Article 5 — DEFINITIONS; MEASUREMENTS

17.90.010 Definitions 17.90.020 Measurements

In this chapter:

Abutting means next to, or against. It does not include a property across a street.

Accessory use. See Uses.

Adjacent means next to, or against. For notification purposes, it includes a property directly across a street.

Affordable housing and related definitions . See section 17.38.020.

Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA means the federal act that prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in employment, government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation, including amendments made to the Act.

Assisted living means housing that provides a combination of traditional housing with personalized supportive services and care.

Basement means that portion of a building that is partly or completely below grade.

Bedroom includes any room with features generally characteristic of bedrooms, regardless of its designation on a building plan. A bedroom has adequate privacy and meets the minimum size and habitation requirements of the Building Code. It includes and is not limited to a room with: (a) access to a full bathroom on the same floor or within half a floor, if the house has a split level; (b) access to a full bathroom through a common hallway or other common space such as a kitchen, living room and/or dining room. A bedroom need not have a closet.

Building means a structure for the support, shelter, or enclosure of persons, animals, or possessions. See also Structure .

Nonconforming building means a building or structure which was legally established, but which does not conform to the regulations of the zone in which it is presently located. See division 17.50.

Building Code means the California Building Codes adopted by the city at chapter 5.

Business (license) tax . See chapter 10.

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City Code means the Piedmont City Code.

Co-housing means rental communities or developments where shared common spaces, such as kitchens, living rooms, and outdoor areas, are managed communally or by the landlord, but each household has a private bedroom or living space. A “ Co-housing unit ” means a unit rented for periods of 30 days or more containing one or more private bedrooms and providing a minimum of one shared living room, kitchen, and bathroom for every five bedrooms or fewer.

Conditional use permit or use permit . See division 17.68.

Day means a calendar day, unless stated otherwise. (See also section 17.04.080 regarding extensions of time for holidays and weekends.

Day care facility means an existing or proposed building, equipment and any accessory structures on a site, in which there are programs and personnel licensed by the state for direct child or adult care services including, but not limited to shelter, food, education and play opportunities for a portion of the day.

Daylight plane. See Section 17.90.020, Measurements.

Demolition as used in Chapter 17 means the decimating, razing, ruining, tearing down or wrecking of any structure or building, including any change to a building which removes a dwelling unit. As used herein, the word "demolition" shall include any partial demolition and any interior demolition affecting more than 70 percent of the original structure, including exterior facades, vertical elements (such as interior walls, interior stairs, chimneys) and horizontal elements (such as roof areas, floor plates), as determined by the Building Official.

Density (residential) means the amount of development per acre on a parcel under the applicable zoning, commonly measured as dwelling units per acre (du/ac). Residential density is a computation expressing number of dwelling units per acre.

Director or Planning Director means the City Planning Director or his or her designee.

Dwellings:

Accessory dwelling unit . (Formerly second unit .) See division 17.38.

Dwelling unit means a room or a suite of connecting rooms, which provides complete, independent living quarters for one or more persons, including permanent facilities for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation, and which complies with all building code requirements.

Dwelling unit, studio means any dwelling unit wherein one habitable room provides for combines living, sleeping, cooking, dining, and sanitation.

Multi-family dwelling means a residential structure containing more than one dwelling unit and designed to be occupied by more than one family independently of each other.

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Primary unit means a principal single-family dwelling.

Rented room. See section 17.40.020.

Single-family dwelling or single-family residence means a building or structure, which is designed or used exclusively as a residence, including only one dwelling unit.

Short term rental . See section 17.40.020.

Emergency Shelter means housing with minimal supportive services that is limited to occupancy of up to 180 days by persons who are homeless, victims of domestic violence, individuals and households made temporarily homeless due to natural disasters (e.g., fires, earthquakes, etc.). Emergency shelter shall include other interim interventions, including, but not limited to, a navigation center, bridge housing, and respite or recuperative care.

Employee Housing means housing provided by an employer and maintained in connection with any work or place where is being performed, as more particularly defined in California Health and Safety Code Subdivision 17008, or successor statute, as may be amended from time to time.

Fair Housing Laws means (1) the Federal Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3601 and following) and (2) the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Govt. Code § 12955 and following), including amendments to them.

Family means: (i) two or more persons related by birth, marriage, or adoption, or (ii) an individual or a group of persons living together who constitute a bona fide housekeeping unit in a dwelling unit, not including a fraternity, sorority, club, or other group of persons occupying a hotel, lodging house, or institution of any kind.

Fence . See Measurements.

Floor area. See Measurements.

Footprint . See Measurements.

Frontage . See Measurements.

Grade. See Measurements.

Ground floor is the floor level in a commercial or mixed-use building nearest the lowest adjacent grade.

Group home means housing shared by unrelated persons with disabilities that provide peer and other support for their resident’s disability related needs and in which residents share cooking, dining, and living areas, and may, in some group homes, participate in cooking, housekeeping, and other communal living activities.

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Hearing body or appeal body means the Planning Director, Planning Commission, or City Council authorized under this chapter to hear a matter.

Home occupation . See division 17.44.

Improvement(s ) means any building, structure, landscaping, or other alteration of the natural or existing state of land.

Includes means includes but not limited to.

Independent living means housing that is designed to enable seniors to live an independent lifestyle that includes recreational, educational, and social activities.

Kitchen:

Kitchen, accessory means permanent facilities for the purpose of food storage, preparation and/or cooking, located on a single-family residential property, which are accessory and incidental to a primary kitchen. An accessory kitchen includes, but is not limited to: kitchen facilities or a wet-bar in a pool house, guest cottage, domestic quarters, or recreation room; or a wet-bar or outdoor kitchen.

Kitchen, primary means the main kitchen facilities within a single-family residence or accessory dwelling unit having permanent facilities for the purpose of food storage, preparation and cooking.

Landscape; hardscape ; open space:

Landscaping means the planting, irrigation, and maintenance of land with living plant and other organic materials.

Hardscape surface means any non-landscaped surface where vegetation would not easily grow. See Measurements at section 17.90.020.

Open space means an expanse of land that is essentially unimproved except for vegetation and walkways.

Living space means space within a dwelling unit or accessory structure used for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, bathing, washing, and sanitation purposes.

Lots; lot lines:

Lot means a parcel of land under one ownership.

Corner lot means a lot located at the intersection of two or more streets and with frontage on at least two of those streets.

Interior lot means a lot not defined as a corner lot or a through lot.

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Lot line means one of the boundary lines of a lot.

Rear lot line is the lot line most directly opposite the street lot line.

Side lot line means a lot line that is not defined as a street lot line or rear lot line.

Street lot line means a lot line along a street.

Through lot means a lot where both the street lot line and rear lot line have frontage on a street.

Low Barrier Navigation Centers means a low-barrier, service-enriched shelter focused on moving people into permanent housing that provides temporary living facilities while case managers connect individuals experiencing homelessness to income, public benefits, health services, shelter, and housing, as more particularly defined in California Government Code section 65600, or a successor statute, as may be amended from time to time.

Low-income household means persons and families whose income does not exceed the qualifying limits for lower income families as established and amended from time to time pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Section 50052.5.

Manufactured home means a single-family detached or attached structure that is either wholly or substantially manufactured off-site, to be wholly or partially assembled on site, manufactured under the authority of 42 USC Section 5401, the National Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, and shall include structures known as manufactured homes or mobile homes. It is transportable in one or more sections, is built on a permanent chassis, and is used as a residence, but is not constructed with a permanent hitch or other device allowing transport other than for the purpose of delivery to a permanent site, and does not have wheels or axles attached permanently to its body.

Minor servicing means any premises developed with facilities for the sale of motor vehicle fuels; and which may also provide lubricants, tires, batteries, accessory items, and other customary services for motor vehicles. The servicing of motor vehicles shall be generally limited to lubrication, minor repairs, and washing. Minor servicing shall not include major motor vehicle repair.

Mobile home means a transportable, manufactured home, designed to be used as a year-round residential dwelling unit, connected to required utilities, and built prior to the enactment of the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, which became effective June 15, 1976. A mobile home does not include a recreational vehicle, motor coach, trailer coach or travel trailer.

Multifamily means a building designed or used exclusively as a residence that includes two or more separate dwelling units. This definition includes, but not limited to, duplexes and triplexes, apartments, and townhomes under a common ownership.

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Peak staffing means the time at which the maximum number of employees are on site.

Person means an individual natural person, firm, corporation, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, corporation or company, or the authorized agent of the person. It includes a governmental entity other than the city.

Public transit stop means a regularly scheduled bus stop, as posted in a transit agency’s most current publication of routes and stops, including but not limited to Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) bus service.

Reasonable accommodation . See division 17.78.

Religious assembly means a facility for religious worship and incidental religious education and social functions, but not including a private school.

Religious institution affiliated housing is as defined in California Government Code section§ 65913.6(a)(5) or a successor statute, as may be amended from time to time.

Religious institution affiliated emergency shelters means emergency shelters, as defined above, that meet the locational requirement for religious institution affiliated housing.

Religious-use parking spaces means parking that are required under the local agency’s parking requirements for existing places of worship, or parking spaces that would be required in a proposed development for a new place of worship.

Residence. See Dwelling .

Residential care facilities means facilities for residential care for the elderly, adult residential facilities, group homes for children, and small family homes for children. Residential care facilities that provide licensable services provide licenses under State law. Residential care facilities that do not provide licensable services may provide some supportive services for their residents but not services that require licenses under State law.

Rented room . See section 17.40.020.

Setback . See Measurements, section 17.90.020.

Short-term rental . See section 17.40.030.

Sign. See section 17.36.010 .

Single-room occupancy (SRO) means a type of group residential use where there are at least five single rooms with no more than two occupants in each unit. The single rooms are habitable rooms that may have a bathroom and/or limited cooking facilities, and are intended for combined living and dining purposes.

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Street means a public vehicular roadway. It does not include a public alley, or a private roadway. (A list of streets is set forth in the Piedmont Design Guidelines.)

Structure; Site feature :

Accessory structure means a detached structure, the use of which is appropriate, incidental to, and customarily or necessarily related to the zone and to the principal use of the lot or to that of the primary structure.

Deck . See Measurements, section 17.90.020.

Primary structure means the structure on a lot in which the principal use is conducted. It does not include an accessory structure, site feature, underground facility, built feature listed in Building Code section 5.2.2, on-grade improvement, or temporary handicap structure.

Site feature means a subordinate structure that is intended to functionally or decoratively enhance a property and that is primarily used for recreation, decoration or as a utility feature. A list of site features is set forth in the Piedmont Design Guidelines. Site feature does not include an accessory structure, primary structure, or built feature listed in Building Code section 5.2.2.

Structure means a built feature that is located or attached to the ground, and that is 12 inches or higher above existing or proposed grade. Structure does not include fencing or retaining walls. See also Building .

Structural change means a physical change, addition, or reduction in an exterior wall, an interior bearing wall, a floor, or a roof and/or the addition of a new structure.

Supportive housing means housing with no limit on length of stay that is linked to on-site or offsite services, as more particularly defined in Health and Safety Code section 50675.14(b)(2), or successor statute, as may be amended from time to time, respectively.

Transitional housing and transitional housing development means 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, as more particularly defined in Health and Safety Code section 50675.2(h), or successor statute, as may be amended from time to time, respectively.

Uses.

Use means the purpose for which a parcel or improvement is designed, arranged, or intended.

Accessory use means a use that is appropriate, subordinate, incidental, and customarily or necessarily related to a lawfully existing principal use on the same lot.

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Conditional use means a principal use for which a conditional use permit is required. (See division 17.68. See also wireless communication facility permit at division 17.46.)

Mixed use commercial/residential means a development that combines commercial and residential uses and has both (a) ground floor retail, office or service commercial; and (b) a multi-family residential dwelling. See Measurement.

Nonconforming use means a use that was legally established consistent with the zoning in effect at the time of its establishment, but which does not conform to the regulations of the zone in which it is presently located. See division17.50.

Permitted use means a principal use that is allowed as a matter of right in a particular zone.

Principal use means the primary use permitted or conditionally permitted on a lot.

Variance . See division 17.70.

View means an existing significant view involving more than the immediately surrounding properties or a view of sky, including, but not limited to, any of the following: city skyline, historic landmark, bridge, distant cities, geologic feature, significant hillside terrain, wooded canyon or ridge.

Wireless communication facility and related definitions. See section 17.46.020.

Yards .

Rear yard means a yard abutting the rear lot line, measured between the rear lot line and the nearest point of the primary structure.

Side yard means a yard measured between the side lot line and the nearest point of the primary structure.

Street yard means a yard facing a street, measured between the street lot line and the nearest point of the primary structure. (Ord. 742 N.S., 05/2018, Ord. 747 N.S., 02/2020)

Building height is measured from the average level of the highest and lowest point of that portion of the ground covered by the footprint of the building to the highest point of the roof ridge, penthouse, mechanical equipment, or parapet wall. Building height is not measured to the highest point of a chimney or communications antenna.

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Building height of an accessory dwelling unit is measured from the average level of the highest and lowest point of that portion of the ground covered by the footprint of the accessory dwelling unit to the highest point of the roof ridge, mechanical equipment, or parapet wall. Building height of an accessory dwelling unit is not measured to the highest point of a chimney or communications antenna.

Coverage means the percentage of the lot area that is covered. Coverage may refer either to (1) all structures and site features including their vertical projections to the ground except eaves, sills, cornices, awnings that project three feet or less from the wall surface, (2) hardscape surfaces, or (3) to both, as may be specified in the context. (See Design Guidelines.)

Daylight plane means a height limitation that when combined with the maximum height limit, defines the maximum building envelope. A new structure or addition must fall within this envelope. The daylight plane is measured inward toward the center of the property at an angle of 45 degrees from a point defined by its height above grade and distance from the abutting lot line.

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Deck means an expanse of wood or other material where any part of the horizontal surface is greater than 12 inches above the ground directly below the point of measurement.

Dwelling units per acre (du/ac) means how many individual dwellings can be located on any one lot. For example, a single-family residence on a 1-acre lot would have a density of 1 du/ac.

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Likewise, if a 50-unit apartment building is on a 0.5-acre lot, the density would be 100 du/ac. The physical size of the lot determines how many dwellings can fit on a site; a 0.5-acre lot with a density maximum of 20 du/acre would only be permitted for up to 10 dwelling units. Du/ac does not dictate unit size or unit type.

Fence means a vertical barrier that is attached to the ground or atop a retaining wall. Fencing may include a railing, free-standing wall, or a decorative element such as lattice, trellis, and covered gate, or any combination of these features. Neither the trellis or any part of the fence may be wider than 24 inches in the smallest plan dimension. A fence may be free-standing or self-supporting.

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If measurement "E" is less than 24 inches, the fence and retaining walls are measured together (e.g., A+B=Height).

If measurement "E" is greater than 24 inches, the fence and retaining walls are measured independently.

(e.g., measurement C would be independent of A+B)

If measurement "D" is ≤ 24" the improvement is considered a fence.

If measurement "D" is > 24" the improvement is considered a site feature.

The measurement and terracing of fences and retaining walls. See section 17.30.010.

Floor area of a building means the sum of the gross horizontal area of the floors of the building, measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls or from the center line of party walls separating two buildings, and includes, but is not limited to:

1. living space on all levels, including within a basement or attic;

2. elevator shafts and stairwells at each floor;

3. bay window or window seat that projects beyond the exterior wall in which a person can reasonably stand or sit, even if the window or seat does not have a minimum ceiling height of seven feet, six inches;

4. seventy square feet or more of contiguous non-habitable attic area that has permanent access, a minimum ceiling height of five feet, and an average ceiling height of at least seven feet six inches. Permanent access includes built-in stairs (even if they do not meet all of the building code requirements), but does not include built-in or pull-down ladders;

5. seventy square feet or more of contiguous non-habitable basement area that has a minimum ceiling height of seven feet and at least 42 inches of the basement level, measured from the basement ceiling, is above grade at the exterior wall;

6. enclosed porch or lanai, heated or not;

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7. high-volume space that exceeds an average height of 15 feet, measured from finished floor to the outer roof, is counted as two stories; and

8. area within a building used for commercial purposes.

Unless listed above, living space not considered habitable under the Building Code because of window size, ventilation, access, ceiling height, heating, or electrical service (e.g. unconditioned storage area) is not counted in the floor area, but if the space is actually used for living, sleeping, eating, bathing, washing, or cooking, the space will be included, subject to the interpretation of the Director. Mechanical rooms containing gas-burning furnaces or gas-burning hot water heaters are not considered a living space. (Ord. 774 N.S., 09/2024)

Floor height is measured from the floor level of a story to the floor level of the story directly above or roof surface directly above. See also Story .

Footprint means the total land area covered by all accessory and primary structures on a lot, measured from outside the exterior walls and supporting columns or posts, except that the following are not included in determining footprint:

1. The portions of any uncovered and unenclosed decks, porches, landings, or patios, not including railings, which are less than 30 inches above finished grade and which project no more than 36 inches from the footprint;

2. Uncovered and unenclosed stairways, including railings, which are less than six feet above finished grade and which project no more than 36 inches from the footprint;

3. Eave or and roof overhang that projects up to three feet from the exterior wall surface or supporting column or post;

4. Trellis, awning or similar feature that projects horizontally up to three feet from the exterior wall surface or supporting column or post.

Frontage means the length of a lot line of a lot contiguous with a portion of a public or private street, whether or not the entrance to any structure on that lot faces the street. Frontage may occur along a front, side, or rear lot line.

Grade.

Average grade means the average level of land on the surface defined as the shortest distance between finished grade at the highest and lowest sides of a structure.

Existing grade means the level of the ground or pavement as it exists before it is disturbed in preparation for a project.

Hardscape includes: a structure; paving material (concrete, asphalt, brick, stone, gravel, wood, stepping stone or other similar walkway); swimming pool; or patio, deck, balcony, or terrace. Hardscape does not include building eaves or landscaping. Nor does it include retaining walls, fences, furniture, statuary, or other individual built features used in conjunction with landscaping which individually do not cover more than ten square feet and cumulatively do not cover more than 100 square feet.

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Net lot area means the area of a lot, excluding publicly dedicated land and private streets that meet local standards, and other public use areas.

Setback means the required distance that a building, structure or other designated item must be located from a lot line. Setbacks are measured from the lot line to the footprint of the structure or building.

Story means a portion of a building included between the upper surface of a floor and the upper surface of the floor or roof above. See also Floor height . (Ord. 743 N.S., 05/2018, Ord. 768 N.S. 01/2023; Ord. 769 N.S., 10/2023, Ord. 772 N.S. 03/2024)

Rev. 2024-09-03 (Ordinance 774 N.S., 09/2024)

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