Chapter 9.50

DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS

Sections:

The purpose of this chapter is to establish development standards to preserve, protect, and promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of Avenal , and to minimize environmental impacts and land use conflicts.

This chapter shall apply to uses within all zone districts unless specifically stated otherwise.

No use shall create a nuisance due to noise, odor, dust, mud, smoke, steam, vibration, light, or other similar causes.

Waste materials that are associated with any use that causes fumes or dust, that may be a fire hazard, or that are edible by, or otherwise attractive to, rodents or insects shall be stored in closed containers.

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No use shall cause the emission of any smoke, ash, dust, fumes, vapors, gases, or other forms of air pollution that can cause damage to human health, vegetation, or other forms of air pollution that can cause excessive soiling on any other parcel. No emission shall be permitted that exceeds the requirements of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) or the requirements of any air quality plan adopted by the City of Avenal. Applicants are responsible for obtaining the applicable permits from SJVAPCD.

No use shall be permitted that emits odorous gases or other odorous matter in such quantities as to be dangerous, harmful, noxious, or otherwise objectionable at a level that is detectable with or without the aid of instruments at or beyond the project site boundary.

No use shall discharge at any point into any public or private street, public sewer, storm drain, private stream, body of water, or into the ground any material that can contaminate any water supply, interfere with bacteriological processes in sewerage treatment, or otherwise cause the emission of dangerous or offensive elements, except according to the standards approved by the California Department of Public Health, or any other federal, State, or local government agency.

No use shall be permitted to cause a steady state, earth-borne oscillation beyond the project site. Ground vibration caused by moving vehicles, trains, aircraft, or temporary construction or demolition is exempt from this requirement.

The use, handling, storage, and transportation of combustibles and explosives shall comply with the Uniform Fire Code and California Code of Regulations Title 19.

Suitable area shall be provided on-site for collection of trash and recyclable materials for all multifamily residential, mixed-use, commercial, office, public facility, and industrial uses. Refuse storage areas shall be adequately screened from view. The refuse area enclosure shall be designed to meet the minimum recommended dimensional standards as determined by the City Engineer.

Applicability:

• All new multi-family residential with 4 or more units, mixed use, commercial, office, public facility, and industrial uses, shall provide a trash and recycling collection structure, and as required by the Director of Public Works/Utilities.

Requirements:

• All uses requiring trash collection areas shall comply with Title 6 (Sanitation and Health) of the Avenal Municipal Code.

Location:

• Trash enclosures shall not be located within any required setback, landscape, or open space area between a building and street right-of-way.

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• Trash enclosures shall combine together solid waste, recycling, and organics, when necessary, into each enclosure

• Trash enclosures shall have unobstructed assess so that refuse haulers have sufficient space to service the enclosure without the need for backing up or reversing the refuse hauler.

• Trash enclosures shall be located a minimum of 20-feet from doors and windows of the nearest adjacent structure.

Design, Materials, and Construction:

• Trash enclosures shall be constructed with the same materials and in the same colors to be compatible with the adjacent and surrounding structures.

• Trash enclosures shall be contructed in compliance with City of Avenal Standards Manual.

• Trash enclosures shall be screened from view on all sides with masonry walls, metal gates and landscaping.

All mechanical equipment located on the roof of any building shall be screened from adjacent views and contained within a completely enclosed penthouse or portion of the same building having walls and roofs with construction and appearance similar to the building.

• A. No fence or wall shall be placed within the public right-of-way.

• B. A masonry fence exceeding three feet in height shall require engineered footings and a building permit. All other fencing exceeding seven feet in height shall require engineered post footings and a building permit.

• C. Corner Cutoff Areas. The following regulations shall apply at all intersections of streets, alleys, or private driveways in all residential districts in order to provide adequate visibility for vehicular traffic. There shall be no visual obstruction within the cutoff areas established herein.

  1. There shall be a corner cutoff area at all intersecting streets or highways. The cutoff line shall be in a horizontal plane, making an angle of 45 degrees, with the side, front, or rear property line, as the case may be. It shall pass through the points located on both the side and front (or rear) property lines at a distance of 35 from the intersection of such lines or their projections at the corner of a street or highway.

  2. There shall be a corner cutoff area on each side of any private driveway intersecting a street or alley. The cutoff lines shall be in a horizontal plane, making an angle of 45 degrees with the side, front, or rear property line, as the case may be. They shall pass through a point not less than 10 feet from the edges of the driveway where it intersects the street or alley right-of-way.

  3. There shall be a corner cutoff area on each side of any alley intersecting a street or alley. The cutoff lines shall be in a horizontal plane, making an angle of 45 degrees with the side, front, or rear property line, as the case may be. They shall pass through a point not less than 10 feet from the edges of the alley where it intersects the street or alley right-of-way.

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4. Where, due to an irregular lot shape, a line at a 45-degree angle does not provide for intersection visibility, said corner cutoff shall be defined by a line drawn from a point on the front (or rear) property line that is not less than 30 feet from the intersection of the side and front (or rear) property lines and through a point on the side property line that is not less than 30 feet from said intersection of the side and front (or rear) property lines.

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• D. All fences constructed or installed within Avenal shall be limited to the following materials or combination of materials: concrete block, latticework, wood, and wrought iron or coated aluminum.

• E. All fences and walls shall be constructed of new or good used material, and all fences and walls shall be kept in good repair and adequately maintained. Any dilapidated, dangerous, or unsightly fences or walls shall be removed unless otherwise required or repaired.

• F. The provisions of this title regarding fences or walls shall not apply to a fence or wall necessary for public safety or as required by any law or regulation of the State or any agency thereof.

• G. The City reserves the right to remove, at the expense of the owner of the property or properties enclosed by the fence, any fence in a public easement or public right of way in any emergency.

The use of temporary fences is allowed subject to the following requirements:

• A. A temporary fence may be constructed of chain link or other such material approved by the Director and shall not be permanently affixed to the site.

• B. A temporary fence shall be located on the site in such a manner as not to impede pedestrian or automobile traffic adjacent to the site unless approved by the Director or City Engineer.

• C. A temporary fence placed to secure a construction, rehabilitation, or demolition project on the site shall be removed when the project is completed.

• D. A temporary fence placed for a reason other than to secure a construction, rehabilitation, or demolition project on the site shall be removed after 90 days unless a temporary use permit is issued in accordance with Chapter 9.76, which allows a longer period of time.

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The following requirements and standards shall apply in all zone districts for the installation and use of outdoor lighting fixtures:

• A. All lights and light fixtures, except public streetlights and solar-powered lights of five watts or less per fixture, shall be located, aimed, or shielded to minimize light trespassing across property boundaries or skyward.

• B. No lights or light fixtures shall flash, revolve, blink, or otherwise resemble a traffic control signal or operate in such a fashion as to create a hazard for passing traffic.

• C. Building-mounted lighting fixtures shall be attached only to the walls of the building. The top of a light fixture attached to a building wall shall not be higher than the top of the building parapet or the top of the roof eave, whichever is lower.

• D. Light fixtures under ceiling canopies shall be recessed, or the sides of the lens area shall be shielded to eliminate the emission of horizontal light.

A front building setback area shall be provided on each frontage of a through lot, except where access to one of the frontages has been waived or is otherwise prohibited.

• A. Architectural features, including, without limitation, sills, chimneys, fireplaces, cornices, and eaves, may extend into a required side building setback area, a required rear building setback area, or a space between structures, not more than 36 inches, and may extend into a required front building setback area not more than six feet. Where an architectural feature extends more than 24 inches into a required side building setback area, such extension shall meet all fire and building code requirements. No building or projection thereof may extend into a public easement or right-of-way.

• B. Open, unenclosed, uncovered metal fire escapes, and depressed ramps or stairways may project into any required yard or space between buildings not more than four feet, and planter boxes attached to a building may be extended into a required front building setback area by not more than three feet.

• C. Fences, walls, hedges, garden structures, walks, driveways, and retaining walls may occupy any required building setback area or other open space, subject to the limitations prescribed in this title.

• D. When more than 60 percent of the linear frontage of lots improved with residential buildings within any street block is comprised of lots with less than the minimum front building setback requirements, the minimum front building setback for proposed new buildings in such block shall be the average of the actual front building setback of the main buildings on either side of the proposed new building.

Penthouses or roof structures for the housing of elevators, stairways, tanks, ventilating fans, airconditioning equipment, or similar equipment required to operate and maintain buildings, and fire and parapet walls, skylights, towers, spires, cupolas, road signs (where permitted), flagpoles,

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chimneys, smokestacks, television and radio masts, or similar structures may be erected above the height limit but shall not be allowed for the purpose of providing additional floor space.

It is a public nuisance for any person owning, leasing, renting, occupying, or having possession of any real property to maintain said real property in a manner in which any of the following conditions are found to exist:

• A. The real property or any buildings, structures, or improvements located thereon which violate one or more of the following:

  1. The California Building Standards Code, California Code of Regulations, Title 24, and any amendments, thereto, published by the California Building Standards Commission.

  2. Any provision of the Avenal Municipal Code.

  3. Any other law or regulation, such violations, including, without limitation, violations that create a fire hazard, endanger human life, or are hazards to public health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of the city, including without limitation, real property, structures or other improvements that are in disrepair or are not properly maintained as determined by the Chief Building Official.

• B. Outdoor storage of personal property of any type or design in any unscreened/unfenced areas fronting on any alley, street, or other public right-of-way.

• C. The outside placement, parking, storage, or stockpiling of equipment, materials, vehicles, furnishings, or commodities not associated with the normal use, maintenance, or repair of a residential dwelling or its accessory structures, including, but not limited to, farm equipment, porta-potties, picking ladders, agricultural produces, produce boxes and bins, trucks larger than one ton, scrap materials, inoperable vehicles, and appliances or furniture.

• D. Real property or structures or improvements thereon not properly maintained to constitute a fire hazard by reason of weeds, grass, rank overgrowth, or accumulations of debris or which could harbor rats or other vermin, create an unsightly appearance, or create conditions which are detrimental to neighboring properties.

• E. Broken windows or other structural defects in the real property or any structures or improvements that create hazardous conditions and invite trespassing and malicious mischief, including unsafe structural supports, boarded doorways and windows, dry rot, termites, and similar hazards.

• F. Clotheslines visible from a public street.

• G. Garbage cans and garbage receptacles stored in locations on a lot that are visible from the public street or neighboring properties except that the Enforcement Officer may determine that circumstances involving the property or its occupants make it difficult or impossible to place the garbage cans and receptacles out of public view. If the Enforcement Officer makes such a determination, the Enforcement Officer shall designate a location on the property for the storage of the garbage cans and receptacles even though such location may allow the garbage cans and receptacles to be visible from the public street or neighboring properties.

• H. Failure to maintain any wall, fence, or hedge as to constitute a hazard to persons or property or which creates an unsightly appearance.

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• I. Failure to maintain required landscaping and trees and/or removal, destruction, or severe pruning of required landscaping or trees.

• J. Installation of newspaper/magazine racks, overnight/postal drop boxes, or other items of personal property in the public right-of-way without first obtaining an encroachment permit from the City and/or failure to properly maintain said items.

New development shall be required to install the public infrastructure necessary to adequately serve the project, based on requirements of the City Engineer, including sewer, water, and storm drainage lines, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, street paving, and street lighting. These improvements shall be constructed consistent with requirements shown in the City of Avenal Standards and Specifications Drawings and shall be installed prior to occupancy of any structures on the site.

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