Article 11 — R-5 HIGH RISE RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT

(Amended by O-3453)

No building, structure, improvement or premises shall be used, and no building, structure or improvement shall be erected, constructed, established, altered or enlarged which is designed, arranged, or intended to be occupied or used for any purpose other than the following:

a) Multiple family dwellings;

b) Accessory structures and uses customarily incidental to the above uses, located on the same lot, not to exceed one (1) story in height except as otherwise permitted by conditional use permit or precise plan;

• c) Home occupation in a residential unit.

The following standards shall apply and are not superseded by any other provision of this Code unless specifically so stated. Where a conflict occurs between the provisions of this Section and any other provision of this Code the more restrictive provision shall govern:

a) Wall signs:

• 1. Wall signs may cover a maximum of ten (10) percent of the wall panel area where the sign is located, not to exceed forty (40) square feet in area.
• 2. Wall signs not painted on an exterior wall shall be of rigid materials other than paper or cloth.
• 3. Name plates, identification signs and notices, not exceeding one (1) square foot in area, may be used not to exceed three (3) in number for any one (1) occupancy.
• 4. Wall signs shall require a permit.
• 5. Wall signs shall not project above the apparent flat roof or eave line.

• b) Ground signs:

• 1. The face area of any ground sign shall not exceed forty (40) square feet.
• 2. The height of any ground sign shall not exceed twenty-five (25) feet.
• 3. Ground signs may be used for identification and only state the name and address of the development.
• 4. Only one (1) ground sign per site ownership shall be permitted.
• 5. Ground signs shall require a permit.

• c) Temporary signs:

• 1. Signs for the sale, lease or rental of property.

A) The total face area of any sign shall not exceed twelve (12) square feet and if detached from a building shall not exceed ten (10) feet in height.

• B) Only one (1) sign per street facing shall be used.

• C) No sign shall extend above eave line, parapet wall, or apparent flat roof line.

• D) The sign shall relate only to the property where erected.

• E) The sign shall be removed within thirty (30) days after the sale, lease or full rental of the property.

F) One (1) open house sign, a maximum of three (3) square feet in area and four (4) flags may be displayed during the hours a unit is open to the public, and no offsite open house signs or flags may be displayed.

• 2. Temporary construction signs identifying the building may be erected at the location, stating information as to the architect(s), engineer(s), contractor(s), and subcontractor(s) working on the project.

• A) One (1) sign structure for each six hundred (600) feet of street frontage or part thereof may be used.

• B) No construction sign may be erected before a building permit and/or business license is issued.

• C) Such sign shall be removed within thirty (30) days from the issuance of a certificate of occupancy or after a building permit expires.

• D) The total area of temporary signs for any one (1) street facing shall not exceed one hundred (100) square feet in area and may not exceed ten (10) feet in height.

• d) Sign standards:

• 1. All permanent signs permitted in the R-5 zone shall be subject to the review and approval of the Planning Director pursuant to the policy of the Planning Commission regarding the compatibility of the sign to the architectural design of the building, the proportion of the sign to the wall area, the location of the sign on the premises, and the determination that the sign is not dissimilar to existing signs in general use within the area.
• 2. Any sign which exceeds any standards set forth above may be appealed to the Planning Commission in the same manner and for the same fee as required for a waiver application.

(Amended by O-3453)

• a) The following uses shall be permitted subject to the grant of a conditional use permit:

• 1. Public parks and playgrounds;
• 2. Public schools;
• 3. Public libraries and museums;
• 4. Fire stations;
• 5. Churches and schools;
• 6. Senior citizen developments which do not meet the requirements of this Article;
• 7. Small service commercial facilities designed for the convenience and custom of the residents of the development only, including but not limited to, a beauty shop, barber shop, sports shop, retail pickup and delivery cleaners, coffee shop, and restaurant;
• 8. Child day care centers as a conditionally permitted use in conjunction with churches and schools only and subject to the provisions of Article 3 of Chapter 5, Conditional Use Permits.

• b) The Commission shall use the following criteria in making decisions regarding commercial facilities:

• 1. The shop or store shall not be visible from the street, and any identification visible from the street indicating its presence should be minimal and in keeping with the residential character of the area; and
• 2. Shops and stores, with the exception of a restaurant, shall be no more extensive than is necessary to serve the building(s); and
• 3. No advertising of these facilities in any publication, or any other communication media, with the exception of a restaurant shall be permitted.

The building height shall be regulated by the Building Code of the City of Torrance.

a) All units shall have kitchens. A kitchen is any separate area used or intended or designed to be used for cooking or the preparation of food, and shall include provisions for or inclusion of a refrigerator, oven, burners and sink.

b) No unit shall be less than seven hundred (700) square feet inside area except bachelor apartments (without separate bedrooms) which shall be not less than five hundred (500) square feet in area.

No structure in the R-5 zone shall be closer than thirty (30) feet to the rear or side property lines. For every story above ten (10) stories, an additional foot of setback per story shall be required. Where a project parcel abuts an approved public open space (See Section 91.11.10.(b)), the additional foot of setback per story above ten (10) stories shall not be required. Where there is more than one (1) residential structure on the premises, said residential structures may be no closer than sixty (60) feet from each other, except for structures less than thirty-five (35) feet in height which may be close as thirty (30) feet. For every story above ten (10) stories on any of the buildings, an additional one (1) foot separation between residential buildings shall be required.

For buildings arranged around three (3) sides or two (2) opposite sides of a court or yard, the width of the court or yard shall be no less than sixty (60) feet on any side. For every story above ten (10) on any of the buildings, an additional one (1) foot separation between the buildings shall be required.

a) These regulations shall supersede those normally referred to as front yard setbacks and street side yard setbacks.

b) There shall be a twenty (20) foot minimum setback from all street property lines; provided, however, that on the street fronts of the building and/or structure no point shall project into an imaginary plane established by an angle of sixty (60) degrees as projected from any point along the centerline of the street to any one (1) street front of the building and/or structure. The width of the street shall be calculated on the basis of the existing width of the right-of-way or the future width if a wider right-of-way has been adopted through a Master Plan.

• c) The minimum required setbacks shall be determined by the following formula:

• 1. To find minimum setbacks for a building where the proposed height is known:

• 2. To find permitted building height maximum if the setback is known:

Setback (from centerline of street) x 1.73 = Height in feet.

a) At the time of development of a project the parcel shall have a minimum area of one (1) acre and have dimensions of at least two hundred (200) feet average width and two hundred (200) feet average depth.

• b) Parcels having less than the minimum size may be improved with one (1) single family dwelling, providing that all the requirements of the R-1 zone are met and a conditional use permit is granted by the Planning Commission.

c) Lot splits or subdivisions not meeting the minimum requirements as stated in subsection a) hereinabove may not be granted on properties in this zone, except for condominiums wherein the subdivision applies only to units within the structure(s).

a) Floor Area. The floor area of a building shall be the sum of the areas for residential use on the several floors of a building or buildings measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls. This shall include basement or lowest story to the extent used for residential purposes. It does not include the following:

• 1. Halls, lobbies, stairways and elevator shafts;
• 2. Any uncovered terrace, patio, atrium, porch or balcony;
• 3. Any special purpose area for common use of all occupants such as recreation, library or infirmary;
• 4. Any garage or carport; and
• 5. Any area used for major mechanical equipment.

• b) Site Area. The site area to be used in calculating the allowable floor area and counted in the open space requirements shall include the following:

• 1. Legally defined parcel; plus
• 2. One-half (1/2) of any abutting alley or street right-of-way; plus
• 3. One-half (1/2) of any abutting beneficial public open space with reasonable expectancy of perpetuating (such as a public green area or a park) as determined and approved by the Planning Commission. Except, provided, however that any abutting public open space included in the site shall not exceed a depth in linear feet of:

• c) Floor Area Ratio. The floor area ratio (F.A.R.) is the total floor area of a building or buildings on a building site, divided by the gross of the site area.

(Floor Area) (Site Area)

The permitted floor area for a structure shall be equal to the maximum permitted floor area per story (F.A.R.), multiplied by the site area (permitted floor area = F.A.R. x Site Area).

The Open Space Ratio shall be the minimum square footage of open space required for each square foot of floor area used for residential purposes (open space ratio x floor area). Open space shall include all uncovered outdoor areas, such as streets within the development, parking, lawn, patios, recreation, as well as usable roofs (improved and suitably landscaped so that people may use them).

Livability space shall be that portion of the open space which must be used for people, planting and visual appeal. The livability space shall exclude areas devoted to the automobile. The following criteria must be met for this livability space:

a) The space shall be consistent with the character of the site and its location in reference to the anticipated community pattern;

b) The space shall be adequate for exterior property attractiveness needed for long-term marketability and maintained as such;

c) The space shall be adequate for outdoor living space for the occupants; and

d) Of all space allocated to "open space," sixty-five (65) percent shall consist of living space as herein described.

Recreational facilities shall be used for outdoor active recreation. Typical recreational use areas shall consist of swimming pools, playgrounds, tennis courts and shuffleboard. Eleven (11) percent of the open space required shall consist of recreation areas as herein described.

There shall be provided:

• a) Two (2) parking spaces per unit;

• b) One (1) guest space for every five (5) units;

• c) No surface parking within twenty (20) feet of any residential building; and

d) All other standards in the existing off-street parking regulations as provided for in Chapter 3 of this Division.

All utility lines on the site shall be underground.

a) A complete landscaping plan shall be submitted for approval to the Planning Commission, listing the plants alphabetically, and a key number shall be assigned each plant to be used in locating the plants on the plan. The landscaping plan shall include the following:

• 1. Botanical and common names of the plants to be used;
• 2. Sizes of plants to be used;
• 3. Quantity of each plant to be used; and
• 4. The spacing and design.

• b) All landscaping shall be permanently maintained.

c) There shall be provided an automatic sprinkler system.

a) Designated trash areas shall be required and shown on all plans.

b) The trash areas shall be enclosed and not visible from the streets.

c) The trash areas shall be accessible to trash trucks.

d) Service and delivery areas shall be provided for all buildings and be so located as to be unobtrusive to the entrance area and convenient to service people and the residents.