Fowler Zoning, Planning & Building Codes

Last reviewed: July 3, 2026

Overview

Fowler's land-use rules are organized in the 2010 Zoning Code (the "Zoning Ordinance"), which sets the zone map and the rules that control uses, density, height/bulk, yards, signs and parking for the city § 9-5.101 . The city's procedures for applications, hearings and appeals are in the procedural articles of the code (Articles 4 and related provisions) § 9-5.401 . Design review, a Development Review Committee, and a downtown Form‑Based Code are built into the same ordinance (Article 16 and Article 17) § 9-5.1601 and § 9-5.1701 . This page explains how to read Fowler’s code, the actual district names and where the major development rules live so owners, designers and advocates can find the controlling language.

How Fowler's code is organized

• The code is published as the Zoning Ordinance and begins with purpose, interpretation and applicability (Article 1). See the ordinance purpose at § 9-5.101 and interpretation rules at § 9-5.103 .
• Procedural rules for applications, hearings, the Planning Commission and appeals are collected in the procedures article; for example, application and Commission authority are at § 9-5.401–9-5.402 .
• District-specific rules are grouped by article (e.g., R districts in Article 7, RM in Article 8, C districts in Articles 10–13, M districts in Article 14, RCO/UR in Articles 5–6). Each district article opens with purpose and then enumerates permitted uses, and development standards with explicit subsections for site area, yards, height and parking (see, for example, § 9-5.701 and § 9-5.707–9-5.714 for the single‑family R zones) .
• Cross‑cutting technical chapters (off‑street parking, signs, landscaping, nonconforming rules, conditional uses, variances, site plan and design review) are in stand‑alone articles and are referenced by the district rules (for example, parking standards are implemented through Article 20; multiple district articles instruct readers to “see Article 20” for parking requirements) § 9-5.1016 .

Use the zone article for permitted uses and the referenced cross‑articles for standards and procedures (e.g., site plan = Article 26; design review = Article 16; conditional uses = Article 25) § 9-5.28.06 .

Zoning district families (what Fowler actually uses)

Fowler's code uses an explicit family of base districts and overlay/area plans. The primary base districts named in the code include:

• Residential — single‑family and multi‑family:
  • R-1-5, R-1-6, R-1-7, R-1-8.5, R-1-10, R-1-12 (one‑family residential districts; minimum lot areas and yards are in the R article; see § 9-5.707–9-5.714 for lot area, coverage and height) .
  • RM family including RM-2, RM-3 and subvariants (multi‑family districts; purpose and densities in the RM article) § 9-5.801 .
• Commercial — neighborhood to highway:
  • C-1 (Neighborhood Commercial), C-2 (Community Commercial), C-3 (General Commercial), C-H (Highway Commercial); the C‑district articles list permitted retail/office uses and reference design review and parking rules § 9-5.1010–9-5.1018 and § 9-5.1101–9-5.1103 .
• Industrial:
  • M-1 (Light Industrial) and M-2 (Heavy Industrial) with industrial use lists and industrial standards (see Article 14 and district standards such as height and yards) § 9-5.1401 .
• Open / public / special:
  • RCO (Resource, Conservation, Public Use, Open Space) and UR (Urban Reserve) with low‑intensity/open‑space rules § 9-5.501 and § 9-5.601 .

Overlay districts and special area plans in the code:

• Form‑Based Code Area — a downtown form‑based subcode that sets building form, block and streetscape controls in place of some conventional standards § 9-5.1701–9-5.1702 .
• Precise Plan Overlay District (P) — can be applied to any base district to require a precise plan; content rules and map designation described in § 9-5.1801–9-5.1803 .
• Highway Beautification Overlay (HB) and other overlays are defined and applied as overlay articles (see Article 19 et seq.) § 9-5.1901 .
• Planned Unit Development (PUD) is handled as Article 28 and may be established in any district by CUP or PUD overlay: minimum site area one (1) acre and cross‑use mixing rules are in § 9-5.28.01–9-5.28.05 .

(If you are scanning the code: look for the district article first, then the referenced cross‑articles — e.g., “All uses shall be subject to the provisions of Article 21” appears repeatedly to indicate the applicable accessory, ADU and home‑business provisions) § 9-5.602 .

Citywide development standards (high‑level)

The code sets explicit, district‑by‑district numeric standards; highlights follow with the controlling citations:

• Lot sizes and minimums in R zones — minimum lot areas for R-1-5 through R-1-12 are listed in the R article (e.g., R-1-5 = 5,000 sq ft, R-1-10 = 10,000 sq ft) § 9-5.707 .
• Minimum Floor Area Ratio (single‑family design criteria) — the code establishes a minimum FAR 0.20 for the R‑districts in the single‑family subdivision design criteria and lists the corresponding minimum floor area by R‑zone § 9-5.1605 . (That table shows 0.20 FAR for the R‑1 districts.)
• Coverage and height — many residential districts cap coverage and height; typical examples: maximum coverage 40% (certain residential contexts) and height limit 35 ft / 2 stories for R zones § 9-5.709–9-5.710 ; industrial districts allow greater heights (e.g., up to 75 ft in some M districts subject to Article 27) § 9-5.1513 .
• Yards/setbacks — district yard tables and special rules (reduced front yards where a block‑face is nonconforming, added side‑yard for each extra story, etc.) are in the R and commercial district articles § 9-5.714, § 9-5.1012–9-5.1015 . For how SB 9 or any 2023–2025 state statute may limit or preempt local ADU/SB‑9 practices, refer to the state statutes themselves and confer with the City on current policy.

Quick practical navigation tips

• To confirm whether a particular use is permitted on your lot: open the base zone article for your lot (e.g., R or C article) and read the “Permitted Uses” subsection; the district article will then point you to cross‑articles for parking (Article 20), signs (Article 22), ADUs and accessory rules (Article 21) § 9-5.703 and cross references § 9-5.702 .
• If your project needs design review or site plan approval, the code requires site plan approval before a building permit for many uses; see the site plan triggers in § 9-5.516 and the design review purpose in § 9-5.1601 .
• For numeric standards (setbacks / lot size / height / coverage), use the district’s “Site Area,” “Yard Requirements,” and “Building Height” subsections — these carry the controlling tables (e.g., § 9-5.707 for R lot areas and § 9-5.709–9-5.712 for coverage/height/parking in certain R zones) .

Information gaps / verify with the jurisdiction

• The ADU chapter text that contains the ministerial timing language is present in the Article 21 extract we retrieved, but the printed extract does not show a clean subsection header number for the ministerial 120‑day sentence in all snippets; JADU provisions are explicitly numbered at § 9-5.21.215 and ADU applicability at § 9-5.21.217. Verify the exact subsection number for the 120‑day ministerial promise in the City Clerk or the online Municode print export if you need the subsection citation used on a permit filing form .

Source References

• Fowler 2010 Zoning Code (Zoning Ordinance, Title 9, Chapter 5). Key provisions cited in this overview include § 9-5.101 (purpose), § 9-5.401–9-5.402 (procedures/Commission), district articles (e.g., § 9-5.701, § 9-5.707–9-5.714, § 9-5.801, § 9-5.1401, § 9-5.1701, § 9-5.1801, § 9-5.28.01, § 9-5.1601, and ADU/JADU provisions § 9-5.21.215, § 9-5.21.217) — see the Municode print export excerpts used for this memo .
• ADU application language, JADU and ADU parking exceptions are in Article 21 (ADU/JADU provisions) § 9-5.21.215, § 9-5.21.217–9-5.21.218 .
• Form‑Based Code and downtown standards: Article 17 § 9-5.1701–9-5.1702 .
• Planned Unit Development rules: Article 28 § 9-5.28.01–9-5.28.05 .
• Parking landscaping and lot shading standards: Article 20 (parking) and specific parking landscaping rules § 9-5.2008 .
• For the State building code and state housing law background consult the California Building Standards Code and state housing law summaries (see the California Building Standards internal guide and California housing statutes) California Building Standards Code and California housing laws.