Ferndale Zoning Code § 3.38 Ground Coverage: The percentage of the total area that is covered by structures…
Ferndale Zoning Code · 2026-06 edition · updated 2026-09-09 · Ferndale
Cite as: Ferndale Zoning Code § 3.38 · Text as of 2026-09-09
§3.39 Guest Houses: Guest houses are herein defined as a detached living quarter of permanent construction, without a kitchen, which is clearly subordinate and incidental to the use of the main building, on the same lot. Guest houses shall not be let, leased or rented, in whole or in part, independently of the main building.
§3.40 Hog Farm: Any premises used for the raising or keeping of three (3) or more hogs when raised, fed or fattened for purposes of sale and consumption by other than the owner of the site. In an agricultural zone, the term “hog farm” is not intended to otherwise preclude the raising of hogs as part of a general farming operation.
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| §3.41 | (This section amended by Ordinance 08-03) Home Occupation:Any use which, as determined |
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| by this ordinance, is customarily carried on within a dwelling or unattached structure by the | |
| inhabitants thereof and which is clearly incidental and secondary to the residential use of the | |
| dwelling. (End of section amended by Ordinance 08-03) | |
| §3.42 | Hotel: Any building or portion thereof containing living quarters or dwelling units and |
| designed for or intended to be used by six (6) or more transient guests, whether the | |
| compensation or hire be paid directly or indirectly, and shall include resort hotel, lodging | |
| house, rooming house, dormitory, residence club, fraternity, sorority and other similar uses. | |
| Excludes employee housing. | |
| §3.43 | Incidental and/ |
| specified under “Agricultural Service-Related Business,” which are available or are conducted | |
| on the site during the same hours of the principal activity and all of which occupy less than 25 | |
| percent of the total retail floor area. Such activities shall be related to or not conflict with the | |
| principle activity. Such activities can include: home supplies, small-scale plant nurseries and | |
| landscape supplies, home improvement supplies and books, canning and kitchen supplies, | |
| work clothes, pruning or composting workshops, deli (not exceeding 200 square feet), gift | |
| items or handcrafted items. | |
| §3.44 | Instruction, Commercial:Schools or classes operated within a building to give instruction in |
| any art, profession, trade or business, for compensation, and including, but not limited to | |
| instruction in cosmetology, hairdressing, barbering, bartending, music, dancing, typing, | |
| shorthand or other business skills, electronics or engineering. | |
| §3.45 | Junk Yard:Any aggregate area of more than two hundred (200) square feet within any parcel, |
| lot or contiguous lots which is used as a place where imported waste, inoperable household | |
| appliances, inoperable machinery, inoperable motor vehicles, portions of inoperable motor | |
| vehicles or discarded or salvaged materials are disassembled, handled, placed, processed, | |
| baled, packaged or stored. This includes but is not limited to auto and trailer wrecking yards, | |
| scrap metal yards, wrecking yards, used lumber yards and places or yards for storage of | |
| salvaged house wrecking and structural steel material and equipment. This does not include | |
| the above activities when conducted entirely within completely enclosed buildings nor the | |
| sale or storage of used cars, farm machinery, trailers or boats in operable condition, nor the | |
| salvage of materials incidental to manufacturing or farm operations, provided such salvage | |
| takes place where the manufacturing or farming is done. | |
| §3.46 | Kennel:Any premises, except those accessory to an agricultural use, where five (5) or more |
| small domestic animals, not sick or injured, are boarded, cared for or trained for | |
| compensation, or are kept for sale or breeding purposes. | |
| §3.47 | Kitchen or Kitchenette: Any space used or designated to be used for cooking and preparing |
| food, whether the cooking unit be permanent or temporary and portable. | |
| §3.48 | Licensed Premises:Premises licensed by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board of the State of |
| California for the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages on the premises. | |
| §3.49 | Living: |
| 3.49.1 Living Area: The interior habitable area of a dwelling unit including basements and |
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| attics but does not include a garage or any accessory structure. | |
| 3.49.2 Living Quarters: One or more rooms in a building designed, intended for or used by |
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| one or more individuals for living or sleeping purposes, but which does not have | |
| cooking facilities. |
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| §3.50 Lot: 3.50.1 3.50.2 3.50.3 3.50.4 3.50.5 3.50.6 3.50.7 3.50.8 |
Lot, Building Site: A parcel of land, exclusive of public streets or alleys, occupied or intended to be occupied by a building or group of buildings, together with such open space, yards, minimum width and area as are required by these regulations, and having full frontage on an improved and accepted public street which meets the standard of widths and improvements specified by the_City of Ferndale_for the street in question, or having either partial frontage on such street or access thereto by record right-of-way or record easement, which partial frontage right-of-way or easement is determined by the Commission to be adequate. In subdivided areas, a building site is any portion of a filed and recorded lot or any combination of contiguous lands, including more than a lot which meets the minimum area and width requirements of the zone in which it is located and which is so shaped that a building having the minimum area as set forth in the building code for the purpose intended for said building could be constructed in compliance of all yard requirements of that zone. As used herein, “lot” is not restricted to a parcel of land identified and filed and recorded as a subdivision by lot number. Lot, Corner:A lot abutting upon two or more streets at their intersection, or upon two parts of the same street forming an interior angle of less than one hundred thirty-five (135) degrees. a. The front yard of a corner lot is the yard adjacent to the shortest street frontage. b. The rear yard of a corner lot extends to the side yard adjacent to the street c. A side yard on the street side of a corner lot shall extend from the front yard to the rear lot line. Lot, Flag:A lot with access to a public street by a corridor of land of considerable length and not less than 20 feet in width. The front lot line of a flag lot shall be defined as that interior lot line which is more parallel and closest to the public street, except where due to the irregularity of the shape of the lot the Planning Department may determine otherwise. In computing the area of the flag lot, the area of the corridor shall be excluded. Lot, Interior: A lot other than a corner or key lot. Lot, Key: The first lot to the rear of a corner lot, the front line of which is a continuation of the side line of the corner lot (exclusive of any alley) and fronting on the street which intersects or intercepts the street upon which the corner lot fronts. Lot Area:The total horizontal area included within lot lines, but excluding any portion of such area that has been dedicated for public right-of-way purposes. Lot Depth:The average horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines measured in the mean direction of the side lot lines Lot Lines.The property lines bounding the lot. The definitions herein are applicable to lots that are basically square or rectangular in shape. When these definitions are not applicable due to irregularity in the shape of the lot, lot lines shall be determined by the Administrative Official, subject to review by the Planning Commission. |
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a. Lot Line, Front: The line separating the lot from the street right-of-way. In the case of a corner lot, the shorter street frontage shall be the front lot line.
b. Lot Line, Rear: In the case of an interior Lot, the line opposite and most distant from the front lot line. In the case of a triangular or wedge-shape lot, for
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| §3.51 §3.52 §3.53 §3.54 §3.55 §3.56 §3.57 |
measurement purposes, a line ten (10) feet in length within the lot, parallel to and at the maximum distance from the front lot line. c. Lot Line, Side: Any lot lines not a front or rear lot line. 3.50.9 Lot Width: The horizontal distance between the side lot lines measured at right angles to the depth of the lot at the front yard set back line. Whenever this definition cannot be applied due to irregularity in the shape of the lots, the lot width shall be as determined by the Administrative Official subject to review by the Planning Commission. Manufactured Home(Added by Ordinance 2014-02 on 5/1/2014): A residential structure constructed entirely in the factory, and which since June 15, 1976, has been regulated by the Federal Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 under the administration of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Minor Repair & Routine Maintenance: Such repair and maintenance which may include re- roofing; painting; re-painting, re-surfacing; paint scraping; replacement of windows; drainpipes, railings, and small structural ornamentation; and replacement of individual boards in a wooden porch with fresh identical lumber, if the status quo or original design is maintained. Mobile Home(Amended by Ordinance 2014-02 on 5/1/2014): A trailer, transportable in one or more sections, that is certified under the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, which is over eight feet in width and 40 feet in length, is tied down (a) to a permanent foundation on a lot either owned or leased by the homeowner or (b) is set on piers, with wheels removed and skirted, in a mobile home park and not including recreational vehicle, commercial coach or factory-built housing. Motel: A building or group of buildings comprising individual living quarters or dwelling units for the accommodation of transient guests which is so designed that parking is on the same building site and is conveniently accessible from the living units without having to pass through any lobby or interior court. This definition includes auto court, tourist court, motor hotel, but does not include accommodation for mobile homes or trailers. Excludes employee housing. Non-Conforming Buildings: A building, structure or portion thereof which lawfully existed at the time of the adoption of these regulations but which does not conform to all the heights and area regulations of the zone in which it is located, or which is so designed, erected or altered that it could not reasonably be occupied by a use permitted in the zone in which it is located. Nurseries and Greenhouses: Buildings and premises for the propagation, display, and retail sale of plants, vines, shrubs and trees, and the sale of horticultural materials when incidental thereto. Office: 3.57.1 Office, Business: An office which has as its main function the arrangement of business transactions, the holding of sales meetings and administrative conferences, the receiving of clients or payments or the keeping of records and accounts pertaining to the particular business. 3.57.2 Office, Professional:An office from which and at which a doctor or other practitioner of healing arts, a dentist, lawyer, engineer, architect, accountant or similar professional person may offer services, and which includes medical or dental laboratories. |
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| §3.58 §3.59 §3.60 §3.61 §3.62 §3.63 §3.64 §3.65 §3.66 §3.67 §3.68 §3.69 §3.70 §3.71 |
Owner:The person or persons, firm, corporation, or partnership holding legal or equitable title or recorded contract of purchase of property, or any person authorized by written instrument to act for the owner. Person:Any individual, public or private corporation, political subdivision, partnership, firm, trust or estate or any other legal entity whatsoever which is recognized in law as the subject of rights or duties. Planning Commission:The Planning Commission of the City of Ferndale, as created by City Ordinance, hereafter referred to as the Commission. Public Use: A use operated exclusively by a governmental agency or public agency, which has the purpose of serving the public health, safety, convenience or general welfare, and which includes but is not limited to such uses as schools, parks, playgrounds, educational, recreational and social facilities, libraries, museums, firehouses, courthouses, hospitals and administrative service facilities. Quasi-Public Use: A use operated by a private nonprofit educational, religious, recreational, charitable, fraternal, or medical institution, association, or organization, and including, but not limited to, such uses as churches, private schools, universities, community recreational, educational and social facilities, meeting halls or private hospitals. Recreational: 3.63.1 Recreational, Commercial:Recreation facilities open to the general public for a fee, or restricted to members when operated for profit as a business. 3.63.2 Recreational, Private, Noncommercial:Clubs or recreation facilities operated by a nonprofit organization and open only to bona fide members of such nonprofit organization and their guests. Residential Care Institution:The rooming or boarding of any aged or convalescent person whether ambulatory or non-ambulatory, for which a license is required by a county, state or federal agency. Residential Care Institution shall include: sanitarium, rest home and convalescent home. Roadside Stand: A temporary structure designed or used for the display or sale of agricultural products primarily produced on the premises upon which such a stand is located or produced upon other sites under the same ownership as that of such nonprofit organization and their guests. Routine Maintenance:See Section 3.48 Minor Repair. Secondary Dwelling Unit: A separate residential unit constructed prior to January 1, 2017, containing sleeping, kitchen and bathroom facilities, created on a lot zoned R-1 or R-S that already contains one legally created residential unit. (This section amended by Ordinance 2025-06 on 11/19/2025) Single Room Occupancy or SRO: Multiple-unit residential building(s) containing housing units that may have kitchen and/ bathroom facilities and are single room dwelling units or efficiency units as defined by the State Health and Safety Code. Each housing unit is occupied by no more than 2 persons, for no less than 30 days, and the unit is the occupants’ primary residence. A housing facility that is configured as SRO units that meets the State definitions for transitional housing or supportive housing shall be regulated as transitional housing or supportive housing as applicable. Setback Line:A line established by these regulations or by other ordinance or regulation to govern the placement of buildings or structures with respect to lot lines, streets or alleys. Sign: (This entire section was repealed by Ordinance 2013-02 on December 7, 2013). Stable: 3.71.1 Stable Private: A detached accessory building for the shelter of horses or similar hoofed animals for the use of the residents and their guests. |
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| §3.72 §3.73 §3.74 §3.75 §3.76 §3.77 §3.78 §3.79 §3.80 §3.81 |
3.71.2 Stable Public: A stable other than a private stable; generally, where horses are available for hire, or are sheltered and fed for compensation. Street: A public or private right-of-way that provides a primary means of access to abutting property. Street Line: The boundary between a street right-of-way and abutting property. Structure:Anything constructed, the use of which requires permanent location on the ground, or attachment to something having a permanent location on the ground, including, but not limited to: signs, fences, walls used as a fence, mailboxes, flag poles, solar panels, ham radio antenna, telecommunications facilities, wind turbine towers, and swimming pools, but excluding driveways, patios, or parking spaces where the area is unobstructed from the ground up. (This section amended by Ordinance 05-02 on 5/7/05.) Structural Alteration:Any change in the structural members of a building, such as bearing walls, columns, beams or girders. (This section amended by Ord. 2014-02 on 5/1/2014 and Ord. 2025-06 on 11/19/2025) Supportive Housing:As defined at Section 65582(n) of the Government Code means housing has no limit on the length of stay, is linked to onsite or offsite services, and is occupied by a target population. Supportive housing is a residential use that is permitted in the same manner as other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone, and subject only to the same regulations and procedures that apply to other residential uses of the same type in the same zone pursuant to Government Code Section 65583(c)(3). (This section amended by Ordinance 2025-06 on 11/19/2025) Supportive Services:As defined in Government Code Section 65582(o), supportive services include, but are not limited to, a combination of subsidized, permanent housing, intensive case management, medical and mental health care, substance abuse treatment, employment services, and benefits advocacy. Timber Production:The systematic harvesting and reseeding of timber stands in accordance with practices designed to maintain the productive capacity of the land, preserve the watershed and conserve the soil. Timber Products Processing Plants: Buildings and premises for the commercial processing of wood and wood products, including but not limited to, sawmills, lumber mills and plywood mills, but not including pulp mills. Pulp mills shall be classified as heavy industrial use and shall be permitted in the zones designed to accommodate such uses. Trailer(Amended by Ordinance 2014-02 on 5/1/2014): Any vehicle without motive power or designed to be drawn by a motor vehicle and to be used in such a manner as to permit temporary occupancy thereof as sleeping quarters or occupation or use as a selling or advertising device, or use for storage or conveyance of tools, equipment, or machinery, and so designed that it is mounted on wheels and may be used as a conveyance on highways and streets. The term “trailer” includes the term “camp trailer,” “trailer coach,” “automobile trailer,” “recreational vehicle (RV),” “motor home” and “house trailer,” except when the any of these fall within the definition of “mobile home.” Trailers are considered structures for the purpose of these regulations when they are parked in mobile home parks or trailer camps and are used on such sites for human habitation, offices, wash houses, storage or similar auxiliary services necessary for the human habitation of the court or camps. Trailer Camp: Any lot or parcel thereof or parcel of land which is used or offered as a location for one or more trailers of camping, weekend or temporary occupancy. As distinguished from a Mobile Home Park, a trailer camp is usually located in or adjacent to a recreation or resort facility and is primarily designed to serve as a seasonal facility or as a place of temporary residence for persons who have a permanent residence established elsewhere. |
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§3.82 Trailer Court or Trailer Park: See Mobile Home. §3.83 Transient: When used in conjunction with boarding or lodging, services that are charged for in units of less than one (1) month and where the majority of people utilizing such services remain for periods of less than three (3) months, except for bed and breakfast inns. This period shall be limited to a maximum of fourteen (14) consecutive days.
§3.84 Transitional Housing (§3.81 added by Ordinance 2014-02 on 5/1/2014): Defined in Section 50675.2 of the Health & Safety Code as buildings configured as rental housing developments, but operated under program requirements that call for the termination of assistance and recirculation of the assisted unit to another eligible program recipient at some predetermined future point in time, which shall be no less than six months.
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