§ 3.40

The purpose of the -n Neighborhood Preservation combining districts is to provide neighborhood-specific development standards for certain urban unincorporated areas (unincorporated lands within a city's urban service area). Where necessary and appropriate, they augment the base zoning district regulations to better address a particular area's historic development patterns and characteristics, significant and problematic discrepancies between the standards of the County and the adjoining city, and unique area-specific development issues. More fundamentally, they are intended to provide effective, practical and appropriate

development standards to maintain and improve the quality of residential neighborhoods. These districts are also intended to implement the policies of the Santa Clara County General Plan regarding development within, and the annexation of, urban unincorporated areas.

The area-specific regulations and criteria set forth in this chapter shall apply as indicated by the designator "-n" added to the base zoning designation (e.g.: -n 1 , -n 2 , -n 3 , etc.) and shall supersede any conflicting regulations of the applicable base zoning district.

To minimize the differences between the development standards of the County and those of the adjoining City of Los Altos, and to encourage residential development that better complements the character of existing development, the following regulations shall apply to residential development in zoning districts that contain the -n 1 designator.

A.

Floor Area.

1.

Except where the provisions of subsection C below are applicable, the following floor area limitations shall apply.

a.

Lots of 10,000 square feet (net) or less: a floor area ratio not to exceed 0.35; and

b.

Lots larger than 10,000 square feet (net): 3,500 square feet of floor area, plus one additional square foot of floor area per ten square feet of lot area over 10,000 square feet, to a maximum total floor area of 5,700 square feet.

2.

For the purposes of this section, floor area shall include:

a.

The gross floor area (defined in Section 1.30.030) of dwellings;

b.

A cumulative total of 800 square feet for all accessory dwelling units on a lot shall not count toward floor area;

c.

Up to 800 square feet for a unit constructed using the Urban Primary Unit use classification (defined in § 2.10.030) shall not count toward floor area;

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d.

Any exposed portions of basements where finish floor level immediately

above is more than four feet above grade (see Fig. 3.40-1). Window wells, as defined and required for egress by the California Building Code (CBC) or California Residential Code (CRC), shall be limited to ten percent above the minimum dimensions required by the CBC and CRC; and

e.

All accessory buildings on any lot where the cumulative area of accessory Fig. 3.40-1 Basement Floor Area buildings exceeds 500 square feet.

3.

Floor area calculations shall be noted on building permit site plans. These computations must be calculated, verified, signed and stamped by a registered civil engineer, a licensed land surveyor, or a licensed architect.

B.

Height of Dwellings. The maximum height of dwellings shall be 27 feet.

C.

Special Development Standards for Underlying Lots.

For the purposes of this subsection, "underlying lot" means any lot that meets all of the following criteria:

a.

Was contiguous to a lot under common ownership as of May 5, 1998;

b.

Was not separately developed and not approved as a single building site as of May 5, 1998; and

c.

Does not meet the minimum lot size of the applicable zoning district.

This definition shall also apply to lots resulting from the lot line adjustment of underlying lots, unless the resulting lot(s) meet(s) or exceed(s) the minimum size required by the zoning district. For the purposes of this provision, the term "lot line adjustment" includes adjustments that result in fewer lots than the original configuration.

2.

Development of any individual underlying lot shall conform to the following special requirements:

a.

Floor area ratio shall not exceed 0.25, except that any underlying lot larger than 16,660 square feet shall be subject to the standard floor area ratio formula of subsection A.1.b of this section.

b.

Design review shall be required for any two-story house proposed. The review shall emphasize general neighborhood compatibility and impacts on adjacent properties.

c.

Accessory buildings 500 square feet or smaller that would not be included in floor area calculations per subsection 3.40.030(A)(2)(c) shall only be excluded from floor area calculations if they are designed and used as garage or storage buildings exclusively. Such exempt buildings shall not contain integral heating, ventilation or air conditioning systems, and shall not include bathrooms.

(Ord. No. NS-1200.318, § 5, 3-28-06; Ord. No. NS-1200.323, § 5, 1-29-08; Ord. No. NS-1200.330, § 2, 9- 28-10; Ord. No. NS-1200.367, § 6, 6-19-18; Ord. No. NS-1200.371, § 7, 3-10-20; Ord. No. NS-1200.383, § 5, 1-24-23)

Editor's note— Section 3 of Ord. No. NS-1200.330 allows for an effective date of November 1, 2010, and states: "This ordinance shall not apply to discretionary land-use applications that include house plans (floor plans and elevations) that have been deemed complete or approved prior to November 1, 2010, not to projects for which a building permit application has been accepted by the Building Inspection Office prior to November 1, 2010.

In recognition of the eclectic and historical character of housing within the central Burbank area, the following specific standards and requirements shall apply to all dwellings in zoning districts that contain the "-n 2 " combining designation.

A.

Front Yard Setbacks. Front yard setbacks shall be 20 feet.

B.

Floor Area Ratio. Floor area ratio (FAR) shall not exceed 0.50. Floor area ratio calculations must be noted on building permit site plans. These computations must be verified, stamped and signed by either a licensed architect, registered civil engineer, or licensed land surveyor. A cumulative total of 800 square feet for all accessory dwelling units on a lot shall not count toward floor area. For lots upon which a unit is developed pursuant to the Urban Primary Unit use classification (defined in § 2.10.030), 800 square feet shall not count toward floor area.

(Ord. No. NS-1200.327, § 12, 2-9-10; Ord. No. NS-1200.371, § 8, 3-10-20; Ord. No. NS-1200.383, § 6, 1- 24-23)

In recognition of the unique character of the Stanford University: Upper San Juan neighborhood, the purpose of this combining district is to preserve the physical characteristics of the Upper San Juan neighborhood, including, but not limited to, large lots, irregular street patterns, and mature landscaping, and to encourage residential development that is consistent with the character of existing development. The following standards shall apply to residential development in zoning districts that contain the -n 3 designator.

A.

Front Yard Setbacks. Front yard setbacks shall be 30 feet (see "setback" definition in 1.30.030).

B.

Maximum Lot Coverage.

1.

Single-Family development shall not exceed 20 percent lot coverage (see "lot coverage" definition in Section 1.30.030).

2.

Two-Family and Multi-Family development shall not exceed 35 percent lot coverage.

Accessory dwelling units, as defined in Section 2.10.030 and developed pursuant to Section 4.10.015, and/or housing developed pursuant to Section 65852.21 of the California Government Code are exempt from the above lot coverage standards.

C.

Minimum Lot Frontage.

1.

For all lots created pursuant to the Subdivision Ordinance in Chapter 1 of Division C12 of the County Code and the Subdivision Map Act, a minimum lot frontage length (front lot line) of 100 feet per lot shall be required.

2.

Notwithstanding the minimum lot frontage in Section 3.40.050(C)(1), if the lot frontage of lots created pursuant to Section 66411.7 of the California Government Code are less than 100 feet, one of the following standards shall apply:

a.

For a subdivision with one lot configured as a flag lot, the minimum street frontage of the front lot abutting the street shall be at least 85 feet. The width of the fee access corridor or easement to the flag lot shall not be less than 15 feet and not more than 20 feet. See Figure 3.40.050-2a.

b.

For a subdivision where the street frontage of the lot before the subdivision is less than 100 feet, the subdivision shall provide an ingress-egress easement of not less than 15 feet and not more than 20 feet and there shall be one driveway shared by the two lots created. See Figure 3.40.050-2b.

c.

For an existing lot with front and rear access to streets and where the subdivision creates lots with street frontage on both streets, the existing lot frontage width can be maintained. See Figure 3.40.050-2c.

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D.

Driveways. Location of driveways for a two-lot subdivision shall be placed adjacent to the original lot line to minimize removal of existing landscaping.

E.

Parking Requirements. A minimum of one parking space shall be provided per unit for Two-Family and Multi-Family residences. No covered parking space is required. This parking space requirement supersedes the parking space requirement for Two-Family and Multi-Family residences in Section 4.30.030 "Parking Spaces Required -Residential Uses" Table 4.30-1 and Section 4.30.070(A)(9).

F.

Lot coverage—Nonconforming buildings and structures. All lot coverage-nonconforming buildings and structures existing before July 1, 2022, may be enlarged to increase the total lot coverage area by no more than 250 feet so long as the enlargement complies with all other development standards of Section 3.40.050.

G.

Lot coverage-Nonconforming Dwelling: Casualty Reconstruction. Where a single-family or two-family dwelling with nonconforming lot coverage is involuntarily damaged or destroyed by earthquake, fire, flood, or other casualty event, reconstruction shall not require conformance to currently applicable lot coverage, provided all of the following apply:

1.

The lot coverage-nonconforming portion of the original dwelling was constructed with applicable building permits required at the time of construction or was constructed at a time that predates building permit requirements.

The floor area of the proposed reconstructed dwelling is not more than 250 square feet larger than the legally constructed floor area of the original dwelling.

3.

Any lot coverage-nonconforming deck or balcony, covered or uncovered, within the original building footprint may only be replaced with a like deck or balcony.

H.

Other nonconforming conditions. For all other nonconforming conditions refer to Chapter 4.50 of the Zoning Ordinance.

(Ord. No. NS-1200.382, § 1, 5-24-22)

In order to create conforming setbacks in existing and future residential lots, maintain consistent neighborhood pattern within a portion of Cambrian Park as the minimum lot size increases, and preserve the existing neighborhood character of the large residential lots within the Cambrian Park area, the following specific setback requirements shall apply to all dwellings in zoning districts that contain the "-n 5 " combining designation.

A.

Front yard setbacks. Front yard setbacks shall be 25 feet (see "setback" definition in Section 1.30.030).

B.

Side yard setbacks. Side yard setbacks shall be eight feet, except for corner lots, where the minimum setback for the exterior side yard shall be ten feet.

(Ord. No. NS-1200.318, § 6, 3-28-06)

CHAPTER 3.50. - "-h" HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMBINING DISTRICTS[[5]]

Footnotes:

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Cross reference— Historical heritage commission, § A6-60 et seq.