Davis City Zoning Code
ARTICLE 40
04A RESIDENTIAL ONE- AND TWO-FAMILY CONSERVATION R-2-CD DISTRICT
§ 40.04A.010 Purpose.
The purpose of the residential one and two-family conservation district (R-2-CD) is to stabilize and protect the historic residential characteristics of the Old North Davis and Old East Davis residential neighborhoods within the city's adopted conservation overlay zoning district, and to promote and encourage a suitable environment for residential living. The R-2-CD district is intended for residences and community services appurtenant thereto.
(Ord. 2147 § 1, 2004)
§ 40.04A.020 Permitted uses.
The principal permitted uses of land in an R-2-CD district are as follows:
(a)
Up to two single-family dwellings per lot provided each unit has five or fewer bedrooms.
(b)
Duplex or two-family dwellings provided each unit has five or fewer bedrooms.
(c)
Agriculture, except the raising of animals or fowl for commercial purposes, or the sale of any products at retail on the premises.
(d)
Family and group day care homes as defined in Section 40.26.270 of this chapter.
(e)
Group care homes with six or fewer clients.
(f)
Supportive housing.
(g)
Transitional housing.
(Ord. 2147 § 1, 2004; Ord. 2276 § 3, 2007; Ord. 2413 § 2, 2013; Ord. 2677, 11/4/2025)
§ 40.04A.030 Accessory uses.
The following accessory uses are permitted in the R-2-CD district:
(a)
Home occupations subject to the provisions of Sections 40.04A.090 and 40.26.150 of this chapter.
(b)
Swimming pools, subject to the provisions of Section 40.26.350 of this chapter.
(c)
Signs, subject to the regulations of Section 40.26.020 of this chapter.
(d)
Other accessory uses and accessory buildings customarily appurtenant to a permitted use, subject to requirements of Section 40.26.010 (Accessory buildings/structures) of this chapter, except as modified within this article. The maximum footprint for any enclosed accessory structure is four hundred eighty square feet. The maximum height for any accessory building shall be fifteen feet except as provided for in Section 40.04A.050(b).
(e)
Accessory dwelling units. Accessory dwelling units meeting the requirements of Section 40.26.450.
(Ord. 2147 § 1, 2004; Ord. 2553 § 5, 2019; Ord. 2602 § 10, 2021)
§ 40.04A.040 Conditional uses.
The following conditional uses may be permitted in the R-2-CD district:
(a)
Public and semi-public buildings and uses of a recreational, educational, cultural or public service type, including public utility, but not including corporation yards, storage or repair yards, warehouses and similar uses.
(b)
Hospitals, churches and other religious and eleemosynary institutions, subject to the provisions of Section 40.26.160.
(c)
Temporary tract offices, subject to the provisions of Section 40.26.360 of this chapter.
(d)
Nursery schools and day care centers, subject to the provisions of Section 40.26.270 of this chapter.
(e)
Multiple dwellings meeting the area, lot width, open space, yard, parking, special conditions and height limitations allowable within the R-3-L district.
(f)
Group care homes with more than six clients, subject to the provisions of Section 40.26.135 of this chapter.
(g)
Conversion of an existing non-conforming non-habitable accessory structure to a guest house as provided for in Section 40.04A.080 of this article; provided that:
(1)
The accessory structure was not constructed in violation of any zoning ordinance previously in effect in the district; and
(2)
The new use will not constitute a nuisance.
(h)
Residential dwellings with more than five bedrooms in the unit subject to the requirements Section 40.26.255.
(i)
Residential dwellings with more than five bathrooms in the unit subject to the requirements of Section 40.26.256. Individual bathrooms shall not consist of more than one toilet fixture per bathroom with the exception of a bidet, and shall not contain more than two sinks, a shower, a bathtub or combination thereof.
(Ord. 2147 § 1, 2004; Ord. 2276 § 4, 2007; Ord. 2602 § 11, 2021; Ord. 2633 § 4, 2022)
§ 40.04A.045 Conditional uses permitted with an administrative use permit (AUP).
The following conditional uses may be permitted in an R-2-CD district subject to the granting of an administrative use permit (AUP):
(a)
Non-ministerial accessory dwelling unit. Accessory dwelling units that are not permitted pursuant to Section 40.26.450 (Ministerial accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units) shall be permitted subject to the granting of an administrative use permit and shall be known as non-ministerial accessory dwelling units. Non-ministerial accessory dwelling units shall comply with all of the requirements of Section 40.26.460.
(b)
Guest houses. Guest houses are conditionally allowable accessory structures, subject to the granting of an administrative use permit (AUP). Guest houses shall comply with all the requirements of Section 40.26.470.
(Ord. 2602 § 12, 2021)
§ 40.04A.050 Height regulations.
(a)
Principal buildings. No principal building shall exceed two stories or thirty feet in height.
(b)
Accessory buildings. No accessory building shall exceed fifteen feet in height, unless the accessory building is located in Old East Davis or on a lot on the east side of "F" Street, and the planning commission has approved a discretionary design review application to increase the maximum height to no more than thirty feet, pursuant to Section 40.040A.090 of this chapter.
(Ord. 2147 § 1, 2004)
§ 40.04A.060 Area, lot width and yard requirements.
The following minimum requirements shall be observed, except where increased for conditional uses or as provided in Section 40.04A.080 or 40.27.040 of this chapter:
(a)
Lot area. In Old North Davis, the minimum lot size for any lot adjoining an alley shall be five thousand six hundred twenty-five square feet, and the minimum lot size for any lot not adjoining an alley shall be six thousand square feet. In Old East Davis, the minimum lot size for all lots shall be five thousand two hundred fifty square feet.
(b)
Lot width. All lots shall be a minimum of fifty feet wide.
(c)
Usable open space. A minimum of twenty percent of the lot area shall be usable open space.
(d)
Lot coverage. Lot coverage shall not exceed forty percent, except that an accessory structure may, in combination with the primary structure, exceed the otherwise applicable maximum lot coverage, up to a maximum of fifty percent. Trellises are exempt from lot coverage calculations.
(e)
Rear yard coverage. No more than thirty percent of the square footage of the required rear yard area may be covered with impervious surfacing for parking and/or structures, unless the rear yard abuts an alley. If the rear yard abuts an alley, trellises and a maximum of two required parking spaces may be exempted from rear yard coverage calculations.
(f)
Front yard setback.
(1)
The least restrictive criteria shall apply to front yard setbacks:
(A)
The front yard setback is equal to the average front setback of all residences on both sides of the street within one hundred feet of the property lines of the new project; or
(B)
The front yard setback is equal to the average of the two immediately adjacent buildings.
(2)
Certain architectural features such as stoops, but not including porches that are an integral architectural element on the front of a house, and other minor covered entrances attached to the main building front may project into the required front setback by an additional five feet.
(3)
Accessory structures, including garages and carports, but excluding trellises and arbors, may not be located within the front half of the lot.
(g)
Side yard setback.
(1)
If a street side yard adjoins a sidewalk that is separated from the street by a planting strip, the minimum setback shall be ten feet. If a street side yard adjoins a sidewalk without a planting strip, the minimum setback shall be fifteen feet.
(2)
Interior Side Yards. The minimum side yard setback for any primary or accessory structure with an interior side yard shall be five feet, and the total side yard setback shall be a minimum of twelve feet. These setbacks shall not apply to projections as permitted by Section 40.27.060 or as otherwise provided for elsewhere in this section. If the principal building is at least two stories or exceeds twenty feet in height, then the setback for the one-story portion, or any portion less than twenty feet, shall be five feet. The setback for the two-story portion, or any portion of a single story structure that exceeds twenty feet in height, shall be ten feet.
(3)
Upon approval by the planning commission of a discretionary design review application, pursuant to Section 40.04A.090 of this chapter, if an accessory structure's side yard adjoins an alley, the required side yard setback of the accessory structure may be reduced from five feet to zero feet.
(4)
Upon approval by the planning commission of a discretionary design review application, pursuant to Section 40.04A.090 of this chapter, the required side yard setback for the second story of a two story structure (or for any portion of a one story structure that exceeds twenty feet in height) may be reduced from ten feet to no less than five feet. Consistent with the DTRN Design Guidelines, the planning commission shall consider, among other design considerations, the proposed building's mass and scale and the effect of reducing the setback on streetscape, neighbors' privacy and shading patterns.
(5)
Pursuant to the design review process set forth in Section 40.04A.090 of this chapter, any side yard setback may be reduced in order to encourage the clustering of garages and other accessory structures on adjacent properties and/or to protect historic landscaping.
(h)
Rear yard setback.
(1)
Except as otherwise provided for in this section, the minimum rear yard setback for the first story of a primary structure shall be twenty feet.
(2)
If a structure is over one story, the minimum rear yard setback for the first story shall be twenty feet, and the minimum rear yard setback for any portion of the structure that is over one story shall be twenty-five feet.
(3)
Corner Lots. The minimum rear yard setback for corner lots may be five feet, but only if there is an unimproved area in the rear yard that is equal to the open space square footage that would otherwise be required by this article. The open space square footage that would otherwise be required by this article is determined by making the following computation: by multiplying the lot width by twenty for any single-story principal building, or by multiplying the lot width by twenty-five for a principal building that is at least two stories.
(4)
The minimum rear yard set back for an accessory structure shall be ten feet, unless the accessory structure adjoins an alley, in which case the minimum rear yard setback shall be five feet. Upon approval by the planning commission of a discretionary design review application pursuant to Section 40.04A.090 of this chapter, the rear yard setback of an accessory structure may be reduced from ten feet to no less than five feet unless the rear yard of the lot adjoins an alley, in which case the rear yard setback may be reduced from five feet to zero feet.
(i)
Alley landscaping. Forty percent of the rear lot line adjoining an alley in Old North Davis shall be landscaped with plant materials. This alley landscaping requirement does not apply to Old East Davis.
(j)
Floor area ratio (FAR).
(1)
Gross square footage for purposes of determining FAR shall be measured in accordance with city council Resolution Number 02-03, Series 2002, as it reads now or may be amended in the future. FAR shall not exceed forty percent in addition to five hundred square feet for a garage or carport.
(2)
Upon approval of a discretionary design review application pursuant to Section 40.04A.090 of this chapter, the floor area ratio may exceed the standard set forth in Section 40.04A.060(j)(1).
(Ord. 2147 § 1, 2004)
§ 40.04A.070 Parking.
(a)
Parking spaces shall be developed and maintained in accordance with Section 40.25.100 of this chapter, except that alternate surfacing materials and methods that further the goal of limiting hard surface paving will be encouraged and approved in accordance with Section 40.04A.090 of this article.
(b)
When covered parking is requested, trellises may be used to cover a parking space. If a detached trellis is used to cover parking spaces, the side yard setback for the trellis may be reduced to zero, so long as all building code requirements have been met and the trellis is no greater than the minimum size needed to cover one parking space.
(Ord. 2147 § 1, 2004; Ord. 2602 § 13, 2021; Ord. 2677, 11/4/2025)
§ 40.04A.080 Special exceptions for existing legal nonconforming structures.
The provisions elsewhere in this article and in Article 40.28 of this chapter shall apply to all existing legal nonconforming uses and structures except as follows:
(a)
Conversion of nonhabitable accessory structures. The planning commission may grant a use permit in accordance with Section 40.04A.040 of this article to allow a legal, nonconforming, nonhabitable accessory structure to be converted to habitable space, providing findings as provided for in Section 40.04A.040 of this article are adopted and further that any changes to the structure are approved in accordance with Section 40.04A.090 and Article 40.31 of this chapter.
(b)
Replacement of damaged or destroyed legal nonconforming structures. Notwithstanding Section 40.28.110 of this chapter, up to one hundred percent of a legal nonconforming structure damaged up to one hundred percent of its then appraised value for tax purposes, exclusive of the foundations at the time of damage, may be restored or rebuilt as it was before the damage, without expansion, provided that substantial construction shall commence within eighteen months of the damage or destruction.
(Ord. 2147 § 1, 2004)
§ 40.04A.090 Design review.
Site plan and architectural approval shall be required for all applicable activities and projects as specified within the adopted "Davis Downtown and Traditional Residential Neighborhoods Design Guidelines" and in accordance with Articles 40.13A, 40.31 and 40.39 of this chapter.
(Ord. 2147 § 1, 2004)
