Santa Barbara Municipal Code Ch. 30.20 Residential Zones

The specific purposes of the Residential Zones are to:

A. Preserve, protect, and enhance the character of the City's different residential neighborhoods.

B. Provide for a full range of housing options to suit the spectrum of individual lifestyles and space needs and ensure continued availability of the range of housing opportunities necessary to meet the needs of all segments of the community consistent with the General Plan.

C. Ensure adequate light, air, and open space for each residence, enhance livability, and develop and sustain a suitable residential environment.

D. Ensure that the scale and design of new development and alterations to existing structures are compatible with the scale, mass, and character of their neighborhoods.

E. Provide sites for public, semi-public, and neighborhood serving land uses that are appropriate in a residential environment, such as day care, schools, neighborhood markets in two-unit residential and residential multi-unit zones, and community facilities that provide goods and services to support daily life within walking distance of neighborhoods and complement surrounding residential development.

F. Implement and provide appropriate regulations for General Plan residential density classifications.

Additional purposes of each Residential Zone follow:

1. RS Residential Single Unit. This zone is intended to provide areas for single-unit housing on individual lots at appropriate low densities of one unit per legal lot with allowances for an Accessory Dwelling Unit or Two-Unit Residential Development when certain standards are met. Designators (e.g. -25, -15) refer to minimum lot size in thousands of square feet or, in the case of RS-1A, acres. The regulations for the RS Zone are intended to limit activities which would be inharmonious with or injurious to the preservation and character of a residential environment. Nonresidential uses are limited to those that support daily life of neighborhoods and complement surrounding residential development. Nonresidential uses are strictly limited in order to mitigate impacts associated with nonresidential uses such as: traffic, increased parking demand, light, glare, and noise.

2. R-2 Two-Unit Residential. This zone is intended to provide areas for medium density residential where the principal use of land is for two-unit residences. Single-unit residence and garden apartment developments are also allowed. The regulations for this zone are intended to limit activities which would be inharmonious with or injurious to the preservation and character of a residential environment. Nonresidential uses are limited to those that support daily life of neighborhoods, complement surrounding residential development, and mitigate impacts to traffic, parking demand, light, glare, and noise.

3. R-M Residential Multi-Unit. This zone is intended to provide areas for a variety of multi-unit housing types. The regulations for this zone are intended to limit activities which would be inharmonious with or injurious to the preservation and character of a residential environment. Nonresidential uses are limited to those that support daily life of neighborhoods, complement surrounding residential development, and mitigate impacts to traffic, parking demand, light, glare, and noise.

4. R-MH Residential Multi-Unit and Hotel. This zone is intended to provide areas for a variety of multi-unit housing types. It is also the intent of this zone to allow hotels and similar establishments, including related restaurant, recreational, conference center, and other auxiliary uses primarily for use by hotel guests, while protecting the existing housing stock, and preserving the residential character of those neighborhoods that are still primarily residential. Regulations for this zone are designed to control activities of a retail nonresidential nature and those which would tend to be inharmonious with housing.

(Ord. 6047 § 1, 2021; Ord. 6217, 4/21/2026)

Table 30.20.020, Land Use Regulations — residential Zones, prescribes the land use regulations for Residential Zones.

Use classifications are defined in Chapter 30.295, Use Classifications. In cases where a specific land use or activity is not defined, the Community Development Director shall assign the land use or activity to a classification that is substantially similar in character. Use classifications and subclassifications not listed in the table, or not found to be substantially similar to the uses below, are prohibited.

The table also notes additional land use regulations that apply to various uses. Numbers in parentheses refer to specific limitations listed at the end of the table. Section numbers in the right-hand column refer to other sections of this Title.

TABLE 30.20.020: LAND USE REGULATIONS—RESIDENTIAL ZONES

(Ord. 5815, 2017; Ord. 5834, 2018; Ord. 6027 § 1, 2021; Ord. 6047 § 2, 2021; Ord. 6217, 4/21/2026)

Tables 30.20.030.A and 30.20.030.B prescribe the development standards for Residential Zones. Section numbers refer to other sections of this Title, while individual letters refer to subsections that directly follow the tables. Additional regulations that apply throughout the City are located in Division III, Citywide Regulations.

TABLE 30.20.030.A: DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS—RESIDENTIAL SINGLE UNIT ZONES

TABLE 30.20.030.B: DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS — TWO-UNIT AND MULTI-UNIT ZONES

Additional Residential Zone Development Regulations

A. Maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) Standards.

1. Measuring Floor Area. For the purposes of determining floor area, refer to Section 30.15.075, Measuring Floor Area Ratio (FAR).

2. Applicability in RS Zones. The Maximum FAR standards apply to any project that increases floor area on a lot, if all of the following apply:

a. The lot is located in an RS zone; and

b. The lot is less than 15,000 square feet in area; and

c. The lot is developed, or proposed to be developed, with a building of two or more stories or a height of 17 feet or greater.

3. Maximum FAR Exception. A project that meets the criteria in subsection A.2 and any of the conditions listed below in subsection A.3 is prohibited unless a Maximum FAR Exception is approved by the applicable Design Review body:

a. The proposed floor area exceeds 100% of the Maximum FAR for the lot; or

b. The proposed floor area exceeds 85% of the Maximum FAR for the lot, and one or more of the following apply:

i. The average slope of the lot or building site is 30% or greater; or

ii. The height of any structure on the lot exceeds 25 feet; or

iii. The lot is located within the Hillside Design District and 500 or more cubic yards of grading is proposed outside the footprint of the main or accessory buildings.

4. Required Findings for Maximum FAR Exception. The Design Review body must make all of the following findings in order to approve a Maximum FAR Exception pursuant to subsection A.3:

a. The subject lot has a physical condition—such as location, surroundings, topography, or the size or dimensions of the lot relative to other lots in the neighborhood—that does not generally exist on other lots in the neighborhood; and

b. The physical condition of the lot allows the proposed project to be compatible with existing development within the neighborhood that complies with the applicable Maximum FAR standard.

B. Setback Reduction for Sloping Lots.

1. Residential Single Unit Zones. In Residential Single Unit zones, where the average natural slope of the area within 50 feet of the front lot line is more than 20%, the required front setback and stepback for all stories is reduced by five feet.

2. R-2 Zone. In the R-2 Zone, where the average natural slope of the area within 50 feet of the front lot line is more than 20%, the required front setback and stepback for all stories is reduced to 10 feet.

(Ord. 5834, 2018; Ord. 6047 § 3, 2021; Ord. 6129, 12/5/2023; Ord. 6146, 3/12/2024; Ord. 6217, 4/21/2026)