign, model home complex” means residential dwelling units and a sales office located in a residential development which are being used to illustrate the design of the units to potential home buyers during initial sale of units.
“Sign, model home directional” means a sign located within the subject subdivision designed to direct motorists to a model home complex, sales office, or leasing office.
“Sign, model home identification” means a sign that serves to identify a model home complex and that is located on the premises of the model home complex.
“Sign, monument” means a low-profile freestanding sign that may be internally or externally illuminated, erected with its base on the ground, and designed to incorporate design and building materials which complement the architectural theme of the building(s) on the site.
“Sign, multitenant directory” means a sign identifying more than one tenant at a facility or building.
“Sign, nameplate” means an attached sign which designates the name and/or address of a business or organization, and/or the words “entrance” or “exit.”
“Sign, neighborhood watch” means a sign indicating the establishment of a neighborhood watch program in a residential neighborhood, placed at the entrance to the neighborhood.
“Sign, neon” means a sign which utilizes neon or other gases within translucent tubing in or on any part of the sign structure.
“Sign, noncommercial” means a sign intended or designed to promote or draw attention to the noncommercial interests, beliefs, or concerns of any person or persons.
“Sign, nonconforming” means a sign which complied with all applicable regulations at the time it was installed, but which is now in conflict with the provisions of Chapter 15.34 AVMC, Signs.
“Sign, off-premises” means a sign which refers to a land use, person, establishment, merchandise, service, event, or entertainment which is not located, sold, produced, manufactured, provided, or furnished on the premises where the sign is located.
“Sign, off-site open house directional” means a temporary sign that is located on property other than the property that is for sale, lease or rent, which serves to identify the direction to the property that is for sale, lease, or rent and is open for viewing.
“Sign, on-premises” means a sign which refers to a land use, person, establishment, merchandise, service, event, or entertainment which is located, sold, produced, manufactured, provided, or furnished on the premises where the sign is located.
“Sign owner” means any person, corporation, or agency having a legal or equitable interest in the property, including any successor or assignee or agent of any of the aforesaid.
“Sign, painted wall” means any sign painted directly onto the wall surface of a building.
“Sign, permanent” means a sign intended to exist for the duration of time that the use or occupant is located on the premises. The sign shall be constructed entirely of durable materials.
“Sign, pole” means a freestanding sign directly supported by a pole or poles with air space between the ground level and the sign face.
“Sign, political” means a sign indicating the name and/or picture of an individual seeking election to a public office, or relating to a forthcoming public election, referendum, initiative, or advocating political views or policies.
“Sign, portable” means a sign not securely attached or fixed to the ground or to a permanent structure, or a sign attached to or placed upon a vehicle or trailer used as a stationary advertising display, the primary purpose of which is to serve as a base, platform, or support for the sign.
“Sign, price” means a sign that names or identifies the items or products for sale on the premises, and the price of said items or products.
“Sign, project identification” means a freestanding or building-mounted sign within the boundaries of a development or subdivision containing only the name (if desired) and the identifying symbol of the community, residential development or subdivision.
“Sign, projecting” means a sign that projects more than 12 inches from the wall of a building and has a display surface that is perpendicular to such wall.
“Sign, real estate” means a temporary sign indicating that the premises on which the sign is located is for sale, lease, or rent.
“Sign, roof” means an attached sign constructed upon or over a roof, or placed so as to extend above the visible roof-line; or a freestanding sign which is greater in height than the building it serves to identify.
“Sign, sandwich board” means A-frame signs that are not securely attached or fixed to the ground or to a permanent structure.
“Sign structure” means any structure which supports any sign.
“Sign, subdivision sales or model home directional” means a sign providing direction to a residential land development project.
“Sign, temporary” means any sign displayed for a limited period of time and capable of being viewed from any public right-of-way, parking area, or neighboring property.
“Sign, trespassing” means a sign which contains the following copy only: “no trespassing.”
“Sign, under-canopy” means any sign attached to the underside of a projecting canopy protruding over a private sidewalk or right-of-way.
“Sign, vehicle” means any sign with a sign area greater than or equal to nine square feet and which is attached to, erected on, or supported by a vehicle, boat, vessel, trailer, or other portable structure, with or without a mode of power, which can be towed, hauled, sailed, or driven.
“Sign, window” means any sign posted, painted, placed, or affixed in or on any window visible from any public right-of-way, parking lot, or neighboring property, including, but not limited to, any interior sign which faces any window, visible from any public right-of-way, parking lot or neighboring property, and is located within four feet of the window.
“Single housekeeping unit” means the use of a dwelling unit that satisfies each of the following criteria:
1. The residents have established ties and familiarity and interact with each other.
2. Membership in the single housekeeping unit is fairly stable as opposed to transient or temporary.
3. Residents share meals, household activities, expenses, and responsibilities.
4. All adult residents have chosen to jointly occupy the entire premises of the dwelling unit; and they each have access to all common areas.
5. If the dwelling unit is rented, each adult resident is named on and is a party to a single written lease that gives each resident joint use and responsibility for the premises.
6. Membership of the household is determined by the residents, not by a landlord, property manager, or other third party.
7. The residential activities of the household are conducted on a nonprofit basis.
8. Residents do not have separate entrances or separate food-storage facilities, such as separate refrigerators, food-prep areas, or equipment.
“Single room occupancy housing or development (SRO)” means a building or buildings containing a cluster of at least five rental units with a common entrance for all units, which provide sleeping and living facilities for one or two persons where kitchen and/or bathroom facilities may be shared. The units have a minimum of 100 net square feet of space for a single occupancy and 120 square feet for two-person occupancy. The calculation for net floor space in the sleeping area includes built-in cabinets, sinks, and closets, but excludes toilet compartments. A unit larger than 225 square feet shall be deemed an efficiency apartment and not an SRO unit.
“Site” means one or more parcels of land identified by the assessor’s records where an integrated building development has been approved or proposed. The term includes all parcels of land contained within or identified as part of the development application.
“Site development permit” means a discretionary permit to ensure that new development conforms to the development and design provisions of this zoning code, including but not limited to permitted uses, development standards, and supplemental regulations. For purposes of this code, a permit approving site, architectural, landscape and related development plans is included within the term “site development permit.”
Site Frontage. See “Street frontage.”
“Site plan” means a plan indicating all of the improvements existing and proposed on and off a building site (including grading, streets, buildings, utilities, and landscaping).
“Slope” means the degree of deviation of the land surface from the horizontal, usually expressed as a ratio, as a percent or in degrees.
“Sports training center” means a center for the training of athletes in Olympic events and other sports, including athletic fields, gymnasiums, training facilities, lodging and dining facilities, recreational facilities, medical facilities, and accessory retail and service uses incidental to the principal use.
“Stable, commercial” means any place where horses or other equines are kept, housed, boarded, lodged, fed, hired, trained, sold, rented, or bred for monetary compensation.
“Stable, noncommercial” means any place where horses or other equines are kept for the use and enjoyment of the occupants of the premises, or a noncommercial facility for the use of a private homeowners’ association.
“State” means the state of California.
“Storm drain” means a conduit designed to carry stormwater runoff.
“Story” means that portion of a building included between the upper surface of any floor and the upper surface of the floor above, except that the topmost story shall be that portion of a building included between the upper surface of the top floor and the ceiling or roof above. If the space between the upper surface of the top floor and the roof above is designed for habitation, then it is considered a story. In addition, if the bottom level, including basement, of a structure has more than 50 percent of its height above finish grade on any side, then it is considered a story.
“Street” means a public or private vehicular right-of-way, other than an alley or driveway, including both local streets, collector streets and arterial highways.
“Street frontage” or “site frontage” means the property line or lines separating a street from a building site, or the cumulative length of such line or lines.
“Structure” means anything that is erected or constructed having a fixed location on the ground or attached to something on the ground and which extends more than 30 inches above the finish grade. A mobilehome, except when used as a temporary use with its weight resting at least partially upon its tires, is a structure for the purposes of this definition. The term also includes but is not limited to any building, road, pipe, flume, conduit, siphon, aqueduct, telephone line, and electrical power transmission and distribution line within the coastal zone.
“Student films” means all activities described under the definition of “Film, video and still photography,” carried out by students enrolled in a course or course of study at a college, university or other school for which the completion of a student film is a component of course or graduation requirements.
“Studio” means a fixed place of business where filming activities (motion or still photography) are regularly conducted.
“Subdivision Map Act” means the Subdivision Map Act of the state of California. Those provisions set out in California Government Code Section 66410 et seq., as amended or superseded.
“Subdivision ordinance” or “subdivision code” means Section 7-9-200 et seq. of the Orange County Code, as adopted by the city of Aliso Viejo and as amended or superseded.
“Supportive housing” is defined by California Government Code Section 65582(g). Supportive housing may take various forms. See “single housekeeping unit,” “boarding house,” “lodging.”
“Surety device” means a financial obligation whereby the city has direct access to funds deposited by a developer to ensure a specific action.
“Surgicenter” means a medical establishment or clinic in which patients are examined and treated on an outpatient basis only.
“Swimming pool” means an artificial body of water having a depth in excess of 18 inches, designed, constructed and used for swimming, dipping or immersion purposes by men, women, or children. This includes, but is not limited to, in-ground, above-ground, and on-ground pools, hot tubs, portable and nonportable spas, and fixed-in-place wading pools.
“Temporary structure” means a structure without any permanent foundation or footings which will be removed when the designated time period, activity, or use for which the temporary structure was erected has ceased.
“Temporary use” means a use associated with a holiday, special event or activity that is accessory to and which may temporarily intensify the impacts (i.e., parking, traffic, noise, light and glare, etc.) of an existing permitted use or which creates a potential conflict among land uses.
“Temporary use permit” means a permit issued by the city authorizing a temporary land use.
“Tenant” means anyone that pays rent to use or occupy land, a building, or other property owned by another.
“Terrace” means the level portion of a manufactured slope.
“Theater” means a premises used for giving dramatic performances or for showing motion pictures, with all functions and facilities contained within a building unless a drive-in theater is specified.
“Tot lot” means a small play area developed especially for preschool- or elementary school-age children which may contain facilities such as sand boxes, slides, teeter-totters, swings, climbing apparatus and the like.
Townhome or Townhouse. See “Dwelling, townhome.”
“Tract map” means a map, prepared by a registered civil engineer or licensed land surveyor, showing the subdivision of land into five or more lots in accordance with the provisions of the California Subdivision Map Act and this zoning ordinance, which shows detailed information sufficient for recordation by the county recorder.
“Transient” means any person who exercises occupancy or is entitled to occupancy in exchange for remuneration for a period of 30 consecutive calendar days or less, counting portions of calendar days as full days. In determining whether a person is a transient, an uninterrupted period of time extending both prior and subsequent to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter may be considered.
“Transient basis” means for a continuous period of two weeks or less.
“Transitional housing” is defined by California Government Code Section 65582(j). Transitional housing may take various forms. See “Single housekeeping unit,” “Boarding house,” “Lodging.”
“Triplex” means a single-family attached or multiple-family building containing three dwelling units.
“Tutorial services” means noncounseling, instructional services that are provided to four or less persons at a time. Examples of tutorial service uses include, but are not limited to, classes in photography, fine arts, crafts, or dance or music; driving schools; swim schools; and yoga or martial-arts studios. For instruction to groups larger than four persons, see “group instruction.”
“Ultimate right-of-way” means the right-of-way shown as ultimate on an adopted precise plan of highway alignment, or the street rights-of-way shown within the boundary of a recorded tract or parcel map or a recorded development plan. The latest adopted or recorded document shall take precedence. If none of the foregoing exist, the ultimate right-of-way shall be defined as the right-of-way required by the applicable highway classification as shown in the general plan circulation element. If none of the foregoing apply and the subject roadway is not described in the circulation element, the ultimate right-of-way shall be defined as the existing right-of-way.
“Unit” means the particular area of land or airspace that is designed, intended or used for exclusive possession or control of individual owners or occupiers.
“Use” means the purpose for which land or building is occupied, arranged, designed or intended, or for which either land or building is or may be occupied or maintained.
Use, Accessory. See “Accessory use.”
Use, Conditional. See “Conditional use.”
Use, Nonconforming. See “Nonconforming use.”
“Use permit,” “administrative use permit” or “conditional use permit” means a discretionary permit issued by the city authorizing establishment and operation of a conditional use.
Use Permit, Temporary. See “Temporary use permit.”
Use, Principal. See “Principal use.”
Use, Temporary. See “Temporary use.”
“Utility easement” means any easement owned by a utility or the city or other government agency and acquired, established, dedicated or devoted for public utility purposes.
“Utility facility” means the plant, equipment and property, including but not limited to the poles, pipes, mains, conduits, ducts, cables, wires, the plant and equipment located under, on or above the surface of the ground and used or to be used for the purpose of providing utility or telecommunications services.
“Vacancy rate” means the number of vacant multifamily dwellings being offered for rent or lease in the city of Aliso Viejo shown as a percentage of the total number of multifamily dwellings offered for or under rental or lease agreement in the city. Said vacancy rate shall be as established once each year, in April, by survey of 25 percent of the city’s rental units.
“Variance” means a discretionary permit allowing deviation from a specific provision of this zoning code for the purpose of assuring that no property, because of special circumstances applicable to it, is deprived of privileges commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same vicinity and zone district.
“Vehicle” means a device with wheels capable of moving or being moved along the ground, on pavement, or on rails.
Veterinary Clinic. See “Animal hospital.”
“Video arcade” means a place of business or establishment containing 10 or more video, pinball, or similar player-operated amusement devices for commercial use.
“Wall” means a constructed solid barrier of concrete, stone, brick, tile, wood, or similar type of material that closes, marks, or borders a field, yard, or lot, and that limits visibility and restricts the flow of air, light, and noise.
“Wall height” means the vertical distance to the highest point of a wall as measured from the ground.
“Warehouse” or “distribution facility” means a facility for the storage, wholesaling, or distribution of products, supplies, or equipment.
“Wetland” means lands which may be covered periodically or permanently with shallow water, including, but not limited to, salt water marshes, freshwater marshes, open or closed brackish water marshes, swamps, mud flats, and fens.
“Wholesale” or “wholesale business” means the sale of goods, merchandise, or commodities to a person other than the ultimate consumer.
“Wing wall” means an architectural feature in excess of six feet in height which is a continuation of a building wall projecting beyond the exterior walls of a building.
Wireless Definitions. The following definitions beginning with the word “Wireless” apply throughout this code, including the wireless facility regulations in Chapter 15.42 AVMC:
“Wireless: accessory equipment” means any equipment associated with the installation or operation of a wireless communications facility including but not limited to cabling, electronics, generators, air conditioning units, fencing and equipment cabinets.
Wireless Antenna. See “Antenna.”
“Wireless: base station” means the power supplies, electronic equipment housed in cabinets and antennas at an existing wireless tower site that together comprise a wireless communications facility.
“Wireless: camouflage” means the use of a monotree, monorock, monoshrub, monument, cupola, or other concealing structure to either mimic or serve as a natural or architectural feature in order to ensure that a wireless communications facility is hidden from public view or effectively disguised.
“Wireless: canister, radome or shroud” means a visually opaque, radio-frequency transparent material which hides antennas from public view.
“Wireless: collocated facility” means a wireless communications facility that is placed or installed on or immediately adjacent to a wireless communications collocation facility through collocation.
“Wireless: collocation” means the placement or installation of a wireless communications facility on or adjacent to a wireless communications collocation facility so that both facilities are located at the same site.
“Wireless communications collocation facility” means a wireless communications facility that is the initial wireless communications facility on a site and that can accommodate additional wireless communications facilities through collocation.
“Wireless communications facility” means any facility used to or associated with the provision of wireless communications service including, but not limited to, antennas or other equipment to transmit or receive signals; towers, poles, or similar structures to support such equipment; and any accessory equipment including base stations and associated emergency power systems.
“Wireless communications service” means any service involving the transmission, emission, or reception of signals, data, or intelligence of any nature by means of radio waves or other electromagnetic systems including, but not limited to, commercial and noncommercial broadcast services, business radio services, wireless telecommunications services, wireless broadband services, and personal wireless services as defined by 47 U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(C)(i).
“Wireless facility operator” means any person, firm, corporation, company, or other entity that directly or indirectly owns, leases, runs, manages, or otherwise controls a wireless communications facility within the city.
“Wireless: modification” means a change to an existing wireless communications facility that involves any of the following: expansion, alteration, enlargement, intensification, reduction, or augmentation, including, but not limited to, changes in size, shape, color, visual design, or exterior material. “Modification” does not include repair, replacement, or maintenance if those actions do not involve a change to the existing facility that involves any of the following: expansion, alteration, enlargement, intensification, reduction, or augmentation.
“Wireless: monorock” means an antenna camouflaged to resemble one or a grouping of rocks.
“Wireless: monoshrub” means an antenna camouflaged to resemble one or a grouping of shrubs or bushes.
“Wireless: monotree” means an antenna camouflaged to resemble a tree.
“Wireless: radio frequency” means electromagnetic waves in the frequency range of three kilohertz (3,000 cycles per second) to 300 gigahertz (300 billion cycles per second).
“Wireless: substantially change the physical dimensions” means any of the following, and refers to a single change or a series of changes over time (whether made by the same or different entities) viewed against the initial approval for the tower or base station which cumulatively have any of the effects described below:
1. Increasing by more than 10 percent any of the following: the height or width in any direction of the wireless tower, or the area required for structures required to support the wireless tower, such as guy wires as approved and constructed through the discretionary permit process; provided, that in no event shall the height exceed the maximum height permitted under AVMC 15.42.050;
2. Increasing by more than 10 percent the height or area encompassed within any structure or object enclosing the wireless tower, such as a fence or line of bushes, in order to provide equivalent shielding of the wireless tower and base station from public view or access;
3. Increasing any of an existing antenna array’s depth, circumference or horizontal radius from the wireless tower in any direction by more than 10 percent;
4. Adding more than two antenna arrays to an existing wireless tower, or adding antenna arrays that, if the array were an existing array, would be of such depth, circumference or radius as to fall outside of subsection (3) of this definition, unless such arrays were approved under California Government Code Section 65850.6;
5. The mounting of the new or replacement transmission equipment would involve installing more than the standard number of new equipment cabinets for the technology involved, not to exceed four additional cabinets, or more than one new equipment shelter; so long as any additional cabinets or shelters are within the enclosure for the wireless tower or base station and are screened or stealthed in the same manner as required in this chapter;
6. Changing any physical dimension of the wireless tower or base station in a manner that creates a safety hazard, whether from wind loading, stress on the tower, or in any other manner;
7. Changing the physical dimension of the wireless tower or base station, where the changes would be inconsistent with the design and screening of the wireless tower or base station, or make the wireless communications facilities at the site more visible;
8. Changing the physical dimensions would require work that would intrude upon the rights-of-way, or any environmentally sensitive area.
“Wireless tower” means any structure built for the sole or primary purpose of supporting antennas and their associated facilities used to provide services licensed by the Federal Communications Commission. A water tower, utility tower, street light, or other structure built primarily for a purpose other than supporting services licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, including any structure installed pursuant to California Public Utility Code Section 7901, is not a wireless tower for purposes of this definition.
“Working day” means a day in which the city offices are open and conducting business.
“Xeriscape” means landscaping characterized by the use of vegetation which is drought-resistant or low water use in character.
“Yard” means an open space on a lot or parcel of land which is unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward except as otherwise provided in this code.
“Yard, front” means a yard extending across the full width of any building site between the side lot lines, and measured between the front lot line and the nearest line of any building. However, if any road easement or official ultimate right-of-way line has been established for the street upon which the site fronts, the front yard shall be measured instead from such easement or ultimate right-of-way line to the nearest line of any building.
“Yard, rear” means a yard extending across the full width of any building site between the side lot lines, and measured between the rear lot line and the nearest line of any building.
“Yard, side” means a yard extending between the front yard and the rear yard of any lot and measured between the side lot line and the nearest line of any building opposite said lot line.
“Zero lot line” means the location of a building on a lot in such a manner that one or more of the building’s sides rest directly on a side lot line.
“Zone change” or “rezone” means a change to the zoning designation of a property or properties on the zoning map.
“Zone text amendment” means a revision, correction or modification to the text of this zoning code.
“Zoning code,” “zoning ordinance” or “zoning regulations” means the text, figures and zoning map of this title.
Zoning District. See “District.”
“Zoning map, official” means designated map or maps which show the location and boundaries of the zoning districts established by this code for the purpose of specifying for each such land area the uses permitted. Said “official zoning map,” together with everything shown thereon and all amendments thereto, is as much a part of this code as if fully set out and described in context.
Any term defined in this section also means the very term as defined in the California Business and Professions Code or the California Health and Safety Code, unless otherwise specified. [Ord. 2018-202 § 3 (Exh. A); Ord. 2018-194 § 5; Ord. 2017-192 § 6; Ord. 2017-187 § 6; Ord. 2016-181 § 6; Ord. 2016-179 § 4; Ord. 2015-172 § 6; Ord. 2015-166 § 5; Ord. 2015-165 § 4 (Exh. A); Ord. 2013-150 § 3 (Exh. A); Ord. 2012-146 § 3 (Exh. A); Ord. 2012-141 §§ 33, 34; Ord. 2012-140 § 3 (Exh. A); Ord. 2012-139 § 4; Ord. 2011-138 § 4 (Exh. A); Ord. 2011-137 § 4 (Exh. A); Ord. 2011-136 § 30; Ord. 2011-135 § 2 (Exh. A); Ord. 2011-134 § 3 (Exh. A); Ord. 2010-126 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 2010-123 § 3 (Exh. A)].
Cross-references: definitions generally, AVMC 1.02.010; interpretation of language and numbers, AVMC 15.02.050.