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Earlier editions: 2026-09

Title 14 — ZONING›Chapter 14-16 — DISTRICT REGULATIONS

Watsonville Municipal Code § 14-16.506 Industrially related uses

Watsonville Municipal Code · 2026-10 edition · updated 2026-10-05 · Watsonville

Cite as: Watsonville Municipal Code § 14-16.506 · Text as of 2026-10-05

14-16.500 Purpose.

The purpose of the Industrial Park District is to provide a separate and exclusive district for light, non-nuisance industry, business, service, and research work; to promote an industrial business, service, and research area which is not dependent on rail transport and not requiring outdoor storage; to foster and encourage the development of specialized manufacturing, business, service, and research institutions; to promote and protect design and landscape qualities in the district; to minimize traffic congestion through the provision of adequate off-street parking and loading; and to protect the district and surrounding area and any adjacent residential or commercial property from noise, illumination, glare, and unsightliness, including outdoor storage, odors, dust, dirt, litter, smoke, fumes, vibration, heat, fire, and other hazards.

(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980, as amended by § 1, Ord. 768-87 C-M, eff. January 7, 1988)

Exceptions & meaning →

14-16.501 Principal permitted uses.

All principal permitted and accessory uses shall be subject to the approval of an Administrative Review Permit issued without a public hearing by the Zoning Administrator.

DLU 115 Storage, limited to permitted IP District uses
121 Vehicles and equipment; wholesale and retail sales
122 Drugs, chemicals; wholesale
Exclusion: DLU 1229
124 Food distributors; wholesale
126 Electrical goods; wholesale
127 Hardware, plumbing, heating supply; wholesale
128 Machinery, equipment, supplies; wholesale
129 Wholesalers, miscellaneous
14 Research and development of manufacturing firms
16 Contractors, general
17 Construction, special trade contractors
1961 Welding shop
1962 Film, photographic processing labs, photofinishing
1964 Blueprinting service
202 Dairy products, manufacturing
205 Bakeries, large scale
207 Candy products, manufacturing
208 Beverage industries
23 Apparel and other products made from fabrics
25 Furniture and fixtures
26 Paper and allied products
DLU 27 Printing, publishing, and reproduction
283 Pharmaceutical products, manufacturing
2097 Ice manufacturing
30 Rubber, plastic and leather products (excluding 301, 303, and 3091)
328 Stone cutting, monument manufacturing
34 Fabricated metal products manufacturing
357 Machines, business, manufacturing
358 Machine, service industry, manufacturing
359 Miscellaneous machinery, except electrical
36 Electrical machinery, equipment, and supplies
37 Transportation equipment (excluding 371, 372, 374 and 379)
38 Instruments, photo, optical goods, watches, clocks, manufacturing
6232 Blueprinting, microfilming, service
624 Services to buildings, machinery, and property
6287 Vocational trade schools
6291 Tool designers/laboratories, research, development and testing
6292 Business and management consulting
6292 Calculating and statistical services
6292 Data processing services
6292 Electronics consultants
6292 Geological consultants
6292 Marketing research and analysis
6292 Safety consultants
DLU 6294 Research agencies, educational and scientific, nonprofit
6298 Direct selling organizations
6299 Delivery service; packages and freight
6299 Drafting service
632 Automobile parking facilities
6422 Refrigeration equipment, repairs and servicing
6423 Electronic equipment, repair
6423 Instrument calibration services
644 Furniture repair and refinishing
644 Upholstering and furniture repair
6494 Armature rewinding
6494 Electric motors, repair
9 Agricultural interim uses (existing)
4833 Satellite earth station antennas

(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980, as amended by § 1, Ord. 664-85 C-M, eff. February 7, 1985, § 1, Ord. 679-85 C-M, eff. July 25, 1985, § 1, Ord. 768-87, eff. January 7, 1988, and § 1, Ord. 850-90 C-M, eff. October 11, 1990, Ord. 1153-03 C-M, eff. April 24, 2003)

Exceptions & meaning →

14-16.502 Accessory uses.

(a) Uses and buildings customarily appurtenant or incidental to a principal permitted use on the same parcel, subject to the general provisions, applicable regulations, and Performance Standards, including service facilities, such as cafeterias, employee recreation facilities, and other similar installations intended solely for use by the occupants of a principal permitted use or uses; and

(b) On-site watchman quarters or caretakers’ residences.

(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980, as amended by § 1, Ord. 768-87 C-M, eff. January 7, 1988, and § 1, Ord. 771-88 C-M, eff. February 11, 1988)

Exceptions & meaning →

14-16.503 Conditional uses.

(a) The following uses require an Administrative Use Permit: temporary buildings, structures, storage areas, or office uses in conjunction with a valid building permit application for remodeling or new construction.

DLU 115 Cannabis distribution facility (Type 11 license)
115 Type 9 cannabis delivery for cultivation/manufacturing facilities only
2 Cannabis manufacturing (Type 6 or 7 license) volatile and/or nonvolatile solvents
6291 Cannabis testing lab (Type 8 license)
Electrically charged security fence
Temporary mobile office
4811 Telecommunications sites
4812 Telecommunications facilities
GLU 91 Indoor cultivation of cannabis up to twenty-two thousand (22,000) square feet (Type 1A, 2A or 3A license)
91 Cannabis processing

(b) The following uses require a Special Use Permit:

DLU 114 Mini-warehouses, household goods
129 Wholesale sales
50 Retail cannabis facility (Type 10 license only)
51 Service station
547 Delicatessens
581 Restaurants and coffee shops Exclusions: Drive-through facilities
5811 Restaurant with bar
5811 Restaurant with beer and wine sales
5811 Restaurant with liquor sales
608 Bank service centers
659 and 7924 Health and fitness centers and related facilities
6801 Hotel
6802 Motel
724 Day care centers
Any building exceeding thirty-five (35') feet in height

(c) Warehouse sales require a Special Use Permit and are conditioned on:

(1) The area set aside for such sales shall not exceed twenty (20%) percent of floor area of the building,

(2) Adequate parking shall be provided,

(3) Sales shall be incidental to the primary building use, and

(4) The sales shall be of a type not usually found in retail zones, or shall be regional in nature.

(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980, as amended by § 1, Ord. 572-82, eff. January 13, 1983, § 15, Ord. 659-84 C-M, eff. December 27, 1984, § 1, Ord. 768-87 C-M, eff. January 7, 1988, § 1, Ord. 771-88 C-M, eff. February 11, 1988, § 1, Ord. 850-90 C-M, eff. October 11, 1990, § 1, Ord. 1095-00 C-M, eff. October 12, 2000, § 1, Ord. 1135-02 C-M, eff. September 10, 2002, Ord. 1153-03 C-M, eff. April 24, 2003, § 1, Ord. 1236-08 (CM), eff. July 10, 2008, § 1, Ord. 1276-11 (CM), eff. August 11, 2011, § 1, Ord. 1327-16 (CM), eff. February 25, 2016, § 1, Ord. 1405-20 (CM), eff. July 23, 2020, and § 2(3) (Exh. A), Ord. 1481-25 (CM), eff. October 9, 2025)

Exceptions & meaning →

14-16.504 Prohibited uses.

The following manufacturing uses involving the primary production of the following products from raw materials and other uses are specifically prohibited within the IP-Industrial Park District due to the hazardous or undesirable nature of the raw materials involved:

(a) Asphalt, cement, charcoal, and fuel briquets;

(b) Aniline dyes, ammonia, carbide, caustic soda, cellulose, chlorine, carbon black, creosote, hydrogen and oxygen, industrial alcohol, nitrates of an explosive nature, potash, plastic materials, synthetic resins, pyroxylin, rayon yarn, and hydrochloric, nitric, phosphoric, picric, and sulfuric acids;

(c) Coal, coke, and tar products, including their use in other manufacturing, explosive, fertilizers, gelatin, animal glue, and size;

(d) Turpentine, matches, and paint;

(e) Rubber, soaps, including fat rendering;

(f) Flour mills;

(g) The following processes: nitrating of cotton or other materials; magnesium foundry; reduction, refining, smelting, and allowing of metal or metal ores; refining petroleum products, such as gasoline, kerosene, naphtha, and lubricating oil; distillation of wood or bones; and storage, curing, or tanning of raw, green, or salted hides or skins;

(h) Stockyards, slaughterhouses, including poultry and waste piles;

(i) Storage of fireworks or explosives;

(j) Radioactive materials, or any other similar use producing detrimental effects on electronic equipment;

(k) Junk yards, auto wrecking, auto storage;

(l) Petroleum products refining and/or storage pipeline and pipeline facilities, petroleum waste disposal, dewatering plants and/or treatment facilities, accessory crude oil and gas processing users such as storage and staging facilities; and

Any other use which is determined by the Zoning Administrator to be of the same general character as any of the uses set forth in this section or the following shall be prohibited.

DLU 541 Convenience store
541 Convenience store with beer and wine sales
541 Convenience store with liquor sales
541 Grocery store
541 Grocery store with beer and wine sales
541 Grocery store with liquor sales
582 Bar
592 Liquor store
496 Waste/Recycle processing and transfer station

(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980, as amended by § 1, Ord. 768-87 C-M, eff. January 7, 1988, § 1, Ord. 850-90 C-M, eff. October 11, 1990, § 1, Ord. 1135-02 C-M, eff. September 10, 2002, and § 1, Ord. 1225-07 (CM), eff. November 8, 2007)

Exceptions & meaning →

14-16.505 District regulations.

The following regulations shall be observed in the Industrial Park District for the use proposed, except as otherwise provided in this title or as modified by Conditional Use Permit:

(a) Minimum lot area and dimensions.

Area (interior lot) 20,000 square feet
Area (corner lot) 20,000 square feet
*Frontage (interior) 100 feet
Frontage (corner) 100 feet

(b) Minimum yard setback requirements.

Front yard 25 feet
**Rear yard 0 feet
**Side yard
Interior lot—one side 0 feet
Total both side yards 30 feet
Exterior—street side 15 feet
Exterior—property side 0 feet
Total both side yards 30 feet

* Special consideration for lesser frontage shall be allowed on irregularly shaped lots holding one hundred (100') feet at the rear of the front setback.

** Where the IP District abuts a residential district, the rear and/or side yard setback shall be thirty (30') feet.

(c) Other requirements.

Maximum building height (unless extended by special exception) 35 feet
Distance between buildings on the same lot 10 feet
Lot coverage, total structures, not including open parking spaces 60%

(d) Exceptions.

(1) All types of public utility installations; and

(2) Special exceptions may be considered for uses directly related to permitted or accessory uses which are not listed and which, by their nature, would prohibit a permitted use to function if not allowed.

(e) Special conditions.

(1) All uses permitted by this part, except for administrative, executive, and financial offices, and permitted retail commercial uses shall be subject to review in accordance with the Performance Standards procedure.

(2) All manufacturing uses shall be conducted wholly within a completely enclosed building, except for off-street parking, loading facilities, and testing functions. Testing functions not conducted in a building shall first be approved by the Zoning Administrator.

(3) Manufacturing and industrial processes shall use only solar, gas, or electricity as a fuel; provided, however, oil burning equipment may be installed for standby or emergency purposes only.

(4) In an IP District directly across a street or thoroughfare, not including a freeway, from any R District, the parking and loading facilities shall be distant at least twenty (20') feet from said street and the buildings and structures at least thirty (30') feet from said street.

(5) All portions of the front yard not used for parking and access shall be landscaped and provided with adequate sprinklers or appropriate automatic irrigation devices. Street trees shall be provided as part of an approved site plan. Any parking in the front yard area shall be screened with a landscaped strip no less than five (5') feet in width. Parking in a front yard shall be limited to eight (8) spaces or twenty (20%) percent of the required off-street parking, whichever is greater. No loading or unloading shall be permitted in the front yard setback area.

(6) Provide auditory separation when the IP District is adjacent to an R District.

(7) All uses within the IP District shall be subject to site plan review and other special conditions as may be deemed by the Zoning Administrator to be necessary to comply with the purpose of the IP District.

(Ord. 506-80 C-M, eff. September 11, 1980, as amended by § 1, Ord. 768-87 C-M, eff. January 7, 1988, and § 2(3) (Exh. A), Ord. 1481-25 (CM), eff. October 9, 2025)

Exceptions & meaning →

14-16.506 Industrially related uses.

Any other use which is determined by the Zoning Administrator to be of the same general character as any of the uses allowed in the IP District shall be permitted.

(§ 1, Ord. 768-87 C-M, eff. January 7, 1988)

Exceptions & meaning →

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