Tehama Municipal Code Ch. 17.04 General Provisions and Definitions

There is adopted a zoning plan for the entire incorporated land area of the city of Tehama, state of California, said zoning plan being a districting plan.

(Ord. No. 198 , 6-13-23)

The zoning plan is adopted to promote and protect the public health, safety, peace, morals, comfort, and general welfare, as well as to implement the general plan of the city of Tehama adopted in the year 1972, and to preserve the primary character of the city as residential and agricultural as distinguished from industrial and commercial.

(Ord. No. 198 , 6-13-23)

The ordinance codified in this Title 17 shall be known by the following short title:

CITY OF TEHAMA ZONING ORDINANCE IMPLEMENTING THE GENERAL PLAN.

(Ord. No. 198 , 6-13-23)

No building or structure shall be erected, constructed or structurally altered in any manner, nor shall land, whether open-space or not, be used for any purpose other than as permitted by and in conformance with this Title 17.

(Ord. No. 198 , 6-13-23)

For the purpose of this Title 17 certain words and phrases are defined; the word "shall" is mandatory; the word "may" is permissive.

"Accessory dwelling unit (ADU)" means an attached or detached dwelling unit that provides complete independent living facilities on the same parcel as a legal single-family or multi-family dwelling, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation. See Chapter 17.60, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs).

"Adult day care facility" means a facility that provides care to persons eighteen (18) years of age or older in need of personal services, supervision, or assistance essential for sustaining the activities of daily living or for the protection of the individual on less than a twenty-four-hour basis. This use is classified as a community care facility. See definition of "community care facility" in this Section.

"Alcohol beverage sales" means the retail sale of alcoholic beverages, including, but not limited to, beer and wine, for consumption off-site.

"Banks or financial institutions" means a commercial establishment, including a federally chartered bank, savings and loan association, industrial loan company, or credit unions, that provides retail banking services to individuals and businesses.

"Bar" means a commercial establishment or part of an establishment that sells alcoholic beverages to be consumed on the premises.

"Basement" means a story of a building partly or wholly underground.

"Block" means all property fronting upon one side of a street between intersecting and intercepting streets or between a street and a railroad right-of-way, dead end street, or unsubdivided land. An intercepting street shall determine only the boundary of the block on the side of the street which it intercepts.

"Building" means any structure having a roof supported by columns or by walls and designed for the shelter or housing for any person, animal or chattel and having a fixed location upon the ground.

Building, height of. "Height of building" means the vertical distance from the average level of the highest and lowest point of that portion of the lot covered by the building, to the topmost point of the roof, excluding ventilating and air conditioning equipment, and chimneys.

"Building site" means a lot or parcel of land within the platted area of the city and as designated on the official map thereof in single or joint ownership and occupied or to be occupied by a main building and accessory building with such open spaces as are required by the terms of this title and have its principal fronting on a street.

"Cellar" means a room or set of rooms for the storage of food, fuel, equipment, supplies or material, wholly or partly underground.

"Child care center" means any licensed childcare center, daycare center, or childcare home, or any preschool.

"Child day care home" means a single-family dwelling used by the occupant to provide day care and supervision for up to fourteen (14) children in compliance with Health and Safety Code Section 1597.465. Children under the age of ten (10) years who reside in the home count as a part of the fourteen-child maximum.

"Child therapeutic day services facility" means a facility that provides care, counseling, educational or vocational support, or social rehabilitation services on less than a twenty-four-hour basis to persons under eighteen (18) years of age who would otherwise be placed in foster care or who are returning to families from foster care. This use is classified as a community care facility. See definition of "community care facility" in this section.

"Church" means a structure or leased portion of a structure, which is used primarily for religious worship and related religious activities.

"Community care facility" means any facility, place, or structure which is maintained and operated to provide residential care, day treatment, adult day care, or foster family agency services for children or adults, including, but not limited to, the physically handicapped, mentally impaired, incompetent persons, elderly, and abused or neglected children (Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations). This use is further categorized by size: small (six or fewer residents) and large (seven or more residents). For the purpose of this title, small community care facilities shall be considered a residential use, whereas large community care facilities shall be considered a commercial use. Community care facilities include the following as defined by this section: adult day care facility, child therapeutic day services facility, community treatment facility, foster home, residential care facility, and social rehabilitation facility.

"Community treatment facility" means a facility that provides care and mental health treatment services to children in a group setting. Program components shall be subject to program standards developed by the State Department of Mental Health. This use is classified as a community care facility. See definition of "community care facility" in this section.

"Cultivation" means the planting, growing, harvesting, drying, processing, or storage of one or more marijuana plants or any part thereof in any location, indoor or outdoor, including from within a fully enclosed and secure building.

"Density bonus" means, as defined by Government Code Section 65915 et seq., is an increased density of at over the maximum authorized density which is granted to a owner/developer of a housing project agreeing to construct a prescribed percentage of very low and/or low income dwelling units. When determining the number of dwelling units that are to be affordable, the number of dwelling units authorized by the density bonus shall not be included.

"Density bonus housing agreement" means a legally binding agreement between an owner/developer and the city to ensure that the requirements of this title are satisfied. The agreement shall establish the number of bonus units, their size, location, terms, and conditions of affordability, and production schedule. The agreement shall also require proper management and maintenance of the units.

"District" means a portion of the city within which certain uses of land and building are permitted or prohibited, all as set forth and specified in this title.

"Dual purpose solar energy system" means a solar energy system designed to provide both on-premises electricity consumption and excess generation for sale. The system shall not exceed twice the power needed for on-premises consumption or else shall be deemed a solar power facility.

"Dual purpose wind energy system" means a wind energy system designed to provide both on-premises electricity consumption and excess generation for sale. The system shall not exceed twice the power needed for on-premises consumption or else shall be deemed a wind power facility.

"Dwelling" means a building or portion thereof designed and used exclusively for residential occupancy including one-family and two-family dwellings.

"Efficiency kitchen" means a cooking facility which includes all the following: sink; cooking appliances that do not require electrical service greater than one hundred twenty (120) volts, or natural or propane gas; a food preparation counter(s); and food storage cabinets.

"Emergency shelter" means a temporary housing facility with overnight sleeping accommodations, the primary purpose of which is to provide temporary shelter for the homeless in general or for specific populations of homeless. The facility provides minimal supportive services and is limited to occupancy of six months or less by a homeless person. See Section 17.12.010 (Permitted use) for additional emergency shelter standards.

"Enforcing officer" means the health officer or the sheriff, or the authorized deputies or designees of either, or any person employed by the city and appointed to the position of code enforcement officer, as established by City of Tehama Resolution Number 125-1991, each of whom is independently authorized to enforce this chapter.

"Equipment sales and rental facility" means a service establishment with or without outdoor storage/rental yards, which offer a wide variety of equipment types, including construction equipment.

"Facility" includes any facility, building, structure, premises, or location, whether fixed or mobile, permanent or temporary, and any type of delivery service.

"Family" means a group of two or more persons related by blood, marriage or adoption and living together as a single household.

"Farmworker housing" means residential housing whose occupancy is restricted to persons who are employed in, raising, or harvesting any agricultural commodities. Prior to construction of such housing, the developer shall enter into an agreement with the city that ensures occupancy by qualified residents only.

"Fence" means any structural device forming a physical barrier by means of hedge, wood, mesh, metal, chain, bricks, stakes, plastic or other similar material.

"Foster home" means a facility that provides twenty-four-hour care for foster children which is owned, leased, or rented and is the residence of the foster parent(s), including their family, in whose care the foster children have been placed. This use is classified as a community care facility. See definition of "community care facility" in this section.

"Garage" or "car port" means accessible and useable covered space of not less than nine by twenty (20) feet storage for each automobile.

"High quality transit corridor" means the intersection of two or more major bus routes with a frequency of service interval of fifteen (15) minutes or less during the morning and afternoon peak commute periods.

"Historic structure/sites" means a historical resource that is at least fifty (50) years or older, is listed in, or determined to be eligible for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources, listed in a local register, deemed significant, presumed to be historically or culturally significant. Structures/sites that have architectural, cultural, and or historical features consistent with a period would be considered "deemed" or "presumed" for the purpose of this definition.

"Home occupancy" means permitted home occupations shall not include commercial photo studios, beauty parlors or barber shops, or any similar service, enterprise, or music schools, dancing schools, business schools, or other schools of any kind with organized classes or similar activity.

"Hotel/motel" means a facility with guest rooms or suites, provided with or without kitchen facilities, rented to the public for transient lodging for up to thirty (30) days, excluding hourly lodging. A hotel typically provides access to most guest rooms from an interior walkway, and typically include a variety of services in addition to lodging, including meeting facilities, personal services, and restaurants. A motel typically provides access to guest rooms from an exterior walkway and may include accessory guest facilities such as accessory retail uses, indoor athletic facilities, and swimming pools.

"Junior accessory dwelling unit (JADU)" means an accessory dwelling unit that is located within the living space of an existing primary single-unit dwelling, as defined in Section 17958.1 of the California Health and Safety Code. See Chapter 17.60, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs).

"Incentives" means the benefits offered by the city to facilitate construction of eligible development projects. Incentives may include adjustment of development standards, expedited processing of entitlements, relaxation of otherwise applicable entitlement conditions, and provisions for mixed-use activities.

"Legal parcel" means any parcel of real property that may be separately sold in compliance with the Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410 of Title 7 of the Government Code).

"Lot" means the official part of the subdivision of the city as set forth on the official map filed in the office of the county recorder of the county of Tehama in Book A of Maps at page 37, on September 5, 1871.

"Low barrier navigation center" means a shelter focused on temporarily housing persons and connecting them with income opportunities, public benefits, and health services prior to moving to permanent housing, in compliance with Government Code Section 65660. Low barrier navigation centers must meet the diverse needs of the population by allowing and accommodating people with disabilities, pets and pet owners, partners, the storage of possessions, and for survivors of domestic violence.

"Major transit stop" means a site containing an existing rail transit station, a ferry terminal served by either a bus, or rail transit service.

"Marijuana dispensary" means any for-profit or not-for-profit facility meeting any or all of the following criteria:

1. A facility where marijuana is made available, cultivated, sold, given, distributed, or otherwise provided by or to four or more persons (including, but not limited to, any "primary caregiver(s)," "qualified patient(s)," or "person(s) with an identification card") pursuant to Health and Safety Code Sections 11362.5 and/or 11362.7 et seq. or otherwise; and/or

2. A facility where four or more persons (including, but not limited to, any "primary caregiver(s)," "qualified patient(s)," or "person(s) with an identification card") meet or congregate to make available, cultivate, sell, give away, distribute, or otherwise provide marijuana for medicinal or other purposes; and/or

3. A facility where any person operates a storefront or mobile outlet providing medical marijuana in any form to four members of a collective or cooperative or to other members of the general public.

"Marijuana dispensary" includes any medical marijuana collective or cooperative that meets any or all of the foregoing criteria. "Marijuana dispensary" shall not include the following uses, as long as the location of such uses is otherwise regulated by the Tehama Municipal Code: a clinic licensed pursuant to Chapter 1 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; a health care facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; a residential care facility for persons with chronic life-threatening illness licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.01 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; a residential care facility for the elderly licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, a residential hospice; or a home health agency licensed pursuant to Chapter 8 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, as long as any such use complies strictly with applicable law including, but not limited to, Health and Safety Code Sections 11362.5 et seq. and 11362.7 et seq. and the city of Tehama Zoning Code (Title 17 of the Tehama Municipal Code).

"Marijuana plant" means any mature or immature marijuana plant, or any marijuana seedling.

"Mixed-use project" means a project that combines both residential and nonresidential uses, where the residential component is typically located above the commercial.

"Mobile outlet" means the transportation for the purpose of distribution or delivery of medical marijuana by any means.

"Multi-family dwelling" means a structure or a portion of a structure used and/or designed as residences for two or more families living independently of each other. Includes: duplexes, duets, triplexes, fourplexes (structures under one ownership with two, three or four dwelling units, respectively, in the same structure), and apartments (five or more units under one ownership in a single structure); townhouse/row house development (three or more attached single-family dwellings located on separate parcels and where no unit is located over another unit). This definition does not include accessory dwelling units (ADU). For accessory dwelling unit, see "accessory dwelling unit (ADU)" and "junior accessory dwelling unit (JAD)."

"Nonconforming use" means the use of a structure (either conforming or nonconforming) or land that was legally established and maintained prior to the adoption of this title and which does not conform to current development standards governing allowable land uses for the zoning district in which the use is located.

"Office" means a facility or business that predominantly offers medical, professional, or business services.

• "Office, accessory." Office that is incidental to and a part of another business, manufacturing, or sales activity that is the primary use.

• "Office, medical." Facility primarily providing outpatient medical, mental health, minor surgical, and other similar personal health services, but which is separate from a hospital, including: medical, dental, and psychiatric offices, outpatient care facilities, acupuncture, and other allied health services.

• "Office, professional." Facility and business that predominantly offers professional and/or business services including architects, attorneys, accountants, advertising, computer support, land use planners, and other similar professional services and uses.

"Open-space lands" means the unplatted area of the city comprising approximately three hundred fifty-two (352) acres located on the south as well as the west of the platted area as set forth in the general plan.

"Outdoor cultivation" shall mean any cultivation of marijuana that is not conducted within a detached fully enclosed secure accessory structure conforming to the requirements of Section 17.32.030, subdivision (E)(1). Outdoor cultivation includes, without limitation, cultivation of marijuana within a greenhouse or "hoop house" or similar facility.

"Outdoor dining" means an area adjacent to or directly in front of a street-level eating or drinking establishment located within the sidewalk area of the public right-of-way exclusively for dining, drinking, and pedestrian circulation.

"Park and ride facility" means a designated public area where vehicles may be left to ride public transit or carpool with other commuters.

"Parking space" means an accessible and useable space on the lot or building site at least nine by twenty (20) feet, located off the street behind the front setback line, with easy access for the parking of automobiles.

"Person" includes any individual, city, county, partnership, corporations, cooperatives, associations, trust or any other legal entities including the state of California and the federal government.

"Personal service, general" means a commercial establishment that provides personal services. May also include accessory retail sales of products related to the personal services. General personal services could include:

"Personal service, restricted" means commercial establishments that may tend to have a deteriorating effect upon surrounding areas/uses and that may need to be dispersed from other similar uses to minimize adverse impacts. These uses may also include accessory retail sales of products related to the personal services provided. Restricted personal services include:

• Massage establishment

• Palm and card reader

• Tattoo and body piercing

"Platted area" means all that portion of the city subdivided into lots and identified by lot and block numbers in the official map of the city, placed of record in the office of the county recorder of the county of Tehama, in Book A of Maps, at page 37, on September 5, 1871.

"Premises" shall mean a single, legal parcel of property. Where contiguous legal parcels are under common ownership or control, such contiguous legal parcels shall be counted as a single "premises" for purposes of this chapter.

"Primary dwelling(s)" means the residential structure(s) that accommodates the primary residential use of the parcel.

"Public transit" means a location or structure, including, but not limited to, a bus stop or train station, where the public may access buses, trains, and other forms of transportation that charge set fares, run on fixed routes, and are available to the public.

"Recreational vehicle" means a motor home, travel trailer, truck camper, or camping trailer, with or without motive power, originally designed for human habitation for recreational, emergency, or other occupancy.

"Residential care facility" means a group care facility for twenty-four-hour care of persons in need of personal services, supervision, or assistance essential for sustaining the activities of daily living or for the protection of the individual. Includes residential care facilities for the elderly assisted living establishments, and memory care. This use is classified as a community care facility. See definition of "community care facility" in this section.

"Restaurant" means a retail establishment (e.g., cafes, coffee houses, diners, food services) selling/serving food and beverages prepared for both on-site and off-site consumption, including sit down table service.

"Retail sales, general" means a commercial establishment within a structure, engaged in selling goods or merchandise to the general public for profit. Examples of these establishments and lines of merchandise include:

"Retail sales, restricted" means a commercial establishment within a structure, engaged in selling goods or merchandise to the general public for profit that are subject to heighten public regulation due to the nature of the product.

• "Firearms sales." Retail establishments customarily selling firearms, ammunition, and related accessories and equipment under Federal laws governed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.

• "Tobacco sales." Retail establishments customarily selling tobacco and vaping products, and related accessories and equipment under Federal laws governed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.

"School" means an institution of learning for minors, whether public or private, offering a regular course of instruction required by the California Education Code. This definition includes a nursery school, kindergarten, elementary school, middle or junior high school, senior high school, or any special institution of education, but it does not include a home school, vocational or professional institution of higher education, including a community or junior college, college, or university.

"School bus stop" means any location designated in accordance with California Code of Regulations, Title 13, Section 1238, to receive school buses, as defined in California Vehicle Code Section 233, or school pupil activity buses, as defined in Vehicle Code Section 546.

"School evacuation site" means any location designated by formal action of the governing body, superintendent, or principal of any school as a location to which juveniles are to be evacuated to, or are to assemble at, in the event of an emergency or other incident at the school.

"Setback line" means a line established by this title to govern the placement of buildings with respect to streets.

"Sign." The term "sign" shall include sign, billboard, electric sign, pole sign, or other structures or devices erected for the purpose of advertising or attracting the attention of the general public.

"Single room occupancy unit (SRO)" means a structure that provides living units that have separate sleeping areas and some combination of shared bath or toilet facilities. The structure may or may not have separate or shared cooking facilities for the residents. SRO includes structures commonly called residential hotels or rooming houses.

"Small solar energy system" means any solar energy system whose primary purpose is to provide for on-premises space heating or cooling, or on-premises water heating, or which is intended to solely to reduce on-premises consumption of utility power. Small solar energy systems must be ancillary to a principally permitted use of the premises.

"Small wind energy system" means a wind energy system used only to reduce on-premises consumption of utility power. The purpose of a small energy system is to be an accessory use of the property. Small wind energy systems shall not exceed twenty (20) kilowatts. When a premises on which a small wind energy system is installed also receives electrical power supplied by a utility company, any excess electrical power generated by the small wind energy system, and not then needed for on-premises use, may be used by the utility company in exchange for a reduction in the cost of electrical power supplied by that company to the parcel for on-premises use. No net revenue to the owners shall be produced by such excess electrical power generation.

"Social rehabilitation facility" means a residential facility which provides social rehabilitation services for no longer than eighteen (18) months in a group setting to adults recovering from mental illness who temporarily need assistance, guidance, or counseling. This use is classified as a community care facility. See definition of "community care facility" in this section.

"Solar energy system" means either of the following:

1. Any solar collector or other solar energy device whose primary purpose is to provide for the collection, storage, and distribution of solar energy for space heating, space cooling, electric generation, or water heating.

2. Any structural design feature of a building, whose primary purpose is to provide for the collection, storage, and distribution of solar energy for electricity generation, space heating or cooling, or for water heating.

"Solar power facility" means any solar energy system whose primary function is the provision of electricity to the electrical distribution system or transmission grid. Any solar energy system that is not a small solar energy system or a dual purpose solar energy system shall be considered a solar power facility for purposes of this chapter.

"Story" means the space in a building between the upper surface of any floor and the upper surface of the floor next above, and if there be no floor above, then the space between the upper surface of the topmost floor and the ceiling or the roof above.

"Structure" means anything constructed or erected, use of which requires location on or in the ground or attachment to some location on the ground, including driveways, patios, or parking spaces.

"Supportive housing" means housing with no limit on length of stay, that is occupied by the target population and linked to onsite or offsite services that assist the supportive housing resident in retaining the housing, improving his/her health status, and maximizing his/her ability to live and, when possible, work in the community. Supportive housing units are residential uses subject only to those requirements and restrictions that apply to other residential uses of the same type in the same zone.

"Tandem parking" means two or more automobiles that are parked on a driveway or in any other location on a lot, lined up behind one another.

"Trailer court" means any premises used or intended to be used for let or rented for occupancy by one or more trailers, camp cars or movable dwellings, rooms, or sleeping quarters of any kind, including trailer parks, mobilehome parks, and manufactured housing.

"Transitional housing" means housing operated under program requirements that call for the termination of assistance and recirculation of the assisted unit to another eligible program recipient at some predetermined future point in time, which shall be no less than six months and in no case more than two years. Transitional housing units are residential uses subject only to those requirements and restrictions that apply to other residential uses of the same type in the same zone.

"Use" means the purpose for which land or building is designed, arranged or intended or for which land or building is or need be occupied or maintained.

"Veterinary clinic" means a commercial establishment providing medical care or surgical treatment to domestic animals or household pets. Use as a kennel shall be limited to short time boarding incidental to medical care.

"Wind energy system" means any equipment or facility that converts and then stores or transfers energy from the wind into usable forms of energy, which may consist of, but is not limited to, a wind turbine, a tower, a mill, and associated controls or conversion electronics.

"Wind power facility" means a wind energy system whose primary function is the provision of electricity to the electrical distribution system or transmission grid. Any wind energy system that is not a small wind energy system or a dual purpose wind energy system shall be considered a wind power facility for purposes of this chapter.

"Yard" means an open space on the same lot with a building, which open space is unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward, except as otherwise herein permitted.

"Youth-oriented facility" means any facility that caters to or provides services primarily intended for minors, or the individuals who regularly patronize, congregate or assemble at the establishment are predominantly minors.

(Ord. No. 198 , 6-13-23)

Each violation of this Title 17 shall be a misdemeanor.

(Ord. No. 198 , 6-13-23)