This title is known as the "City of San Clemente Zoning Ordinance," hereafter referred to as the "Zoning Ordinance" or "this title." This title is adopted pursuant to the authority granted to the City of San Clemente by State law, Government Code Section 65800 et seq.

(Ord. 1172 § 3 (part), 1996)

The City Council has established these standards and procedures to protect and promote the public health, safety, comfort, convenience, morals and general welfare of the present and future citizens of the City, specifically to:

A.

Implement the goals, objectives, policies, and programs of the City General Plan, and to manage future growth and development in accordance with that plan;

B.

Provide for a diversity of areas characterized by differing land use activity and intensity in accordance with comprehensive and orderly land use and resource planning;

C.

Reduce or eliminate hazards to the public resulting from potentially inappropriate location, use, or design of buildings and other improvements;

D.

Protect and enhance established residential neighborhoods, commercial, industrial and public districts, open space and recreational amenities;

E.

Preserve the traditional scale and seaside orientation of the City and provide for the reasonable preservation of public views;

F.

Provide for higher density mixed-use areas requiring a pedestrian-orientation and San Clemente's traditional Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style;

G.

Provide for the economic viability of San Clemente's commercial, industrial and mixed-use areas, while preserving and enhancing the aesthetic quality and the environmental resources of the City;

H.

Maintain San Clemente as a unique community in Southern California.

(Ord. 1172 § 3 (part), 1996)

A.

Geographic Area. .....The provisions of this title are declared to be in effect upon all properties included within the boundaries of each and every zone established by this title, except for the North Beach Study Area. For standards for the North Beach Study Area, please refer to Section 17.52.050, Requirements for the North Beach Study Area, of this title. For properties with a specific plan "SP" designation, the standards in the Zoning Ordinance shall apply when development standards are not specified within individual specific plans.

B.

Private Projects.

1.

No land, building, or structure shall be developed, used, constructed, altered, or maintained except in strict conformance with the provisions of this title.

2.

No use that requires a permit, license or approval under the provisions of this title shall be made, continued, established or operated until all conditions of the permit license or approval have been complied with and the applicable permit, license or approval is finally granted.

3.

No use that has obtained a permit, license or approval under the provisions of this title shall be operated in violation of, or contrary to, any terms or conditions of the granted permit, license or approval.

C.

Public Projects. .....Unless otherwise exempted, federal, State, County, and public utility projects shall be subject to the provisions of this title to the extent allowed by law, including projects operated by any combination of these agencies, or by a private person for the benefit of or on behalf of any such governmental agency.

D.

Applicability and Effect on Prior Approvals. .....The regulations of this title shall apply to the construction, alteration, use, substitution, expansion, movement of any building or structure, and to the use of any parcel of land, on or after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this title and any subsequently adopted ordinance amending this title, unless a building permit has been lawfully issued by the city for the construction of a project, in which case that project may be completed under the provisions of this title as it may have existed at the time of issuance of the building permit; provided, that construction under the permit must have commenced and been diligently and continuously pursued within the time limit of a building permit or any extension thereof.

(Ord. 1185 § 3 (part), 1997; Ord. 1172 § 3 (part), 1996; Ord. No. 1658, § 3, 8-21-2018)

If ambiguity arises concerning the appropriate classification of a particular use or with respect to any standards and/or requirements set forth within this title, the ambiguity shall be resolved as follows. For ambiguities regarding zone boundaries, please refer to Section 17.08.030, Determination of Zone Boundaries, of this title.

A.

Purpose and Intent. The purpose and intent of the interpretations process is to provide for review and official interpretation of ambiguities in the Zoning Ordinance.

B.

Authority. The City Planner shall make the determination as to whether an ambiguity exists with regard to the Zoning Ordinance and whether an interpretation is minor or major.

The City Planner issues minor interpretations of the Zoning Ordinance, subject to the concurrent review and appeal provisions of Section 17.12.090, Consideration of Concurrent Applications, and Section 17.12.140, Appeals of an Action, of this title.

The Planning Commission issues major interpretations of the Zoning Ordinance, subject to the concurrent review and appeal provisions of Section 17.12.090, Consideration of Concurrent Applications, and Section 17.12.140, Appeals of an Action, of this title.

C.

Applicability. This section shall apply to ambiguities in the Zoning Ordinance. Please refer to Section 17.08.030, Determination of Zone Boundaries, for ambiguities related to the Zoning Map.

D.

Submittal Requirements. Please refer to the submittal requirements in Section 17.12.040, Filing an Application, and Section 17.12.060, Applications Requiring Additional Information, of this title.

E.

Determination of Major/Minor Interpretation.

1.

Minor Interpretations. If the City Planner determines that the interpretation will not have public impacts or cause public concern, then the interpretation shall be considered minor and shall be reviewed and processed in accordance with procedures for minor interpretations, included within this section.

2.

Major Interpretations. If the City Planner determines that the interpretation has the potential for public impact or concern, then the interpretation shall be considered major and shall be reviewed and processed in accordance with procedures for major interpretations, included within this section.

F.

Review Procedures.

1.

Minor Interpretations. The City Planner shall approve, approve with modifications and/or conditions, or deny the request for a minor interpretation within 15 days following receipt of a completed application. Should the City Planner fail to render a decision within 15 days of receiving a completed application, the applicant may request that the minor interpretation application be forwarded to the Planning Commission for review in the same manner as requests for major interpretations, as described in this section.

2.

Major Interpretations. Following receipt of a completed major interpretation application, the City Planner shall place the application on the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Planning Commission for which the item can be agendized, as a New Business item. At the meeting, the Planning Commission shall approve, approve with modifications and/or conditions, or deny the major interpretation request.

3.

Recordation. All minor and major interpretations shall be recorded in writing. The record of interpretations shall be kept on file in the Planning Division and shall be available to the public upon request. Interpretations will be forwarded in accordance with the procedures for zoning amendments included in Section 17.16.040, Zoning Amendments, of this title, for consideration of incorporation into the Zoning Ordinance, at such time as is deemed appropriate by the City Planner.

G.

Required Findings. Prior to determining that a proposed use is similar to a permitted or conditionally permitted use, the decision-making authority shall make the following findings:

1.

The proposed use is similar in nature to the listed use in terms of its function; and

2.

The proposed use is as restrictive as the use to which it is being compared in terms of impacts to traffic, parking, dust, noise, or other negative impacts.

H.

Appeals. An appeal of the decision on a minor or major interpretation shall be reviewed in accordance with Section 17.12.140, Appeals of an Action, of this title.

(Ord. 1172 § 3 (part), 1996)

This title is a primary tool for implementing the goals, objectives and polices of the San Clemente General Plan. No use of land or buildings shall be approved for processing under this title unless it is consistent with the San Clemente General Plan.

(Ord. 1172 § 3 (part), 1996)

A.

Enforcement by Person Appointed by the City Manager. .....It shall be the duty of the person appointed by the City Manager to enforce the provisions of this title pertaining to the use of land or buildings and the erection, construction, reconstruction, moving, alteration or addition to any buildings or structures. Any permit or license of any type issued by any department or officer of the City in conflict with the provisions of this title is declared to be null and void.

(Ord. 1172 § 3 (part), 1996)

(Ord. No. 1501, § 12, 3-16-2010; Ord. No. 1664, § 40, 9-18-2018)

A.

General Plan. .....The City of San Clemente General Plan is the foundational planning policy document of the City. It defines and sets forth the basic policy and guidelines by which the community will be permitted to develop in the future. It is intended to guide all planning, environmental decisions, and development in the community. Among other things, the General Plan establishes what kinds of land uses will be permitted and where, how dense the development may be, and the proportional relationship of the built environment.

The City's General Plan contains two elements that are physically separated from the main body of the General Plan: 1) the Coastal Element, which establishes the goals and policies for the City's coastal resources, as required by the California Coastal Act; and 2) the Housing Element, which establishes goals and policies for the City's housing stock, including affordable and senior housing, as required by State law.

The zones and regulations included in this title are consistent with the goals and policies included in the San Clemente General Plan.

B.

Specific and Master Plans. .....The Pier Bowl, West Pico Corridor, Rancho San Clemente, Forster Ranch, Marblehead Coastal and Talega Specific Plans, and the Marblehead Inland Master Plan are documents regulating development on land within the boundaries of each respective plan. The regulations included in the specific and master plans supersede regulations in this title. When regulations related to specific development are not included in the specific plans, the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance apply.

The Pier Bowl Specific Plan provides coastal zoning, development standards, design guidelines, landscape requirements, and other design standards which implement the Coastal Element policies, along with other General Plan policies, for these areas.

A Specific plan for the North Beach Study Area is being developed. For more information regarding the City's specific plans, please refer to Chapter 17.52, Specific Plan and Study Area Zones and Standards, of this title. For more information regarding the Marblehead Inland Master Plan, please refer to Section 17.56.040, Planned Residential District Overlay.

C.

Subdivision Ordinance. .....The Subdivision Ordinance, Title 16, Subdivisions, of this code, regulates the subdivision of land within the City. Many of the development projects regulated by this title are also subject to the provisions in the Subdivision Ordinance.

D.

Urban Design Guidelines. .....The City's adopted Design Guidelines contain architectural and site plan guidelines which are consistent with the General Plan Urban Design Element. Projects required to receive architectural review are evaluated with respect to the Design Guidelines.

E.

Master Landscape Plan for Scenic Corridors. .....The Master Landscape Plan for Scenic Corridors establishes a Unified Landscape Program for the scenic highways in San Clemente that link the existing City with four developing ranch areas. When significant improvements are made to sites located on the City's scenic corridors, projects are to be required to incorporate improvements to the public right-of-way indicated in this document.

F.

Hillside Development Ordinance. .....The Hillside Development Ordinance was established to implement the goals, objectives and policies of the City's General Plan relating to the preservation and maintenance of the natural character and amenities of hillsides as a scenic resource of the City and relating to protection from geologic hazards resulting from unstable soils, erosion, and other soil problems.

(Ord. 1304 § 9, 2005; Ord. 1185 § 3 (part), 1997; Ord. 1172 § 3 (part), 1996)

The provisions of this title shall be interpreted and applied as the minimum requirements and the maximum potential limits for the protection of the public health, safety, comfort, convenience, morals, and general welfare. It is recognized that each site and situation is unique and different and as such may require either exceeding the minimum acceptable requirements or achieving less than the maximum potential limits of this title.

(Ord. 1172 § 3 (part), 1996)

Should any illustrations found in this title contradict the text or intent of a regulation found in this title, the text shall supersede the illustration.

(Ord. 1172 § 3 (part), 1996)

Should any section, subsection, clause, or provision of this title or its application to any person or circumstance for any reason be held to be invalid or unconstitutional, the validity or constitutionality of the remainder of this title and the application of those provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected. This title, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase of this title, would have been prepared, proposed, approved and ratified irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional.

(Ord. 1172 § 3 (part), 1996)