Chapter 14-40
GENERAL PROVISIONS, EXCEPTIONS, AND MODIFICATIONS
Sections:
14-40.030 Accessory buildings.
14-40.040 Septic tank area requirements.
14-40.060 Clear corner triangles.
14-40.070 Easements may be included in lot area.
14-40.095 Private road exception.
14-40.120 Open spaces required.
14-40.130 Projections into required yard areas.
14-40.160 Preemption by the Uniform Building Code.
14-40.170 Shipping containers as storage facilities.
14-40.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to set forth the general requirements applicable to the development and occupancy of all lands within each of the zoning districts and to establish the nature and the limitations of exceptions which modify the provisions of this title.
(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980)
14-40.020 General provisions.
All uses hereafter developed in any zoning district in the City shall be so designed as to abate or control any dangerous or objectionable elements and so as to minimize traffic conflicts, congestion, or hazards and the conflicts between uses of different character and intensity. Included are:
|
(a) |
Accessory buildings |
Section 14-40.030 |
|
(b) |
Septic tank area requirements |
Section 14-40.040 |
|
(c) |
Building sites |
Section 14-40.050 |
|
(d) |
Clear corner triangles |
Section 14-40.060 |
|
(e) |
Easements may be included in lot area |
Section 14-40.070 |
|
(f) |
Essential services |
Section 14-40.080 |
|
(g) |
Frontage required |
Section 14-40.090 |
|
(h) |
Height limits |
Section 14.40.100 |
|
(i) |
Lots of record |
Section 14-40.110 |
|
(j) |
Open spaces required |
Section 14-40.120 |
|
(k) |
Projections into required yard areas |
Section 14-40.130 |
|
(l) |
Screening |
Section 14-40.140 |
|
(m) |
Separate utilities |
Section 14-40.150 |
|
(n) |
Drive-through facility |
|
|
(o) |
Shipping containers as accessory use, temporary structure, or temporary and permanent storage facilities |
|
(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980, as amended by § 1, Ord. 1099-01 C-M, eff. February 22, 2001)
14-40.030 Accessory buildings.
The following shall apply to accessory buildings within the City:
(a) Residential-related accessory buildings:
(1) Accessory buildings must utilize compatible materials, architecture, and color as the principal residence on the site. Accessory buildings may only be constructed on a lot containing a main/principal residence.
(2) No accessory building shall be located in a front or exterior side yard.
(3) Accessory buildings with heights of twelve (12') feet or less shall be located within one (1') foot from any rear or side yard property lines. Accessory structures with heights exceeding twelve (12') feet and to a maximum of sixteen (16') feet shall be set back four (4') feet from any rear or side yard property lines. Under no circumstances may an accessory building exceed sixteen (16') feet unless proposed as an accessory dwelling unit; then the maximum height shall be twenty-eight (28') feet with five (5') foot setbacks from any rear or side yard property lines.
(4) A minimum of six (6') feet shall be provided between accessory buildings and the principal building or another accessory building.
(5) Accessory buildings proposed without living space shall be allowed to have a maximum of two (2) plumbing fixtures where the bathroom is minimally sized to accommodate the two (2) plumbing fixtures.
(6) Accessory buildings not used as ADUs shall not exceed five hundred (500) square feet in size.
(b) Nonresidential related accessory buildings:
(1) Design and color should be compatible to the extent practicable with the principal building.
(2) No accessory building shall be located in the front yard area or in front of the principal building.
(3) No accessory building shall be located within one foot of any property line. Where located adjacent to a residential use or residentially zoned property, a minimum ten (10') foot set back shall be maintained.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in this Title, no accessory building shall be designated or utilized as habitable space as defined by the California Building Code (CBC).
(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980, § 1, Ord. 1162-03 C-M, eff. October 23, 2003, and § 1, Ord. 1415-20 (CM), eff. November 26, 2020)
14-40.040 Septic tank area requirements.
In any zoning district where no public sanitary sewer is accessible, no lot shall have an area less than that prescribed by the County Health Department.
(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980)
14-40.050 Building sites.
Each building site in each zoning district shall be planned and arranged so as to occupy only that portion of a lot not otherwise required as a yard, setback, easement, right-of-way, or other legally established open space, except that, where all other provisions of this title are met, a building site may be established in airspace where such rights otherwise exist.
(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980)
14-40.060 Clear corner triangles.
(a) Vision Triangle Required. In zoning districts which require a front and street side setback for primary structures, all corner parcels shall provide and maintain a clear vision triangle at the intersection of the streets’ right-of-way and adjacent to driveways for the purpose of traffic safety.
(b) Vision Triangle Defined.
(1) Intersections. The intersection vision triangle shall be the area formed by measuring thirty (30') feet along the major street front property line and twenty (20') feet along the minor street property line from the point of intersection, and diagonally connecting the ends of the two (2) lines. See Figure 14-40.060-1.
(2) Driveways. The driveway vision triangle is the area formed by measuring fifteen (15') feet along the driveway and the street from the point of intersection, and diagonally connecting the ends of the two (2) lines. See Figure 14-40.060-1.
(c) Maintenance of Sight Lines.
(1) No structure, vehicle, object, or landscaping over thirty (30") inches in height may be placed within a vision triangle, except as allowed by subsection (c)(2) of this section.
(2) Trees pruned at least eight (8') feet above the established grade of the curb so as to provide clear view by motor vehicle drivers are permitted within a vision triangle.
Figure 14-40.060-1: Vision Triangles
(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980, as amended by § 1, Ord. 1451-22 (CM), eff. January 12, 2023)
14-40.070 Easements may be included in lot area.
For the purposes of measuring lot size and area, public and private easements contained within the lot lines, other than street or alley easements, may be included in the computation.
(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980)
14-40.080 Essential services.
The routes of proposed electric overhead transmission lines of sixty (60) kilovolts or greater capacity shall be submitted to the Commission for review and approval or conditional approval prior to the acquisition of the rights-of-way therefor.
(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980)
14-40.090 Frontage required.
The construction, erection, conversion, establishment, alteration, or enlargement of any structure on any real property is hereby prohibited and declared unlawful, unless the real property shall have a frontage of the full width or of the full length of the lot abutting upon an accepted public or private street improved to the standards of the City, or upon a publicly owned parked facility or plaza, or upon such other public access facility as may be provided in connection with an approved development plan. Flag lots shall be excepted from the requirements of this section.
(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980, as amended by § 14, Ord. 557-82 C-M, eff. July 22, 1982)
14-40.095 Private road exception.
A residential zoned property exceeding at least two hundred (200') feet in depth measured to the middle of the lot may apply for a minor land division with a private access road with a twenty (20') foot width, if the frontage of the remainder lot along a public street is at least ninety-five (95%) percent of the minimum required frontage for the zoning district. All lots created with a private access road shall also contain the minimum lot area required by the zoning district in which it is located and have adequate emergency access. All other lot standards in Title 13 as it may be amended from time to time, including but not limited to Section 13-3.118(b), apply.
(§ 1, Ord. 1258-10 (CM), eff. June 24, 2010)
14-40.100 Height limits.
The following provisions shall apply to the height limitations stipulated in this title:
(a) The height limitations specified in this title shall not apply to the following uses:
(1) Church spires, belfries, and domes;
(2) Water tanks, fire observation towers, chimneys, and aids to navigation;
(3) Barns, stables, silos, windmills, and similar agricultural accessory buildings and equipment;
(4) Fire walls not extending more than four (4') feet above the height of the building; and
(5) Cupolas, scenery lofts, or other roof structures for the housing of elevators, stairways, tanks, ventilating fans, air-conditioning, or similar equipment used solely to operate and maintain a building.
(b) The height limitations specified in this title may be exceeded for the following uses, subject to a special use permit:
(1) Smoke stacks, monuments, and flagpoles;
(2) Stationary antennae for standard AM or FM radio broadcast and receiving and electric power transmission and distribution lines, poles, and towers; and
(3) Places of public assembly, such as churches, schools, and other permitted public and semi-public buildings, the principal activities of which are conducted on the ground floor of such buildings, provided that for each one foot by which the height of such buildings exceed the maximum height permitted, the depth or width of the required side and rear yards shall be increased by one foot.
(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980)
14-40.110 Lots of record.
In any district for which a minimum lot area is established, a lot of record, as defined us this title, having less than the required area and/or width may be used for a use permitted in the district by the issuance of a variance for the following requirements only:
(a) In any district or for any use where side yards are required, the minimum side yard width shall be four (4') feet or ten (10%) percent, whichever is greater; attached building subdivisions excepted which shall meet district regulations.
(b) In any district or for any use where a rear yard is required, the depth of the rear yard of any such lot need not exceed twenty (20%) percent of the depth of the lot, but in no case shall the depth of the rear yard be less than ten (10') feet.
(c) In any district or for any use where a minimum net land area per dwelling unit is required, the lot shall be not less than eighty-nine (89%) percent of the minimum net land area per dwelling unit, as otherwise provided by a lot of record. A single-family dwelling may be constructed on any lot of record.
(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980, as amended by § 15, Ord. 557-82 C-M, eff. July 22, 1982, and § 1, Ord. 83 1-90 C-M, eff. May 24, 1990)
14-40.120 Open spaces required.
The following regulations shall apply to all districts where yards or other open spaces are required:
(a) Front and exterior side yards.
(1) All portions of each front and exterior side yard, except where improved for pedestrian or vehicular access or off-street parking, or a porch or patio, shall be landscaped and permanently maintained as open space. Not more than sixty (60%) percent of the front yard area shall be paved with permanent hard surfacing.
(2) The front yard shall not be used for the parking of vehicles, trailers, airplanes, boats, and building materials, except as provided in Section 14-30.020 of Chapter 14-30 of this title.
(3) Cantilevered overhangs above the ground floor, not requiring ground or bracket supports, may project into a front yard for a distance not to exceed four (4') feet or into an exterior side yard for a distance not to exceed two and one-half (2 1/2') feet, except that in C-Districts, such overhangs may extend to the front and exterior side property lines.
(4) An exterior side yard which abuts a front yard of an adjoining lot in an R-District shall have a width of not less than one-half (1/2) of the required depth of such adjacent front yard.
(5) Each corner lot should have one front yard, two (2) side yards, and one rear yard of the depth required by this title. Normally the front yard shall be across the narrow dimension of the lot and the rear yard opposite this. In unusual cases, however, the location and the relationship of such yards to abutting streets and to each other may be determined by the Zoning Administrator.
(6) In any district where twenty-five (25%) percent or more of the lots fronting on any block in the same district classification (exclusive of the frontage along the side of a corner lot) have been improved with buildings of a character permitted in said district, and the depth of the front yards on such lots varies not more than ten (10') feet, then the front yard depth required on each lot in said block shall be not less than the average depth of the front yards on the lots on which are located such existing buildings.
(7) In any one district where the two (2) adjacent lots on either side of a parcel, either of which is a corner lot and each of which is in the same district as the center lot, are already improved with uses permitted in the district, and the average of the front yards of such adjoining lots is less than that required for the district, then the required front yard depth for the center lot need not be more, but shall not be less, than the average front yard of the two (2) such developed adjoining lots.
(b) Side yards and rear yards. The required width of an interior side yard or rear yard may be reduced or waived by the Zoning Administrator only when such interior side yard or rear yard abuts an alley or a street (e.g., double frontage lot), freeway, stream, public utility right-of-way, coast line, or other similar feature which, in the judgment of the Zoning Administrator, precludes or inhibits construction on or development of the property.
(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980, as amended by § 16, Ord. 557-82 C-M, eff. July 22, 1982, § 3, Ord. 624-83 C-M, eff. January 26, 1984, and § 3, Ord. 639-84 C-M, eff. June 7, 1984)
14-40.130 Projections into required yard areas.
(a) Architectural features, such as cornices, canopies, eaves, sills, and the like, may project into any required yard for a distance not to exceed two and one-half (2 1/2') feet provided such projection shall not exceed one-half (1/2) of the depth of the required yard.
(b) Fire escapes may project a distance not to exceed four and one-half (4 112') feet into a required yard or two and one-half (2 1/2') feet into an interior yard but shall not project into a required front yard or exterior side yard.
(c) An unenclosed deck, porch, or terrace, and any necessary steps or landings, may project into any required yard for a distance not to exceed six (6') feet; provided that stairs and landings serving such facilities above the first floor only shall not project into a required front or an exterior side yard; and provided, further, that such stairs or landings may be enclosed by a railing not to exceed three (3') feet in height.
(d) Bay windows, balconies, and chimneys may project into a required yard for a distance not to exceed three (3') feet provided such features do not occupy, in the aggregate, more than one-third (1/3) of the length of the building wall on which they are located; and provided, further, that such projection shall not exceed one-half (112) of any required side yard.
(e) No structure or projection thereof may extend into a public utility easement.
(f) Patios, covered or uncovered, lath houses, gazebos, and similar outdoor living areas and structures may be located in any portion of a side yard or of a rear yard provided such facilities are open on two (2) or more sides.
(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980)
14-40.140 Screening.
(a) In any C- or I-District adjacent to any R-District, screening between districts shall be subject to site supervision review and approval.
(b) All areas of outdoor storage in any C- or I-District shall be permanently screened from view from any adjacent street, public way, or adjacent private property.
(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980)
14-40.150 Separate utilities.
A community housing project shall provide for independent services of water, sewer, gas, and electricity to each dwelling unit. Separate meters shall not be required.
(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980)
14-40.160 Preemption by the Uniform Building Code.
The general requirements and provisions of this chapter shall be subject to and preempted by the standards set forth in the Uniform Building Code. If the Uniform Building Code provides a more restrictive standard, then the more restrictive standard shall govern.
(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980)
14-40.170 Shipping containers as storage facilities.
The purpose of this section is to regulate the use, location, and size of shipping containers as storage facilities throughout the City. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Code, Shipping Containers may only be used, maintained, and permitted subject to the following conditions:
(a) Use.
(1) Shipping Containers may be used without the need for review permits for a period of no more than six (6) months in all “R” districts, and one year in all other districts, subject to the location criteria and design standards in this section.
(2) Shipping containers may be used in all districts as a temporary storage facility for not more than one year (total) upon issuance of an Administrative Review Permit and completion of a special building inspection by the Community Development Department. Where the Shipping Container is being used in conjunction with new permitted construction, the Shipping Container must be removed before issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy or the final sign-off of the building permit, final permit or one year from permit issuance, whichever occurs first.
(3) Under no provision shall a Shipping Container be used as an Accessory Structure or permanent (longer than one year) storage facility in any “R” district.
(4) No shipping container may be placed or allowed to remain on a parcel in districts other than “R” for more than one year unless and until both a Design Review Permit and a Building Permit are issued.
(5) No Shipping Container shall be used to store any hazardous materials (i.e. toxic, flammable, or combustible).
(b) Location.
(1) The Shipping Container must be sited in a manner such that it will not detriment to public health and safety:
(i) No reduction of required or disabled parking spaces shall occur,
(ii) No Shipping Container shall be located in a required drive aisle, landscaped areas, or disrupt building exits and fire lanes,
(iii) No Shipping Container shall be located closer than ten (10') feet to any structure, or five (5') feet to any property line, and
(iv) Any Shipping Container must be sited so as to minimize visibility from adjoining public rights-of-way and properties.
(c) Administrative Review Permit required. Shipping Containers used as temporary storage facilities for more than six (6) months up to one year (total) are only permitted subject to the issuance of an Administrative Review Permit.
(d) Design Review Permit required. Shipping Containers used as permanent storage facilities in districts other than residential for more than one year are only permitted subject to the issuance of a Design Review Permit pursuant to Chapter 14.11 of this Code.
(e) Design Standards. Shipping containers shall, as a minimum, meet the following design standards:
(1) No alterations shall be made or allowed to the Shipping Container including, but not limited to, doors, windows, electricity, plumbing, or connection of multiple containers.
(2) Existing R-1 and R-1 districts shall be permitted to have only one container no larger than eight (8') feet by twenty (20') feet.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), the size and number of Shipping Containers shall be determined by the Zoning Administrator upon consideration of the use of such Shipping Containers for each application.
(§ 1, Ord. 1099-01 C-M, eff. February 22, 2001)