West Covina Municipal Code § 26-161 Applicability

(a) The City shall ministerially review a housing development containing no more than two (2) residential units through the second floor review process, if it meets the following requirements:

(1) The parcel is located within a single-family residential zone.

(2) The parcel is not located in any of the following areas and does not fall within any of the following categories:

a. A historic district or property included on the state historic resources inventory, as defined in Section 5020.1 of the Public Resources Code, or within a site that is designated or listed as a City landmark or historic property or district pursuant to a City ordinance.

b. A very high fire hazard severity zone as further defined in Government Code section 65913.4(a)(6)(D). This does not apply to sites excluded from the specified hazard zones by a local agency, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51179, or sites that have adopted fire hazard mitigation measures pursuant to existing building standards or state fire mitigation measures applicable to the development.

c. A delineated earthquake fault zone as determined by the state geologist in any official maps published by the state geologist, unless the development complies with applicable seismic protection building code standards adopted by the California Building Standards Commission under the California Building Standards Law and by the City's building department.

(3) The proposed housing development would not require demolition or alteration of any of the following types of housing:

a. Housing that is subject to a recorded covenant, ordinance or law that restricts rents to levels affordable to persons and families of moderate, low, or very low income;

b. Housing that is subject to any form of rent or price control by the City;

c. A parcel or parcels on which an owner of residential real property exercised rights under Government Code section 7060 et seq. to withdraw accommodations from rent or lease within fifteen (15) years before the date of the application; or

d. Housing that has been occupied by a tenant in the last three (3) years.

(4) Demolition of an existing unit that has not been occupied by a tenant in the last three (3) years shall not exceed more than twenty-five (25) percent of the existing exterior structural walls.

(Ord. No. 2519, § 5(Exh. A), 2-20-24)

(a) Number of units. There shall be no more than two (2) primary dwelling units per lot where an urban dwelling unit is constructed or proposed. The existing primary residential unit and existing/proposed urban dwelling unit will be counted toward the maximum number of units. Each primary unit may have no more than one (1) accessory dwelling unit (ADU) and/or junior accessory dwelling (JADU) unit for a total of four (4) units per lot. When an urban dwelling unit is constructed on a lot, the maximum size new construction detached ADU shall be eight hundred (800) square feet and/or the maximum size JADU shall be five hundred (500) square feet. All other standards within division 2 of article IV of chapter 26 shall be complied with.

(1) When an urban lot split/subdivision is proposed, no more than two (2) units per lot shall be allowed. The existing primary dwelling unit and existing ADU/JADU shall be counted toward the maximum number of units. Construction on lots created through the urban lot split process shall be limited to urban dwelling units.

(b) Setbacks.

(1) Existing structures. No setback shall be required for an existing structure, or a structure constructed in the same location and to the same dimensions as an existing structure.

(2) Side and rear setback for new structures and additions. The minimum setback from the side and rear property line is four (4) feet. The proposed residential unit(s) occupying an urban lot subdivision may be constructed directly along the side property line adjoining and attached to the unit within the same urban lot split subdivision, if the construction of an 800-square-foot unit would not be physically possible without the setback reduction.

(3) Front setback for new structures and additions. The minimum setback from the front property line is twenty-five (25) feet. The front setback may be reduced to ten (10) feet if the construction of an 800-square-foot unit would not be physically possible without the front setback reduction after the implementation of subsection (b)(2). of this section is incorporated with the project design.

(c) Maximum size. The maximum size of an urban dwelling unit shall not exceed eight hundred (800) square feet.

(d) Minimum size. The minimum size of an urban dwelling unit shall be five hundred (500) square feet.

(e) Maximum height. An urban dwelling unit, or additions to an existing structure within a proposed urban lot split subdivision shall not be more than one-story and shall not exceed sixteen (16) feet in height. Projects may be exempt from the one-story height limitation and may be constructed up to twenty-five (25) feet in height if the construction of an 800 square-foot unit would not be physically possible without the height increase after the implementation of (b)(2) and (b)(3) of this section is incorporated with the project design.

(1) In cases where an urban dwelling is being added by subdividing an existing structure, the height requirements of this subsection do not apply.

(f) Front yard landscaping and paving/hardscape.

(1) The driveway/pavement/hardscape width in the front yard shall be limited to the width of the garage, or twelve (12) feet if the lot does not have a garage.

(2) Within the front yard, a minimum of fifty (50) percent of the land area shall be maintained with landscaping consisting of live organic plant materials. Paving which incorporates planting cells such as turf block, grass grid, open-cell unit paver, geoblock, or grasscrete may be counted towards the landscaping requirement with the exclusion of the hard surface. Parking on such composite planted paving is not allowed.

(3) A minimum of one (1) 24-inch box-sized tree shall be planted on the front yard. If the urban lot split includes a flag lot, the front yard shall be the side of the lot directly in front of the primary entrance to the urban dwelling unit.

(g) Objective design standards.

(1) Additions to existing structures. Additions to existing structures shall utilize the same exterior materials, color, roof pitch, and architecture of the existing structure on the lot.

(2) New construction. The following standards shall apply to all new construction:

a. The front elevation shall include the primary entrance to the unit and a roofed porch. The porch may utilize a protruding or recessed design that provides for a roofed porch that is a minimum six (6) feet deep and six (6) feet wide.

b. All structures shall have at least two (2) exterior building wall materials. The building wall material option shall be limited to stucco, wood, rock/stone, brick, or decorative hand-painted tile. The building materials utilized shall be continued throughout the exterior of the house on all elevations. Window or door trims shall not be counted towards the material requirement.

c. Windows:

1. Treatment on windows shall be incorporated into the window design. Allowable window treatments shall be limited to the following: stucco pop outs, wood trim, pot shelves, shutters, or recessed windows.

(i) Recessed windows shall be one (1) inch to two (2) inches from the exterior building wall.

(ii) The height and width of window shutters shall be proportionate to the height and width of the window utilizing the treatment. The shutters shall be wide and tall enough to completely cover the exterior of each side of the window without exceeding the dimensions of the window by greater than two (2) inches.

2. Second-floor side windows shall be limited to clerestory windows for light and ventilation measured no less than five (5) feet above the interior floor level.

d. The roof design shall be limited to gable, dutch-gable, or hipped. Flat-roofs and/or shed roofs are prohibited. For the purposes of this subsection, "flat-roof" shall mean having a roof pitch of less than 2:12.

1. Spanish and/or Mediterranean style urban dwellings shall utilize rounded or "S" roof tiles, or a combination thereof.

e. The color palette for the urban dwelling shall include a minimum of two (2) colors. The color utilized for the main wall shall be a different color than the color used for the architectural trim (e.g., window/door trim).

f. Balconies, second-story decks and/or exterior staircases are prohibited. All staircases shall be located within an enclosed structure.

(h) Residents of urban dwelling units are not eligible for any type of street parking permit.

(i) The applicant shall provide easements for the provision of public services and facilities as required.

(j) No additional accessory structures other than a 20-foot deep and 10-foot wide one-car garage for each urban dwelling unit shall be allowed on lots/parcels developed with an urban dwelling unit. Construction of the one-car garage shall be dependent upon compliance with the maximum building coverage requirements listed within table 2-4 of section 26-46.

(k) All lots shall have a minimum street frontage of twelve (12) feet to provide for vehicular access.

(l) Off-street parking shall be limited to one (1) space per unit, except that no parking requirements shall be imposed in either of the following circumstances:

(1) The parcel is located within one-half (½) mile walking distance of either a high-quality transit corridor as defined by Public Resources Code section 21155(b) or a major transit stop as defined in Public Resources Code section 21064.3; or

(2) There is a car share vehicle located within one (1) block of the parcel.

(m) For residential units connected to an onsite wastewater treatment system (septic tank), the applicant provides a percolation test completed within the last five (5) years, or if the percolation test has been recertified, within the last ten (10) years, which shows that the system meets acceptable infiltration rates.

(Ord. No. 2519, § 5(Exh. A), 2-20-24; Ord. No. 2525, § 35, 3-18-25)

(a) The City shall not require or deny an application based on any of the following:

(1) The City shall not impose any objective zoning or design review standards that would have the effect of physically precluding the construction of two (2) units on either of the resulting parcels or that would result in a unit size of less than eight hundred (800) square feet.

(2) The City shall not deny an application solely because it proposes adjacent or connected structures, provided that that all building code safety standards are met and they are sufficient to allow a separate conveyance.

(Ord. No. 2519, § 5(Exh. A), 2-20-24)

(a) An applicant for an urban dwelling shall be required to sign an affidavit in a form approved by the City Attorney to be recorded against the property stating the following:

(1) That the uses shall be limited to residential uses.

(2) That the rental of any unit created pursuant to this section shall be for a minimum of thirty-one (31) days.

(3) That the maximum number of units to be allowed on the parcels is two (2), including but not limited to units otherwise allowed pursuant to density bonus provisions, accessory dwelling units, junior accessory dwelling units, or units allowed pursuant to chapter 26 (zoning).

(4) That the site and/or residence of the site is not eligible for any type of street parking permit.

(Ord. No. 2519, § 5(Exh. A), 2-20-24)

(a) The City may deny the housing development if the building official makes a written finding, based upon a preponderance of the evidence, that the proposed housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact, as defined and determined in Government Code section 65589.5(d)(2), upon the public health and safety or the physical environment and for which there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact.

(Ord. No. 2519, § 5(Exh. A), 2-20-24)

(a) The provisions of this division supersede any contrary provisions in the West Covina Municipal Code to the contrary.

(Ord. No. 2519, § 5(Exh. A), 2-20-24)