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Title 17 — ZONING[[1]]Chapter 17.44 — OPEN-SPACE ZONES AND STANDARDS

§ 17.48

San Clemente Zoning Code · 2026-06 edition · updated 2026-07-25 · San Clemente

17.48.010 - Purpose and Intent.

The General Plan details the goals, objectives and policies for the City's public zones. It is the purpose of this chapter to implement the General Plan's vision for the public zones through development regulations that allow for a range of public buildings and services designed to be compatible in scale, mass, character and architecture with the zone or neighborhood in which they are located.

A.

Civic Center (CVC) Zone. The CVC land-use designation is intended to provide for limited governmental offices and related facilities on the City's existing civic center site. This designation is intended to be the less intense of the public zones, allowing fewer uses than those allowed in the Public Zone.

B.

Public (P) Zone. The P land-use designation is intended to provide for a broad range of public facilities on public lands. This zone is the more intense of the public zones established in the City's General Plan, allowing a greater range of public uses, including governmental administrative, public recreational, cultural (such as public libraries and museums), educational (public schools), and institutional facilities, public and private parking, and undeveloped parks.

C.

Institutional (INST) Zone. The Institutional Zone is intended to provide for a broad range of institutional uses, including cultural, religious and educational facilities.

(Ord. 1172 § 3 (part), 1996; Ord. No. 1652, § 4, 5-15-2018)

17.48.020 - Public Zone Use Regulations.

A.

Permitted and Conditionally Permitted Uses. .....The uses identified in Table 17.48.020, Public Zone Uses, shall be the primary uses allowed to occur on a property. All uses except for those provided for in Sections 17.28.210, Outdoor display and 17.28.300, Temporary Uses and Structures, of this title shall be conducted within enclosed structures. The primary uses identified in Table 17.48.020, Permitted and Conditional Uses Within Public Zones, shall be permitted or conditionally permitted as indicated:

P Where the symbol "P" appears, the use shall be permitted.
MC Where the symbol "MC" appears, the use shall be permitted subject to the issuance of
a Minor Conditional Use Permit, in accordance with Section
17.16.070,Minor
Conditional Use Permits, of this title.
C Where the symbol "C" appears, the use shall be permitted subject to the issuance of a
Conditional Use Permit, in accordance with Section
17.16.060,Conditional Use
Permits, of this title.

Where the symbol "O" appears, the use is subject to an alternative review process described in a subsequent footnote.

O

B.

Prohibited Uses. .....The following uses are prohibited:

1.

Uses that are listed in Table 17.48.020, Public Zone Uses, but are not identified as either permitted—"P"— or conditionally permitted—"MC or C"; and

2.

Uses that have been excluded from Table 17.48.020, Public Zone Uses, unless they are found by the City to be similar to permitted or conditionally permitted uses.

3.

Uses where a blank cell appears within Table 17.48.020, Public Zone Uses.

Table 17.48.020

Permitted and Conditional Uses Within Public Zones

Use CVC P INST
1. Public/Quasi Public and Institutional Uses
Amphitheater C For permitted and conditional uses
Cultural Facilities C for the institutional zones found in the
Marblehead Inland Master Plan area,
Day Care Centers, in Conjunction
with Public Ofces:1

please refer to the Master Plan.
Emergency Shelter7 P P
Small-Family Day Care Home8 P P
Large-Family Day Care Home8 P P
Day Care Center C C
Government Ofces and Related
Facilities
C C
Libraries (Public) C
Museums (Public) C
Open Space (Undeveloped) P P
Parking Lots2 C
Parking Structures C
Parks3 O
Parks (Undeveloped) P P
Public Art C C
Public Safety Facilities (Including
Police, Fire and Marine Safety)
C C
Public Utilities4:
City-Initiated Projects O O
Projects Initiated by Outside Agencies P P
Major Utilities C C
Minor Utilities P P
Reservoirs (Public) C
Schools (Public) C
Transportation Facilities (For Transfer
Between Foot or Car and Buses)
C
2. Unclassifed Uses
Accessory Buildings C C For permitted and conditional uses
for the institutional zones found in the
Marblehead Inland Master Plan area,
please refer to the Master Plan.
Recycling Facilities, Small5 C
Grading,6(Not Accompanying a
Development Request):
Emergency P P P
Major C C C
Minor P P P

1 Refer to Section 17.28.180, Child Day Care Facilities, of this title, for special provisions for Child Day Care Centers.

2 Refer to Section 17.28.220, Parking Lots, of this title, for special provisions for single-use parking lots.

3 Please refer to Section 17.28.230, Public Park Facilities, for other review requirements for public park facilities. Passive and active facilities require different types of review.

4 Refer to Section 17.28.240, Public Utilities, of this title, for special provisions for public utilities.

5 Refer to Section 17.28.250, Recycling facilities, of this title, for special provisions for recycling facilities.

6 Refer to Section 17.28.130, Grading, of this title, for special provisions for grading requests that are not accompanying development requests.

7 Refer to Section 17-56.100, Emergency Shelter Overlay. Exception, Public zoned parcels with a school or school faculties shall not be permitted to establish an emergency shelter.

8 Small-family and large-family day care homes are permitted in a detached single-family dwelling, a townhouse, a dwelling unit within a dwelling, or a dwelling unit within a covered multi-family dwelling in which the underlying zoning allows for residential uses, or a legal non-conforming single-family dwelling unit in a nonresidential zone. Small-family and large-family day care homes only shall operate in buildings that were lawfully constructed.

(Ord. 1314 §§ 52—55, 2006; Ord. 1172 § 3 (part), 1996)

(Ord. No. 1575, § 3(Exh. A, § 11), 12-3-2013; Ord. No. 1585, § 2(Exh. A), 9-2-2014; Ord. No. 1707, § 3, 2-22021)

17.48.030 - Public Zone General Development Standards and Guidelines.

The following property development standards shall apply to all land and permitted or conditionally permitted buildings and uses located within their respective public zones.

A.

General Development Standards. Table 17.48.030, Public Zone Development Standards, lists development standards required for projects in public zones.

Table 17.48.030

Public Zone Development Standards

Standard CVC P INST
Lot Area,
Minimum
4 Acres Determined through
discretionary review. Refer
For development standards
for the Institutional Zone
Lot Width,
Minimum
N/A to Section
17.48.030(B),
Development Guidelines, of
this title for guidelines for
found in the Marblehead
Master Plan area, please
refer to the Master Plan
Front Yard
Setback,
Minimum1
20 ft.; Please refer to
Section
17.64.060(C),
Landscaping, For
landscaping setbacks for
parking areas.
,
development in the public
zones. Please refer to
Section
17.24.170,
Residentially Zoned
Property, Development
Adjacent To, for setbacks
from residentially zoned
property. Please refer to
Section
17.64.060(C),
Landscaping, for
.
Please refer to Section
17.24.170,Residentially
Zoned Property,
Development Adjacent To,
for setbacks from
residentially zoned property.
Interior-Side
Yard
Setback,
Minimum2
5 ft.; Please refer to Section
17.24.170,Residentially
Zoned Property,
Development Adjacent To,
for setbacks from
residentially zoned property.
landscaping setbacks for
parking areas.
Street-Side
Yard
Setback,
Minimum3
10 ft.; Please refer to
Section
17.64.060(C),
Landscaping, for
landscaping setbacks for
parking areas.
Rear Yard
Setback,
Minimum4
10 ft.; Please refer to
Section
17.24.170,
Residentially Zoned
Property, Development
Adjacent To, for setbacks
from residentially zoned
property.
Please refer to Section
17.64.060(C), Landscaping,
for landscaping setbacks for
parking areas.
Lot
Coverage,
Maximum
40%
Floor Area
Ratio,
Maximum
0.35
Building
Height,
Maximum
TOR: 33 ft.; PL: 26 ft.; and 2
stories Height is measured
from the highest existing
pad, with development
"stepping down" the site to
conform to the topography.
Landscaping For general landscaping standards, please refer to
Chapter 17.68,Landscape Standards,
of this title. Specifc landscaping requirements for an individual site shall be determined as
part of the discretionary review required for a proposed project.
Parking Refer to
Chapter 17.64,Parking Access and Standards, of this title, for parking
requirements.

1 A minor adjustment to the required front yard setback is available through the approval of a Minor Exception Permit, in accordance with Section 17.16.090, Minor Exception Permits, of this title.

2 A minor adjustment to the required side yard setback is available through the approval of a Minor Exception Permit, in accordance with Section 17.16.090, Minor Exception Permits, of this title.

3 A minor adjustment to the required side yard setback is available through the approval of a Minor Exception Permit, in accordance with Section 17.16.090, Minor Exception Permits, of this title.

4 A minor adjustment to the required rear yard setback is available through the approval of a Minor Exception Permit, in accordance with Section 17.16.090, Minor Exception Permits, of this title.

B.

Development Guidelines. .....As the sites given the CVC and P designations are located adjacent to other zones, with their own unique standards, the following development guidelines are provided for these zones. Refer also to the City's Design Guidelines. In the CVC and P zones, development shall:

1.

Maintain public view corridors to the beach and ocean and other environmental resources;

2.

Avoid impacts to sensitive habitat areas and topographical features;

3.

Provide for safe, enhanced public access to City facilities;

4.

Be compatible in scale, mass, character and architecture with the zone, district or neighborhood in which it is located;

5.

Be particularly sensitive to physical and visual separation between structures on adjacent residentially owned property and publicly owned property;

6.

Avoid the appearance of uninterrupted vertical walls, incorporating setbacks, modulations, and other architectural elements in building elevations located along the slope.

(Ord. 1172 § 3 (part), 1996)

17.48.040 - Public Zone Special Development Standards.

Chapter 17.24, General Development Standards, of this title, includes a number of special provisions affecting publicly zoned properties. Unless otherwise indicated in the referenced sections, or in other City documents regulating public development, the development standards listed in Chapter 17.24, General Development Standards, of this title, shall apply to all zones described in this chapter.

Table 17.48.040

Special Development Standards for All Public Zones

Standards Sections

Accessory Buildings Section
17.24.040
Building Equipment and Services and Their
Screening
Section
17.24.050
Encroachment into Setbacks and Height Limits,
General
Section
17.24.080
Fences, Walls, Hedges Section
17.24.090
Height Limitations Section
17.24.110
Lighting Section
17.24.130
Of-Street Loading Area Section
17.24.150
Relocation of Structures Section
17.24.160
Residentially Zoned Properties, Development
Adjacent to
Section
17.24.170
Retaining Walls Section
17.24.180
Skirt Walls Section
17.24.190
Substandard Lots Section
17.24.200
Through Lots, Rear Yard Setback For Section
17.24.210
Trip Reduction Measures for Projects with Greater
than 100 Employees
Chapter 17.76

(Ord. 1172 § 3 (part), 1996)

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