Santa Clara Zoning Code § 4.2 Character Overlays

• A Four Character Overlays are established per Figure 4-2: Character Overlays The intent of these overlays is to calibrate the standards and guidelines of the Code to the specific urban environments envisioned by the Precise Plan This includes concentrating street life at key locations within the heart of Downtown while transitioning smoothly to the existing neighborhood context at the edges of Downtown

• B The Character Overlays include:

  3. The General Overlay. The General Overlay is the most flexible It allows for ground floor residences and offices as well as retail-ready frontages and shopfronts All areas not subject to the Shopfront or Retail-Ready Overlays fall within the General Overlay

1. Shopfront Overlay. The Shopfront Overlay determines the most active and urban nodes of Downtown It locates where the most active ground floor uses, such as restaurants or national retailers, are desired The Shopfront Overlay extends into the lot to a depth of 50' beyond the primary facade (or 30' for local non-formula retail and restaurant establishments, per Section 9.4.A )

4. Neighborhood Edge Overlay. The Neighborhood Edge overlay ensures that the overall building form transitions to the scale of the surrounding neighborhoods, so that you don't have long, monolithic facades across from the existing small house-form buildings It extends from into the lot to a depth of 20' beyond the primary facade It overlaps with other overlays (see Figure 4-2 ) and therefore, its requirements are in addition to those of the underlying overlay

2. The Retail-Ready Overlay. The Retail-Ready Overlay fills the gaps between the most active nodes This environment will feature a wider range of ground floor uses than in the Shopfront Overlay, but it must be able to transition to having the qualities of the Shopfront Overlay with retail and restaurant ground floors The Shopfront Overlay extends into the lot to a depth of 50' beyond the primary facade (or 30' for local non-formula retail and restaurant establishments, per Section 9.4.A )

FIGURE 4-2 | CHARACTER OVERLAYS

Overlays

Text read from an image; its layout may differ:
a
c
E C
A
I G
c c
* e
c c b b
c c
J H F D B
b b

Shopfront Retail-Ready General Neighborhood Edge

Dimensions

(Measured along the applicable private property line)

a = 50 feet

• b = 70 feet

• c = 90 feet

e = see Standard 5.3.E

***** Potential relocation of Franklin Square and its fountain to the block to the north, as part of any future development which includes the demolition of the existing building at this location

18 Attachment 1:108

Publication, Apr 2026

ZONING

18 | City of Santa Clara Downtown Form-Base Code

5 Building Placement