Menifee Zoning Code Ch. 9.01 Purpose and Applicability

Contents:

9.01.010 Title

9.01.020 Purpose and Intent

9.01.030 Authority

9.01.040 Applicability

9.01.050 Conflicting Requirements

9.01.060 Status of Covenants and Agreements

9.01.070 Severability

This Title is known as the Planning and Zoning Code of the City of Menifee, hereinafter referred to as the Title.

The provisions of this Title are hereby established and adopted to protect and promote the public health, safety, morals, comfort, convenience, and welfare, and more particularly to:

1. Implement the goals and objectives of the general plan and to guide and manage development within the city in accordance with such plan.
2. Protect the physical, social, and economic stability of residential, commercial, industrial, and other land uses within the city to assure its orderly and beneficial development.
3. Reduce hazards to the public resulting from the inappropriate location, use, or design of buildings and other improvements.
4. Attain the physical, social, and economic advantages resulting from comprehensive and orderly land use and resource planning.

This Title is adopted pursuant to the authority granted to the City by Planning and Zoning Law (Government Code Section 65000 et seq.), the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq.), and other applicable requirements.

This Title applies to all land uses, structures, subdivisions, and development within the City, as follows:

1. New or Altered Land Uses or Structures. Compliance with this Title is required to lawfully establish, construct, reconstruct, alter, or replace any use of land or structure.

2. Existing Uses and Structures. An existing land use or structure is lawful only when it was legally established and is operated and maintained in compliance with all applicable provisions of this Title. See Chapter 9.15 (Non-conforming Uses and Structures) for more details.

3. Projects in Process. The enactment of this Title, or any amendments hereto, may have the effect of imposing different standards on new land uses, development, and/or structures than those that applied prior to enactment of this Title. Following the effective date of this Title the following provisions shall apply. Successive amendments to this Title shall specify their applicability to pending applications and projects not yet or under construction; in the event an amendment is silent on this matter, the following shall apply.

4. Private Projects.

5. Pending applications. All land use permit applications that are active and that have been determined by the Community Development Director to be complete before the effective date of this Title, or any amendments thereto, will be processed according to the regulations in effect when the application was deemed complete.

6. Approved projects not yet under construction or exercised. Any project approved prior to the effective date of this Title, which includes a use or improvement that does not conform to the regulations set forth herein, may be developed to the extent authorized by the approval, provided the approval has not expired or, where applicable, before a time extension approved prior to this effective date of this Title has expired, subject to the discretion of the City.

7. Projects under construction. A structure that is under construction pursuant to a valid building permit on the effective date of this Title, or any amendments thereto, may be completed and need not be changed to satisfy any new or different requirements of this Title as long as construction is being diligently pursued to completion and is consistent with applicable project specific timelines for completion.

8. Public Projects. No federal, state, county or city governmental project shall be subject to the provisions of this Title, including such projects operated by any combination of these agencies or by a private person for the benefit of any such government agency, unless the agency provides by contract or otherwise that the project shall be constructed or operated in compliance with any or all provisions of this Title.

The provisions of this Title shall not be deemed or construed to repeal, amend, modify, alter, or change any other City ordinance or provision of law not specifically repealed, amended, modified, altered, or changed herein. In the event the provisions of this Title conflict with any other City ordinance or provision of law, the more restrictive of any such provision shall apply, except as follows:

1. Specific Plans. Where a specific plan has been adopted containing specific use and development standards, the use and development standards contained in this Title shall not apply to the degree that they are not consistent with the use and development standards contained in the specific plan.
2. Development Agreements. Where a development agreement has been adopted containing specific use and development standards, the use and development standards contained in this Title shall not apply to the degree that they are not consistent with the use and development standards contained in the development agreement.

The provisions of this Title are not intended to abrogate any legally adopted easements, covenants or other agreements which are more restrictive than the provisions of this Title.

Should any section, chapter, paragraph, phrase or any portion of this Title be declared unconstitutional or invalid or set aside by any court of competent authority, such action shall not affect other sections, chapters, paragraphs, phrases or parts hereof as adopted or amended.