Vallejo Municipal Code Ch. 16.307 Automobile Service Stations

These regulations are intended to ensure that service stations do not result in adverse impacts on adjacent land uses, especially residential uses, due to:

A. The traffic, glare and patterns of use associated with service stations, particularly those open twenty-four hours per day, may be incompatible with nearby uses and especially residential use;

B. Their typically longer hours of operation may result in a higher incidence of crime.

The following requirements apply to all new service stations and existing service stations proposing an expansion of ten percent or greater in floor area.

A. Locational Limitations. Service stations shall be located at the intersection of two major streets or a major and a collector street, or as part of a planned shopping center, freeway-oriented commercial services complex, or other planned commercial concentration.

B. Minimum Parcel Size. The minimum parcel size for development of a service station is fifteen thousand square feet except for those operated as part of a planned complex.

C. Minimum Street Frontage. Each parcel shall have a minimum street frontage of one hundred feet on each abutting street.

D. Setbacks. No building or structure shall be located within thirty feet of any public right-of-way or within twenty feet of any interior parcel line.

E. Gasoline Pumps. Gasoline pumps shall be located at least fifteen feet from any property line and a minimum of twenty feet from any public right-of-way.

F. Canopies. Canopies shall be located at least five feet from any property line.

G. Screening. Service stations shall be separated from an adjacent property by a decorative masonry wall or vegetative screening, not less than six feet in height. Materials, textures, colors and design of all walls shall be compatible with the design of the service station design. Required screening walls shall comply with Section 16.501.11, Visibility at Intersections, Driveways, and Alleys.

1. Service stations that abut or are across an alley from a residential zoning district shall comply with all the following standards:

a. A six-foot masonry wall at shall be constructed along the property line abutting the residential zoning district or along the property line which is across the alley from said zoning district;

b. All site lighting and lighted signs shall be directed away or shielded from the residential zoning district;

c. The use shall comply with the front and side yard requirements applicable to the affected residential zoning district. All required yards shall be appropriately landscaped.

d. Existing chain link and barbed wire fencing, bollards and chains shall be removed and replaced with fencing consistent with the requirements of Section 16.504.03, Landscaping Standards from any existing service station proposing an expansion of ten percent or greater in floor area or reconfiguration of existing pumps, addition of new pumps, or new canopy structures.

H. Landscaping. The service station site shall be landscaped consistent with Chapter 16.504, Landscaping, and the following standards:

1. A minimum of fifteen percent of the site shall be landscaped. A planting strip at least five feet wide shall be provided along all street frontages and at least three feet wide along all interior property lines and adjacent to buildings. Planters shall be surrounded by masonry or concrete curbs and arranged so as to preclude motor vehicles from driving across the sidewalk at locations other than access driveways.

2. Permanent opaque landscaping or berms shall be provided and maintained in the planters at a height of not less than three feet above the average adjacent grade.

3. A landscaped planter at least one hundred fifty square feet in area shall be provided at the intersection of two property lines at a street corner.

4. All existing street trees shall be preserved or replaced where missing, as required by Chapter 16.504, Landscaping subject to review and approval by the city engineer. Driveways and vehicle approaches shall be designed so as not to necessitate the removal of any existing street trees.

I. Transition Requirements Adjacent to Residential zoning districts. Where an automobile/vehicle service station use is adjacent to a residential zoning district, the following standards apply.

1. Minimum Setbacks. Buildings used for parking and vehicle storage that are adjacent to a residential zoning district not containing an existing automobile/vehicle sales and leasing use shall be set back a minimum ten feet from the shared property line. Buildings used for any other use allowed by this chapter shall be set back a minimum fifteen feet from the shared property line.

2. Landscaping and Screening. A continuous planting area with a minimum width of 7.5 feet shall be provided along any interior parcel line adjacent to a residential zoning district.

J. Driveways. For new service stations, no more than one driveway with a maximum width of thirty-five feet shall be permitted on any one street frontage and shall be located as follows: driveways shall not be located closer than fifty feet from a street intersection, fifteen feet from a residential property line or alley, nor as to otherwise interfere with the movement and safety of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, subject to the approval of the director.

K. Lubrication Bays and Wash Racks. All lubrication bays and wash racks shall be located within a fully enclosed building. Access to the service bays and wash racks shall not be located within fifty feet of property in a residential zoning district.

L. Parking. Parking shall be provided according to the standards of Chapter 16.508, Off-Street Parking and Loading, and the following:

1. Customer and employee parking shall not be used for automobile repair, finishing work or storage of vehicles.

2. Vehicles being serviced may be parked on the premises for a maximum of 2 weeks in additional parking spaces specifically provided for this purpose.

3. No vehicle that will be or has been serviced may be parked on public streets, sidewalks, parkways, driveways or alleys.

4. No vehicle may be parked on the premises for the purpose of offering it for sale.

M. Air and Water. Each service station shall provide air and water to customers without charge and at a convenient location during hours when gasoline is dispensed.

N. Restrooms. Each service station shall provide a public restroom accessible to the general public including persons with disabilities during all hours the service station is open to the public. Restrooms shall be attached to a structure on site with entrances or signage clearly visible from the gasoline service area or cashier station and concealed from view of adjacent properties by planters of decorative screening and shall be maintained on a regular basis.

O. Vending Machines. Coin-operated vending machines may be permitted within or abutting a structure for the purpose of dispensing items commonly found in service stations, such as refreshments and maps.

P. Convenience stores. Convenience stores or mini-markets may be permitted on the site of a service station subject to approval of a minor use permit and the following development standards:

1. The service station shall be on a site at least fifteen thousand square feet in area that is located on a collector street;

2. A convenience store or mini-market located in an addition or free-standing structure shall meet all of the development standards applicable to the zoning district in which the site is located and shall be designed with materials compatible with the design of the service station and surrounding properties.

3. Arcade or game machines or other coin-operated electronic machines are prohibited.

4. Unless otherwise provided by the review authority, if the service station is within one hundred feet of a residential zoning district, the convenience store or mini market operation shall be prohibited between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

5. A convenience store or mini-market may sell beer and wine under a ABC Type 20 license provided the total floor area devoted to display of such products does not exceed ten percent of the gross floor area, subject to securing a major use permit.

6. The site shall be maintained free of litter and graffiti at all times. The owner or operator is responsible for daily removal of trash, litter, and debris from premises and on all abutting sidewalks within twenty feet of the premises. One permanent, non-flammable trash receptacle shall be installed near all public entrances and exits to the establishment.

7. Employees of the establishment shall walk a one hundred-foot radius from the facility at some point prior to thirty minutes after closing and shall pick up and dispose of any trash left by patrons.

Q. Lighting for Aprons and Canopies. Lighting levels on gasoline station/convenience store aprons and under canopies shall be adequate to facilitate the activities taking place in such locations.

1. Service Stations. Lighting for service station canopies shall be considered Class 2 lighting (General Illumination).

2. Shielding. Light fixtures mounted on canopies shall be recessed so that the lens cover is recessed or flush with the bottom surface of the canopy and/or shielded by the fixture or the edge of the canopy.

3. Total Under-Canopy Output. The total light output used for illuminating service station canopies, defined as the sum of all under-canopy initial bare-lamp outputs in lumens, shall not exceed forty lumens per square foot. All lighting mounted under the canopy, including but not limited to luminaires mounted on the lower surface or recessed into the lower surface of the canopy and any lighting within signage or illuminated panels over the pumps, is to be included toward the total at full initial lumen output.

R. Location of Activities. All repair and service activities and operations on the site of a service station shall be conducted entirely within an enclosed service building, except as follows:

1. The dispensing of petroleum products, water, and air from pump islands and other designated locations on the site;

2. Replacement service activities such as wiper blades, fuses, radiator caps, and lamps;

3. Minor repair work taking less than one hour to perform;

4. The sale of items from vending machines placed next to the principal building in a designated area not to exceed thirty-two square feet and screened from public view;

5. The display of merchandise offered for customer convenience on each pump island, provided that the aggregate display area on each island shall not exceed twelve square feet and that the products shall be enclosed in a specially designed case; and

6. Motor vehicle products displayed along the front of the building and within thirty-six inches of the building, limited to five feet in height and not more than ten feet in length.

S. Solid Waste Storage and Disposal. Trash areas shall be provided and screened as required by Section 16.501.08, Solid Waste, Recycling, and Organic Waste Storage, and according to the following:

1. All trash shall be deposited in the trash area and the gates leading thereto shall be maintained in working order and shall remain closed except when in use.

2. Solid waste bins shall be provided and placed in a location convenient for customers.

3. Trash areas shall not be used for storage. The premises shall be kept in a neat and orderly condition at all times and all improvements shall be maintained in a condition of reasonable repair and appearance. No used or discarded automotive parts or equipment, or permanently disabled, junked or wrecked vehicles may be stored outside the main building.

T. Security Plan. A security plan shall be developed by the applicant and approved by the city chief of police prior to issuance of a building permit.