Article 30 — DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS

Except as provided in Section 92.30.10 below, all land uses within the City shall comply to the provisions of this Article.

All roof and wall appurtenances, such as ducts and vents, all mechanical equipment, electrical boxes, meters, pipes, transformers, air conditioners and all other equipment on the roof or walls of any building shall be completely screened from public view with materials compatible with the main buildings on the subject property. Such equipment or screening material shall be constructed in such a manner that noises emanating from the roof or wall appurtenances shall not be audible beyond the property lines of the subject property.

All exterior loading, unloading and storage areas, and all trash storage areas, shall be completely enclosed by decorative walls and doors constructed of material, and of a design, color and texture which is architecturally compatible with the buildings and structures on the property. All such enclosure doors shall remain closed except during the actual loading or unloading of material, or the addition or removal of trash. Solid, opaque perimeter walls and gates may be used to satisfy all of the above requirements, except those applying to trash storage areas, if the Planning Director finds that:

a) The exterior loading and/or material storage areas will be screened from view, due to the presence of the perimeter walls and gates; and

b) Use of the perimeter walls and gates to provide said screening will not be detrimental to any adjacent property.

Pickups and deliveries of products, material or trash and parking lot sweeping shall not be allowed prior to 7:00 A.M. or after 10:00 P.M., unless such operations can be conducted at a distance of no less than three hundred (300) feet from the nearest residence.

Pickups and deliveries of products or material shall not be made into or out of any driveway which has its access on a local or collector street where there are residential uses within three hundred (300) feet of such driveway. The pickup of trash shall not be made by means of a driveway which has its access on a local or collector street where there are residential uses within three hundred (300) feet of such driveway unless the property on which the trash is being picked up is itself used for residential purposes.

All lighting on the subject property shall be constructed in such a manner that glare shall be directed away from all surrounding residential land uses.

A landscape plan for the subject property shall be approved by the City and said landscape plan shall comply with Article 6, Chapter 3, Division 9 of the Torrance Municipal Code.

The dimensions of all driveways, aisles, parking spaces, and landscaping shall be shown on the plot plan of the subject property, and shall not be changed without the approval of the City. Features such as walls, hedges, architectural embellishments, utility meters, planters, low eaves, power poles and other projections shall not reduce the dimension of the driveways, aisles, parking spaces or landscaped areas below the size shown.

No vehicular access shall be permitted to a local street from a commercially or industrially zoned through lot which also has frontage on a major or secondary street. In no case shall a commercial or industrial lot be developed in such a manner that traffic from the commercial or industrial uses on it will be channeled onto any residential streets.

(Amended by O-3922)

No building which is designed, used, or intended to be used for nonresidential uses shall be located closer than ten (10) feet from the lot line of any adjacent residentially zoned parcel of land, unless specifically allowed by the provisions of Division 9, Chapter 1, Article 51 (Housing Corridor Overlay Zone). Said setback of ten (10) feet shall be landscaped and shall be provided with an irrigation system, and vehicles shall not be permitted to park in said setback area. The provisions of this Section shall not apply in the event the provisions of any particular zone or zoning approval granted by the City are more restrictive.

The provisions of this Article shall not apply to the construction of dwellings, nor the use of buildings or structures for single-family or two-family dwellings.

In addition to the above exception, the Planning Director may grant an exception from any of the requirements of this Section when he finds that:

a) Such exception would not result in any deleterious effect on the use by its owner of any adjacent property.

b) Such exception would have no deleterious effect upon the value of adjoining property.

c) Enforcement of the above-described standards would result in practical impossibility of development.

d) Granting an exception in a given case will not tend to defeat the purpose of this or any other applicable zoning ordinance.

(Amended by O-2822)

a) The determination of the Planning Director may be appealed to the Planning Commission by the proponent or any person who may be damaged by the said determination. Such appeal shall be made in writing to the Planning Commission within fifteen (15) days of the determination of the Planning Director. Notice of the time and place of the appeal hearing shall be made to the proponent and any person appealing.

b) The determination of the Planning Commission may be appealed to the City Council pursuant to the provisions of Article 5, Chapter 1, Division 1 of this Code, commencing at Section 11.5.1.