§ 18.16 — Morgan Hill Zoning Code

18.16.020 - Land use regulations. ¶

A.

Permitted Land Uses. Table 18.16-1 identifies land uses permitted in the residential districts.

Table 18.16-1: Permitted Land Uses — Residential Detached Zoning Districts

Key P Permitted Use A Administrative Use Permit required C Conditional Use Permit required — Use not allowed	Zoning District	Zoning District			Additional Regulations
	RE	RDL	RDM	RDH
Residential Uses
Accessory Dwelling Units	P	P	P	P	Chapter 18.84
Duets	—	—	P [1,2]	P [2]
Group Housing	P	P	P	P
Residential Care Facilities	C	C	C	C
Residential Care Facilities, Small	P	P	P	P

Single-Family Detached Dwellings	P	P	P	P
Supportive Housing	P	P	P	P
Transitional Housing	P	P	P	P
Public and Quasi-Public Uses
Community Assembly	C	C	C	C
Cultural Institutions	C	C	C	C
Day Care Centers	C	C	C	C
Home Day Care, Large and Small	P	P	P	P
Parks and Recreational Facilities [5]	C	C	C	C
Public Safety Facilities	C	C	C	C
Schools, Public and Private	C	C	C	C
Transportation, Communication, and Utility Uses
Wireless Communications Facilities	See Chapter 18.96
Agriculture and Natural Resource Uses
Crop Cultivation	P [3,4]	—	—	—
Other Uses
Accessory Uses	See Chapter 18.44
Home Occupations	See Section 18.92.060
Temporary Uses	See Section 18.92.150
Urban Agriculture
Home Gardens	P	P	P	P
Community Gardens	A	A	A	A
Urban Farms	C	C	C	C

Notes:

[1] Permitted on corner lots only.

[2] Limited to no more than twenty-five percent of total dwelling units within a single project or subdivision, excluding two-lot subdivisions.

[3] Mushroom farms are prohibited.

[4] On-site sale of products is prohibited.

[5] Park and recreational facilities accessory to a residential use (e.g., a clubhouse serving a residential subdivision) are permitted by right.

B.

Additional Permits. In addition to permits identified in Table 18.16-1, proposed projects in the detached residential zoning districts may also require a design permit pursuant to Section 18.108.040 (Design Permits). Modifications to a historic resource may require a Historic Alteration pursuant to Chapter 18.60 (Historic Resources).

C.

Residential Building Allotments. All residential development must comply with the voter-approved residential development control system (RDCS) as established in Chapter 18.78 (Residential Development Control System). The RDCS requires proposed residential projects to first receive residential building allotments before applying for land use entitlements. Section 18.78.050.C (Exemptions from Allotments) identifies types of residential projects exempt from the requirement to obtain residential building allotments.

(Ord. No. 2277 N.S., § 5(Exh. A), 6-6-2018; Ord. No. 2352, § 1, 4-24-2024)

18.16.030 - Development standards.

A.

General. Tables 18.16-2, 18.16-3, and 18.16-4 identify development standards in the residential detached zoning districts.

B.

Garage and Carport Setbacks. The entrance of a garage or carport shall be setback a minimum of twenty feet from the edge of a sidewalk or public right-of-way, whichever is closer. See Figure 18.16-1.

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Figure 18.16-1: Garage Setbacks

C.

Reverse Corner Lots — RDM and RDH Zoning Districts. In the RDM and RDH zoning districts, a fifteen-foot minimum side yard setback is required when the side yard of a two-story residence is adjacent to a rear yard on an adjoining lot. See Figure 18.16-2.

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Figure 18.16-2: Reverse Corner Lots — RDM Zoning District

D.

Reduced Front Setbacks — RDM Zoning District. The minimum front setback in the RDM zoning district is 15 feet for up to a 26-foot wide portion of the front elevation of a home. See Figure 18.16-3.

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Figure 18.16-3: Reduced Front Setback — RDM Zoning District

E.

Cul-De-Sac Lot Width. In all detached residential zoning districts, the minimum width of a cul-de-sac lot is forty feet as measured along the radius of the front property line.

F.

Arterial Roadway Setbacks. The following setback requirements apply to residential development adjacent an arterial roadway, as identified in the general plan.

The minimum front yard setback for residential development fronting an arterial roadway is thirty feet.

2.

All residential development with rear or side yard setback areas adjacent to an arterial street shall provide a minimum fence/wall setback of fifteen feet with an average of twenty feet from the face of the curb.

G.

Freeway Setbacks. The minimum setback for residential development adjacent to the freeway is sixty feet. Accessory structures and ancillary uses, excluding guest houses or other habitable living space, may be located within the sixty-foot setback area.

Table 18.16-2: Residential Estate (RE) District Development Standards

	Residential Estate Subzones	Residential Estate Subzones		Additional
	RE-10	RE-2.5	RE-1	Standards
Site Requirements
Lot Area, Minimum	10 acres	2.5 acres	1 acre
Lot Width, Minimum	200 ft.	150 ft.	100 ft.	18.16.030.F
Lot Depth, Minimum	200 ft.	150 ft.	100 ft.
Building Coverage, Maximum	15%	25%	30%
Structure Requirements
Setbacks, Minimum				18.56.030
Front	50 ft.	50 ft.	25 ft.	18.16.030.C and G
Rear	50 ft.	25 ft.	25 ft.
Interior Side	50 ft.	25 ft.	20 ft.
Street Side	25 ft.	15 ft.	15 ft.
Height, Maximum	30 ft.			18.56.020

Table 18.16-3: Residential Detached Low and Medium Density District Development Standards

	RDL-20,000	RDL-12,000	RDM-9,000	RDM-7,000	Additional Standards

Site Requirements
Lot Area, Minimum
Single-Family Lot	20,000 sq. ft.	12,000 sq. ft.	9,000 sq. ft.	7,000 sq. ft.; 7,500 sq. ft. for corner lots
Corner Duet Lot [1]			4,200 sq. ft.	3,500 sq. ft.
Lot Width, Minimum					18.16.030.F
Single-Family Lot	100 ft.	75 ft.	70 ft.	60 ft.
Corner Duet Lot			40 ft.	40 ft.
Lot Depth, Minimum	100 ft.	100 ft.	85 ft.	85 ft.
Building Coverage, Maximum	40%	40%	50%	50%
Structure Requirements
Setbacks, Minimum					18.56.030
Front	25 ft.	25 ft.	First Story: 20 ft. Upper Stories: 25 ft.	First Story: 20 ft. Upper Stories: 25 ft.	18.16.030.C, E and G
Rear	25 ft.	25 ft.	First Story: 20 ft. Upper Stories: 25 ft.	First Story: 20 ft. Upper Stories: 25 ft.
Interior Side	15 ft.	First Story: 10 ft. Upper Stories: 15 ft.	First Story: 5 ft. Upper Stories: 12.5 ft.	First Story: 5 ft. Upper Stories: 12.5 ft.	18.16.030.D
Street Side	15 ft.	15 ft.	15 ft.	15 ft.

Height, Maximum	30 ft.	30 ft.	30 ft.	30 ft.	18.56.020

Notes:

[1] The combined lot area of two adjacent duet lots may be no less than the minimum lot area required for single-family detached dwellings.

Table 18.16-4: Residential Detached High Density District Development Standards

	RDH-4,500	Additional Standards
Site Requirements
Lot Area, Minimum
Single-family detached lots	4,500 sq. ft.
Corner single-family detached lots	5,000 sq. ft.
Duet lots	3,500 sq. ft.
Lot Width, Minimum		18.16.030.F
Lots less than 5,000 sq. ft.	40 ft.
Lots 5,000 sq. ft. or greater	50 ft.
Lot Depth, Minimum	85 ft.
Floor Area Ratio, Maximum	52%
Structure Requirements
Setbacks, Minimum		18.56.030
Front	First story: 15 ft. Upper stories: 20 ft.	18.16.030.C and G
Rear	15 ft.
Interior Side	First story: 10% of lot width Upper stories: 15% of lot width
Street Side	9 ft.
Height, Maximum	35 ft.	18.56.020

(Ord. No. 2277 N.S., § 5(Exh. A), 6-6-2018)

Chapter 18.18 - RESIDENTIAL ATTACHED ZONING DISTRICTS