Sec. 705. Additional Standards and Regulations:

• A. Encroachments: Within the MU-D District, permanent structures or improvements, including but not limited to canopies, arcades, galleries, awnings, and seating, within the public right-of-way are allowed as follows:

  1. An encroachment agreement will be required and the agreement will at a minimum indemnify the county harmless for and from any and all losses, claims, suits, and damages in any way arising from, relating to or connected with the property owners activities undertaken pursuant to the encroachment, the property owner will protect and restore all property, both public and private, damaged as a result of the property owners activities, and obtain and maintain liability insurance if required by the county.

  2. The public right-of-way (sidewalk) may be used for outdoor seating/dining during regular business hours. The outdoor seating shall not obstruct sidewalk pedestrian traffic or create public health and safety hazards and shall be located along the building frontage of the sidewalk area.

  3. Development standards are as follows:

     • a. Minimum clear distance of 4 feet for pedestrian travel.

     • b. Minimum of 2 feet between structure/improvement and curb/landscape area.

     • c. Minimum of 8 feet of vertical clear area from sidewalk to structure.

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• B. Off-street Parking Areas, Aisles, Access Drives, Access Lanes and Off-street Loading Facilities:

  1. In addition to available on-street parking, off-street parking areas, aisles, access drives, access lanes and off-street loading facilities shall be provided on the site for each use as prescribed in Article 13, except within the MU-D District commercial/office/retail uses will provide 1 parking space for each 500 sq. ft. of net floor area.

  2. Within the MU-D District a reduction in required on-site parking can be off set by an off-site parking credit. The amount of parking spaces that can be used to reduce parking requirements is based on lot frontage to which the parking spaces exist to ensure equity throughout the district. A reduction of 3 parking spaces will allowed for each 50 feet of lot frontage.

  3. In the MU-D District: No off street parking is required for non-residential uses unless the use exceeds 3,000 square feet of gross floor area, in which case off-street parking shall be provided for the floor area in excess of 3,000 square feet as prescribed in Article 13.

  4. Garages or other enclosed or covered parking facilities for use by residents in the Mixed Use Districts shall not be significantly visible from the public street or adjacent bikeways, sidewalks or other pedestriam amenities. Residential parking shall be clearly signed and reserved for residents.

  5. Pedestrian Friendly Design: In Mixed-Use zoning districts, parking and vehicle drives shall be located away from building entrances, and not between building entrances and streets with pedestrian activity.

6. Accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units shall comply with Article 5, Section 507.C.6 of the Kings County Development Code.

• C. Fences, Walls, Gates, Hedges, and Screening and Landscaping: In order to ensure that fences, walls, gates, hedges, and screening and landscaping do not create traffic hazards at street or road intersections, and where driveways enter streets and roads, the following standards prescribed in this article shall be required by the Zoning Administrator or County Planning Commission for all new uses and major alterations and enlargement of existing uses. These requirements are to protect public health and safety, conserve water resources, and where appropriate, insulate surrounding land uses from their impact.

  1. Fences, Walls, and Hedges shall be permitted as follows:

     • a. Except in the MU-D District, where a site adjoins or is located across an alley from a R-1, RM, or RR zoning district, a solid wall or fence, vine covered open fence or compact evergreen hedge six feet in height shall be located on the property line common to such districts, except in a required front yard and/or Traffic Safety Visibility Area as defined in Article 25 of this Development Code.

     • b. In all Mixed Use Districts no solid fence, wall, hedge or shrub exceeding three feet in height shall be erected, planted or maintained within a required Traffic Safety Visibility Area.

     • c. No solid fence, open-type fence, wall, or gate, shall exceed seven feet in height if located in a required front, side, or rear yard. Noise attenuation fencing that is required as a mitigation measure is not limited to seven feet, but shall not exceed the height required in the mitigation measure.

     • d. No hedge or shrub shall exceed seven feet in height if located in a required front yard.

  2. Gates shall be permitted as follows:

     • a. Gates which are used for primary vehicular ingress and egress and which are opened and closed manually shall be setback so that the greater of the following distances are met from the property line being used for access:

       • (1) A minimum distance of 20 feet.

       • (2) A distance sufficient to ensure that vehicles used for a permitted use requiring a Site Plan Review or Conditional Use Permit are able to pull completely onto their property.

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• b. Gates used for regular vehicular ingress and egress and which are opened and closed electronically with a remote control may be located within any portion of the property being used for access to a driveway provided that:

  • (1) The property owner/occupant shall obtain a building permit from the building division for the installation of the electric gate operating mechanism and wiring. The property owner/occupant must also request and obtain a final inspection for the assigned building permit and demonstrate operation of the mechanism using the remote.

• (2) The gate must be operational at all times using a remote control device that allows the property owner/occupant to open and close the gate to enter the driveway area without exiting the vehicle.

  • (3) At any time that the gate is not operational using the remote control device the gate must either be locked in the open position or it must be removed entirely.

• c. Access gates to property which are not used for the primary vehicular ingress and egress,. such as an access gate to a rear yard to allow the parking of an RV, boat or similar use or for equipment access to be used in maintenance of the property, do not require additional setback from the fence line. Secondary access gates shall have locking mechanisms accessible only from the interior side of the gate.

• d. Gates with open-type decorative or architectural features within the front or street side yards shall not exceed eight feet in height.

Figure 7-1

3. General Fencing and Gate Requirements :

   • a. Any fence or wall over seven feet in height is a structure and requires a building permit prior to construction.

   • b. All heights in this Section shall be measured from the finished grade of site or the adjacent property, which ever is lower.

   • c. Fences, walls, hedges, gates, walks, driveways and retaining walls may occupy any required yard or other open spaces, subject to the limitations prescribed in the district regulations.

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4. Screening Requirements:

   • a. Open storage of materials attendant to a permitted use or conditional use shall be permitted only within an area surrounded or screened by a solid wall or fence six feet in height, provided that no materials or equipment shall be stored to a height greater than that of the wall or fence. The requirement for a solid or screened fence may be modified or eliminated for situations where law enforcement provides comments on the zoning permit application stipulating that the street side fence be an open-type fence to allow patrol officers to ensure there are no unauthorized persons in the yard after hours.

   • b. All mechanical or utility equipment, whether on the roof, ground or side of a building must be screened from view, above or below. The method of screening should be architecturally integrated with the structure in terms of materials, color, shape and size. The design of the screening should be done in concert with and as a part of the design of the building, rather than as an afterthought.

   • c. Roof mounted mechanical or utility equipment must be screened. The method of screening should be architecturally integrated with the structure in terms of materials, color, shape and size. It is preferable to screen equipment with permanent solid building elements (e.g. parapet wall) instead of after-the-fact add-on screening (e.g. wood or metal slats) which are not part of the structure.

   • d . Air conditioning units placed in individual windows and window transom areas are strongly discouraged.

Figure 7-2 Equipment Screening

5 . Landscaping and Maintenance:

• a. All new urban development shall provide and maintain shade trees and other landscaping along streets and within parking areas to reduce radiation heating.

• b. All new construction and rehabilitated landscape projects installed after January 1, 2010, are subject to and shall comply with the “Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance.” See Article 15 for additional information concerning specific landscaping requirements. See article 15 for additional requirements and information.

• c. All open and unlandscaped portions of any lot shall be maintained in good condition free from weeds, dust, trash and debris.

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• D. Signs in Mixed-Use Zoning Districts: Signs shall be allowed in compliance with the regulations contained in Article 14, and as prescribed below in Tables 7-3 and 7-4 below and the “Specific Limitations and Requirements” section following Table 7-3.

Table 7-3 Additional Regulations:

1. No sign other than a directional sign shall project more than 24 inches into a required rear yard or required interior side yard. No sign other than a sign required by law shall project more than 12 inches into a public right-of-way. No outdoor advertising structure shall project into a public right-of-way.

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2. No sign permitted by this Section shall be placed within 30 feet of a street intersection (intersecting curb lines) unless placed on a pole at least 12 feet above the ground or unless placed at a maximum height of three feet above ground.

3. No sign which faces and is located directly across the street from property situated in an R or RM District, shall be directly illuminated or flashing.

4. No red, green or amber lights or illuminated signs may be placed in such position that they could reasonably be expected to interfere with or be confused with any official traffic control device or traffic signal or official directional guide signs.

(Ord. No. 668-1-17, §35, 3/28/17)

(Ord. No. 668-1-17, §36, 3/28/17)

• E. General Provisions and Exceptions: All uses shall be subject to the general provisions and exceptions prescribed in Article 1. In addition, all permitted uses in the MU-D District must be conducted within completely enclosed buildings unless otherwise expressly authorized. This requirement does not apply to off-street parking or loading areas, and automated teller machines.

• F. Transit Stop Improvements: When transit stops are existing or proposed, they shall be fully integrated into the project site and/or at the focal point of the new development whenever practical. Building entrances and pedestrian walkways shall be designed to provide safe and efficient access to nearby public transit stops. The applicant for a development on property which is near or abuts a transit stop may be required to make transit stop improvements. Improvements may include the installation of a bus pad, turnouts, benches, trash receptacles (and service), shade/shelter, security lighting, bike racks, water features, and/or landscaping. Transit Stop Improvement Standards fall under the jurisdiction of Kings Area Rural Transit (KART) and, to some extent, Kings County Public Works, and the requirement for the installation of such improvements shall be coordinated with those agencies in order to comply with established standards.

• G. Exterior Lighting: Exterior lighting should be designed to be compatible with the architectural and landscape design of the project, so as not to cause a nuisance.

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1. All new proposed uses shall preserve the existing nighttime environment by ensuring that the outdoor lighting for the use is so arranged and/or hooded as to reflect light away from adjoining properties.

2. An appropriate hierarchy of lighting fixtures/structures and intensity should be considered when designing the lighting for the various elements of a project (i.e., building and site entrances, walkways, parking areas, or other areas of the site).

3. The use of exterior lighting to accent a building’s architecture is encouraged. All lighting fixtures shall be properly shielded to eliminate light and glare from impacting adjacent properties, and passing vehicles or pedestrians. If neon tubing is used to illuminate portions of a building it shall be concealed from view through the use of parapets, cornices or ledges. Small portions of exposed neon tubing may be used to add a special effect to a building’s architecture but this must be integrated into the overall design of the project.

4. To achieve the desired lighting level for parking and pedestrian areas, the use of several short, low intensity fixtures is encouraged over the use of a few tall fixtures that illuminate large areas.

• (Ord. No. 668-1-17, §37, 3/28/17)

• H. Resource Conservation: All property owners and residents in Kings County are highly encouraged to participate in resource conservation efforts to help preserve and conserve dwindling natural resources. All new development within the County may be subject to the following requirements, as applicable, as part of their development proposals.

  1. Water Meters: All new development within the Armona, Home Garden, Kettleman City, and Stratford Community Service District areas shall be required to install water meters to encourage water conservation.

2. Stormwater Drainage: All new development within the communities of Armona, Home Garden Stratford, Kettleman City, and Stratford shall integrate onsite stormwater drainage features such as small catch basins, rain gardens, and landscape depression basins into their site plans to increase the stormwater detention throughout the community.

   3. Drought Tolerant Landscaping: All new residential and commercial development in the communities of Armona, Home Garden and Stratford shall integrate drought tolerant landscaping and conservation fixtures with the structures to reduce the average per capita water use within the community.

• I. Community Design Guidelines: Recommended design guidelines for the communities of Armona, Home Garden, Kettleman City and Stratford are included in Chapters 11 through 14 of the 2035 Kings County General Plan and include the general guidelines that are peculiar to each of the communities. Specific design guidelines for Armona, Kettleman City and Stratford are available on-line or from the Community Development Agency upon request and serve to foster the overall community identity and applicants for all new land use permits are highly encouraged to incorporate applicable guidelines and design elements into all new projects.

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Article 8. Industrial Zoning Districts

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