Article 16
Redwood City Zoning Code · 2026-06 edition · ingested 2026-07-06 · Redwood City
CP (COMMERCIAL PARK) DISTRICT*
Sections:
| 16.1 | Purpose. |
|---|---|
| 16.2 | Use Regulations. |
| 16.3 | Development Standards. |
| 16.4 | Outdoor Equipment and Facilities. |
| 16.5 | Minimum Pervious Area and Stormwater Requirements. |
16.1 Purpose. ¶
The purpose of the Commercial Park Zoning District is to provide areas appropriate for large-scale corporate offices, research and technology offices, and administrative and professional offices in a campus-like environment, to promote the development of employment and administrative activities, and serve local and regional markets. Limited accessory financial, retail, service, and lodging uses are permitted. Development in the shoreline locations of the Commercial Park Zoning District should react to the Bay location and the provision of trails and pedestrian access to the shoreline is strongly encouraged. (Ord. No. 1130-359, § 3(Exh. C), 4-8-13)
16.2 Use Regulations. ¶
1. Allowed Land Uses. Table 16-1 indicates the uses permitted (P), conditionally permitted with a Use Permit (C), permitted as an accessory use (A), and not permitted (-) in the Commercial Park Zoning District. Any other use not explicitly addressed in Table 16-1 is prohibited, except that the Zoning Administrator may permit or conditionally permit any use not addressed in Table 16-1 if the use is determined to be a similar and/or compatible use to any use in Table 16-1 and meets the purpose and intent of the Zoning District. All uses, unless stated otherwise, shall be conducted entirely within a building.
2. Applicable Regulations. Where the last column in the table ("Specific Use Regulations") includes a section number, the regulations in the referenced section apply to the use; however, provisions in other sections of this zoning ordinance may also apply.
*Editor’s note— Ord. No. 1130-359, § 3(Exh. C), adopted April 8, 2013, repealed the former Art. 16, §§ 16.1—16.12, and enacted a new Art. 16 as set out herein. The former Art. 16 pertained to similar subject matter and derived from Ord. 1130, eff. July 10, 1964; Ord. 1130.279, eff. Oct. 17, 1991; Ord. 1130.310, eff. April 12, 2001; Ord. 1130.320, eff. Aug. 13, 2003; Ord. 1130.327, eff. Dec. 1, 2003; and Ord. 1130-353, June 27, 2011.
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16.2
| Permitted by Right | Permitted by Right | Permitted by Right | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P: | Permitted as Accessory Use | |||||||
| Table 16-1 | A: | Conditional Use; | Use Permit Re- | |||||
| Allowed Uses for Commercial | C: | quired | ||||||
| Park Zoning District | —: | Not Allowed | ||||||
| Land Use | Specific Use Regulations | |||||||
| Lodging | ||||||||
| Hotel1, 2 Office Administrative Office1, 2 Business Office1, 2 Research and Development Office |
P P P P |
|||||||
| or Lab1, 2 | ||||||||
| Finance Service Office1, 2 Medical Clinic1, 2 Medical Office1, 2 Professional Office1, 2 Personal & Business Services Child Care Center |
P C C P A |
Article 39 | ||||||
| In conjunction with adjoining business 1, 2 |
||||||||
| Child Care Center | P/C | Article 39 (Child | Care) | |||||
| Not in conjunction with adjoin- | A Use Permit is required for more | |||||||
| ingbusiness1, 2 | than sixty (60)children. | |||||||
| Personal Services, General1, 2 | A | Chapter 18A: Regulation of Mas- | ||||||
| sage Businesses | ||||||||
| Restaurants, Eatingand Drinking Restaurant, Accessory Food Ser- |
A | |||||||
| vice1, 2 | ||||||||
| Restaurant, Drive Through1, 2 Restaurant, Fast Food1, 2 Restaurant, Sit-down1, 2 Restaurant, Take-out-service1, 2 Retail Retail Sales, General1, 2 |
C P P P A |
Chapter 15, Article III: Tobacco | ||||||
| Retail Permit | ||||||||
| Public orQuasi-Public Uses |
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16.3
| Permitted by Right | ||
|---|---|---|
| P: | Permitted as Accessory Use | |
| Table 16-1 | A: | Conditional Use; Use Permit Re- |
| Allowed Uses for Commercial | C: | quired |
| Park Zoning District | —: | Not Allowed |
| Land Use Public or quasi-public uses1, 2 |
C | Specific Use Regulations Corporation yards, storage or re- |
| pair yards, or warehouses not per- | ||
| mitted. | ||
| Schools - Public and Private1, 2 | C | Industrial machinery and pro- |
| cesses schools notpermitted. | ||
| Parkinglots andgarages Vehicle Rental,Sale,and Service Vehicle/Equipment Service and |
C Uses P |
All vehicle/equipment repair, res- |
| Repair, Minor1 | toration, and storage areas and | |
| operations shall occur within an | ||
| enclosed building. Used or dam- | ||
| aged equipment removed from | ||
| vehicles during the repair process | ||
| shall be stored indoors or shall be | ||
| deposited in an approved covered | ||
| outdoor collection receptacle for | ||
| appropriate off-site disposal. Out- | ||
| door storage and work areas are | ||
| prohibited. Service bays shall be | ||
| screened from direct view from a | ||
| public right-of-way and private | ||
| properties. | ||
| New car, boat, or trailer sales, | P | |
| rental and repair1 | ||
| Vehicle Service Station1 | C | Article 35 |
Footnotes:
In accordance with applicable San Carlos ALUCP Safety Compatibility policies and State law.
In accordance with applicable San Carlos ALUCP Noise Compatibility policies and State law.
(Ord. No. 1130-359, § 3(Exh. C), 4-8-13; Ord. No. 1130-364, § 9(Exh. H), 8-24-15; Ord. No. 1130-367, § 5, 6-13-16; Ord. No. 1130-383, § 4(Exh. A), 4-12-21; Ord. No. 1130-890, § 4(Exh. A), 8-26-24)
Editor’s note— Ord. No. 1130-367, § 5, adopted June 13, 2016, amended § 16.2 to read as set out herein. Previously § 16.2 was titled "Use Regulations."
16.3 Development Standards.
A. General Development Standards. Table 16-2 prescribes the development standards for the CP Zoning District. Additional regulations are denoted in the right hand column.
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| 16.3 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Table 16-2 | ||||||||
| Development Standards - Commercial Park Zoning District | ||||||||
| Development Stan- CP District |
Additional Regulations | |||||||
| dard | ||||||||
| Lot Standards Minimum Lot Width 100 ft BuildingForm and Location Minimum Yards Front 25 feet |
For every 1 foot | the building exceeds 35 | ||||||
| feet in height, 1 additional foot | of front | |||||||
| yard shall be required. Minimum front | ||||||||
| yards shall bepermanentlylandscaped. | ||||||||
| Side | 30 feet combined for | No one side shall have a width of less than | ||||||
| both | sides | 10 feet. | For every 1 foot the building ex- | |||||
| ceeds 35 feet in height, 1 additional foot of | ||||||||
| side yard shall be required on each side. | ||||||||
| Side yards on the street side of corner lots | ||||||||
| shall be equal in | depth to the front yard | |||||||
| requirement specified herein, and the 10 | ||||||||
| feet of such side | yard adjacent to the street | |||||||
| shall bepermanentlylandscaped. | ||||||||
| Rear | 25 feet | For every 1 foot | the building exceeds 35 | |||||
| feet in height, 1 additional foot | of rear | |||||||
| yard shall be required. | ||||||||
| Maximum Floor 0.80 |
See Section 16.3(B). | |||||||
| Area | Ratio(FAR) | |||||||
| Maximum FAR for No Maximum |
||||||||
| Hotels1 | ||||||||
| Maximum Height 100 feet |
B. Floor Area Ratio - Additional Regulations.
1. Exemptions from FAR Calculation. The following uses may be excluded from floor area when calculating total FAR:
- a. Child care centers. The floor area of child care centers that operate in conjunction with onsite or adjoining businesses and are consistent with Article 39 shall be exempt from the computation of FAR, provided that all of the following conditions are met: - i. The subject child care center shall include at least two thousand (2,000) square feet of indoor area, and at least three thousand (3,000) square feet of outdoor space and shall be of adequate size to accommodate at least forty (40) children;
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16.5
- ii. The maximum floor area ratio exemption associated with the provision of a child care center shall not be greater than two percent (2%) floor area ratio relative to the land area of the development; and
- iii. A deed restriction shall be recorded against the property to ensure the long term use of the portion of the development for child care.
b. Conference facilities and meeting rooms that are incidental to a primary use and are open to the public for rental or complementary use shall be exempt from the computation of FAR.
c. Mezzanine floor area. Mezzanine floor area that overhangs less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the ground floor area shall be exempt from the computation of FAR.
d. Parking garages, carports, and parking structures, including underground parking areas that are located below finished grade or finished floor of habitable space.
2. Incentive-Based FAR Bonus. A bonus FAR of up to 0.2 (not to exceed a total FAR of 1.0, not including exceptions as applicable in Section 16.3(B)(1) above) may be permitted for projects that allow public access to the shoreline and Bay, provided that all of the following conditions are met:
a. Provide publicly-accessible pedestrian and bicycle pathways along the water's edge, and connect to existing and planned networks.
b. Provide docks and/or develop pedestrian/bicycle networks to connect the project to existing marina(s) when possible.
c. Provide Quasi-Public or Public usable open space amounting to at least ten percent (10%) of the project area adjacent to the water's edge. Useable open space shall include enhancements to support its use, such as benches, trails, and landscaping. Signage and appropriate public access to the usable open space shall be provided to clearly indicate that the space is available for public use.
d. A public access easement shall be recorded against the property that ensures public access to the portion of the project which qualify it for the FAR Bonus.
3. Eligible projects may request an FAR bonus as described in Article 32.4: Floor Area Ratio (FAR) Bonus.
(Ord. No. 1130-359, § 3(Exh. C), 4-8-13; Ord. No. 1130-890, § 4(Exh. A), 8-26-24)
16.4
Outdoor Equipment and Facilities.
A. Trash and refuse collection and disposal facilities, and recycling facilities shall be enclosed by a solid fence and screened with permanently maintained landscaping.
B. Outdoor generators and equipment tanks shall be screen from public view by a structure or landscaping, shall meet all applicable safety standards, and shall not be located within a required parking stall.
(Ord. No. 1130-359, § 3(Exh. C), 4-8-13)
16.5 Minimum Pervious Area and Stormwater Requirements. ¶
A minimum of forty percent (40%) of each lot shall be pervious area, to be composed of landscaping, vegetated open space, or permeable paving materials, consistent with the provi-
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16.5
sions of Section 32.12 of the Zoning Ordinance. All development is also subject to the requirements of Chapter 27A (Stormwater Treatment Measures and Maintenance Program) of the Municipal Code.
(Ord. No. 1130-359, § 3(Exh. C), 4-8-13)
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(Redwood City Zoning Supp. No. 29, 1-25)