Chapter 8.76 — C2, GENERAL COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS

The following regulations shall apply in all “C-2” Districts and shall be subject to all applicable provisions of Article 2 and Article 3 of Title 8 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code.

• (a) All uses permitted in “C-1” Districts without regard to any limitations specified in Title 8 or such uses in said “C-1” Districts and without regard to the securing of any use permits EXCEPT for any residential uses, which shall first obtain a use permit. The Director of Planning and Building may, on a case-by-case basis, exempt residential accessory buildings and uses from the use permit requirement.

• (b) The following uses:

  1. Automobile repair garages, including storage facilities where all operations are conducted in a building enclosed on all sides.

  2. Billiard parlors or pool halls.

  3. Bowling alleys.

  4. Carpenter shops.

  5. Dance halls.

  6. Dancing academies.

  7. Electrical substations.

  8. Equipment and tool rental.

  9. Golf driving ranges and miniature golf courses.

  10. Laundries.

  11. Lumber yards - including the sale of lumber and wood products but not the milling and planing thereof.

  12. Paint, paper hanging and decorating shops.

  13. Plumbing shops where all operations are conducted in a building enclosed on all sides.

  14. Printing shops.

  15. Sign painting shops.

  16. Skating rinks.

  17. a. Pet sales and/or grooming establishments.

  - b. Veterinary hospitals for small animals. 
  

  18. Storage of household goods.

  19. Stores and shops for the conduct of any wholesale business.

  20. Stores and shops for the sale of used merchandise where all operations are conducted in a building enclosed on all sides.

  21. Tinsmith shops where all operations are conducted in a building enclosed on all sides.

  22. Used car sales.

  23. Scaffold storage and rental where all operations are conducted in a building enclosed on all sides.

  24. Maintenance and operation of up to five electronic amusement devices, provided, however, no such amusement device or devices may be located, operated, or maintained to or within three hundred (300) feet of the nearest entrance to or exit from any public or private school of elementary or high school grades.

• (c) Exterior signs pertaining to the business uses conducted on the premises and subject to the following limitations:

  1. Signs shall not exceed two hundred (200) square feet in area on one face and not more than five hundred (500) square feet in total area on the premises. Larger areas may be authorized by the use permit in exceptional cases.

  2. Signs shall not project more than one (1) foot beyond the street property line, but if a building is set back from a street property line, then such sign shall not project more than eight (8) feet from the face of the building.

  3. Attached signs shall not project above the roofline or cornice except when in the opinion of the Planning Commission the sign is an architectural part or feature of the building.

  4. Freestanding signs shall not extend to a height more than twenty (20) feet above the sidewalk or paved area except when in the opinion of the Planning Commission the sign is an architectural feature of the site.

5. Signs shall not face the side line of any adjoining lot in any “R” District when such sign is within twenty-five (25) feet of said side line.

• (d) The following uses subject to the securing of a use permit in each case as provided in Chapter 8.280 of Title 8.

  1. Trailer camps.

  2. Electroplating shops.

  3. Poultry slaughtering.

  4. Outdoor advertising structures or signs as defined in Sections 5202 and 5203 of the Business and Professions Code of the State of California.

  5. Children’s amusement devices.

  6. Roofing contractor’s establishments.

7. Maintenance and operation of six or more electronic amusement devices, provided, however, no such amusement device or devices may be located, operated, or maintained within three hundred (300) feet of the nearest entrance to or exit from any public or private school of elementary or high school grades.

8. Adult bookstores, adult movie houses or adult cabarets subject to the following limitations:

   • a. No adult bookstore, adult movie house or adult cabaret shall be located within one thousand (1,000) feet of any other adult bookstore, adult movie house or adult cabaret.

   • b. No adult bookstore, adult movie house or adult cabaret shall be located within two thousand (2,000) feet of any nursery school, elementary school, junior high school, high school, public playground or church.

   • c. No adult bookstore, adult movie house or adult cabaret shall be located within five hundred (500) feet of any R-1, R-2, or R-3 zoning district in the unincorporated area, or within five hundred (500) feet of any residential zoning district in any adjacent jurisdiction.

9. Bed and breakfast inns (outside Coastal Zone).

10. Non-Chartered Financial Institutions, subject to the following requirements:

• a. No Non-Chartered Financial Institution may be located within a radius of one thousand (1,000) feet from the nearest existing Non-Chartered Financial Institution.

• b. No Non-Chartered Financial Institution may be located within a radius of five hundred (500) feet from the following land uses:

  • (1) Residentially zoned parcels

  • (2) Any State or Federally chartered bank, savings association, credit union, or industrial loan company.

  • (3) Religious Institution.

  • (4) School or Day Care Facility.

  • (5) Bar or Liquor Store, excluding full service restaurants and alcoholic beverage sales establishments with twenty-five (25) or more full time equivalent (FTE) employees and a total floor area of twenty thousand (20,000) square feet or more.

  • (6) Pawn Shops.

• c. Each new Non-Chartered Financial Institution shall meet the following minimum standards of performance, which shall be included as conditions of approval for such uses, provided that nothing in this Ordinance Code shall limit the discretion of the decision making body to impose additional performance standards as may be warranted in any given case. These standards are obligations of the owner(s) of the Non-Chartered Financial Institution and are intended to ensure the Non-Chartered Financial Institution does not negatively impact the public health and safety:

  - (1) A lighting plan shall be reviewed and approved by the County Planning and Building Department prior to the issuance of building permits and all lighting required by the approved plan shall be installed prior to final approval on the building permit.  Exterior lighting shall be provided on all frontages.  Exterior lighting shall be designed so as not to cast glare off-site. 
  

• (2) Storefronts shall have glass or transparent glazing in the windows and doors. No more than ten (10) percent of any window or door area shall be covered by signs, banners, or opaque coverings of any kind.

• (3) Days and hours of operation shall be limited to 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., seven days a week. Patrons shall be discouraged from loitering prior to, during and/or after hours of operation. At least one “no loitering” sign with a typeface at least two (2) inches tall shall be installed and maintained where it will be visible to pedestrians on each side of the building in which the activity is located including, but not limited to, street frontages and parking lots.

• (4) Graffiti shall be removed from the building that houses the Non-Chartered Financial Institution within seventy-two (72) hours of application.

• (5) Litter shall be removed at least two (2) times daily or as needed from in front of the building that houses the Non-Chartered Financial Institution, and for twenty (20) feet beyond the building along adjacent street(s). Crates, mattresses, and all other material placed within this area shall be removed immediately.

• (6) The applicant shall post at least one (1) uniformed security guard on duty at all times the business is open. The security guard shall patrol the interior and all exterior portions of the property under control of the owner or operator of the Non-Chartered Financial Institution including, but not limited to, parking lots and any open public spaces such as lobbies.

(Prior Code § 6261(a); Ord 2204 – 06/19/73)

(Prior Code § 6261(a); Ord 3434 – 11/10/92)

(Prior Code § 6261(b); Ord 1248 – 11/05/57)

(Prior Code § 6261(b); Ord 1428 – 07/27/60) (Prior Code § 6261(b)17; Ord 3434 – 11/10/92)

(Prior Code § 6261(b)24; Ord 2796 – 09/07/82) (Prior Code § 6261(d)5; Ord 1300 – 06/24/58) (Prior Code § 6261(d)5; Ord 2785 – 04/27/82) (Prior Code § 6261(d)6; Ord 1846 – 09/05/57) (Prior Code § 6261(d)7; Ord 2796 – 09/07/82) (Prior Code § 6261(d)8; Ord 2813 – 12/07/82) (Prior Code § 6261(d)9; Ord 2810 – 11/16/82) (Prior Code § 6261(d)9; Ord 3207 – 02/20/90) (Prior Code § 6261(d)9; Ord 4225 – 07/27/04) (Prior Code § 6261(d)10; Ord 4621 – 06/26/12) (Prior Code § 6262; Ord 1483 – 10/10/61)