Chapter 7 — STANDARDS FOR SPECIFIC LAND USES

4.0 64 inches 53.5 inches

Petaluma Municipal Code · 2026-09 edition · updated 2026-09-27 · Petaluma

d. Above-Ground Equipment. Utility transformers, telecommunications equipment, back-Row

preventers, HVAC equipment, water or sewer lifts or pumps, and large utility devices shall not be located

in front of buildings on primary frontages, unless fully enclosed by an enclosure that uses the same

materials and style as the building façade.

7. Landscaping. These standards are in addition to any applicable objective landscaping standards in the

Chapter 14, Landscaping and Screening. Landscaping within the public right-of-way shall comply with the

City’s Landscape and Irrigation Standards (series 100).

a. Landscape Standards. Landscaping shall comply with Petaluma’s List of Approved Street Trees,

Petaluma’s Tree Technical Manual as referenced in Section 17.035 and with the City’s Landscape Water

Use ESciency Standards in the City of Petaluma Municipal Code Section 15.17.050.

b. Placement/Location. The following areas shall be landscaped:

1) Any unused area of the site shall be topdressed with bark mulch or have ground cover. Bare

ground is not permitted.

2) A minimum Qve-foot-wide planting area shall be installed between parking areas and adjacent

public rights of way (not including alleys).

3) Comply with subsection (D)(3)(e) of this section for additional landscaping requirements for

parking areas.

c. Plant Material. The following materials are prohibited:

The Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance is current through Ordinance 2907, passed September 8, 2025.

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1) The use of plants identiQed as invasive by the California Invasive Plant Council are prohibited.1

2) ArtiQcial plants and turf are prohibited.

d. River and Creek Adjacent. For properties adjacent to the Petaluma River, or a creek, the landscaping

shall only use plants identiQed as native to Petaluma on the California Native Plant Society’s Calscape

website, within 50 feet of the sensitive habitat area.

e. Tree Planting. Trees planted as part of the project shall comply with the following:

1) Trees shall be planted so that the average estimated canopy diameter after 15 years of age

covers 30 percent of the combined ground level common open space and landscape areas when

viewed directly from above. Estimated canopy size shall be determined using the City of Petaluma’s

List of Approved Street Trees.

2) Place trees in a planting area with a minimum size of 36 square feet unless otherwise speciQed

in the SmartCode.

3) Tree planters that are outside of the public right-of-way and within six feet of public or private

sidewalks or paved areas shall be planted with root barriers. An alternative method of sidewalk/

pavement protection may be used provided that it is equally or more eTective than root barriers.

4) Trees planted under powerlines shall have a maximum expected height of no less than Qve feet

below the existing power lines and shall use only trees from the City of Petaluma List of Trees

Approved for Planting Adjacent to Public Streets and Sidewalks.

Figure 8 Tree Planters

The Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance is current through Ordinance 2907, passed September 8, 2025.

Ch. 7 Standards for SpeciQc Land Uses | Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance Page 35 of 45

f. Open Space Separation. Private open space on the ground level shall be separated from public or

common open space by either a landscaping strip or a fence in compliance with subsection (D)(5) of this

section.

g. Integrated Pest Management. An Integrated Pest Management Plan that provides for zero use of

chemical pesticides herbicides, fertilizers, or other synthetic chemicals shall be included with the

landscaping plan and implemented.

h. Groundcover. All planting areas shall be top-dressed with a minimum layer of three inches of either

bark mulch or a natural low carbon alternative or groundcover. Crushed rock, mulch, pebbles, stones, or

similar nonplant material may be used on up to 10 percent of the landscaped areas. Landscaped areas

adjacent to and up-slope from pedestrian pathways shall include edging to prevent materials from

encroaching onto the pathways.

i. High Maintenance Plants and Trees. The mature canopy dripline of plants or trees which drop seed

pods or fruit shall not extend over a sidewalk, pathway, or street.

j. Planting Size. To achieve the maximum plant survival and eSciency in landscape growth, the

following minimum sizes are required:

Table 5. New Planting Container Size Requirements

Plant Type Minimum Size at Planting

Shrubs and perennials 1 gallon

The Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance is current through Ordinance 2907, passed September 8, 2025.

Ch. 7 Standards for SpeciQc Land Uses | Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance Page 36 of 45

Table 5. New Planting Container Size Requirements

Plant Type Minimum Size at Planting

Plants required for screening 5 gallons

Trees 15 gallons

Grasses and annual herbaceous plants No minimum

8. Open Space. Open space shall be provided as required in the Chapter 4 tables.

a. Usable Common Open Space. At least 25 square feet per unit of the open space required by the

Chapter 4 tables shall be used for a common open space area which shall have a minimum length of 10

feet on any side.

Figure 9 Common Usable Open Space

b. Outdoor Seating. Outdoor seating shall be provided at a ratio of one six-foot-long bench or two seats

per every 200 square feet of required common usable open space or fraction thereof. Seats and benches

shall be constructed of stainless steel, wood or a recycled material of comparable quality and durability.

Seats shall be either a single chair or stool. Benches shall accommodate at least two seated adults.

c. Required Play Areas. Developments that include 25 or more dwelling units shall include at least one

play area for children unless the development is located within 0.25 mile of a public park with play

structure(s). Such play area shall:

The Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance is current through Ordinance 2907, passed September 8, 2025.

Ch. 7 Standards for SpeciQc Land Uses | Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance Page 37 of 45

1) Have a minimum dimension of 15 feet in any direction and a minimum area of 600 square feet

with a pour-in-place recycled rubber surface or similar surface with a minimum projected lifespan of

at least 10 years.

2) Contain play equipment, including equipment designed for children Qve years and younger and

for all abilities.

3) Be protected from any adjacent streets or parking lots with a fence or other barrier at least

four feet in height. Fencing shall allow visibility into the play area.

d. Senior Citizen Developments. For developments with 25 or more dwelling units and age-restricted to

senior citizens, the play area shall be replaced with a communal garden area or an outdoor recreational

area of the same size and dimensions.

9. Lighting.

a. Lighting Location. Lighting shall be provided in the following locations:

1) All parking areas and structures.

2) All pedestrian paths of travel.

3) Points of conRict where vehicular traSc Row crosses paths with pedestrian and/or bicycle

facilities.

4) All service yards and access to services and utilities including waste enclosures.

b. Fixtures. All lighting shall use full cutoT downcast lighting Qxtures that horizontally shield the light

source. Spotlights are prohibited.

1) Lighting for parking and internal circulation shall be no taller than 20 feet.

2) The primary bicycle and pedestrian pathways within the development shall be lit by Qxtures no

taller than 36 inches.

3) Lighting used to illuminate landscaped areas or other open areas shall be placed at a

maximum height of 36 inches.

Lighting for the public right-of-way shall comply with the City’s Street Standards.

c. Lighting Brightness. Where required, lighting shall provide a minimum average of 0.5 foot candles

and a maximum of three foot candles at ground level. Lighting shall not exceed one foot-candle at the

property line unless required for street lighting by the City’s street light standards.

d. Lighting Color. Exterior lighting Qxtures shall not exceed 3,500K.
1. Parcels Fronting the Petaluma River and City Creeks. The following standards apply to parcels that are
fronting either the Petaluma River or a creek where a public pathway is identiQed or proposed in the City’s

The Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance is current through Ordinance 2907, passed September 8, 2025.

Ch. 7 Standards for SpeciQc Land Uses | Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance Page 38 of 45

General Plan in Figure “Proposed and Existing Bicycle Facilities” or Active Transportation Plan as updated from

time to time.

a. Riverfront Building Façade Detailing. Building façades facing the Petaluma River or a creek with an

existing or proposed public pathway shall comply with the building design requirements for a primary

frontage in subsection (E)(1) of this section.

b. Lighting. Lighting along the river or creek shall be placed to face away from the waterway and shall

comply with above lighting requirements in subsection (D)(9) of this section.

c. Views of River and Creeks. Fencing between the public right-of-way and the river over 42 inches shall

be transparent using either open wire or wrought iron.

d. Waterway Accessibility.

1) A public pathway is required for the entire river/creek frontage of the parcel if a pathway does

not exist and is identiQed in General Plan Figure 5-2 “Proposed and Existing Bicycle Facilities” on

Page 5-15 or as updated from time to time in the future.

2) The pathway shall be constructed as the class of trail identiQed on the General Plan “Proposed

and Existing Bicycle Facilities Map” using the standards in the CalTrans Highway Design Manual

Chapter 1000, Topic 1003.

3) If there is no existing pathway up or down river from the project site, the new pathway shall be

connected to the publicly accessible sidewalk via a public pathway on the site.

4) The public pathway shall be recorded as a public access easement on the property deed and

maintained by the property owner or homeowners association as applicable.

5) If sensitive habitat would be impacted by operation of the pathway and not by any other site

element, an alternative public pathway location shall be permitted; provided, that the applicant

provides all of the following:

a) A wetland delineation and a biologist’s report demonstrating that the pathway and no

other element of the project would be within the buTer zone of a sensitive habitat area.

b) A preservation and protection plan for the habitat area.

c) Alternative design for an equivalent pathway with a minimum separation of a six-foot-wide

planter strip between the pathway and the street.

6) A raised boardwalk may be used in place of a paved pathway for sections of the pathway

located within the buTer zone of an environmentally sensitive habitat area. The boardwalk shall

have the following characteristics:

a) Shall be a minimum of six feet wide.

The Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance is current through Ordinance 2907, passed September 8, 2025.

Ch. 7 Standards for SpeciQc Land Uses | Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance Page 39 of 45

b) Shall be raised a minimum of 12 inches above the natural grade.

c) Shall be constructed from ADA compliant materials with a projected minimum longevity of

50 years and shall not contain creosote, formaldehyde or other chemicals that could leach into

the habitat area.

d) Handrails shall be installed on both sides of the boardwalk for the entire length.

e) Signs requiring bicyclists to dismount and walk bicycles on the boardwalk shall be installed

on both sides of both entrances to the boardwalk.

f) Permanent habitat protection fencing with a six-inch bottom clearance shall be installed to

prevent the public from walking/riding in sensitive habitat areas.

g) Any habitat disturbed during construction shall be restored in compliance with state and

federal regulations.

E. Building Design.

1. Façade Design.

a. Length. The maximum length of a primary façade shall not exceed 250 linear feet.

b. Façade. All exterior walls must incorporate changes of plane representing 30 percent of wall surface

area on primary façade, 20 percent of the wall surface area on all other facades. This may be achieved

through any of the following methods or combination of methods:

1) Balconies that either project at least three feet from the façade or balconies that are recessed

at least four feet from the façade.

2) Box/bay windows with a minimum depth of 18 inches on all facets.

3) Ground Roor street-facing courtyard(s).

4) Architectural stepbacks or projections that are a minimum of 24 inches.

5) Front porches.

6) Colonnade, arcade, or covered walkway along the ground Roor with a minimum depth of Qve

feet.

Figure 10 Change of Plane on Primary Façade

The Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance is current through Ordinance 2907, passed September 8, 2025.

Ch. 7 Standards for SpeciQc Land Uses | Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance Page 40 of 45

c. Windows. Windows ion facades made of stucco, whether cement plaster or EIFS, shall be recessed a

minimum of two inches.

d. Vinyl Materials. Vinyl materials are prohibited and shall not be used on the façade of the building.

e. Transparency at Street Level.

1) For residential buildings, including live/work and work/live, along any façade facing a public or

private street, public open space, the Petaluma River, or a creek designated for a public pathway in

the General Plan, shall provide doors and/or windows for a minimum of 25 percent of the linear

frontage on the ground Roor.

2) For mixed-use buildings, along any façade facing a public or private street, public open space,

river, or creek with a proposed or existing public pathway, shall provide doors and/or windows for a

minimum of 50 percent of the ground-Roor façade.

Figure 11 Ground Floor Transparency

The Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance is current through Ordinance 2907, passed September 8, 2025.

Ch. 7 Standards for SpeciQc Land Uses | Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance Page 41 of 45

f. Ground Floor Residential on Arterial Roadways. Ground Roor residential units with entrances on an

arterial street shall have a separation to visually delineate public versus private space along the arterial

frontage through one of the following design elements:

1) Finished Roor height of at least 24 inches above the grade of the public sidewalk.

2) Low wall no more than 42 inches in height.

3) A three-foot-wide landscaping strip.

4) Permanent above-ground planters no less than three feet wide.

5) A change in paving surface material.

g. Inactive Frontages. No more than 50 feet along the primary façade shall be occupied by inactive

frontages.

2. Entryway.

a. Location. Buildings must have a primary entrance on a street-facing façade but may also have an

articulated entrance on each street facing façade. The primary building entrance and associated access

path shall be directly accessible from the public street.

b. Entrance Emphasis. The primary building entrance shall be articulated, using at least three of the

following design features:

1) Accent materials.

2) Public art.

The Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance is current through Ordinance 2907, passed September 8, 2025.

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3) Non-membrane and nonvinyl awnings.

4) Sidelights or accent lighting.

5) Arches.

6) Columns.

Insets in the façade around the door frame.

8) Transom windows above or to the sides of the door.

9) Porch or stoop.

10) Entrance doors recessed from the wall plane at least six inches.

11) Change in pavement surfacing.

Figure 12 Entryway Articulation
1. Building Corner Treatments.
  
  a. Building corners at a street intersection shall incorporate at least one of the following corner
treatments:

1) Turret or cupola at least two feet higher than the highest roof point.

2) Roof variation.

The Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance is current through Ordinance 2907, passed September 8, 2025.

Ch. 7 Standards for SpeciQc Land Uses | Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance Page 43 of 45

3) Building recess.

4) Variance in building materials.

5) Corner plaza or public space.

6) Corner entryway.

7) Curved corner wall with windows.

4. Occupied Roofs.

a. Rooftop Planters. Ten percent of occupied rooftops shall be landscaped with rooftop planters.

b. Rooftop Open Space. If an occupied roof will be used to meet the common usable open space

requirement, the following shall apply:

1) At least 30 percent of the open space shall incorporate above-ground planters that are no less

than three feet wide and three feet long.

2) Permanent nonmembrane shading devices shall be installed to cover at least 15 percent of the

required open space square footage.

3) Seating shall be provided in compliance with subsection (D)(8)(b) of this section.

Figure 13 Rooftop Open Space

The Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance is current through Ordinance 2907, passed September 8, 2025.

Ch. 7 Standards for SpeciQc Land Uses | Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance Page 44 of 45

F. Other Applicable Objective Standards. All projects subject to this chapter shall comply with the objective design,

development, and subdivision standards within the Implementing Zoning Ordinance or SmartCode (as applicable),

the General Plan (or applicable SpeciQc Plan), and the Municipal Code as well as any adopted standards in

supplemental documents including but not limited to:

1. Chapter 4, Zone Districts and Allowable Land Uses.

2. Chapter 6, Floodway and Flood Plain Districts.

3. Chapter 11, Parking and Loading Facilities, OT-Street, or SmartCode Section 6, Parking Standards and

Procedures.

4. Chapter 13, Placement of Fences and Walls.

5. Chapter 14, Landscaping and Screening.

6. Chapter 15, Preservation of the Cultural and Historic Environment.

7. Chapter 16, Hillside Protection.

8. Chapter 17, Tree Preservation.

9. Chapter 21, Performance Standards.

City of Petaluma Municipal Code Section 15.17.050, Landscape water use eSciency standards.
1. City of Petaluma Municipal Code Title 17, Building and Construction.
2. City of Petaluma Municipal Code Title 20, Subdivisions.
3. City of Petaluma Landscape and Irrigation Standards.
4. City of Petaluma Street Light Standards.
5. City of Petaluma Street Standards.

1 California Invasive Plant Council https://www.invasive.org/species/list.cfm?id=64

(Ord. 2879 § 3 (Exh. A), 2024.)

The Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance is current through Ordinance 2907, passed September 8, 2025.

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The Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance is current through Ordinance 2907, passed September 8,

Disclaimer: The city clerk’s oSce has the oScial version of the Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance. Users

should contact the city clerk’s oSce for ordinances passed subsequent to the ordinance cited above.

City Website: cityofpetaluma.net

Hosted by General Code.

The Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance is current through Ordinance 2907, passed September 8, 2025.

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