Fowler Municipal Code § 9-5.820 Design Review

The RM Multi-Family Residential Districts are intended primarily for the development of multi-family residential structures at densities consistent with policies of the General Plan as follows.

All uses shall be subject to the provisions of Article 21.

A. Any use permitted in the R zones.

B. Multi-family dwellings.

C. Accessory structures, located on the same site with a permitted use. See Article 21.

D. Enclosed swimming pools for either non-commercial individual or communal use, including fencing in conformance with the California Building Code or City standards.

E. Vehicle parking for personal transportation by occupants, their guests and employees, located on the same site; in no case shall a commercial vehicle exceed a weight of six thousand (6,000) pounds.

F. Small family day care home for up to eight (8) children as defined by Section 1597.44 of the Health and Safety Code.

G. Supportive housing.

H. Transitional housing.

(Ord. No. 2015-03, § 3, 5-19-2015)

The following uses shall be permitted, subject to the procedures prescribed in Article 24:

A. Enclosed temporary construction materials storage yards.

B. Gas and electric transmission lines, electrical transmission and distribution substations, communications equipment buildings, public service pumping stations, and elevated pressure tanks.

C. Rest homes and nursing homes; boarding or rooming houses.

D. Twenty-four hour care facilities for foster homes, for a maximum of six (6) individuals in addition to the residing family.

E. Private clubs and lodges.

F. Manufactured homes on permanent foundations.

G. Incidental and accessory structures and uses located on the same site as a use permitted by administrative approval or conditional use.

H. Expansion or remodeling of an existing nonconforming use of a structure or land, limited to fifty (50) percent or less of the value of existing structures, or re-establishment of a nonconforming use that has been damaged, except nonconforming signs and outdoor advertising structures, nonconforming uses occupying a structure with an assessed valuation of less than $100.00, and nonconforming fences, walls and hedges.

I. Garage or carport conversions subject to Article 21.

J. Large family day care home for up to fourteen (14) children as defined by Section 1597.465 of the Health and Safety Code.

Uses permitted subject to a conditional use permit shall be as follows (see Article 25):

A. Public and quasi-public uses of an educational or religious type including schools, nursery schools, private non-profit schools and colleges, churches, parsonages, and other religious institutions.

B. Public and private charitable institutions, hospitals, sanitariums, nursing homes, including a state-authorized, certified or licensed family care home or group home serving six (6) or fewer mentally disordered or otherwise handicapped persons, including rehabilitation homes for alcoholics and drug addicts, or dependent and neglected children, where such homes provide care on a twenty-four-hour basis.

C. Public uses of an administrative, public service, or cultural type including city, county, state or federal administrative centers and courts, libraries, museums, art galleries, police and fire stations and other public buildings, structures and facilities, public playgrounds, parks and community centers.

D. Mobile home parks, in accordance with the provisions of Article 21.

E. Expansion, remodeling, or additions to a conditional use that are not considered an incidental or accessory use.

F. Private clubs and lodges.

G. Bed and breakfast inns.

H. Senior citizen residential developments.

I. Planned Unit Development subject to provisions of Article 28.

J. Over 21.78 units/gross acre in the RM-3 district.

K. Day care center.

Fences, walls, and hedges shall be permitted in accordance with the provisions of Article 21.

A. The minimum area of a lot shall be seven thousand (7,000) square feet; provided, however, that there shall be no minimum lot area requirement in the following cases:

1. Lots of record as of the date of adoption of this ordinance.

2. Lots annexed to the City, of record at the time of such annexation, and that were not in violation of any county ordinance regulating subdivisions in effect at the time of annexation.

A. The minimum site area per dwelling unit shall be:

B. Where a nonconforming lot in the RM district contains less than four thousand (4,000) square feet, said lot shall be used for no more than one (1) dwelling unit.

A. Each site shall have not less than fifty (50) feet of frontage on a public street, except that those sites that front on a cul-de-sac may have a frontage of not less than fifty (50) feet provided that the width of the site as measured along the front yard setback line is at least fifty (50) feet. The minimum width of each site shall be fifty (50) feet. The minimum depth of each site shall be one hundred (100) feet.

B. In order to encourage consolidation of narrow and odd shaped parcels into contemporary building sites, a depth to width ratio exceeding two and one-half to one (2½:1) may be cause for site plan disapproval.

A. The maximum site area covered by structures shall not exceed fifty-five (55) percent.

A. Front Yard. The minimum front yard shall be fifteen (15) feet. Any mechanical equipment, including fixed pool equipment such as pumps, filters, diving boards and slides, shall not be located within the front yard or less than five (5) feet from an adjoining side property line.

B. Rear Yard. The minimum rear yard shall be ten (10) feet. Where construction involves more than one (1) story, the rear yard shall be increased by three (3) feet for each additional story. Where the site abuts an R District, the rear yard shall be increased by ten (10) feet for each additional story.

C. Side Yards. The minimum side yard shall be five (5) feet, subject to the following conditions:

1. On a reverse corner lot, the side yard adjoining the street shall be not less than fifteen (15) feet.

2. On a corner lot, the side yard adjoining a street shall be not less than ten (10) feet.

3. The side yard shall be increased by three (3) feet for each additional story over one (1) story; provided, however, that the side yard on the street side of a corner lot need not be greater than five (5) feet.

4. A side yard providing access to more than one (1) unit shall be not less than ten (10) feet.

A. Minimum distances between buildings used for human habitation shall be:

1. Between one-story parallel buildings, front to front, fifteen (15) feet. This distance shall be increased three (3) feet for each story of each building in excess of one story.

2. Between one-story parallel buildings, rear to rear, ten (10) feet. This distance shall be increased three (3) feet for each story of each building in excess of one (1) story.

3. Between side walls parallel with the front or rear walls of other buildings, ten (10) feet for one-story buildings. This distance shall be increased by three (3) feet for each story of each building in excess of one (1) story.

4. Between one-story parallel buildings, side to side, ten (10) feet. This distance shall be increased three (3) feet for each story of each building in excess of one (1) story.

5. In order to provide for obliquely aligned buildings, the distances specified above may be decreased by five (5) feet at one (1) building corner, if increased by an equal or greater distance at the outer corner.

6. In no event shall the minimum space between buildings be less than ten (10) feet.

B. Distances between accessory buildings shall be not less than ten (10) feet.

1. Distances between buildings used for human habitation and accessory buildings shall be not less than fifteen (15) feet.

2. Distances between parking areas and the front or entrance of a building shall be not less than fifteen (15) feet unless connected.

No building or structure shall have a height greater than thirty-five (35) feet, except as may be allowed under provisions of Article 27.

No sign shall be permitted except as prescribed in Article 22.

A. Parking within RM districts shall be provided in accordance with the following schedule:

One-half (½) of the required parking spaces shall be covered.

B. Guest parking—One (1) space per five (5) dwelling units for multi-family dwellings. Such spaces need not be covered but shall be clearly marked as guest parking.

C. Housing for the elderly—One (1) space for each dwelling unit, provided that sufficient space shall be set aside for one and one-half (1½) spaces for each dwelling unit in the event of a change of use to non-elderly housing.

To assure adequate access and circulation, frontage on and access to less than two (2) public streets may be cause for site plan disapproval. Public alley access may qualify as one means of access to a public street.

All multi-family developments shall have landscaping including irrigation, plants, and ground cover. Landscape plans shall be approved by the City prior to occupancy.

On each building site there shall be landscaped and usable recreational and leisure areas of at least one hundred (100) square feet per dwelling unit. Said area shall be conveniently located and accessible to each dwelling unit.

A. In addition to developed open space and recreation areas, the following areas may contribute to required recreational and leisure areas:

1. Private balconies and patios. Each square foot of balcony and patio space shall count as two (2) square feet of the requirement up to a maximum of fifty (50) square feet.

B. Fifty (50) percent of the spaces between buildings, exclusive of required yards, provided that such spaces shall have a minimum dimension of ten (10) feet.

C. Any yard or space between buildings in excess of that required.

No multi-family use may be established until a site plan has been submitted and approved pursuant to the provisions of Article 26.

Residential projects within RM districts shall be subject to the design review provisions of Article 16.