§ 20.08 DEFINITIONS

This section provides definitions of terms and phrases used in this chapter that are technical or specialized, or that may not reflect common usage. Where any of the definitions in this section may conflict with definitions in the other chapters of the Albany Municipal Code, these definitions will prevail for purposes of this chapter.

§ 20.08.020. Definitions (A-Z). [Ord. No. 04-09; Ord. No. 05-06; Ord. No. 07-01 § 1; Ord. No. 09-03 § 2; Ord. No. 09-011 § 1; Ord. No. 2015-03 § 2; Ord. No. 2017-07 § 1; amended 9-6-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-03; 1-16-2024 by Ord. No. 2023-07; 9-16-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-06; 2-3-2025 by Ord. No. 2025-01; 10-20-2025 by Ord. No. 2025-07]

ABUTTING DISTRICTS OR LOTS — Means districts or lots that share a common boundary line. Districts located across the street from one another are considered abutting.

ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT or ADU (see also subsection 20.20.080.B) — Means an attached or a detached residential dwelling unit that provides complete independent living facilities—provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation/bathroom facilities—for one or more persons and is located on a lot with a proposed or existing primary dwelling. An accessory dwelling unit also includes the following:

• a.

  • An efficiency unit, as defined by Section 17958.1 of the California Health and Safety Code; and

• b. A manufactured home, as defined by Section 18007 of the California Health and Safety Code.

AGGRIEVED — Means any person beneficially interested who is injured or wronged by an action.

ALTERATION, STRUCTURAL — Means any physical change to or removal of the supporting members of a building, foundation or bearing walls, columns, beams or girders or creation or enlargement of a window or door, or any change to the building envelope, including but not limited to a change of a roof line or roof shape, including creating, enlarging or extending a dormer.

APPLICANT, QUALIFIED — Means an individual with a freehold, possessory or contractual interest in land that is subject to an application for approval under this chapter, or the authorized agent of such an individual.

AREA, LOT — Means the total horizontal area included within the lot lines of a site.

AWNING — Means a temporary shelter, usually constructed of canvas, which is supported entirely from the exterior wall of a building.

BREEZEWAY — Means a structure for the principal purpose of connecting the main building on a site with any other structure on the same site.

BUILDING — Means any enclosed structure (e.g. roof and four walls).

BUILDING, ACCESSORY — Means a detached, subordinate building, the use of which is clearly incidental to that of a main building or to the use of the land.

BUILDING, MAIN — Means a building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot upon which it is situated.

BUILDING, TEMPORARY — Means a building not permanently attached to the ground or to a permanent foundation.

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City of Albany, CA § 20.08.020

PLANNING AND ZONING

CONDOMINIUM — Means an undivided interest in common in a portion of real property coupled with a separate interest in space called a unit, the boundaries of which are described on a recorded final map, parcel map, or condominium plan in sufficient detail to locate all boundaries thereof.

CORNICE — Means a horizontal molded projection that crowns or completes a building or wall.

COURT — Means an open space, other than a yard, on the same site with a structure or group of structures and which is bounded on three (3) or more sides by the structure or structures.

COVERAGE, LOT — Means the land area covered by all the structures on a site, including all projections, except portions of uncovered decks, porches, landings, balconies, or stairways that are less than six (6) feet above grade and are not enclosed by walls on more than two (2) sides; eaves; trellises or other structures that do not have solid roofs. Coverage of ADUs with a maximum size of 800 square feet may be excluded from said calculation.

DAYLIGHT PLANE — Means a tilted plane that connects a vertical plane with a horizontal plane for the purpose of supplementing applicable setback requirements, with the vertical plane being based on a property line or a setback line, and the horizontal plane being based on a maximum height limit.

DENSITY, RESIDENTIAL — Means number of dwelling units per net acre, determined by dividing the number of dwelling units by the net acreage of the lot area, in acres. Net acreage shall be the area of the site less any land dedicated for public right-of-way or other public purpose, but excluding easements for access, utilities or other purposes that do not require dedication to public ownership.

DEVELOPMENT STANDARD — Means as used with respect to a density bonus in subsection 20.40.040, includes site or construction conditions that apply to a residential development pursuant to any ordinance, general plan element, specific plan, charter amendment, or other local condition, law policy, resolution, or regulation.

DISTRICT — Means a portion of the City within which certain regulations controlling land use, site area, coverage, yards and other open spaces, height of structures and other physical development standards, apply under the provisions of this chapter.

DRIVE-IN ESTABLISHMENTS — Means facilities which are so designed and operated as to enable persons to receive a service or purchase, or consume goods, while remaining within a motor vehicle.

DWELLING UNIT — Means a structure, building, or a portion of a structure or building, designed for occupancy by one (1) household for living and sleeping purposes. Does not include units within hotels or similar facilities that provide transient accommodations.

EAVE — Means the overhang of a roof that projects beyond the exterior walls of a structure.

FENCE — Means a structural barrier that defines or encloses an uncovered space such as a lot or a portion of a lot.

FLOOR AREA — Means the total horizontal area in square feet on each floor within and including the exterior walls of a structure but not including the area of inner courts, shaft enclosures, and mechanical equipment rooms.

FLOOR AREA RATIO — Means the proportion of building floor area per area of the parcel of land upon which the building rests. See subsection 20.24.050 for calculation information and qualifying exemptions.

FRONTAGE — Means the property line of a site abutting on a street.

GAMING ACTIVITIES — Means gambling; betting.

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City of Albany, CA § 20.08.020

ALBANY CODE

§ 20.08.020

GLARE — Means annoyance, discomfort or loss of visual performance and visibility to the eye, experienced by a viewer with a direct line of sight to a light source.

GRADE — Means the elevation, above a reference level such as mean sea level, of any point or points on a ground surface. Also, the degree of inclination between points on a ground surface.

GRADE, FINISH — Means the lowest point of the finished surface of the ground between a building and a property line or, where the property line is more than five (5) feet from the building, between the building and a line five (5) feet from the building; or, where there is an approved grading plan, the final configuration of the terrain in conformance with the approved grading plan.

GRADE, NATURAL — Means the original, unaltered elevation of the ground surface, or any other existing elevation that has remained undisturbed for a period of seven (7) years or more.

GRADING — Means the process of altering the grade of a site.

GROUP HOME, UNLICENSED — Means a residential facility shared by unrelated persons with disabilities that provide peer and other support for their residents’ disability related needs and may participate in cooking, dining, living areas, and other communal living activities and provide supportive services that do not require licenses under state law. Residents of a group home shall be considered a household. See HOUSEHOLD.

HABITABLE SPACE — Means any space for living, sleeping, eating, or cooking. Bathrooms, toilet compartments, closets, halls, storage or utility space, and similar areas are not considered habitable space. General dimensional requirements are contained within the latest edition of the Uniform Building Code as adopted by the City.

HEIGHT — Means the distance of a point of any structure above a plane defined by the natural grade at the perimeter of the structure, such distance being measured directly from the point.

HOME OCCUPATION — Means a nonresidential activity or use carried on within a dwelling, by the inhabitants thereof, which use is clearly incidental to the residential use and does not alter the character of the premises.

HORTICULTURE — Means the growing of fruits, vegetables or ornamental plants.

HOUSEHOLD — Means an individual or two (2) or more persons living as a single housekeeping unit in a dwelling unit and four (4) or fewer boarders. Residents of a group home providing non-licensable services shall be considered a household. See GROUP HOME, UNLICENSED.

INCLUSIONARY HOUSING — Means one (1) or more dwelling units that are included in a housing development project and made available for occupancy by lower-income households as a proportion of the total number of dwelling units in the project, wherein the majority of dwelling units are available without restriction as to the incomes of residents.

INTERNAL ILLUMINATION — Means a method of sign illumination where a sign houses an internal electrical system of lighting. This type of sign includes halo-lit and individually illuminated letters.

JUNIOR ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT or JADU (see also subsection 20.20.080.B) — Means an accessory dwelling unit that has the following attributes:

• a.

  • Maximum size of 500 square feet;

• b. Contained entirely within a single-family primary dwelling, including an attached garage;

• c. Has its own or shares sanitation/bathroom facilities with the single-family primary dwelling; if the unit does not include its own separate bathroom, then it contains an interior entrance to the main

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City of Albany, CA § 20.08.020

PLANNING AND ZONING

• d. Includes, at a minimum, an efficiency kitchen, which contains a cooking facility with appliances, a food preparation counter or counters, and storage cabinets that are of reasonable size in relation to the size of the JADU.

LANDSCAPED STRIP — Means a landscaped area abutting a property line of a site.

LIQUOR STORE — Means a retail store where the predominant products sold, representing twenty (20%) percent or more of the sales floor area, are alcoholic beverages including beer, wine and distilled spirits, under an "Off-sale General" license by the State of California; also known as a "package store."

LOADING SPACE — Means an off-street space or berth for the temporary parking of a vehicle while loading or unloading merchandise or materials.

LOT, CONFORMING — Means a parcel of subdivided land having such dimensions and site area as are required by the provisions of this chapter, and designed to be occupied by a permitted use or structure, including such yards and other open spaces as are required by the provisions of this chapter, and having its principal frontage on a street.

LOT, CORNER — Means a lot located at the intersection of two (2) or more streets, which streets have an angle of intersection of not more than one hundred thirty-five (135) degrees. For the purposes of this chapter, the front of a corner lot shall be considered the smaller dimension of the lot, and the side the longer dimension of the lot.

LOT, INTERIOR — Means a lot abutting only one (1) street, and not meeting the definition of a corner lot.

LOT, NONCONFORMING — Means any lot, existing and recorded as a separate parcel in the office of the County Assessor at the effective date of this chapter, which does not conform to the area or width requirements of the district in which it is located.

LOT, THROUGH — Means a lot abutting two (2) streets that do not intersect at any point on the boundaries of the lot. Any lot that meets both the definitions of a through lot and a corner lot shall be deemed to be a corner lot.

MANUFACTURED HOME — Means a single-family dwelling unit that is prefabricated or factory-built, certified under the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, and attached to a foundation system that meets requirements of the California Health and Safety Code.

MASSAGE — See Albany Municipal Code subsection 5-13.2.

MASSAGE ESTABLISHMENT — See Albany Municipal Code subsection 5-13.2.

MASSING — Means the shape, size, scale, and orientation of a structure in three (3) dimensional space.

MEDICAL CANNABIS DISPENSARY — Means any association, business, facility, use, establishment, location, delivery service, cooperative, collective, or provider, whether fixed or mobile, that possesses, cultivates, distributes, or makes available medical cannabis to three (3) or more of the following: a primary caregiver, a qualified patient, or a patient with an identification card or a patient with a prescription or recommendation from a medical doctor. A dispensary shall not include the following uses, as long as the location of such uses is otherwise regulated by this Code or applicable law:

1. A clinic licensed pursuant to Chapter 1, Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code;

2. A health care facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.01 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code;

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City of Albany, CA § 20.08.020

ALBANY CODE

§ 20.08.020

3. A residential care facility for persons with chronic life-threatening illnesses licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.01 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code;

4. A residential care facility for the elderly licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code;

5. A residential hospice or a health home agency licensed pursuant to Chapter 8 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, as long as such use complies strictly with applicable law, including but not limited to, Health and Safety Code Section 11362.5 et seq.

MOBILE RECYCLING UNIT — Means an automobile, truck, trailer, or van and appurtenant bins, boxes, or containers used for the collection of recyclable materials.

NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE — Means any legally created structure which no longer conforms to the density, height, coverage, yard, landscaping and screening, usable open space, sign, parking, loading or other requirements applied to structures by this chapter.

NONCONFORMING USE — Means any use which was legal when created and which is no longer itself a permitted or conditionally permitted use in the district in which it is located.

OPEN SPACE, COMMON USABLE — Means usable open space available for use by the occupants of more than one (1) dwelling unit. Controlled and maintained by a property owner or an incorporated nonprofit homeowner's association; or dedicated in fee to, and maintained by, a public agency or recreation district and devoted to all use by residents who will occupy the district.

OPEN SPACE, PRIVATE USABLE — Means roof, balcony, deck, porch, terrace or other outdoor areas designed for use by the occupants of a single dwelling unit.

OPEN SPACE, PUBLICLY-ACCESSIBLE — Means paseos, plazas, outdoor dining areas, recreation areas, and other similar areas available for use by the public for at least daylight hours. Spaces be either offered as dedication to the City or privately owned and maintained with dedication of a public access easement at no public expense.

OPEN SPACE, USABLE — Means outdoor areas, open to the sky, on the ground, or on a roof, balcony, deck, porch, or terrace, designed and accessible for outdoor living, recreation, pedestrian access, or landscaping by all residents for whom the space is intended. Does not include street rights-of-way, public or private surface easements, accessory buildings, open parking areas, driveways, and access ways for the dwellings, land area utilized for garbage and refuse disposal or other servicing maintenance, or required front or corner side yards. Suitable recreational structures designed to be consistent with the intent of this definition may be considered usable open space.

PARKING FACILITY — Means any area or structure, other than within a public street, which is used for the parking of two (2) or more vehicles, but not including the storage of vehicles for sale or repair.

PARKING, OFF-STREET — Means parking spaces located on private property or public property that is not designated as a public right-of-way.

PARKING, ON-STREET — Means parking spaces located within the public right-of-way.

PARKING SPACE (OFF-STREET) — Means a space meeting dimensional requirements of Subsection 20.28.030 either enclosed in a structure or open, the principal use of which is the storage or parking of automobiles.

PERMIT, USE, MAJOR — Means authorization, granted by the Planning and Zoning Commission subject to compliance with conditions, for a specified use of a property, where such authorization is allowed by this chapter in the zoning district in which the property is located.

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City of Albany, CA § 20.08.020

PLANNING AND ZONING

§ 20.08.020

PERMIT, USE, MINOR — Means authorization, granted by the Community Development Director subject to compliance with conditions, for a specified use of a property, where such authorization is allowed by this chapter in the zoning district in which the property is located.

PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT — Means a development adhering to a comprehensive plan and located on a single tract of land, or on two (2) or more contiguous tracts of land which may be separated only by a street or other public right-of-way. (See subsection 20.100.060)

PRE-EXISTING — Means in existence prior to the effective date of this ordinance.

PRIVATE SCHOOL — Means a school not operated by the Albany Unified School District, the State or any political subdivision thereof.

RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT — Means a project consisting of new construction of one (1) or more residential buildings, inclusive of condominiums, mobile homes, new and legalized Accessory Dwelling Units, or an addition to the gross floor area of a residential structure or an accessory structure.

RETAINING WALL — Means a wall of any material that is separate from the structural support of a building and serves to retain earth.

RIGHT CUMULATIVE — Means any right that pertains in addition to, or cumulative to, other rights allowed by law.

RIGHT-OF-WAY, PUBLIC — Means an area of land that is reserved for, by dedication or easement, for access or passage for public purposes; such area may be used for streets, sidewalks, utility lines, rail lines or other uses determined to be in the public interest.

SENIOR CITIZEN HOUSING DEVELOPMENT — Means a housing development which has been designed to meet the physical and social needs of senior citizens and which otherwise qualifies as "housing for older persons," as that phrase is used in California Civil Code Sections 51.3 and 51.12 and Federal statutes.

SETBACK — Means the required distance that a building, structure or other designated item must be located from a lot line.

SHOPPING CENTER — Means a commercial development occupied by a group of five (5) or more separate commercial uses, with parking on the site for the benefit of the uses that occupy the site.

SIGNIFICANT TOBACCO RETAILER — Means any tobacco retailer that derives seventy-five (75%) percent or more of gross sales receipts from the sale or exchange of tobacco products and tobacco paraphernalia.

The following terms related to tobacco retailers have the following meanings:

• a. Tobacco Product means (1) any substance containing tobacco leaf, including but not limited to cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, hookah tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, bidis, or any other preparation of tobacco; and (2) any product or formulation of matter containing biologically active amounts of nicotine that is manufactured, sold, offered for sale, or otherwise distributed with the expectation that the product or matter will be introduced into the human body, but does not include any product specifically approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use in treating nicotine or tobacco product dependence.

• b. Tobacco Paraphernalia means cigarette papers or wrappers, pipes, holders of smoking materials of all types, cigarette rolling machines, and any other item designed for the smoking, preparation, storing, or consumption of tobacco products.

STORY — Means a portion of a building included between the upper surface of a floor and the upper

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City of Albany, CA § 20.08.020

ALBANY CODE

STREET — Means a public thoroughfare dedicated as such or acquired for use as such, which affords the principal means of access to abutting property.

STREET LINE — Means a boundary line between a street and abutting property.

STRUCTURE — Means anything constructed or erected which requires a location on the ground.

STRUCTURE, ACCESSORY — Means a detached, subordinate structure that is incidental to the main structure or to the principal use of the land.

TRANSITIONAL HOUSING — Means any sleeping facility or dwelling unit that serves as a transition from emergency housing to permanent housing, for a period generally of six (6) months to twenty-four (24) months, usually supported by social services to help prepare residents for independent living. See also "Emergency Housing."

TREE, LANDMARK — Means any tree having a trunk with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of eighteen (18) inches or greater, which has been verified by a qualified professional arborist to be a significant specimen, considering such factors as size, species, health and location.

TREEHOUSE — Means a structure that utilizes a tree as a principal support.

UPHILL SITE — Means a lot that is located on a slope that extends upward from the horizontal plane of the public right-of-way which provides primary access to the lot, with reference to the perpendicular crosssection of the public right-of-way at the midpoint of the frontage of the lot.

USE, ACCESSORY — Means a subordinate use that is incidental to the principal use of a site, structure, or dwelling unit.

USE, PRINCIPAL — Means the primary purpose for which a site or structure is arranged, designed, intended, constructed, erected, moved, altered or enlarged or for which either a site or a structure is or may be occupied or maintained.

WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY — Wireless Communications Facility means any device or system for the transmitting and/or receiving of electromagnetic signals, including but not limited to radio waves and microwaves, for cellular technology, personal communications services, mobile services, paging systems and related technologies. Facilities include antennas, microwave dishes, parabolic antennas and all other types of equipment used in the transmission and reception of such signals; structures for the support of such facilities, associated buildings or cabinets to house support equipment, and other accessory development.

The following terms related to wireless communications facilities have the following meanings:

• a. Antenna means any system of poles, panels, rods, reflecting disks, wire or similar devices used for the transmission or reception of electromagnetic signals. Does not include any support structure upon which an antenna is mounted.

• b. Antenna Equipment A cabinet, room, or similar structure which houses the electronic facilities used to operate an antenna.

• c. Antenna Structure means any structure, including a pole, mast, or tower, whether freestanding or mounted on another building or structure, that supports an antenna or an array of antennas. The height of an antenna structure is measured to the highest point of any antenna mounted thereon.

• d. Base Station means the primary sending and receiving site in a wireless telecommunications network, including all radio-frequency generating equipment connected to antennas. More than one (1) base station and/or more than one (1) variety of telecommunications providers can be located on a single

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City of Albany, CA § 20.08.020

PLANNING AND ZONING

• e. Co-Location means a situation in which a single support structure supports one (1) or more antennas owned or used by more than one (1) public or private entity.

• f. Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) means a wireless telecommunications facility network of spatially separated antenna nodes connected to a common source via a transport medium that provides wireless service within a geographic area or structure.

• g.

• Maintenance For purposes of this section, maintenance is defined as:

• 1. Scheduled preventive inspections and activities per manufacturer's instructions or regulatory requirements;
• 2. Corrective maintenance including modification to existing equipment to repair physical damage or correct internal faults;
• 3. Minor repositioning or changes in internal components to improve performance or energy efficiency or increase power output;
• • Other changes to the existing equipment that does not substantially change appearance.

• h. Microcell Facility means a wireless telecommunications facility characterized by small antennas and equipment cabinets, and typically sited on an existing or replacement street light, utility pole, sign or other suitable structure; or an existing building.

• i. Monitoring Protocol means an industry accepted radio-frequency (RF) radiation measurement protocol used to determine compliance with FCC RF radiation exposure standards, in accordance with the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements Reports 86 and 119 and consistent with the RF radiation modeling specifications of OET Bulletin 65 (or any superseding reports/standards), which is to be used to measure the emissions and determine radio-frequency radiation exposure levels from existing and new telecommunications facilities. RF radiation exposure measurements are to be taken at various locations, including those from which public RF exposure levels are expected to be the highest.

• j. Monopole means a type of freestanding antenna structure that is seventeen (17) feet or more in height and is designed to be self-supporting without the use of guy wires.

• k. Preferred Wireless Zoning District means a zone where the City has determined that the location of a wireless communications facility would reduce the noise, aesthetic and visual impact of that facility relative to its placement in another zone. The City has determined that wireless communication facilities may be located in the following order of preference: CMX, PF, and SPC or SC.

• l. Radio Frequency (RF) Radiation means radiation from the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum with frequencies below the infrared range (approximately 100 GHz and below), including microwaves, television VHF and UHF signals, radio signals, and low to ultra low frequencies.

• m. Receive-Only Antenna means antenna for the reception of radio and television signals, without transmitting capabilities; may include pole or dish types of antennas.

• n. Repeater means a small receiver/relay transmitter of not more than twenty (20) watts output designed to provide service to areas which are not able to receive adequate coverage directly from a base station.

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City of Albany, CA § 20.08.020

ALBANY CODE

• p. Stealth Facility means a wireless communications facility located so as to be of minimal visibility, such as being incorporated within an architectural feature such as a steeple or parapet, or in the open but disguised as a tree or other natural feature.

YARD — Means an open space other than a court on the same lot with a building, which open space is unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward. Yard spaces shall be measured horizontally from and at right angles to the nearest point of the respective lot line towards the nearest part of a structure on the lot, exclusive of retaining walls, fences and certain architectural features and permitted projections as provided for in subsection 20.24.060.

• a. Yard, front means a yard of uniform depth extending across the full width of the lot inward from the front lot line. The front lot line shall be determined by the Community Development Director.

• b. Yard, rear means a yard of uniform depth extending across the full width of the lot inward from the rear lot line. In the case of a through lot, the location of the rear yard shall be determined by the Community Development Director.

• c. Yard, side means a yard on each side of the main building extending from the front yard, or the front lot line where no front yard is required, to the rear yard, or the rear lot line where no rear yard is required. A side yard abutting a street is termed an exterior side yard; a side yard not abutting a street is termed an interior side yard.

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City of Albany, CA § 20.12.010

PLANNING AND ZONING

§ 20.12.030