Article 40.10 — RESIDENTIAL TRANSITIONAL (R-T) DISTRICT

§ 40.10.010. Purpose. ¶

The purpose of a residential transitional (R-T) district is to provide areas which will tend to separate intense commercial development from residential development. These areas are intended to contain uses which are not detrimental to other uses in the district nor to the uses in areas they separate. (Ord. 296 § 12.1)

§ 40.10.020. Permitted uses. ¶

The principal permitted uses in an R-T district are as follows:

(a) Apartments and motels.
(b) Professional and administrative offices.
(c) Group care homes with six or fewer clients.
(d) Cooperative housing, as defined in Section 40.01.010 .
(e) Supportive housing.

(f) Transitional housing. (Ord. 296 § 12.2; Ord. 1737 §§ 11, 12, 1994; Ord. 1787 § 16; Ord. 2413 § 2, 2013; Ord. 2677, 11/4/2025)

§ 40.10.030. Accessory uses. ¶

The following accessory uses are permitted in a R-T district:

(a) Accessory uses and accessory buildings customarily appurtenant to a permitted use, subject to provisions of Section 40.26.010 .
(b) Signs, subject to the regulations of Section 40.26.020 .

(c) Home occupations, subject to provisions of Section 40.01.010 and Section 40.26.150 . (Ord. 296 § 12.3; Ord. 875 § 9)

§ 40.10.040. Conditional uses. ¶

The following conditional uses may be permitted in an R-T district:

(a) Public and semipublic, including public utility, uses and institutions.
(b) Student-oriented commercial uses may be permitted on the ground floor; provided, that the following conditions are found to exist:
- (1) Such uses conform to the intent of the master plan of the city;
- (2) Such uses are of the type that would primarily serve college students who would approach the area by bicycle or by walking;
- (3) There shall be vehicular access to the property from more than one public street or alley;
- (4) Access of an off-street loading area to serve the property shall exist from more than one public street or alley; provided, that the requirement of one such public street or alley required by this paragraph and subsection (b)(3) of this section may be waived if the property fronts on a pedestrian or bicycle mall.
(c) Hospitals, churches and other religious or eleemosynary institutions, subject to the provisions of Section 40.26.160 .
(d) Group care homes with more than six clients, subject to the provisions of Section 40.26.135 .
(e) Living groups, subject to the provisions of Section 40.26.260 .
(f) Single room occupancy (SRO) units.

(Ord. 296 § 12.4; Ord. 391 § 2; Ord. 394 § 2; Ord. 416 § 2; Ord. 506 § 1; Ord. 1737 § 13, 1994; Ord. 1786 § 2; Ord. 1787 § 17; Ord. 2113 § 1, 2003; Ord. 2413 § 4, 2013; Ord. 2572 § 11, 2020)

§ 40.10.050. Height regulations. ¶

No building shall exceed one hundred feet in height, except as provided in Section 40.27.030 . (Ord. 296 § 12.5)

§ 40.10.060. Open space, floor area ratio and yard requirements. ¶

The following area, yard, etc., requirements shall be met in an R-T district:

(a) Usable open space. Each efficiency apartment, two hundred square feet. Each one-bedroom apartment, two hundred square feet. Each two-bedroom apartment, two hundred fifty square feet. Each additional bedroom, fifty square feet. Twenty-five percent of the lot area shall be devoted to open space in the case of rooming and boarding houses and dwellings occupied by living groups.
(b) Floor area ratio. The total floor area of a building shall not exceed two times the area of the lot.
(c) Maximum lot coverage. Fifty percent.
(d) Yard requirements. The following minimum yards shall be required except for projections permitted by Section 40.27.060 :
- (1) Front Yard. Ten feet, except as modified by Section 40.27.050 .
- (2) Side Yard, Interior. Five feet.
- (3) Side Yard, Street. Ten feet.
- (4) Rear Yard. Ten feet.

The required yards shall be increased by one foot for each three feet the building height exceeds twelve feet.

(e) Lot area. Seven thousand five hundred square feet.
(f) Lot area per dwelling unit. Eight hundred square feet.
(g) For the purpose of setback determination, a converted attic space shall have the same setbacks as the story directly below it in all residential districts.
(h) No exterior changes to the existing roofline of the structure shall be allowed except for the provision of egress windows or doors in compliance with California Building Code (CBC). Any dormers or similar structures provided to comply with the CBC required egress window, shall not exceed the minimum size necessary to obtain the required egress.
(i) No attic conversion shall be allowed if one of the following occurs:
- (1) The maximum stories allowed in the district have been achieved.
- (2) The number of stories that can be built on a lot are restricted (usually restricted to one story building.)
(j) If no restrictions apply and the maximum stories allowed in the district have not been achieved, a building permit only would be required for the attic conversion.

(Ord. 296 § 12.6; Ord. 316 § 7; Ord. 862 § 7; Ord. 2572 § 11, 2020)

§ 40.10.070. Special conditions. ¶

(a) Site plan and architectural approval by the director or designee shall be required for all uses.

(b) All required yards shall be planted. (Ord. 296 § 12.7; Ord. 316 § 8; Ord. 600 § 3; Ord. 1627 § 9; Ord. 2390 § 2, 2012; Ord. 2677, 11/4/2025)