Chapter 18.02 — PURPOSE AND APPLICABILITY OF ZONING CODE

This title, which contains the County's zoning regulations, shall be known as the "Merced County Zoning Code" and referred to as this "Zoning Code." (Ord. 1976 § 2, 2019)

• A. Purpose. This Zoning Code is intended to carry out the policies of the Merced County General Plan. More specifically, the purpose of this Code is as follows:

  1. To guide and regulate the future growth and development in Merced County;

  2. To protect the character and social and economic stability of residential, commercial, mixed use, industrial, and other private and public areas within the County, and to ensure the orderly and beneficial development of these areas;

  3. To prevent danger to public safety resulting from the locating of structures, and their use, and the use of land, adjacent to streets and highways which are a part of the Circulation Element of the General Plan, or which are important thoroughfares, in a manner which prevents interference with existing or prospective traffic movements on the County's streets and highways;

  4. To ensure long-term preservation and conservation of land used for productive agriculture, potential agricultural land, and agricultural-support facilities;

  5. To provide adequate air, sunlight, privacy, and convenience of access to property, and to ensure safety from fire, inundation, and other dangers; and

  6. To prevent overcrowding and congestion on the land.

• B. Intent. It is the intent of this Zoning Code to promote the orderly development of the County; promote and protect the public health, safety, comfort, convenience, morals, peace, and general welfare; protect the character, social diversity, and economic vitality of neighborhoods; and, to ensure the beneficial development of the County.

• C. Authority. This Zoning Code is enacted based on the authority vested in Merced County and the State of California, including, but not limited to, the State Constitution , Planning and Zoning Law (California Government Code Section 65000 et seq.), Subdivision Map Act (California Government Code Section 66410 et seq.), California Environmental Quality Act (California Public

Resources Code Section 21000 et seq.), the California Health and Safety Code , the County Charter, and the County Code.

(Ord. 1976 § 2, 2019)

This Zoning Code applies to all uses of land and structures, subdivisions, and development, regardless of ownership, within the unincorporated area of the County.

• A. Compliance Required. No structure shall be altered, erected, or reconstructed in any manner, nor shall any structure or land be used for any purpose, other than as allowed by this Zoning Code, except that the County shall be exempt from the provisions of this Zoning Code when the Director makes any of the following findings. However, the County shall make every reasonable effort to comply with these provisions to the maximum extent possible.

  1. Reasonable attempts have been made to comply with the regulations contained in this Zoning Code;

  2. The strict and literal interpretation and enforcement of this Zoning Code would inhibit the Department's ability to maintain public health, safety, and general welfare; or

  3. The granting of the exemption will not be detrimental to the public health, safety, and general welfare or materially injurious to properties or improvements in the vicinity.

• B. Subdivisions. A subdivision of land proposed within the County after the effective date of the ordinance adopting this Zoning Code shall comply with the minimum parcel size requirements of Article 2 (Zones, Allowable Uses, and Development Standards), other applicable requirements of this Zoning Code, and County Code Title 17 (Subdivisions).

• C. Continuation of an Existing Land Use. An existing land use is lawful and not in violation of this Zoning Code only when operated and maintained in compliance with applicable provisions of this Zoning Code and any condition(s) imposed on a discretionary application, including Article 5 (Nonconformities). However, the requirements of this Zoning Code are not retroactive in their effect on a land use that was lawfully established before the effective date of the ordinance adopting this Zoning Code or any applicable amendment, except as otherwise provided by Article 5 (Nonconformities).

• D. Minimum Requirements. The provisions of this Zoning Code shall be considered the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety, and general welfare. When this Zoning Code provides for discretion on the part of a Review Authority, the discretion may be exercised to impose more stringent requirements than required by this Zoning Code, as determined by the applicable Review Authority to be necessary to promote orderly land use and development, environmental resource protection, and the other purposes of this Zoning Code.

• E. Conflicting Requirements. Conflicts between different requirements of this Zoning Code, or between this Zoning Code and other regulations, shall be resolved in compliance with Section 18.04.020 (Rules of Interpretation).

• F. Other Requirements May Apply. Nothing in this Zoning Code eliminates the need for obtaining other permits required by the County, or a permit approval, or entitlement required by another applicable special district or agency, or other approvals required by the regulations of a State or Federal agency. The County shall not issue any permit, business license, or other approval if the structure or land use would violate the provisions of this Zoning Code. Permits issued in error shall be void.

• (Ord. 1976 § 2, 2019)

The provisions of this Zoning Code, as it existed before the effective date of Ordinance No. 1976, are repealed and superseded as provided in the ordinance enacting this title. No provision of this Zoning Code shall validate or legalize any land use, structure, or subdivision constructed, created, established, or maintained in violation of the County's Zoning Code as they existed before repeal by the ordinance enacting this Zoning Code, except as addressed by nonconformities created by this Zoning Code, in compliance with Article 5 (Nonconformities). (Ord. 1976 § 2, 2019; Ord. 1990 § 1, 2020)

• A. Zoning Code is the Primary Tool. This Zoning Code is the primary tool used by the County to implement the goals, policies, and actions of the General Plan and any applicable community plan.

  1. General Plan. The General Plan is a comprehensive, long-range, general policy statement for the entire community. The General Plan designates appropriate locations and densities for residential, mixed use, commercial, industrial, agricultural, public, and open space uses.

  2. Zoning Code. This Zoning Code is a specific statement of allowable uses of land by zone designed to control the use, type, bulk, height, space, and location of structures and land. This Zoning Code is intended to be applied to the County based on land use designations established in the General Plan.

• B. Consistency with the General Plan. The Board intends that this Zoning Code be consistent with the General Plan and any applicable community plan, and that any development, land use, or subdivision approved in compliance with this Zoning Code shall also be consistent with the General Plan and any applicable community plan. A proposed use is considered to be compatible, conforming, and consistent with the General Plan, and any applicable community plan, when all of the following conditions exist:

  1. Compatible. The proposed use is compatible with the description of the Land Use Plan designation in which the use is located, as shown by the Land Use Plan Map, and as described in the text of the General Plan and any applicable community plan;

  2. Conformance. The proposed use is in conformance with the actions, goals, policies, programs, and maps, and the intent of the General Plan and any applicable community plan; and

  3. Consistent. The proposed use is to be established and maintained in a manner which is consistent with all elements of the General Plan and any applicable community plan and all applicable provisions contained in these plans.

• C. Where Inconsistencies Exist. Where inconsistencies do exist between the General Plan and this Zoning Code, the Zoning Code shall control the use and development of the land until the Board adopts an amendment to achieve consistency with the existing or current General Plan.

• (Ord. 1976 § 2, 2019)

The enactment of this Zoning Code shall not terminate nor otherwise affect vested land use development permits, approvals, or agreements authorized under the provisions of any ordinance or resolution, nor shall violation of any prior ordinance or resolution be excused by the adoption of this Zoning Code.

(Ord. 1976 § 2, 2019)

The enactment of this Zoning Code, or an amendment to this Zoning Code, may have the effect of imposing different standards on a new land use than those that applied to existing development (For example, this Zoning Code or a future amendment could require more off-street parking spaces for a particular land use than the former regulations). The following provisions determine how the requirements of this Zoning Code will apply to a development project that is in progress at the time this Zoning Code or an amendment goes into effect.

• A. Application Complete. A planning permit application (Article 6: Permit Processing Procedures), which has been accepted by the Department as complete before the effective date of this Zoning Code or any amendment, shall be processed in compliance with the requirements in effect when the application was accepted as complete.

• B. Project Under Construction. A project for which a Building Permit has been issued under the provisions of earlier ordinances of the County which are in conflict with this Zoning Code, and on which substantial construction, as determined by the Director, has been performed by integration of materials on the site before the effective date of this Zoning Code, nevertheless may be continued and completed in compliance with the plans and specifications upon which the permit was issued.

• C. Subdivision Maps. Subdivision maps shall be processed in compliance with the Subdivision Map Act (Government Code Section 66410 et seq.) and Title 17 (Subdivisions).

• (Ord. 1976 § 2, 2019)

If any portion of this Zoning Code is held to be invalid, unconstitutional, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the determination shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Zoning Code. The Board hereby declares that this Zoning Code and each article, chapter, section, subsection, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and portion thereof is adopted without regard to the fact that one or more portions of this Zoning Code may be declared invalid, unconstitutional, or unenforceable.

(Ord. 1976 § 2, 2019)