Morgan Hill Municipal Code Art. II Single-Family Dwellings

Minimum standards for doors, windows, garage doors and house numbers in single-family dwellings are as set forth in Sections 15.40.150 to 15.40.210.

(Ord. 1861 N.S. § 11 (part), 2007: Ord. 491 N.S. (part), 1979; Ord. No. 2095 N.S., § 2, 11-20-2013)

A. All residential dwellings shall display a street number in a prominent location on the street side of the residence in such a position that the number is easily visible to approaching emergency vehicles. The numerals shall be no less than four inches in height and shall be of a contrasting color to the background to which they are attached.

B. Homes whose address numbers are not clearly visible from fifty feet of the roadway surface or the front of the house is below or above grade level or the front of the house is blocked by landscaping or in any other way their immediate observation is blocked, shall be marked at the street entrance to the house and on the house itself so as to make the house immediately identifiable.

(Ord. 1861 N.S. § 11 (part), 2007: Ord. 491 N.S. (part), 1979; Ord. No. 2095 N.S., § 2, 11-20-2013)

A. Exterior doors and doors leading from the garage area into the dwelling unit shall be of solid core construction with a minimum thickness of one and three-fourths inches, or with panels not less than five-sixteenths-inch thick.

B. All exterior doors for single-family dwellings shall have a single-cylinder or double-cylinder dead bolt lock. The bolt shall have a minimum throw of at least one inch and be constructed so as to repel cutting tool attack. (It may be desired to have dead bolt locks constructed so as to prevent the key from being removed from the interior cylinder when the bolt is projected.) A dual locking mechanism constructed so that both dead bolt and latch can be retracted by a single action of the inside doorknob, or lever, may be substituted provided it meets all other specifications for locking devices.

C. Doors leading from enclosed garage areas into single-family dwellings shall be equipped with a single-cylinder or double-cylinder dead bolt lock. Alternate devices equally resistant to illegal entry may be substituted subject to prior approval of the building official or his authorized agent.

D. Except where clear vision panels are installed, all front exterior doors shall be equipped with a wide-angle (one-hundred-eighty-degree) door viewer.

E. Openings for delivery of mail will be allowed and those openings shall be no larger than twenty-four square inches. The opening itself shall be no higher than one and one-half inches and shall be so constructed to prohibit access to the interior door knob.

F. Exterior doors swinging out shall have nonremovable hinges with studs.

G. Exterior doors swinging in shall have rabbeted jambs.

H. Jambs for all doors shall be constructed or protected so as to prevent violation of the strike. Jambs must include minimum two-and-one-half-inch solid construction around the strike area.

I. Glazing in exterior doors or within forty inches of any locking mechanism shall be of fully tempered glass or rated burglary resistant glazing, except when double-cylinder dead bolt locks are installed.

J. On double doors, the active leaf shall be equipped with a single-cylinder or double-cylinder dead bolt lock. The bolt shall have a minimum projection of one inch and be constructed so as to repel cutting tool attack.

K. The inactive leaf of double doors shall be equipped with metal flush bolts having a minimum throw of five-eighths inch into the head and threshold of the door frame.

(Ord. 1861 N.S. § 11 (part), 2007: Ord. 491 N.S. (part), 1979; Ord. No. 2095 N.S., § 2, 11-20-2013)

Sliding patio doors opening onto patios or balconies which are otherwise accessible from the outside:

A. It will be permissible for single sliding patio doors to have the movable section of the door slide on the outside as well as the inside of the door, although both shall be provided with pins or sliding door locks that will render the door incapable of being removed. Doors shall comply with tests as set forth in Section 15.40.020.

B. Sliding doors shall be equipped with a vertical-bolt-type lock which uses a hook-type bolt to grip the door and frame together. Mounting screws for the lock shall be inaccessible from the outside. Lock bolts shall be hardened steel or have hardened steel inserts and shall be capable of withstanding force of eight hundred pounds applied in any direction. Sliding doors shall comply with tests as set forth in Section 15.40.020.

C. Double sliding patio doors must be locked at the meeting rail and meet the locking requirements of subsection B. of this section.

(Ord. 1861 N.S. § 11 (part), 2007: Ord. 491 N.S. (part), 1979)

(Ord. No. 2095 N.S., § 2, 11-20-2013; Ord. No. 2221 N.S., § 5, 11-2-2016)

A window, skylight, or other light forming a part of the enclosure of a dwelling unit shall be constructed, installed, and secured as set forth in Section 15.40.190, when such window, skylight, or light is not more than twelve feet vertically and six feet horizontally of a street, highway, yard, court, passageway, corridor, balcony, patio, breezeway, or any portion of the building which is available for use by the public or other tenants, or similar area. A window enclosing a private garage with an interior door leading directly to a dwelling unit shall also comply with Section 15.40.190.

(Ord. 1861 N.S. § 11 (part), 2007: Ord. 491 N.S. (part), 1979)

(Ord. No. 2095 N.S., § 2, 11-20-2013; Ord. No. 2221 N.S., § 5, 11-2-2016)

A. Windows shall be so constructed that when the window is locked it cannot be lifted from the frame.

B. Window locking devices shall be capable of withstanding force of three hundred pounds applied in any direction. (Sliding windows shall comply with tests as set forth in Section 15.40.020.)

C. Louvered glass windows shall not be used.

(Ord. 1861 N.S. § 11 (part), 2007: Ord. 491 N.S. (part), 1979; Ord. No. 2095 N.S., § 2, 11-20-2013)

All garage doors shall be secured as follows:

A. Overhead garage doors shall not have bottom vents except those doors having double-louvered or shielded vents or approved alternate devices to protect the locking mechanisms.

B. Manually operated garage doors shall be provided with slide bolts or any other locking device that will prohibit the garage door from being forced open from either side.

(Ord. 1861 N.S. § 11 (part), 2007: Ord. 491 N.S. (part), 1979; Ord. No. 2095 N.S., § 2, 11-20-2013)

Nothing contained in this article shall be deemed to prohibit the use of alternate materials, secondary lock devices or measures when such alternate provisions are deemed by the building official as providing equivalent security based on the recommendations of the crime prevention unit of the police department.

(Ord. 1861 N.S. § 11 (part), 2007: Ord. 491 N.S. (part), 1979; Ord. No. 2095 N.S., § 2, 11-20-2013)