Santa Clara — Temporary Use Permits

Allowed Temporary Uses and Time Limits

Off-Site Contractors’ Construction Sites

A private site may temporarily serve as an off-site contractor construction, staging, or storage area. The permit may last up to 180 days and may be extended in 180-day increments with Director approval, but it ends when the companion Building Permit expires if that occurs first. § 18.122.050(A).

Special Events

Santa Clara treats a wide range of events as TUP-eligible special events, including amusement rides, carnivals, concerts, fairs, festivals, flea markets, food events, outdoor entertainment and sporting events, petting zoos, religious revivals, rodeos, rummage sales, tent camps, and swap meets. The ordinary limit is six consecutive days or less in any 30-day period, or six two-day weekends within 12 months; a Director-approved annual plan may extend frequency and duration. § 18.122.050(B)(1).

Retail businesses, including auto dealerships, with a valid Title 5 business license may hold up to six outdoor display-and-sale events, excluding City-sponsored activities. Each event may last no more than seven consecutive days, unless a Director-approved annual plan extends the frequency or duration. § 18.122.050(B)(2).

Outdoor meetings and group activities or assemblies are limited to two or fewer seven-consecutive-day events within 12 months. § 18.122.050(B)(3).

Seasonal sales—including Halloween pumpkin sales and Christmas tree lots—must comply with Title 5 business-license requirements and may operate no more than 45 days in any 365-day period. § 18.122.050(B)(4).

Car washes may occur once each month per site, for no more than three days each time, and are prohibited in residential zones. Eligible sponsors are specified charitable, educational, fraternal, religious, school, service, civic, or qualifying tax-exempt organizations. § 18.122.050(B)(5).

Temporary Residential Real Estate Sales Offices

One temporary real estate sales office may be located in an approved residential subdivision within any residential or mixed-use zone. It may sell only residential or commercial property within that same subdivision. § 18.122.050(C)(1).

The office must be removed at the end of two years after recordation of the subdivision’s final map. If parcels remain unsold, the Director may approve month-to-month extensions. § 18.122.050(C)(2)–(3).

Temporary Structures

A temporary classroom, office, similar portable structure, manufactured unit, or mobile unit may be approved as an accessory use or as the first phase of a development project in commercial, industrial, and mixed-use zones. The maximum approval period is 12 months. § 18.122.050(D).

Temporary Work Trailers

The Director may approve temporary work trailers for up to 12 months for employees of a business. They may support construction or remodeling of a permanent commercial, industrial, or mixed-use structure with a valid Building Permit, or a demonstrated short-term need while a permanent work site is being obtained. § 18.122.050(E).

Other Similar Temporary Uses

The Director may consider a similar temporary use if it is compatible with the subject zone and surrounding land uses. The chapter does not provide a separate list of qualifying similar uses. § 18.122.050(F).

Uses Needing Additional Operating Days

Temporary uses other than the listed special events that would last more than six days but no more than 45 days, or uses proposed for more than 15 consecutive days, require Director approval of a Minor Use Permit under Chapter 18.114. § 18.122.050(G).

District-by-District Application

Chapter 18.122 does not assign TUP rules to Santa Clara’s individual named base districts such as R-1 or C-N. It instead uses broader zone categories; the parcel’s specific district, Santa Clara Development Standards, and any Santa Clara Overlay Districts must be verified with the jurisdiction.

Residential Zones

The chapter allows one temporary real estate office in an approved residential subdivision in a residential zone. Car washes are expressly prohibited in residential zones, while residential garage and yard sales may be exempt if limited to two two-day periods each year. § 18.122.040(C); § 18.122.050(B)(5); § 18.122.050(C).

No residential-zone purpose statement, typical permanent-use list, or numerical dimensional standards for individual districts such as R-1 are found in source materials. Verify the underlying district, setbacks, height, and lot standards with the jurisdiction.

Commercial Zones

Commercial-zone sites may host a temporary classroom, office, portable structure, manufactured unit, or mobile unit for up to 12 months, either as an accessory use or a development project’s first phase. Temporary work trailers may also be approved for up to 12 months under the construction/remodeling or short-term-necessity criteria. § 18.122.050(D); § 18.122.050(E).

Retail businesses with a valid Title 5 business license may conduct outdoor display-and-sale events subject to the six-event and seven-consecutive-day limits. § 18.122.050(B)(2). District-specific commercial purposes, permitted permanent uses, and dimensions are not found in source materials.

Industrial Zones

Industrial-zone sites may receive approval for temporary structures for up to 12 months and temporary work trailers for up to 12 months. The work-trailer approval depends on a valid Building Permit during construction or remodeling, or proof of short-term necessity while a permanent work site is being obtained. § 18.122.050(D); § 18.122.050(E).

No individual industrial district designations, purpose statements, permanent-use lists, or numerical dimensional standards are found in source materials. Verify the parcel’s zoning and site-specific standards with the jurisdiction.

Mixed-Use Zones

Mixed-use zones may contain a qualifying temporary residential real estate office within an approved subdivision. They may also host temporary structures and qualifying temporary work trailers, each with a maximum 12-month approval period. § 18.122.050(C); § 18.122.050(D); § 18.122.050(E).

The chapter does not identify individual mixed-use district names or their dimensional standards. Verify whether the site is subject to additional Santa Clara Design Review requirements or overlay controls with the jurisdiction.

Application, Notice, and Decision

Applicants must file through the City’s application-processing procedures, submit the materials identified in the current Department handout, and pay the applicable fee. The application must be filed at least 30 days before the proposed temporary use. § 18.122.060(A).

The applicant bears responsibility for evidence supporting the required findings. Notice is mailed at least 10 days before the Director’s consideration and final decision to immediately adjacent owners—including both sides, rear, and across the street—and to others the Director determines may be affected. § 18.122.060(B); § 18.122.060(C)(1).

The notice must state the date on which the Director will approve, conditionally approve, or deny the request. The Director may defer action and refer the request to the Commission for final consideration and decision. § 18.122.060(C)(2)–(3).

Conditions and Site Standards

Temporary events must comply with the applicable temporary-use standards in § 18.60.190. For site design, the Director uses the standards otherwise applicable to the use category or zone—including Santa Clara Parking, vehicle and delivery-truck access, setbacks, height, landscaping, and other property-development standards—as a guide. § 18.122.090.

The Director may authorize variation from specific site standards only where appropriate and where it does not negatively affect abutting properties to an unacceptable level. § 18.122.090. The source materials identify a fixed approval period as a condition, but the remaining condition and site-restoration text is not fully available; verify those requirements with the jurisdiction. § 18.122.090; § 18.122.100.

Chapter 18.122 does not establish whether a temporary structure also requires compliance with the California Building Standards Code, nor does it establish Santa Clara Signage requirements for event signs. Verify those separate approvals with the jurisdiction.

Checklist

• Confirm the activity is either exempt under § 18.122.040 or listed/eligible under § 18.122.050.
• Check whether another temporary use occurred on the property within the prior 30 days. § 18.122.050
• Confirm the requested duration fits the applicable limit, including the six-day, 45-day, 180-day, or 12-month limits where applicable. § 18.122.050
• If the use exceeds the applicable day threshold, determine whether a Minor Use Permit is required. § 18.122.050(G)
• File the TUP application, required Department-handout materials, and fee at least 30 days before the event or activity. § 18.122.060(A)
• Provide evidence supporting the required decision findings. § 18.122.060(B)
• Identify parking, access, setback, height, landscaping, and other site-standard issues for the Director’s review. § 18.122.090
• Verify parcel-specific zoning, overlay, building, signage, and post-use site requirements with the jurisdiction.

Risks & Ambiguities

Plain-English Summary

In Santa Clara, a Temporary Use Permit can authorize limited events, seasonal lots, off-site construction staging, temporary sales offices, portable structures, and work trailers—but the activity must fit a specific time limit and cannot follow another temporary use on the same property within 30 days. File at least 30 days ahead, plan for neighbor notice, and verify the site’s parking and development constraints before committing to dates. § 18.122.050; § 18.122.060; § 18.122.090.

Source References

• Santa Clara Zoning Code, Chapter 18.122, purpose and definition: § 18.122.010; § 18.122.020
• Santa Clara Zoning Code, exempt temporary uses: § 18.122.040
• Santa Clara Zoning Code, allowed temporary uses and time limits: § 18.122.050
• Santa Clara Zoning Code, filing, evidence, notice, and Director review: § 18.122.060
• Santa Clara Zoning Code, temporary-use conditions: § 18.122.090
• Santa Clara Zoning Code, condition of site following temporary use: § 18.122.100
• Santa Clara Zoning Code, conditional and minor use permits: Chapter 18.114, as referenced in § 18.122.050(G)
• Santa Clara Zoning Code, temporary-use standards: § 18.60.190, as referenced in § 18.122.090