Modoc County Municipal Code Ch. 18.06 Definitions

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 236-162, adopted Mar. 24, 2026, amended Ch. 18.06 in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former Ch. 18.06, §§ 18.06.010—18.06.1120, pertained to similar subject matter, and derived from Ord. 236-73 Exh. A(part), adopted in 1991; Ord. No. 236-146, adopted Dec. 12, 2017; and Ord. No. 236-149, § 2, adopted July 28, 2021.

The words and phrases set out in this chapter shall have the designated meanings in this title, unless the context otherwise requires.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Access" means the means or way by which pedestrians or vehicles have entrance to, or exit from, a lot.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Accessory building or use" means a building or use incidental, appropriate, and subordinate to the primary or permitted use of the lot and which is located on the same lot; or a building or use that is customarily incidental to a permitted use and so necessary or commonly expected that it cannot be supposed that this title intended to prevent it. "Accessory use" does not include waste facilities except when a customary and integral part of an industrial use. See chapter 18.150, Interpretive actions.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Accessory structure" means a structure that is accessory and incidental to a dwelling located on the same lot.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Affordable housing development" means any development project that results in adding residential dwellings or mixed use projects consisting of at least two-thirds of the square footage of the buildings devoted to residential uses which are restricted to lower income families as defined in California Health and Safety Code sections 50052 and 50106. Affordable housing development may also include supportive and transitional housing (also see "Housing development").

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Agricultural operation" is a general term which means the activity of growing and harvesting crops; the rearing and management of livestock and bees; the production of plants and animals useful to man. Except as otherwise specified, an agricultural operation may include uses on all contiguous parcels in the same ownership, lease, occupancy, or management, such that they form a single agricultural operation.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Commercial agricultural processing facilities" means the following subject to the requirements imposed by the zone in which the lot is located: Facilities used for the handling, treatment, or change in agricultural products to a more refined or finished state (1) which are not accessory to a bona fide agricultural operation in which such products were produced, or (2) which are accessory to a bona fide agricultural operation where a portion of the agricultural products being processed are not produced by the same agricultural operation. "Commercial agricultural processing facilities" does not include such facilities when accessory to a bona fide agricultural operation where the resulting product is consumed or used in the same agricultural operation rather than marketed for direct or indirect compensation; nor does it include timber or wood processing facilities.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Commercial agricultural storage facilities" means facilities used for the handling for storage, or storage of, agricultural products which are not accessory to a bona fide agricultural operation in which at least fifty percent of such products were produced.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Airport" means any area of land or water designed and used for the taking off and landing of aircraft and appurtenant areas to be used for airport buildings, facilities, or rights-of-way. "Airport" does not include private airstrip.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Private airstrip" means one airstrip and/or heliport accessory to, and for the benefit of, uses permitted in the principal zone in which the use is located, and which is used, or intended for use, by a segment of the public, private group, or organization, as distinguished from the public at large.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Animal shelter or clinic" means a lot or building in which four or more dogs, cats, or animals at least six months of age are kept commercially for board, propagation, training, sale, or care, including veterinary hospitals.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Assemblage of people" means the gathering of more than two thousand people at any one time at an event such as a circus, carnival, fair, outdoor concert, revival, filming, or similar uses involving the temporary or very intermittent assemblage of people, automobiles, or other property, and which does not involve permanent structural improvements or changes to the natural environment. "Assemblage of people" does not include the gathering of people at a location or facility designed for such activities.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Automobile wrecking". See Junkyard.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Bed and breakfast guest facility" means an owner-occupied one-family dwelling which provides at least three, but not more than five, guest rooms without individual kitchen facilities and usually without individual entrances for temporary sleeping accommodations for overnight guests. Such use may include meal service limited to the overnight guests. A guest house may serve as one guest room.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Board of supervisors" means the board of supervisors of the county.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Boarding or rooming house" means a building where lodging is provided for compensation to four or more persons living independently from each other. Meals may be included. A "boarding or rooming house" does not constitute a residential care facility.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Building" means a roofed structure designed or used for the support, shelter, or enclosure of persons, animals, vehicles, or material of any kind. "Building" does not include vehicles or temporary structures such as tents.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Building height" means the vertical distance from the grade to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof, to the deck line of a mansard roof, or to the average height of the highest gable of a pitch or hip roof.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Main building" means a building, including a manufactured dwelling, in which the principal use of the land is conducted. Every dwelling is a main building. There may be more than one main building on a lot.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Building site" means an area of land occupied, or intended to be occupied, by uses and a building or interrelated buildings permitted in the principal zone in which the land is located, together with all the area required to meet the minimum lot size and development standards under the subject zone, including access. "Building site" may encompass the entirety of a lot or parcel, or a portion of a lot or parcel. See Lot and chapter 18.110, Substandard building site.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Confined building site" means an area of land occupied by uses and a building or interrelated buildings permitted in the principal zone in which the land is located, together with a minimum amount of intensively used or disturbed area around such uses and buildings, including the area required to meet all sewage disposal requirements including on-site system replacement areas, parking, access, and yard regulations in the subject zone. "Confined building site" may encompass the entirety of a lot or parcel or a portion of a lot or parcel, and will often encompass an area less than the minimum lot size required in the subject zone.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Campground" means land or premises used or intended to be used, let, or rented for temporary occupancy by campers traveling by automobile or recreational vehicles, or use by tents or similar quarters.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Adult day care center" shall mean a state licensed day care facility providing care and supervision for seven or more adults for periods of less than twenty-four hours for any client.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Child day care center large (child)" shall mean commercial or non-profit child day care facilities designed and approved to accommodate fifteen or more children, or fewer than fifteen children in a nonresidential building. Includes infant centers, preschools, sick child centers, and school-age day care facilities. These may be operated in conjunction with a school or church facility, or as an independent land use.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Family day care home," as defined by Health and Safety Code section 1596.78, a home that regularly provides care, protection and supervision for fourteen or fewer children, in the provider's own home, for periods of less than twenty-four hours per day, while the parents or guardians are away, and is either a large family day care home or a small family day care home. (1) Large family day care homes are homes that provide family day care for seven to fourteen children, inclusive of children under the age of ten years who reside at the home. (2) Small family day care home means a home that provides family day care for eight or fewer children, inclusive of children under the age of ten years who reside at the home.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Health care facility" means a facility operated for the diagnosis, care, and treatment of human illness, physical or mental, including convalescence. Such facilities may include hospitals, convalescent homes, clinics, community clinics, and skilled nursing/intermediate care facilities providing twenty-four hour inpatient care, which may include skilled nursing, pharmaceutical services, and an activity program if more than six persons are served. A health care facility must be licensed as a medical institution and provides twenty-four-hour medical care.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Condominium" means an estate in real property consisting of an undivided interest in common in a portion of a parcel of real property together with a separate interest in space in a residential, industrial, or commercial building on such property, such as an apartment, office, or store. Condominium may include a separate interest in other portions of the real property.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"County" means Modoc County.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Density" means the number of dwelling units per gross acre (including public road improvements and dedications).

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Density bonus" means a density increase over the otherwise maximum permitted residential density under the land use element of the general plan in accordance with Government Code sections 65915 through 65918.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Accessory dwelling" means an attached or a detached residential dwelling unit that provides complete independent living facilities for one or more persons and is located on the same lot with a proposed or existing primary residence. It shall include permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation on the same parcel as the single-family or multifamily dwelling is or will be situated. An accessory dwelling unit also includes an efficiency unit, as defined in California Health and Safety Code section 17958.1, and a manufactured home, as defined in California Health and Safety Code section 18007 (refer to section 18.100.010(E)).

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Junior accessory dwelling" means a unit that is no more than five hundred square feet of interior livable space in size and contained entirely within a single-family residence. A junior accessory dwelling unit may include separate sanitation facilities or may share sanitation facilities with the existing structure. See section 18.06.300 Dwelling, manufactured.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Manufactured dwelling" or "manufactured home" shall mean a structure constructed on or after June 15, 1976, is transportable in one or more sections, is eight body feet or more in width, or forty body feet or more in length, in the traveling mode, or when erected on site, is three hundred twenty or more square feet, is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a foundation when connected to required utilities, and includes plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein as set forth in Health and Safety Code section 18007. "Manufactured home" includes any structure that meets all the requirements of this paragraph which the manufacturer files a certification and complies with standards established under the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Act of 1974. The term does not include a recreational vehicle or a mobile home.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Multiple-family dwelling" means structure containing three or more dwelling units. Multi-unit dwellings include: triplexes, fourplexes (building under one ownership with three or four dwelling units, respectively, in the same structure); apartments (five or more units in a single building, and other building types containing multiple dwelling units (for example, courtyard housing, row houses, stacked flats, etc.) See also "Dwelling, two-family."

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"One-family dwelling" means a detached building, townhouse or condominium containing one dwelling unit (single-family dwelling).

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Primary dwelling" means the single-family dwelling or each multifamily dwelling unit but does not include an accessory or junior accessory units. An attached garage is considered part of the primary dwelling unit.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Proposed dwelling" means a dwelling that is the subject of a permit application and that meets the requirements for permitting.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Two-family dwelling" means a building containing two independent dwellings (duplex).

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Dwelling unit" means a room or group of internally connected rooms that have sleeping, cooking, eating and sanitation facilities, which constitute an independent housekeeping unit, occupied by or intended for one household on a long-term basis. "Dwelling unit" also includes a manufactured dwelling whether or not installed on a foundation. "Dwelling unit" does not include a tent, recreational vehicle, travel trailer or other vehicle defined in the California Vehicle Code.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Efficiency unit" means the same meaning as defined in section 17958.1 of the Health and Safety Code.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Large. Employee housing or farmworker housing" means housing consisting of no more than thirty-six beds in a group quarters or twelve units or spaces designed for use by a single family or household is treated as agricultural use as described in California Health and Safety Code section 17021.6. This includes housing that complies with California Health and Safety Code section 17008, including temporary mobile homes and any attached or detached dwelling unit used to house farm or agricultural workers and their family members.

"Small. Employee housing or farmworker housing" means housing for six or fewer persons is treated as a single-family structure and residential use as described in California Health and Safety Code section 17021.5. This includes housing that complies with California Health and Safety Code section 17008, including temporary mobile homes and any attached or detached dwelling unit used to house farm or agricultural workers and their family members.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Emergency shelter" means housing with minimal supportive services, for homeless persons that is limited to occupancy of six months or less by a homeless person. Emergency shelters include interim interventions, including but not limited to, navigation centers, bridge housing, and respite or recuperative care. No individual or household may be denied emergency shelter because of an inability to pay.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Commercial energy development or facilities" means the exploration, drilling, removal, or use of oil, gas, geothermal, biomass, hydroelectric, coal, wind, solar, and other forms of energy, or the production and transmission of energy by a person subject to the jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commission, when the use is not clearly accessory to a use permitted in the principal zone in which the use is located, or when the energy is intended for sale, resale, or distribution off the lot or parcel. "Commercial energy development or facilities" does not include private energy development.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Private energy development" means exploration, drilling, removal, production or use of energy when accessory to, and for the benefit of, a use permitted in the principal zone in which the use is located, when the developer is not subject to the jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commission, and when such energy is not for sale, resale, or distribution off the lot or parcel.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Commercial energy exploration" means the evaluation of an area to determine the presence and characteristics of oil, gas, geothermal, or other resources, including exploratory wells or observation wells. "Commercial energy exploration" is excluded from the meaning of private energy development.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Facility or facilities" means all contiguous land and structures, other appurtenances, access, and improvements on the land necessary for the use.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Factory-built housing" means a residential building, dwelling unit or an individual dwelling room or combination of rooms thereof or building component, assembly or system manufactured in such a manner that all concealed parts or processes of manufacture cannot be inspected before installation at the building site without disassembly, damage or destruction of the part, including units designed for use as part of an institution for resident or patient care, that is either wholly manufactured or is in substantial part manufactured at an offsite location to be wholly or partially assembled onsite in accordance with building standards published in the California Building Standards Code and other regulations adopted pursuant to California Health and Safety Code section 19990. Factory-built housing does not include a mobile home, a recreational vehicle or a commercial modular.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Family" means an individual or two or more persons occupying a dwelling and living together as a single housekeeping unit.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Farm forestry" means tree farming and timber production, including logging operations, but excluding any permanent facilities for timber or by-product processing.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

See section 18.06.363 Employee housing.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Commercial feed lot" means yards or other facilities used for the feeding of at least fifty head of livestock which are not accessory to a bona fide agricultural operation in which at least fifty percent of such livestock were produced. "Commercial feed lot" does not include any confined area used only for winter or occasional feeding, or any area where livestock are not maintained in close quarters.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Gross floor area" means the total interior floor area of all stories of a building or structure, including basements and any aboveground stories.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Floorspace" means the gross floor area of a detached accessory dwelling unit as measured to the outside surface of exterior walls, including its living area, basement area whether conditioned or unconditioned, and any garage or other enclosed accessory structure attached to the detached accessory dwelling unit.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"General plan" means the general plan of the county and all elements thereof.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Grade (ground level)" means the average of the finished ground level at the center of all walls of the building. Where walls are parallel to and within five feet of the street right-of-way, the ground level shall be the elevation of the crown of the street at a point opposite the center of such front wall.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Guest house" means a detached building or portion thereof, containing less than three hundred twenty square feet, without cooking or kitchen facilities, designed or used as sleeping quarters for guests, but not more than one family, which is clearly accessory and incidental to the principal dwelling on the same lot.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Guest ranch" means a commercial establishment, set in ranch-type setting, where patrons participate in outdoor, recreational, and ranching activities, for which the proprietors are compensated. It may contain guestrooms which are let or hired out. When fewer than twenty persons can be accommodated at any one time, a guest ranch may be included within the meaning of low intensity recreational uses.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Guest room" means a room which is intended, arranged, or designed to be occupied by guests, but in which no provision is made for cooking.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Home occupation" means an accessory use of a dwelling unit or accessory building on the same lot for gainful employment involving the manufacture, provision, or sale of goods and/or services, when the use is conducted entirely within the dwelling or accessory building such that no outdoor storage or activity takes place, no persons other than the inhabitants of the dwelling are employed, and no advertising occurs on or near the premises except that one nameplate which does not exceed twelve inches by six inches containing the name and/or occupation may be attached on and flush with the dwelling or accessory building.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Hotel" means a building which is designed, intended, or used for the accommodation of tourists, transients, and permanent guests for compensation, and in which no provision is made for cooking in individual rooms or suites of rooms.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Housing development" means any development project that results in adding residential dwellings or mixed use projects consisting of at least two-thirds of the square footage of the buildings devoted to residential uses. Housing development shall also include supportive and transitional housing (also see section 18.100.010(F), "Housing development").

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Impact fee" has the same meaning as the term "fee," as defined in subdivision (b) of Government Code section 66000, except that it also includes fees specified in section 66477. "Impact fee" does not include any connection fee or capacity charge by a local agency, special district, or water corporation.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Junk" means fabricated items which are either abandoned or no longer usable for the purpose for which they were made, and which are not presently being restored or repaired regardless of whether such items are being held for storage or sale: "Junk" does not include agricultural machinery, vehicles, or parts thereof when accessory to an agricultural operation as a permitted use.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Junkyard" means the use of more than two hundred square feet of the area on any lot, parcel or contiguous lots for the storage or keeping of junk, including scrap metal or other scrap materials, and/or for the dismantling or wrecking of automobiles or other vehicles or machinery; or three or more inoperable, unregistered vehicles when open to the public view, except in an RR, RH, RL or RT zone no unregistered or inoperable vehicles are permitted for more than thirty days when open to the public view. "Junkyard" does not include agricultural machinery, vehicles, or parts thereof when accessory to an agricultural operation as a permitted use.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Living area" means the interior habitable area of a dwelling unit, including basements and attics, but does not include a garage or any accessory structure.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Lot" means a legally created parcel or subdivision lot that (1) is used or intended to be used for the conduct of a use permitted or requiring a use permit together with its accessory uses, (2) provides an area upon which not more than one building site may be created, unless applicable zone regulations provide otherwise, or pursuant to an approved site plan, use permit, or similar entitlement, and (3) has its principal frontage on a street or other legal access. The terms "parcel" or "tract of land" may be used interchangeably with "lot" when the land conforms to this section. A lot or parcel designated on the assessor's maps is not necessarily a "parcel" or "lot" for the purposes of this title.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Corner lot" means a lot abutting two or more streets, at their intersection.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Lot coverage" means the amount of lot area covered by the vertical projection of any structure, excluding any structure not extending above grade. Lot coverage shall not include swimming pools and shall not include underground accessory structures such as septic tanks, gas tanks or water and sewer lines.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Lot depth" means the average horizontal distance between the front lot line and the rear lot line.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Flag lot" means an "L" shaped lot in which one arm of the lot, not less than sixty feet in width unless otherwise allowed, provides access frontage and is used solely as a driveway.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Interior lot" means a lot other than a corner lot.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Lot line" means the property line bounding a lot.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Front lot line" means the lot line separating the lot from the street. In the case of a corner lot, the shortest lot line along a street, except, when a one-family dwelling faces the longest lot line along a street, such line shall be considered the front lot line.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Rear lot line" means a lot line which is opposite and most distant from the front lot line. In the case of an irregular, triangular, or other shaped lot, a line thirty feet in length within the lot parallel to and at a maximum distance from the front lot line.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Side lot line" means any lot line not a front or rear lot line.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Lot size" means the total horizontal area between lot lines. See section 18.110.020 in reference to gross versus net area, and variations based on aliquot part sectional subdivisions.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Lot width" means the average horizontal distance between the side lot lines, ordinarily measured parallel to the front lot line.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Low barrier navigation center" means a housing shelter focused on "Housing first", low-barrier, service-enrichment for the purpose of moving people into permanent housing. In accordance with California Government Code sections 65660 through 65668, this housing shelter use provides temporary living facilities while case managers connect individuals experiencing homelessness to income, public benefits, health services, shelters and housing (refer to sections 18.100.010 and 18.110.090).

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Manufactured home" means a structure constructed on or after June 15, 1976, is transportable in one or more parts, is eight body feet or more in width or forty body feet or more in length, in the traveling mode or when erected on site, is three hundred twenty or more square feet, is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a single-family dwelling with or without a foundation when connected to the required utilities and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems contained therein. "Manufactured home" also includes structure that meets all the requirements of this paragraph except the size requirements and with respect to which the manufacturer voluntarily files a certification and complies with the standards established under the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Act of 1974.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Ministorage" means any structure built with compartments to be used for individual storage of household items by three or more occupants.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Mobilehome" means a structure that was constructed prior to June 15, 1976, is transportable in one or more sections, is eight body feet or more in width, or forty body feet or more in length, in the traveling mode, or when erected on site, is three hundred twenty or more square feet, is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a single-family dwelling with or without a foundation when connected to required utilities, and includes plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein. "Mobilehome" includes any structure that meets all the requirements of this paragraph and complies with state standards for mobilehomes in effect at the time of construction. Mobilehome does not include a commercial modular, as defined in section 18001.8, factory-built housing, as defined in section 19971, a manufactured home, as defined in section 18007, a multifamily manufactured home, as defined in section 18008.7, or a recreational vehicle, as defined in section 18010.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Mobilehome park" means any area or tract of land where two or more mobile home or manufactured home lots are rented or leased or held out for rent or lease to accommodate mobile homes and/or manufactured homes used for human habitation. The rent paid for any such mobile or manufactured home shall be deemed to include rental for the lot it occupies.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Motel" means a building or group of buildings on the same lot, containing guest rooms or suites of rooms, which rooms are intended to be or are used primarily for the accommodation of transient automobile travelers.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Nonconforming structure or use" means a structure or use which was lawfully existing at the time the ordinance codified in this title became effective, or any amendment thereto becomes effective, which does not conform to the requirements of the zone in which it is located.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Nonconforming zoning condition" means a physical improvement on a property that does not conform with current zoning standards.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Objective standards" means standards that involve no personal or subjective judgment by a public official and are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and uniform benchmark or criterion available and knowable by both the development applicant or proponent and the public official.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Owner" means a person having title to real property, singly or jointly, in fee simple, life estate, or under a term of ten years or more.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Parking space" means an accessible and usable space, which conforms to the area requirements in this title, located off the street and permanently reserved for the temporary storage of one automobile.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Tandem parking space" means parking spaces for two or more automobiles when they are parked on a driveway or in any other location on a lot, lined up behind one another.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Person" means every natural person, firm, corporation or partnership, association, social or fraternal organization, estate, trust, receiver, syndicate, branch of government, or any other group or combination acting as a unit.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Personal service" means services such as those of a barber, beautician, or cosmetologist; photographic studio; studios and schools of the arts, music and dance; or interior decorators not providing upholstery or repair services or retail sales on the premises.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Planning commission" means the planning commission of the county.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Planning director" means the planning director of the county.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Professional office" means the place of business of a person engaged in a profession, such as an accountant, architect, attorney, professional engineer, surveyor, insurance agent, real estate broker, landscape architect, medical doctor, or dentist.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Public transit" means a location, including, but not limited to, a bus stop or train station, where the public may access buses, trains, subways, and other forms of transportation that charge set fares, run on fixed routes, and are available to the public.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Public use" means those uses of land or buildings which are open to and/or serve the public at large, or often singularly meet a vital community need, as characterized in this section. For the purposes of this title public use includes, but is not limited to, public parks and recreation areas, reservoirs, schools, preschools employing teachers, human cemeteries, fire halls, community halls or centers, libraries, museums, administrative offices, and accessory corporation and equipment yards, and similar uses. A public use or building shall be determined by the nature of its use and not by ownership or management. "Public use" also includes uses such as parochial or private schools and other uses that are similar in nature and impact to uses typically operated as public uses. For the purposes of this title "public use" does not include (1) public utilities or quasi-public uses; (2) waste facilities, including solid or hazardous waste storage, treatment, transfer, disposal, or injection facilities; or (3) airports.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Public utility" means the use of land or buildings for public utility purposes by a person providing pipeline, gas, electrical, telephone, telegraph, water, or sewage services that are subject to the jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commission. "Public utility" also includes the use of land for utility purposes whether or not owned, controlled, or operated by a public entity, when services are performed for, or commodities delivered to, the public or a portion thereof. Transmission relay, repeater, translator, and radio and television tower and equipment, and cable television, microwave towers, and similar communications equipment are also included. "Public utility" does not include (1) administration offices or maintenance yards except when accessory to a public utility located on the same parcel or lot, (2) distribution lines or systems, (3) public or quasi-public uses, or (4) solid or hazardous waste facilities.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Quasi-public use" means a noncommercial building or use that is open to the public and/or serves an identified membership and/or partisan cause, including churches, sororities, fraternal organizations, offices for social, partisan, or political organizations, or unions. A quasi-public building or use is determined by the nature of use, not by ownership or management.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Commercial recreational facility" means a recreational facility designed for use by twenty or more persons, regardless of whether the users are the general public, a club or organization, or the owners of the facility. "Commercial recreational facility" also includes riding stables, guest ranches, and camp sites, when designed or used by twenty or more people.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Low intensity recreational use" means recreational uses that are clearly accessory and incidental to the permitted uses in the principal zone, where there is no noticeable change in the use of the land, and no new building sites are created, except as stated in the particular zone. A bed and breakfast guest facility may be used in connection with a low intensity recreational use. "Low intensity recreational use" includes, but is not limited to, hunting and fishing clubs, wildlife management, small scale guest ranch, equestrian activities, hiking, and nature experiences, or campground with five or fewer camp sites.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Recreational vehicle" means a motorized or nonmotorized vehicle, not exceeding eight feet in width or forty feet in length, designed or used for temporary occupancy, and which does not require special permits for movement on the public highways.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Recreational vehicle park" means any area or tract of land where one or more spaces or lots are rented, let, or held out for rent or lease, to owners or users of recreational vehicles for temporary occupancy.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Recyclable material" means reusable material, including but not limited to, metals, glass, plastic, paper, newspaper, bottles, cans, and containers which are intended for reuse, remanufacture, or reconstitution for the purpose of using the altered form. "Recyclable material" does not include refuse, hazardous materials, ash, industrial waste, demolition or construction wastes, or appliances. "Recyclable material" may include used motor oil collected and transported as provided in the California Health and Safety Code.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Recycling collection facility" means a facility for the acceptance by donation, redemption, or purchase, of recyclable materials from the public. A small recycling collection facility occupies an area of not more than five hundred square feet, and may include a mobile unit, a bulk reverse vending machine or grouping of reverse vending machines, kiosk type units which may include permanent structures, or unattended containers placed for the collection of recyclable materials. A large recycling collection facility occupies an area of more than five hundred square feet and may include permanent structures.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Recycling facilities" are a general class of buildings and uses for the collection and/or processing of recyclable materials. Recycling facilities include (1) recycling collection facilities such as reverse vending machines, small collection facilities, and large collection facilities, and (2) recycling processing facilities categorized as light or heavy. "Recycling facilities" does not include storage containers or processing activities located on the premises of a residential, commercial, or industrial use when used solely for the recycling of material generated by such residential, commercial, or industrial use.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Recycling processing facility" means a building or enclosed space used for the collection and preparation of materials for efficient shipment, or to an end-user's specifications such as baling, crushing, compacting, mechanical sorting, shredding, cleaning, and remanufacturing of recyclable materials. A light recycling processing facility (1) occupies less than forty-five thousand square feet of gross collection, processing, and storage area, (2) has up to two outbound truck shipments per day, and (3) is limited to baling, briquetting, crushing, compacting, grinding, shredding, and sorting source-separated recyclable materials and repairing of reusable materials sufficient to qualify as a certified processing facility. A light recycling processing facility shall not shred, compact, or bale ferrous metals other than food or beverage containers. A heavy recycling processing facility is any recycling processing facility other than a light processing facility.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Licensed residential care facility" means any state licensed family home, group care facility or similar facility family home, group care facility or similar facility providing twenty-four hour non-medical care for persons in need of personal services, supervision or assistance essential for sustaining the activities of daily living or for the protection of the individual. A small residential care facility provides care for a maximum of six persons, while a large residential care facility provides care for seven or more persons.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Unlicensed residential care facility" means any family home, group home, group care facility, or similar facility, not required to be licensed by the state and operated as a single housekeeping unit, maintained and operated to provide twenty-four hour nonmedical care of persons in need of personal services, supervision, or assistance essential for sustaining the activities of daily life or for the protection of the individual. A small residential care facility provides care for a maximum of six persons, while a large residential care facility provides care for seven or more persons.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Service station" means a building or use designed primarily for the supplying of motor fuel, oil, lubrication, and accessories to motor vehicles, but excluding major repair or overhaul.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Sign" means any visual device whatsoever and its support designed or used for communicating a message, or identifying or attracting attention to a premises, product, service, person, organization, business, or event. "Sign" does not include such devices when not visible from off the lot.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Appurtenant sign" means any sign that draws attention to or communicates information about a business, service, commodity, accommodation, attraction, or other enterprise or activity that exists or is sold, conducted, offered, maintained, or provided on the lot where the sign is located.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Building sign" means any sign attached parallel or painted on any exterior wall face of a building.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Freestanding sign" means any sign permanently supported by one or more poles, braces, or other supports that are not attached to a building or other structure, whose principal function is other than the support of a sign.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Nonappurtenant sign" means a display that draws attention to, or communicates information about, a business, service, commodity, accommodation, attraction, or other enterprise or activity that exists or is sold, conducted, offered, maintained, or provided at a location other than the lot where the sign is located.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Temporary sign" means a sign that is used in connection with a circumstance, situation, or event that is designed, intended, or expected to take place or be completed within a reasonably short period of time after placement of the sign; or a sign that is intended to remain on the location where it is placed for a period of not more than fifteen days. If a sign display area is permanent but the message displayed is subject to periodical changes, that sign shall not be regarded as temporary.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Story" means that part of a building between the level of any floor and the level of the next floor above it, or the ceiling in the case of the uppermost floor. If the finished floor level above a basement or cellar is more than six feet above grade, such basement or cellar shall be considered a story.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Street" means a public thoroughfare more than twenty feet wide that affords the principal means of access to one or more lots.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Street frontage" means the portion of a lot abutting a street.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Structural alteration" means any change to the supporting members of a building, including foundations, bearing walls, partitions, columns, beams, girders, or any structural change in the roof or the exterior walls.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Structure" means anything constructed or erected, requiring placement on or in the ground directly or by means of another structure.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Supportive housing" means housing with no limit on length of stay, is occupied by the target population, and is linked to an onsite or offsite service that assists the supportive housing resident in retaining the housing, improving his or her health status, and maximizing his or her ability to live and, when possible, work in the community.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Tandem parking" means that two or more automobiles are parked on a driveway or in any other location on a lot, lined up behind one another.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Target population" means persons with low incomes who have one or more disabilities, including mental illness, HIV or AIDS, substance abuse, or other chronic health condition, or individuals eligible for services provided pursuant to the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act (division 3.5 (commencing with section 4500) of the Welfare and Institutions Code) and may include, among other populations, adults, emancipated minors, families with children, elderly persons, young adults aging out of the foster care system, individuals exiting from institutional settings, veterans, and homeless people.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Transitional housing" means a development with 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.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Use" means the purpose for which land or a structure is designed, arranged, or intended, or for which it is occupied or maintained.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Sensitive use" means a use that may be easily affected or impacted by external influences such as noise, dust, odors, or other factors due to the nature of the use and/or the population served including the elderly, infirm, handicapped, or children. "Sensitive use" includes residential uses, mobilehome parks, nursing homes, schools, care facilities, and similar uses.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Waste facilities" means facilities for the storage, storage for transfer, transfer, treatment, or disposal of wastes, including sewage treatment plants and ponds, hazardous waste handling, transfer, treatment, storage, injection, or disposal facilities, solid waste transfer, storage, treatment or disposal facilities, and other structures and facilities including injection wells for the management or disposal of wastes. "Waste facilities" includes recycling facilities, but excludes small recycling collection facilities when appropriately accessory to a permitted use or as otherwise specified. "Waste facilities" are excluded from the meaning of accessory use, except as otherwise specified. See section 8.06.1040 Waste facilities, hazardous.

"Hazardous waste facilities" means all contiguous land and structures, other appurtenances, and improvements used for the handling, transfer, treatment, storage, storage for transfer, or disposal of hazardous wastes.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Commercial wood or timber processing facilities" means structures and facilities permanently located, or located for more than six months in any year or six consecutive months on the same lot, for the processing, manufacture, or remanufacture of timber, wood products, posts, poles, or other related products.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Commercial woodlot" means an area for the storage, sawing, or splitting of wood for commercial distribution and sale, particularly firewood.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Yard" means an open space on a lot, which is unobstructed from the ground upward except as otherwise provided in this title, exclusive of any portion of any road right-of-way, alley or street, and to a depth required by the zone in which the lot is located.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Front yard" means a yard measured from the edge of an easement or right-of-way extending across the front of the lot between side lot lines and to a depth required by the zone in which the lot is located.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Rear yard" means a yard extending along the back of the lot between side lot lines and to a depth required by the zone in which the lot is located.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Side yard" means a yard between the front yard and the rear yard to a depth required by the zone in which the lot is located.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Overlay zone" means a zone which is applied to land in addition to the principal zone, and which conveys regulations or restrictions that supersede specified provisions in the principal zone, or that are imposed in addition to the regulations in the principal zone.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)

"Principal zone" means the zone which is applied to every lot or parcel specifying the primary uses permitted, uses permitted with an administrative permit, uses permitted with a use permit, and development standards, and does not include overlay zones.

(Ord. No. 236-162, 3-24-2026)