Placentia City Zoning Code

Requests shall be made in writing and submitted a minimum of fourteen (14) days prior to the proposed event. Applications shall include:

A maximum of eight (8) events per calendar year shall be allowed for each business address. Each event shall not exceed three (3) consecutive days.

In addition to the eight (8) three (3) day events permitted by subsections (1) and (2) of this section, each individual commercial business shall be permitted to hold four (4) additional nonconsecutive single day outdoor events provided that an approved site plan for single day events is on file with the department of development services and notification identifying the date of the event is provided to the department three (3) business days prior to the event.

The outdoor display of merchandise shall be restricted to the sidewalk area directly adjacent to the businesses exterior leasehold or store frontage.

The display of merchandise shall provide clear passage for wheelchair and pedestrian circulation. The event shall neither adversely impact adjacent businesses nor alter vehicular pathways; adequate parking shall be maintained at all times.

After a special event, the site shall be returned to its prior condition and all debris, signage or trash removed.

The purpose of this section is to allow incidental and limited nonresidential activities within dwelling units. A home occupation shall be secondary to the dwelling unit’s primary function as a residence and be compatible with the neighborhood within which it is located.

A home occupation shall comply with the following operating standards:

An application for a home occupation permit shall be submitted and approved by the planning division prior to issuance of a city business license.

A violation of the provisions listed in this section is a misdemeanor and may also constitute grounds for revocation of the home occupation permit, after review by the director of development services. All decisions of the director of development services may be appealed to the planning commission.

Garage sales may only be conducted on the first full weekend of the months of March, June, September, and December. For purposes of this section, “weekend” means Saturday and Sunday. Garage sales may be conducted on days other than those specified above upon obtaining a permit. Such a permit shall be obtained by making written application to the director of development services on a form provided by the city. No more than two (2) such permits authorizing additional garage sales on any parcel of property shall be issued within a calendar year. Fees for processing and issuing a permit under this section shall be set by resolution of the city council and shall be paid at the time of submission of an application.

All garage sale activity shall be conducted between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

All garage sale items shall be displayed only on private property occupied by the person(s) putting on the garage sale. This shall include, with the permission of the property owner, (A) property containing a multiple-family dwelling, by residents of that multiple-family dwelling; (B) property owned or controlled by a homeowner’s or property owners’ association, by members of that association; and (C) property occupied by a church, charitable or other nonprofit organization, by members of that organization. Garage sale activity may not be conducted on the public sidewalks, parkways, streets, or alleys.

All items sold at a garage sale must be used goods, wares or merchandise of a household or personal nature, from the household(s) of the persons conducting the garage sale, and not acquired elsewhere for resale.

For placement of off-site directional signs, see Section 23.90.140.

Any police, code enforcement, or other officer of the city shall have the right to inspect the merchandise on display or stored for sale on the premises during a garage sale authorized by this section.

The provisions of this section shall not apply to persons selling goods pursuant to process or order of a court of competent jurisdiction or persons acting in accordance with their powers and duties as public officials.

Game arcades; includes any establishment having four (4) or more mechanical or electronic games of chance, skill or entertainment, whether as the primary use or in conjunction with another business, but excluding vending machines dispensing a product for sale;

Indoor amusement facilities; includes, but is not limited to, theaters, bowling alleys, roller and ice skating rinks and establishments having dance floors;

Outdoor amusement facilities; includes but not limited to, miniature golf courses, race tracks and water slides;

Poolrooms; includes any establishment having one (1) or more pool table(s) whether as the primary use or in conjunction with another business;

Health clubs; includes, but not limited to, racquetball clubs, swim clubs, tennis clubs and gymnasiums;

Sale and/or manufacture of gasoline, alcohol, methanol and similar fuels;

Conversion and/or expansion of service station facilities to other uses;

Establishments that sell alcoholic beverages including on-sale and off-sale;

All other uses determined by the planning commission to be similar to those listed.

An application for a special use permit for an elevated deck, balcony or similar structure shall be submitted to the planning division for the review and approval of the director of development services.

The application shall include plans, a statement of use, the latest fee prescribed by city council resolution and all other items listed on the elevated deck submittal requirements on file with the planning division.

A decision date shall be set a minimum of twenty-one (21) days from the date of accepting the completed application.

Not less than ten (10) days prior to the decision date by the director of development services, notice of the proposed use shall be mailed to all property owners as shown on the last equalized assessment roll within a one hundred (100) foot radius of the exterior boundaries of the subject property.

A decision on the permit shall be made by the director of development services without a hearing, unless one is requested by either the applicant or other affected person. If so requested, the hearing would be scheduled for the next available planning commission meeting.

The decision of the director of development services shall be final unless appealed in writing to the planning commission by the applicant or any other interested person (as defined in Chapter 23.04) within ten (10) calendar days.

Front Yard. In required front yards, the maximum height of a solid fence or wall shall be three (3) feet above the surface of the ground. However, a wrought iron fence may be erected, not to exceed a maximum height of six (6) feet above the surface of the ground.

Side and Rear Yard. In required side and rear yards, including the street sides of corner lots, the minimum height shall be six (6) feet and the maximum height shall be eight (8) feet above the surface of the ground; provided, that:

Exception. In the manufacturing district, a chain-link fence, not to exceed a maximum height of ten (10) feet, shall be permitted for use as a security fence, provided all provisions of Section 23.47.090 are complied with.

No structure of any type shall be located within five (5) feet of any alley in any district, unless such alley is thirty (30) feet or more in width.

Any Multiple-Family Development. No garage shall be located any further than one hundred (100) feet from the apartment unit which it is designed to serve: provided, however, that the planning commission may approve a greater distance if it finds that improved design results from increasing such distance; and further provided, that such approval shall be by no less than three-fourths of the voting members of the planning commission.

Architectural features such as cornices, eaves and canopies may not extend closer than three (3) feet to any side lot line.

Open uncovered porches, landing places or outside stairways may project not closer than four (4) feet to any side lot line, and not exceeding six (6) feet to any required front or rear yard.

In case an accessory building is attached to the main building it shall be made structurally a part of and have a common roof with the main building, and shall comply in all respects with the requirements of this title applicable to the main building. Unless so attached, an accessory building in an “R” district shall be located on the rear one-half of the lot and at least ten (10) feet from any dwelling building existing or under construction on the same lot, or any adjacent lot. Such accessory building shall not be located within five (5) feet of any alley or within one (1) foot of the side line of the lot, or in the case of a corner lot, to project beyond the front yard required or existing on the adjacent lot.

Special yards and distances between buildings in “R-3” districts:

Dedication of land required for the development of any public right-of-way which abuts or crosses over the subject property shall be required as a condition of approval of any subdivision map, or where no subdivision map is involved, as a condition of approval to any building permit except a building permit for general maintenance, new roofing, installation of appliances and fixtures or similar items. The construction of full improvements shall be required as a condition of approval of any development plan, use permit, variance, change of land use or as a condition of approval to any building permit for the expansion of any structure by one thousand (1,000) square feet or more within any two (2) year period;

Where four (4) or more lots in a block have been improved with buildings (not including accessory buildings), the minimum required shall be the average of the improved lots, if less than the aforesaid requirements;

On any parcel of land of an average width of less than fifty (50) feet, which parcel was under one (1) ownership at the time of, or is shown as a lot on any subdivision map filed in the office of the county recorder prior to the adoption of the ordinance codified herein, when the owner thereof owns no adjoining land, the width of each side yard may be reduced to ten (10) percent of the width of such parcel, but in no case to less than three (3) feet;

Every building or portion thereof which is designed or used for any dwelling purposes in any “C” district shall comply with the provisions of this title as to side yards which are required in “R” districts; provided, that when the ground floor of any such building is used for any commercial purpose, no side yard shall be required;

No stable, paddock, coop, pen or other enclosure for the maintenance or raising of animals or fowls shall be established or maintained closer than one hundred (100) feet from the front lot line or closer than twenty (20) feet to any residence.

Where the planning commission or city council of the city denies a permit or approval listed in this title, the planning division shall not accept the denied application again for a period of six months after the denial.

The planning division may sooner consider an application previously denied if the application corrects the deficiencies upon which the denial was based.

Oil well locations shall be in accordance with the requirements of the state.

No well, water injection, pumping unit or other type, shall be located within one hundred (100) feet of any habitable building, nor shall any such habitable building be erected within one hundred (100) feet of any well not abandoned, except buildings incidental to the operation of the well. The planning commission or city council, while reviewing a development plan review application, may waive or modify the one hundred (100) foot distance requirement subject to making the following findings:

Large family day care homes, as defined in Chapter 23.04, shall be permitted only in the R-A, R-1, R-2, R-G, R-3, RPC and C-O zones and shall not be established unless a special use permit has been approved as follows:

Additional requirements include:

Eating and fast food places, as defined by code, shall be permitted to provide outdoor seating areas subject to the following:

Additional Requirements.

All grading of any real property shall be permitted only between the hours of seven a.m. and seven p.m. Monday through Friday, and between the hours of nine a.m. and six p.m. on Saturday, and shall be prohibited at any time on Sunday and on all federal holidays, unless other hours are approved by the chief building official or city engineer upon receipt of evidence that an emergency exists which would constitute a hazard to persons or property.

Construction activities and the maintenance of real property shall be permitted only during the following time periods:

Water heaters (excluding tank less) and laundry facilities (washer and dryer) may not be located on the exterior of a dwelling unit, unless within an enclosed structure. Tank less water heaters, when installed on the exterior of structure may only be installed on the first floor, must not be installed on any street facing elevation, and must not be installed on the same elevation as the entrance to the dwelling.

HVAC units must not be installed on any street facing elevation, and must not be installed on the same elevation as the entrance to the dwelling.