Carlsbad City Zoning Code
CHAPTER 21
28 C-2 GENERAL COMMERCIAL ZONE
§ 21.28.010 Permitted uses.
A.
In a C-2 zone, notwithstanding any other provision of this title, only the uses listed in Table A, below, shall be permitted, subject to the requirements and development standards specified by this chapter, and subject to the provisions of Chapter 21.44 of this title governing off-street parking requirements.
B.
The uses permitted by conditional use permit, as indicated in Table A, shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter 21.42 of this title.
C.
A use similar to those listed in Table A may be permitted if the City Planner determines such similar use falls within the intent and purposes of this zone, and is substantially similar to the specified permitted uses.
D.
A use category may be general in nature, where more than one particular use fits into the general category (ex. in some commercial zones "office" is a general use category that applies to various office uses). However, if a particular use is permitted by conditional use permit in another zone, the use shall not be permitted in this C-2 general commercial zone (even under a general use category) unless it is specifically listed in Table A of this chapter as permitted or conditionally permitted.
Table A Permitted Uses |
|---|
In the table, below, subject to all applicable permitting and development requirements of the municipal code: "P" indicates use is permitted. (See note 1 below) |
"CUP" indicates use is permitted with approval of a conditional use permit. (See note 1 below) |
1 = Minor Conditional Use Permit (Process One), pursuant to Chapter 21.42 of this title. |
2 = Conditional Use Permit (Process Two), pursuant to Chapter 21.42 of this title. |
3 = Conditional Use Permit (Process Three), pursuant to Chapter 21.42 of this title. |
"Acc" indicates use is permitted as an accessory use. |
Use | P | CUP | Acc |
|---|---|---|---|
X | |||
Adult and/or senior day care and/or recreation facility (private or non-private) | 1 | ||
Alcoholic treatment centers | 2 | ||
Amusement parks | 3 | ||
Any use permitted in the C-1 zone | X | ||
Aquaculture (defined: Section 21.04.036) | 1 | ||
Aquaculture stands (display/sale) (subject to Section 21.42.140(B)(10)) | 1 | ||
Arcades—coin-operated (subject to Section 21.42.140(B)(15); defined: Section 21.04.091) | 1 | ||
Athletic clubs, gymnasiums, health clubs, and physical conditioning businesses | X | ||
Auto repair | X | ||
Bars, cocktail lounges (subject to Section 21.42.140(B)(20); defined: Section 21.04.041) (see note 1 below) | 2 | ||
Biological habitat preserve (subject to Section 21.42.140(B)(30); defined: Section 21.04.048) | 2 | ||
Blueprinting, photocopying and duplicating services | X | ||
Bowling alley (subject to Section 21.42.140(B)(35); defined: Section 21.04.057) | 1 | ||
Breweries with retail accessory use, including tasting rooms | 3 | ||
Car wash (subject to Section 21.42.140(B)(45)) | 1 | ||
Churches, synagogues, temples, convents, monasteries, and other places of worship | 2 | ||
Clubs—nonprofit, business, civic, professional, etc. (defined: Section 21.04.090) | 1 | ||
Columbariums and mausoleums (not within a cemetery) | 2 | ||
Commercial printing and photoengraving | X | ||
Delicatessen (defined: Section 21.04.106) | X | ||
Drive-thru facilities (excluding restaurants) | 1 | ||
Educational facilities, other (defined: Section 21.04.137) | X | ||
Educational institutions or schools, public/private (defined: Section 21.04.140) | 2 | ||
Fairgrounds | 3 | ||
Farmworker housing complex, small (subject to Section 21.10.125) (defined: Section 21.04.148.4) | 1 | ||
Gas stations (subject to Section 21.42.140(B)(65)) | 2 | ||
Greenhouses > 2,000 square feet (subject to Section 21.42.140(B)(70)) | 1 | ||
Group homes (serving seven or more persons and requiring state licensing) (defined: Section 21.04.163) | X | ||
Hospitals (defined: Section 21.04.170) | 2 | ||
Hospitals (mental) (defined: Section 21.04.175) | 2 | ||
Hotels and motels (subject to Section 21.42.140(B)(80)) | 3 | ||
Liquor store (subject to Section 21.42.140(B)(85); defined: Section 21.04.203) | 1 | ||
Mobile buildings (subject to Section 21.42.140(B)(90); defined: Section 21.04.265) | 1 | ||
Mortuaries | 2 | ||
Nightclubs, dance clubs, and other establishments that play live or recorded music or make regular use of amplified sound (see note 1 below) | 3 | ||
Outdoor dining (incidental) (subject to Section 21.26.013; defined: Section 21.04.290.1) | X | ||
Packing/sorting sheds > 600 square feet (subject to Section 21.42.140(B)(70)) | 1 | ||
Parking facilities (primary use; i.e., day uses, short-term, non-storage) | 1 | ||
Pawnshops (subject to Section 21.42.140(B)(105)) | 3 | ||
Personal services (defined: Section 21.04.291.1) | X | ||
Pet shops | X | ||
Pool halls, billiard parlors (subject to Section 21.42.140(B)(110); defined: Section 21.04.292) | 1 | ||
Public meeting halls, exhibit halls, and museums | 2 | ||
Public/quasi-public buildings and facilities and accessory utility buildings/facilities (defined: Section 21.04.297) | 2 | ||
Racetracks | 3 | ||
Radio/television/microwave/broadcast station/tower | 2 | ||
Recreation facilities | 1 | ||
Recycling collection facilities, large (subject to Chapter 21.105 of this title) (defined: Section 21.105.015) | 2 | ||
Recycling collection facilities, small (subject to Chapter 21.105 of this title) (defined: Section 21.105.015) | 1 | ||
Religious reading room | 1 | ||
Residential uses (subject to Section 21.28.015 of this title) | X | ||
Retail, wholesale or service businesses catering directly to the consumer | X | ||
X | |||
Signs (subject to Chapter 21.41) | X | ||
Stadiums | 3 | ||
Tattoo parlors (subject to Section 21.42.140(B)(140)) | 3 | ||
Theaters (motion picture or live) — Indoor | 2 | ||
Theaters, stages, amphitheaters — Outdoor | 3 | ||
Thrift shops (subject to Section 21.42.140(B)(150)) | 1 | ||
Transit passenger terminals (bus and train) | 2 | ||
Upholstering shops | X | ||
Veterinary clinic/animal hospital (small animals) (defined: Section 21.04.378) | 1 | ||
Welfare and charitable services (private or semi-private) with no permanent residential uses (e.g., Goodwill, Red Cross, Traveler's Aid) | 1 | ||
Windmills (exceeding height limit of zone) (subject to Section 21.42.140(B)(160)) | 2 | ||
Wireless communication facilities (subject to Section 21.42.140(B)(165)) | 1 / 2 | ||
Youth organizations (e.g., Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCA, YWCA, except lodgings) | 1 |
(Ord. 9060 § 1100; Ord. 9356 § 1, 1973; Ord. 9426 § 3, 1975; Ord. 9480 § 1, 1977; Ord. 9527 § 5, 1979; Ord. 9674 § 2, 1983; Ord. 9785 § 17, 1986; Ord. 9804 § 6, 1986; Ord. NS-791 § 21, 2006; Ord. CS-102 §§ LVII—LIX, 2010; Ord. CS-164 § 10, 2011; Ord. CS-172 § VI, 2012; Ord. CS-189 §§ XXVII, XXVIII, 2012; Ord. CS-224 § XXIV, 2013; Ord. CS-225 § IV, 2013; Ord. CS-384 § 21, 2020; Ord. CS-432, 9/27/2022; Ord. CS-448, 6/6/2023)
§ 21.28.015 Residential uses in the C-2 zone.
Mixed use developments that propose residential uses in combination with commercial uses shall comply with the following requirements.
A.
Residential uses are allowed either vertically, meaning within the same building, or horizontally, meaning within a separate building on the same site. Residential uses must be accessory to the nonresidential uses permitted by Section 21.28.010 of this title.
C.
Residential uses shall be constructed at a minimum density of 15 dwelling units per acre, per Table 2-4 of the general plan land use and community design element, subject to approval of a site development plan processed in accordance with Chapter 21.06 of this title.
1.
Density and yield of residential uses shall be determined consistent with the residential density calculations and residential development restrictions in Section 21.53.230 of this title and shall be based on 25% of the developable area. Unit yield in excess of the minimum shall be subject to the finding in subsection 2 below. In no case shall the calculation preclude the development of at least one dwelling unit in a mixed use development.
2.
Residential uses shall be accessory to the primary commercial use of the site. Compliance with this provision shall be evaluated as part of the site development plan.
D.
Residential uses shall include low barrier navigation centers, group homes serving six or fewer persons and require state licensing including, but not limited to, residential care facilities (serving six or fewer persons), and group homes that do not require state licensing including, but not limited to, supportive housing and transitional housing.
(Ord. CS-172 § VII, 2012; Ord. CS-191 § XV, 2012; Ord. CS-249 § XIII, 2014; Ord. CS-287 § 3, 2015; Ord. CS-422, 5/10/2022; Ord. CS-470, 4/16/2024; Ord. CS-448, 6/6/2023)
§ 21.28.020 Limitations on permitted uses.
Every nonresidential use permitted in the C-2 zone shall be subject to the following conditions and limitations:
1.
All uses shall be conducted wholly within a building except such uses as gasoline stations, electrical transformer substations, horticultural nurseries and other enterprises customarily conducted in the open.
2.
Products made incident to a permitted use and manufactured or processed on the premises shall be sold only at retail on the premises, and not more than five persons may be employed in such manufacturing, processing and treatment of products.
3.
Storage shall be limited to accessory storage of commodities sold at retail on the premises.
(Ord. 9060 § 1101; Ord. 9224 § 2, 1969; Ord. NS-439 § 6, 1998; Ord. NS-492 § 6, 1999; Ord. CS-172 § VIII, 2012)
§ 21.28.030 Building height.
A.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, no building in the C-2 zone shall exceed a height of thirty-five feet, and allowed height protrusions as described in Section 21.46.020 shall not exceed a height of forty-five feet.
B.
Building height above thirty-five feet may be permitted, subject to the following:
1.
Building height up to a maximum of forty-five feet may be permitted through approval of a minor site development plan processed in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 21.06 of this title, provided that:
a.
The project complies with the provisions of subsection B.3 of this section.
b.
The allowed height protrusions as described in Section 21.46.020 do not exceed a height of forty-five feet; with the exception of architectural features such as flagpoles, steeples or architectural towers, which may be permitted up to fifty-five feet if the decision-making authority makes the specific findings that the protruding architectural features:
2.
Building height above forty-five feet up to a maximum of fifty-five feet may be permitted through approval of a site development plan processed in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 21.06 of this title, provided that:
3.
All required setbacks shall be increased at a ratio of one horizontal foot for every one foot of vertical construction beyond thirty-five feet. The additional setback area shall be maintained as landscaped open space.
(Ord. 9060 § 1102; Ord. 9489 § 1, 1977; Ord. NS-180 § 18, 1991; Ord. NS-240 § 4, 1993; Ord. CS-178 § XXIII, 2012)
§ 21.28.040 Front yard.
No front yard shall be provided except as may be required by a precise plan.
(Ord. 9060 § 1103)
§ 21.28.050 Placement of buildings.
On any lot, the rear lot line of which abuts property in any R zone and no alley intervenes, no building shall be erected closer than ten feet to the rear lot line; provided further, if such a lot abuts upon an alley, no building shall be erected closer than five feet to the rear lot line of such lot.
(Ord. 9060 § 1104)