Menlo Park City Zoning Code

means an office for the rendering of service or general administration, but excluding retail sales and other activities generating customer traffic.

means a public or private thoroughfare which affords only a secondary means of access to abutting property.

means a single dwelling unit in an apartment building.

means a multiple dwelling (see "dwelling, multiple").

means approval of the appearance of buildings or structures to be built, erected, constructed, altered or relocated, based on plans and elevations of the proposed buildings or structures, or approval of the appearance of business to be conducted primarily out of doors based on site and landscape plans for the area. Architectural control shall also include approval of site planning, landscaping, signs, parking design and access and any other element of exterior appearance or relationship with streets and adjoining property.

means a committee empowered to act for the planning commission in matters relating to architectural control.

means a space in a building that is immediately above the top of the ceiling joist and immediately below the roof sheathing, including all roof framing.

means the part of a building that is partly or wholly below grade.

means a unit governed by a legal covenant or other restriction enforceable by the city restricting the availability of said unit to very low‑, low- and moderate-income residents, which unit is rented or sold to a very low-, low- or moderate-income person or household.

means all property fronting upon one (1) side of a street: between intersection and intercepting streets, or between a street and a railroad right-of-way, waterway, dead end street or unsubdivided land. An intercepting street shall determine only the boundary of the block on the side of a street which it intercepts.

means a dwelling other than a hotel, where lodging or meals for three or more persons is provided for compensation.

means any structure having a roof and designed for the shelter or housing of any person, animal or property.

means a subordinate detached building, the use of which is incidental to that of the main building or buildings and/or the use of the land on the same lot or building site, and shall not include any building providing an area for cooking or permanent sleeping quarters. An accessory building may be attached to a secondary dwelling unit. For the purpose of an accessory building, an area containing four (4) or more plumbing fixtures, regardless of the intended use of the space, shall be defined and regulated as "living space" in the accessory building. Water supplied to washing machines and water heaters is not considered a plumbing fixture for the purposes of this section. In no case shall the "living space," as defined by this section for the purpose of minimum yard requirements, be used as a dwelling unit. An accessory building that was legally permitted and constructed with four (4) or more plumbing fixtures prior to June 13, 2014, shall not be subject to the limitations set forth in Section 16.68.030 pertaining to minimum yard requirements. The addition of plumbing fixtures would be subject to the minimum yard requirements.

means that percentage of the building site permitted to be covered by buildings, as measured from the ground upward, exclusive of any eave not in excess of six (6) feet and electric equipment enclosures (as defined in Section 16.04.296) for existing dwellings provided the enclosure is limited to one (1) enclosure per dwelling unit and does not exceed a footprint of sixteen (16) square feet and a maximum height of nine (9) feet, six (6) inches.

means a building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot or building site on which it is situated.

means one or more contiguous, legally created parcels of land under common ownership, meeting area and dimension requirements for the zoning district in which it is situated and having frontage on a dedicated street or approved private road.

means two or more structures connected by common load bearing structural members.

means the retail sale of any article, substance, or commodity, within a building, but not including the handling or sale of lumber, brick, stone or other building material of a similar nature.

means the wholesale handling of any article, substance or commodity, but not including the handling of lumber, brick, stone or other building material of a similar nature or the open storage or sale of any material or commodity, and not including the processing or manufacture of any product or substance.

means any child care facility other than a large family day care home or small family day care home as defined by Section 16.04.165.

means both a "small family day care home" and a "large family day care home" as further defined herein. A "small family day care home" means a residence licensed by the appropriate state or county agency for the day care or instruction of no more than six (6) children, or up to eight (8) children without an additional adult attendant, if all of the following conditions are met: (1) at least one (1) child is enrolled in and attending a kindergarten or elementary school and a second child is at least six (6) years of age; (2) no more than two (2) infants are cared for during any time when more than six (6) children are cared for; (3) the licensee notifies each parent that the facility is caring for two (2) additional school-age children and that there may be up to seven (7) or eight (8) children in the home at one (1) time; and (4) the licensee obtains the written consent of the property owner when the family day care home is operated on property that is leased or rented. A "large family day care home" means a residence licensed by the appropriate state or county agency for the day care or instruction of no more than twelve (12) children, or up to and including fourteen (14) children, if all of the following conditions are met: (1) at least one (1) child is enrolled in and attending a kindergarten or elementary school and a second child is at least six (6) years of age; (2) no more than three (3) infants are cared for during any time when more than twelve (12) children are cared for; (3) the licensee notifies each parent that the facility is caring for two (2) additional school-age children and that there may be up to thirteen (13) or fourteen (14) children in the home at one (1) time; and (4) the licensee obtains the written consent of the property owner when the family day care home is operated on property that is leased or rented.

means a structure intended as a meeting place for organized religious worship and related activities.

means two or more attached or semi-attached single-family dwellings having open space in common.

means a building housing operating electrical and mechanical equipment necessary for the conduct of a public communication business.

means a special activity to be conducted on a building site, which activity is allowed by the regulations of the district wherein located, subject to obtaining a use permit therefor.

means any property directly abutting any portion of a property on which a development project is proposed, but shall not include properties located across the street.

means a large residential care facility or any structure occupied or intended to be occupied, for compensation, by persons recovering from injury or illness, or suffering from the infirmities of old age, and any comparable licensed care facility.

means a portion of the city as designated in Section 16.08.010 within which certain uses of land and structures are permitted or prohibited and within which certain yards and other open spaces are required and certain height limits are established for structures, all as set forth and specified in this title.

means a building or a portion thereof designed and used exclusively for residential occupancy, including one (1) family, two (2) family dwellings and multiple family dwellings, small residential care facility, transitional and supportive housing, but not including hotels, motels or boardinghouses.

means a group of two or more detached or semi-detached dwellings occupying a single parcel of land and having any yard or court in common.

means a building or portion thereof, used and designed as a residence for three or more families living independently of each other and doing their own cooking in such building; including apartment houses, apartment hotels and flats, but not including motels, boardinghouses and hotels.

means a building, containing not more than one kitchen, designed for, or used to house not more than one family, including all necessary employees of such family.

means a building containing not more than two kitchens, designed or used to house not more than two families, living independently of each other, including all necessary employees of each such family.

means a building or portion of a building designed for the occupancy of one (1) family.

shall mean electric home appliances intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by electrifying buildings within the city (e.g., heat pumps to replace natural gas water heaters and/or furnaces, electric vehicle "EV" chargers, battery storage systems and related electric equipment). An "electric equipment enclosure" shall mean a weatherproof enclosure to protect the electric equipment, visually screen the equipment, and reduce noise from the equipment attached or adjacent to an existing dwelling. Electric equipment enclosures are exempt from development regulations related to floor area, gross floor area, building and lot coverage, paving and landscaping. Electric equipment enclosures may encroach into required setbacks as outlined in Section 16.60.010.

are as defined in the California Building Standards Code.

means housing with minimal supportive services for homeless persons that is limited to occupancy of six (6) months or less by a homeless person. No individual or household may be denied emergency shelter because of an inability to pay. (Health and Safety Code Section 50801(e))

means a group of individuals living together in a dwelling unit as a single housekeeping unit under a common housekeeping management plan based on an internally structured relationship providing organization and stability.

means a restaurant where cooked food primarily intended for immediate consumption is available upon a short waiting time, and packaged or presented in such a manner that it can be readily eaten outside the premises where it is sold; and where the facilities for on-premises consumption of the food are insufficient for the volume of food sold in the place.

means a facility, licensed by appropriate county or state agency, for the care of not more than six (6) individuals, not requiring special medical attention.

means the maximum permitted floor area for a property within the single family residential or R-2 zoning districts. For the purposes of determining the floor area limit, neither the panhandle extension of a panhandle lot, nor a private driveway or access easement across another lot to a panhandle lot, shall be included as part of the panhandle or other lot.

applies to all zoning districts except the single-family residential and R-2 zoning districts and means the maximum permitted ratio of the total square footage of the gross floor area of all buildings on a lot to the square footage of the lot.

means paved, accessible and usable covered space at least ten (10) feet by twenty (20) feet for storage of automobiles, with exceptions for allowable intrusions as specified in Chapter 16.72.

means a freestanding ornamental structure, either monolithic or assembled in place as an integral part of a garden, covering an area no more than thirty-six (36) square feet, measured to the edge of the roof or its horizontal members. Overall height of the structure, as measured from the adjacent finished grade to the highest point of the structure, shall not exceed nine (9) feet.

means any activity conducted on the premises by the occupant of the dwelling as a secondary use in connection therewith, and where there are no advertising signs, no display, no stock or commodity stored or sold on the premises, no employees in connection therewith and no mechanical equipment to be used in connection therein, other than that necessary or convenient for domestic purposes. Such activity shall not be conducted in an accessory building.

means an annual permit, issued by the city, authorizing the use of a dwelling for a home occupation, as defined herein.

means any portion of any lot or parcel of land used for the storage of junk, including scrap metals, salvage or other scrap materials, or for the dismantling or "wrecking" of automobiles or other vehicles or machinery, whether for sale or storage.

means any premises where three or more dogs are maintained, kept or boarded.

mean uses engaged in prototype development, testing, repairing, manufacturing, assembling, packaging, storage, and/or distribution of finished or semifinished products conducted within a building, including wet labs, dry labs and/or clean rooms, and not having any noxious or hazardous character. Uses with similar characteristics of the above listed activities, such as telecommunication hub facilities, may also be considered as light industrial uses. Incidental administrative offices and sales areas occupying less than twenty percent (20%) of the gross floor area of the building are allowed.

means a lot having frontage on two public or private streets which intersect at a corner of the lot.

means any lot which is not a corner, through, or panhandle lot.

means:

means a line separating the frontage from a street; the side from a street or adjoining property; the rear or side from an alley or street or adjoining property.

means the average distance between the front and rear property lines.

means the shortest distance between the side property lines, between the required front and rear setback lines. The shortest distance between the side property lines at rear property line shall not be less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the required minimum width.

means the lot boundary opposite or approximately opposite the front.

means any lot boundary not a front or rear lot line.

means a lot with little or no frontage on a street and to which the access is by easement or private driveway.

means a lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately parallel streets.

means a housing unit or the legal lot for such unit offered on the open market at going market rates.

is the treatment of the external parts of the body by rubbing, stroking, kneading, or tapping with the hand or any instrument but shall exclude any activity conducted by a person pursuant to and within the scope of a license issued by the state or an agency thereof which prescribes standards for and supervises such activity.

means a long- term, small-scale storage facility used for storage of belongings by the public. There shall be no outside storage or storage of automobiles or automobile parts, or property, materials, or equipment regularly used as a part of a business operation. The facility shall contain no storage unit in excess of one hundred fifty square feet.

means an intermediate level or levels between the floor and ceiling of any story designed for occupancy or other use. For purposes of this definition, mezzanine includes equipment platforms (i.e., an elevated platform used exclusively for mechanical systems or industrial process equipment) and storage platforms, but does not include vertical shelving units nor catwalks (i.e., a narrow elevated walkway used exclusively to access part of a building that would otherwise be difficult to reach).

means a single building or group of detached or semi-detached buildings containing guest rooms or apartments, with automobile storage space provided on the site for such rooms or apartments provided in connection therewith, which group is designed and used primarily for the accommodation of transient automobile travelers, and not containing individual cooking facilities.

means the construction of a new building, construction of an addition to an existing building, or construction of a habitable mezzanine or second floor in an existing building. Except in the case of a new building, new construction results in a net increase in gross floor area. New construction does not include interior alterations, tenant improvements, repairs, maintenance or reconstruction of buildings destroyed by catastrophe.

means a use or structure that does not conform to the regulations of the district in which it is situated.

means a facility licensed by the appropriate state or county agency for the day care or instruction of seven or more children.

means that portion of the building site open, unobstructed and unoccupied from the ground upward; including walkways, landscaping, uncovered patios and uncovered recreation facilities.

means an accessible, paved and usable space on the building site, or adjacent lot, for the parking of a standard automobile.

means a regular activity to be conducted on a building site, which activity is allowed by the regulations of the district wherein located, without a use permit.

includes any individual, city, county, partnership, corporation, cooperative, association, trust or any other legal entity, including the state and the federal government.

means barber shops, beauty salons, launderettes, dry cleaning, shoe repair and other similar service businesses.

means an office for the conduct of the following types of uses: Accountant, architect, attorney, chiropractor, optometrist, chiropodist, engineer, surveyor, drafting service, designer, dentist, physician and surgeon.

means a scientific or engineering investigation leading to the manufacture of new material or equipment and including the making of prototypes but not including the manufacture of such material or equipment.

means any facility, place, or building that is maintained and operated to provide twenty-four (24) hour care of persons in need of personal services, supervision, or assistance essential for sustaining the activities of daily living or for the protection of the individual and licensed by the state of California for occupation by seven (7) or more persons.

means any facility, place, or building that is maintained and operated to provide twenty-four (24) hour care of persons in need of personal services, supervision, or assistance essential for sustaining the activities of daily living or for the protection of the individual and licensed by the state of California for occupation by six (6) or fewer persons.

means a commercial establishment engaged in business activities which generate sixty percent (60%) or more of its gross income from the sale of commodities or goods on display, either by unit or in small quantities, directly to the consumer in transactions which are subject to sales tax.

means a health station or retreat or other place where patients are housed, and where treatment is given, but excluding mental institutions, or institutions for treatment of persons addicted to the use of drugs.

means a public or private educational facility which meets state standards for compulsory education.

means a day care facility licensed by the appropriate state or county agency for the day care of adults.

means a facility that sells automotive fuel and provides ancillary services such as automotive repair, car wash, and/or mini mart.

means a line established by this chapter to govern the placement of buildings or structures with respect to lot lines on the site and which is established by measuring from the lot lines and/or access easements on the site at an angle perpendicular to the lot line. The setback line shall be parallel with the lot line.

means any advertising display, symbol or structure.

means the right of a particular parcel of real property to receive solar radiation without hindrance from structures or vegetation on adjacent or nearby property.

means that zone beyond which restrictions on the structures and vegetation on a particular parcel are necessary to protect nearby or adjacent property from shadows blocking exposure to the sun during the hours from ten a.m. to two p.m. PST above the height of twenty feet in the property line of the nearby or adjacent property in residential zones R-1-U, R-1-S, R-E-S, RE and R2 and the O-S-C zone, and above the height of twenty-two feet in all other zones; provided, however, that if a shadow falls within the setback area of nearby or adjacent property, the structure causing that shadow shall not be deemed to have penetrated the solar envelope.

means a space in a building between the surface of any floor and the top of the ceiling joists or roof framing above. A single-family dwelling shall be considered two-story if any portion of the dwelling contains more than one (1) vertically stacked story with the exception that any space defined as a basement in accordance with Section 16.04.077 and that is excludable from floor area according to subsection 16.04.313(C)(1) and any space defined as an attic in accordance with Section 16.04.075 and that is excludable from floor area according to subsections 16.04.313(B)(2)(b) or 16.04.313(B)(3)(c) shall not constitute a story.

means a public thoroughfare which affords principal means of access to abutting property, including avenue, place, way, drive, lane, boulevard, highway, road and any other thoroughfare except an alley as defined herein.

means any street, avenue, etc., not accepted by the City Council for maintenance or public use. "Private street" does not include an easement or private driveway which provides access only to panhandle lots.

means the boundary between a street right-of-way and property.

means any change in the supporting members of a structure, such as bearing walls, columns, beams or girders.

means anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires location on or in the ground, or attachment to something having location on the ground, including swimming pools; excluding driveways, uncovered patios, parking spaces and uncovered walkways, but including elevated decks. Except as otherwise provided for in this code, where an existing structure is remodeled and expanded to the extent greater than fifty percent (50%) of the existing FAL (Floor Area Limit) or FAR (Floor Area Ratio) on the property, such structure shall be deemed to be a new structure.

means a separate and subordinate structure, which is open in nature and the use of which is incidental to that of the main building or buildings and/or use of the land on the same lot or building site. Examples of such structures include, but are not limited to, arbors, trellises, play structures, built-in barbecues, outdoor fireplaces, and water features. Unenclosed ground-mounted mechanical equipment and fences/walls are not considered accessory structures.

means housing with no limit on length of stay, that is occupied by the target population, and that is linked to an on-site or off-site service that assists the supportive housing resident in retaining the housing, improving his or her health status, and maximizing his or her ability to live and, when possible, work in the community.

means buildings configured as rental housing developments, but operated under program requirements that require the termination of assistance and recirculating of the assisted unit to another eligible program recipient at a predetermined future point in time that shall be no less than six (6) months from the beginning of the assistance.

means the purpose for which land or a structure is designed, arranged or intended, or for which land or structure is or may be occupied or maintained.

means a use incidental or subordinate to, and devoted exclusively to the main use of a lot or a building located on the same lot.

means any premises used for the treatment or grooming of animals, but not including boarding or hospitalization.

means any premises used for the treatment, care, boarding or grooming of animals, with all such operations to be conducted within a building unless otherwise specified in the use permit.

means required open space on the same lot with a building, which open space is unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward, except as otherwise permitted in Section 16.08.060 or Chapter 16.59 or 16.68.

means a yard extending across the front of the lot and measured from the front line of the lot to the front setback line; provided, however, that if any official plan line has been established for the street upon which the lot abuts, the yard measurement shall be taken from such official plan line to the nearest line of the building.

means a yard extending across the full width of the lot and measured between the rear line of the lot and the rear setback line.

means a yard between the side line of the lot and the side setback line and extending from the front yard to the rear yard.