Chapter 21.58 — MIXED-USE DISTRICT (M-U)

The Mixed-Use (M-U) district is intended to promote and guide the development of multifamily residential infill in areas developed with commercial uses or adjoined by parcels developed with commercial uses.

The purpose of the M-U district regulations is to set standards promoting high quality developments that combine commercial and residential land uses within the same building in a vertical arrangement or in separate buildings. (Ord. CS 1408, 12/9/2025)

The regulations set forth in this chapter shall apply to all M-U districts and shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter 21.08 .

(Ord. CS 1408, 12/9/2025)

• A. All uses permitted in the C-2 district, as listed in Section 21.56.020 , subject to the standards established by this chapter.

• B. All uses permitted in the R-3 district, as listed in Section 21.36.020 , subject to the standards established by this chapter.

• (Ord. CS 1408, 12/9/2025)

Uses permitted subject to first securing a use permit in each case:

• A. All uses permitted by use permit in Chapter 21.56 , C-2 district;

• B. All uses permitted by use permit in Chapter 21.36 , R-3 district. (Ord. CS 1408, 12/9/2025)

The following development standards shall apply to all land and buildings in the M-U district:

• A. Height Limits.

  1. Maximum height of building, seventy-five feet;

  2. No fence or screen planting in excess of three feet in height shall be constructed or permitted to grow within any required front yard, or side yard of a corner lot, unless the planning director determines that visibility will not be obstructed.

• B. Building Site Area, Lot Coverage, and Density.

  1. No minimum building site area is required. The building site area shall be sufficient to meet all applicable development regulations set forth in this chapter and any applicable development and design standards, including objective design standards adopted by the county.

  2. No minimum lot coverage is required. The lot coverage shall be sufficient to meet all applicable development regulations set forth in this chapter and any applicable development and design standards, including objective design standards adopted by the county.

  3. Up to two dwelling units are permitted on the first four thousand square feet of a lot with one additional unit permitted for each additional one thousand five hundred square feet of the lot to a maximum density of twenty-five units per net acre; provided that public sanitary sewer and water systems are connected thereto.

• C. Yards Required.

  1. Front Yard.

     • a. Not less than seventy feet from the existing centerline of the street, nor less than fifteen feet from the planned street line on a major street or expressway, whichever is the greater. Loading docks shall be so located that trucks will head-in and head-out and not use the public street for maneuvering, loading, or unloading. The vehicle opening of any building shall be no closer than twenty feet to the property line toward which the opening faces except where the property line abuts an alley of at least twenty feet in width, in which case, the vehicle opening may be five feet from the property line.

     • b. Not less than forty-five feet from the existing centerline of the street on a collector street (sixty feet wide) nor less than fifteen feet from the planned street line where a specific plan has been adopted. Loading docks shall be so located that trucks will head-in and head-out and not use the public highway for maneuvering, loading or unloading. The vehicle opening of any building shall be no closer than twenty feet to the property line toward which the opening faces except where the property line abuts an alley of at least twenty feet in width, in which case, the vehicle opening may be five feet from the property line.

so located that trucks will head-in and head-out and not use the public highway for maneuvering, loading or unloading. The vehicle opening of any building shall be no closer than twenty feet to the property line toward which the opening faces except where the property line abuts an alley of at least twenty feet in width, in which case, the vehicle opening may be five feet from the property line.

  - c. Not less than forty feet from the existing centerline of the street on a minor street (fifty feet wide) nor less than fifteen feet from the planned street line where a specific plan has been adopted. Loading docks shall be so located that trucks will head-in and headout and not use the public highway for maneuvering, loading or unloading. The vehicle opening of any building shall be no closer than twenty feet to the property line toward which the opening faces except where the property line abuts an alley of at least twenty feet in width, in which case, the vehicle opening may be five feet from the property line. 

  - d. At street intersections, fences shall be located with a minimum twenty-five-foot corner cutoff, measured along the lot lines from the point of right-of-way intersection. 

2. Side Yard, Interior Lot Line or Rear Yard. None, except where the side or rear of the property abuts an R district, in which case the minimum side or rear yard shall not be less than five feet.

3. Side Yard, Corner Lot. Structures not having direct vehicular access to the street may be located five feet closer to the planned street line than the front yard.

• D. Nuisance. No operation shall be conducted on any premises in such a manner as to cause an unreasonable amount of noise, odor, dust, smoke, vibration or electrical interference detectable off the site.

• E. Open Space and Landscaping.

  1. A minimum of one common outdoor gathering space shall be provided, including a minimum of four hundred square feet of common outdoor gathering space for residential projects with more than ten dwelling units. For every additional five dwelling units on site, an additional two hundred square foot common outdoor gathering space shall be provided.

Total planted area shall not be less than five percent of the lot area for existing buildings and ten percent for new construction. A landscaping plan in conformance with Chapter 21.102 indicating plant species, initial size, location and method of irrigation shall be approved by the planning director prior to issuance of any permit.

• F. Signs. Any sign program for any use shall be submitted to the planning director for approval prior to installation.

• G. Parking. See Chapter 21.76 for all off-street parking requirements.

• H. Screening.

  1. An eight-foot masonry wall shall be constructed along the property line adjacent to any residential or agricultural zone or any P-D zoning for residential use, except where a building abuts an alley in which case no wall shall be required.

2. If a multi-story building is built on a lot that borders an existing dwelling in a residential district, no windows, balconies, or other openings shall directly overlook the rear or side yards of the neighboring residential lot, and the project shall comply with the following provisions:

   • a. There shall be no windows or the windows shall have a bottom sill located at least five feet eight inches from the finished floor of a second (or higher) story.

   • b. No balconies shall face the R-1 zoned lot.

   • c. The requirement of subsection H.2.a shall not apply to windows required by building code to be usable for accessible emergency access.

     • i. Windows required for emergency access shall be frosted or otherwise altered to provide additional privacy, as approved by the planning director.

• I. Objective Design Standards. Any development shall be subject to all applicable objective design standards adopted by the county.

• J. City Standards. Within the adopted sphere of influence of any city, the city shall approve signage in accordance with Section 21.08.070 and city standards may be applied in lieu of county standards for landscaping and parking.

• K. Fire District. Any development located within the Salida Fire Protection District shall be subject to annexation into the Districts Community Facilities District prior to issuance of a building permit.

• (Ord. CS 1408, 12/9/2025)