San Luis City Zoning Code
18.40 Industrial
Zoning Districts
18.40.010 General requirements – Industrial zoning districts.
(A) Purpose. The industrial zoning districts are designed to provide a range of industrial land uses. The purpose of these districts is to provide for industrial development in locations which are suitable and appropriate, taking into consideration existing conditions, future land use needs, the availability of public services, the general public’s health and safety, and the goals and objectives of the City of San Luis General Plan. It is intended that these districts accommodate a variety of uses including corporate offices and garden industrial land uses to warehousing and heavy manufacturing. The industrial districts are further delineated in the following categories:
(1) “L-I” Light Industrial; and
(2) “H-I” General Industrial.
(B) Criteria for Establishment. The minimum land area required to establish “L-I” and “H-I” zoning shall be one acre and two acres respectively or if adjoining a parcel/lot that is similarly zoned industrial.
(C) Review Process. All industrial development and construction shall require site plan review, by the Zoning Administrator, prior to the applicant’s submittal for building or grading permits. All applications for site plan review shall comply with the submittal requirements outlined in SLCC 18.15.070. The required fee shall accompany all applications.
(D) Development Standards. The development regulations for each of the industrial zoning districts are outlined in Table No. 9. These standards provide certainty to property owners, developers, and neighbors about the limits of what is allowed.
(E) Compliance With Other Provisions.
(1) General Provisions. The general provisions in Chapter 18.70 SLCC shall apply.
(2) Parking Regulations. The parking regulations in Chapter 18.75 SLCC shall apply.
(3) Signs. All signage shall comply with Chapter 18.80 SLCC.
(4) Outdoor Lighting. All outdoor lighting shall comply with Chapter 18.85 SLCC.
(5) Landscape Regulations. All landscaping shall comply with Chapter 18.90 SLCC. (Ord. 312 § 2(8.0), passed 4-11-2012. Code 2012 § 152.120.)
18.40.020 “L-I” Light Industrial Zoning District.
(A) Purpose. The purpose of this zoning district is to provide for a mix of light manufacturing uses, office park, and limited open land uses in an attractive business park setting with proper screening and landscaping; all compatible with adjoining uses. It is intended that this district allow for employment bases through the establishment of high quality, planned industrial centers for corporate offices and indoor manufacturing uses.
(B) Permitted Uses – “L-I” Zoning District.
(1) Laboratories for research and product development.
(2) Corporate offices/headquarters.
(3) Broadcasting stations and studios and publishing facilities.
(4) Assembling, fabrication, handling and packaging, treating, and renovating goods, merchandise, products and equipment, excluding agricultural products; provided, that such uses shall conform to the following requirements:
(a) The primary use of the property is not the basic processing and compounding of raw materials;
(b) All activities pertaining to the actual manufacture or processing of the product involved shall be conducted entirely within an enclosed building(s);
(c) All outdoor storage of material or equipment, as ancillary to the primary use, shall occupy the rear one-half of the lot; and
(d) A masonry wall shall screen all outdoor storage of materials or equipment.
(5) Limited retail commercial provided the product(s) sold at retail are the product(s) which are assembled, fabricated, handled, packaged, treated, or renovated as the primary use and the retail area does not exceed 10% of the total gross floor area.
(6) Hospitals and outpatient clinics.
(7) Public or private substance abuse, detoxification and treatment centers, and recovery centers.
(8) Agribusiness and aquaculture business provided such businesses are conducted within a completely enclosed building or under a roofed structure that is screened from all adjacent properties and public view.
(9) Mini-storage facility except that no outdoor open storage will be allowed. A night watchman quarters, as a security provision, may be an accessory use.
(10) RV and boat storage facility provided any outdoor storage area is enclosed on all sides by a solid fence or wall at least six feet in height.
(11) Contractors’ offices and contractors’ equipment yards provided the yard area is enclosed on all sides by a solid wall at least six feet in height and no supplies, products, materials or equipment are stacked higher than the wall.
(12) Product distributorships, wholesale and warehouse facilities, excluding transfer facilities for general freight.
(13) Equipment sales and rental, farm equipment and supplies stores.
(14) Outdoor display areas for the sale of new manufactured homes provided all units within public view and for public display shall be ground mounted, anchored and finished in a manner representative of the actual finished product.
(15) Retail sales conducted outdoors as a primary use, such as but not limited to swap meets, flea markets and auctions.
(16) On-site child care center as an accessory use for the permitted industrial business. The facility shall comply with the State of Arizona Department of Health Services regulations for licensing.
(17) Mobile vendors and mobile food vendors; provided, that such uses may not be located within any portion of the public right-of-way (including sidewalks).
(18) Religious institutions.
(19) Towing and impound facilities provided any outdoor storage area is enclosed on all sides by a solid fence or wall at least six feet in height.
(20) Facility of storage yard for the transport of operable over-the-road vehicles into Mexico provided any outdoor storage area is enclosed on all sides by a solid fence or wall at least six feet in height and vehicles should not be stored for a period longer than 30 days.
(21) Parking lot/terminal for farm worker buses and/or trucks in general.
(C) Conditional Uses – “L-I” Zoning District.
(1) Travel plazas or truck stops subject to the following:
(a) The minimum lot or parcel size shall be five acres;
(b) All off-site public roadway improvements, including but not limited to: (i) right and left turn lanes; and (ii) driveway and access points shall be in compliance with the American Association of State Transportation and Highway Officials standards (AASTHO);
(c) On-site improvements, including but not limited to: (i) turning radius; (ii) drive aisle dimensions; and (iii) parking stall dimensional standards shall be in compliance with the AASTHO standards;
(d) Any fuel dispenser, perimeter of underground storage tanks or pumps shall be a minimum of 100 feet from any residential zoning district and at least 40 feet from any property line or public right-of-way line;
(e) All vehicular parking along with the necessary maneuvering areas, drive aisles and driveways shall be contained on the same parcel or lot and shall be paved with asphalt or concrete to a sufficient thickness to withstand repeated vehicular traffic;
(f) A 15-foot-wide landscaped buffer area shall be provided along all property lines. There shall be no parking permitted within this buffer area;
(g) Outdoor lighting standards shall be fully shielded, shall not exceed a height of 30 feet, and shall be in compliance with the regulations of Chapter 18.85 SLCC;
(h) A masonry sound-attenuation wall of at least six feet shall be installed along all property lines that abut or are adjacent to a residential zoning district or use;
(i) Semi-truck washes and/or semi-truck polishing, semi-truck servicing, or semi-truck tires only when ancillary to an approved travel plaza/truck stop. All truck washing and/or polishing shall be under a canopied bay and all truck engine repairs shall be under a roofed structure if such amenities are provided;
(j) A minimum of one toilet, one sink, and one hot shower provided for men and one toilet, one sink, and one hot shower provided for women, each designed for complete privacy, for each 20 truck parking spaces provided or fraction thereof;
(k) A common use laundry facility shall be provided at a ratio of one washer and one dryer for each 20 truck parking spaces provided or fraction thereof; and
(l) Parking stalls shall be in accordance to the parking standards in Chapter 18.75 SLCC.
(2) Social health related services such as plasma centers, charity dining services, homeless shelters, day labor hiring centers, rescue missions, and other similar social service uses.
(3) Warehouse and transfer facilities for general freight.
(4) Public or private detention and correctional facilities and only after it has been found to be in compliance with all applicable federal and state regulations.
(5) Wireless communication towers and antennas in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 18.95 SLCC.
(6) Sexually oriented business, subject to Chapter 5.20 SLCC, Sexually Oriented Businesses.
(7) Medical marijuana dispensary, subject to the requirements found in SLCC 18.70.160, Medical marijuana uses.
(8) Medical marijuana dispensary off-site cultivation location, subject to the requirements found in SLCC 18.70.160, Medical marijuana uses.
(9) Refining, processing, or packaging of agricultural or edible food products.
(10) Commercial uses compatible with the purpose of this district.
(D) Temporary Uses – “L-I” Zoning District.
(1) A temporary asphalt and/or cement batch plant, or construction equipment storage yard, when in conjunction with a state or federal highway or public roadway project, provided they are not located within the public right-of-way.
(2) Seasonal sale lots, such as but not limited to pumpkin and Christmas tree sales lots, with appropriate dust control abatement.
(E) Site Design Standards – “L-I” Zoning District.
(1) All new industrial developments (subdivisions) shall be subject to all requirements set forth in the San Luis Subdivision Ordinance.
(2) Parking areas adjacent to the required front yard shall be screened by a decorative wall or landscape berm or combination thereof to a height not to exceed three feet in order to adequately screen the parked vehicles. All required front and street side yards shall be landscaped and shall not be used for parking, maneuvering, product display or drive aisle other than for the necessary points of ingress and egress.
(3) Trash and refuse collection containers shall be screened with a six-foot decorative wall. Trash and refuse containers should be located such that they are not the visual focal point of a driveway or parking area, or cannot be viewed from a public street. Refuse locations in highly visible locations shall provide latching gates for screening the opening to the enclosure.
(4) Building site details related to utility boxes, transformers, generators, chiller farms, mailboxes, trash bins and air conditioning units shall be integrated into the overall design of the building and/or development and screened from view, yet remain accessible for servicing.
(5) Service and loading bays should be oriented away from adjacent residential zoning districts and should not front onto or be visible from the public street.
(6) All activities not within an enclosed building and all outside storage areas shall be screened from the public street view and adjacent residential, office, and commercial uses with a minimum six-foot-high solid wall or fence. Materials shall not be stacked, piled, or stored in such a manner as to project above the screen wall.
(7) A perimeter decorative wall, a minimum of six feet in height, shall be required along and adjacent to the side or rear property line of an industrial development that abuts a residential district whether separated by an alley or not. Any access gates shall be constructed of opaque material to provide effective site screening.
(8) The exterior side of all perimeter walls shall be decoratively treated to match the architectural style and design of the industrial building/development.
(9) Mechanical equipment, electrical meter and service components, and similar utility devices, whether ground level or roof mounted, shall be screened from public view and designed to appear as an integral part of the building. The mechanical equipment screening shall be included in the overall building height. Mechanical equipment shall be treated to be nonreflective.
(F) Recommended Architectural Standards – “L-I” Zoning District.
(1) All exterior elevations (360° architecture) should provide architectural detailing, not just the front elevation.
(2) Exterior building design, as well as architectural details related to color, patterning, finish, type and application of materials and building form, should be coordinated for all elevations of a building to achieve harmony and continuity of design on all elevations.
(3) The building materials of a project shall be durable, require low maintenance, and be of a substantial quality. The City strongly encourages all new buildings to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification standards.
(4) The use of metal or corrugated metal should only be used as an architectural accent or decorative element and not as the primary building material.
(5) Mirrored surfaces or any treatment that changes ordinary glass into a mirrored surface are prohibited. Metallic surfaces, including roof materials, should be chemically treated to be nonreflective.
(6) Subtler, less intense colors should be used on larger, more plain-looking buildings, while the use of a greater variety and intensity of color should be reserved for smaller structures. Color should be used to accent entryways and special architectural features of a building.
(7) Full roof architecture utilizing simple and varied roof forms is encouraged for all new industrial development, while long, continuous mansard roofs, false mansard roofs, large expanses of flat roofs and veneer (false-front) parapets are discouraged. Parapet walls shall be designed and constructed in a manner to appear as a solid, three-dimensional form rather than a veneer.
(G) Open Space Standards – “L-I” Zoning District.
(1) Open space shall be required for all new developments, based on the net area of the development, as delineated in Table No. 8. The required on-site parking areas/lot and outdoor storage areas shall not be calculated as open space. However, building setbacks, street frontage, and on-site retention areas may be calculated as open space if those areas are landscaped.
(2) An industrial development, developed as an industrial subdivision, shall provide the minimum net acreage, as delineated in Table No. 8, on a subdivision basis through the subdivision process. (Ord. 312 § 2(8.1), passed 4-11-2012; Ord. 366 § 1, passed 7-12-2017; Ord. 386 §§ 1, 2, passed 11-26-2018. Code 2012 § 152.121.)
18.40.030 “H-I” General Industrial Zoning District.
(A) Purpose. The purpose of this zoning district is to provide for areas of heavy and concentrated fabrication, manufacturing, processing and open land uses appropriately screened and landscaped. It is intended that this district provide adequate space for industrial operations and related activities so that the economic base of the City may be strengthened and employment opportunities expanded while protecting residential and commercial land uses from objectionable encroachments and negative impacts.
(B) Permitted Uses – “H-I” Zoning District.
(1) Those uses permitted in the “L-I” Light Industrial Zoning District.
(2) Manufacturing and assembly of furniture, apparel, glass, stone, clay, leather, plastic, metal or concrete products.
(3) Truss plant.
(4) Open storage yards for the storage of boats, trailers, recreational vehicles, tour buses and farm worker buses; provided, that there is no storage of abandoned, damaged, or junked boats, trailers, recreational vehicles, or buses and that a six-foot decorative wall screens the open storage yard area.
(5) Heavy equipment repair, sales and rentals provided equipment is stored in a transportable position.
(6) Farm equipment and implement repair, sales and rentals.
(7) Construction offices and construction equipment storage yards; provided, that the construction equipment storage yards are screened with an eight-foot-high solid masonry wall.
(8) Retail and wholesale lumber yard, including incidental millwork.
(9) Bulk sales of landscape construction materials and rock products.
(10) Public or private detention and correctional facilities and only after it has been found to be in compliance with all applicable federal and state regulations.
(11) Warehouse and transfer facilities for general freight.
(12) General aviation airports and related activities, including heliports and crop-dusting planes.
(13) Aircraft-related uses, including air transport of goods and materials, aviation lessons, and fixed base operations.
(14) Mobile food vendors; provided, that such uses may not be located within any portion of the public right-of-way (including sidewalks).
(15) Mobile vendors; provided, that such uses may not be located within any portion of the public right-of-way (including sidewalks).
(16) Religious institutions.
(C) Conditional Uses – “H-I” Zoning District.
(1) Sexually oriented businesses, subject to the following conditions or limitations:
(a) The proposed sexually oriented business shall not be established, operated or maintained within 2,000 feet from any public park or playground, school, day-care center, library, or religious or cultural activity;
(b) The proposed sexually oriented business shall not be established, operated or maintained within 2,000 feet from any other sexually oriented business or any residential zone boundary;
(c) Advertisements, displays or other promotional materials displaying or depicting “specified anatomical areas” or “specific sexual activities” shall not be shown or exhibited so as to be visible or audible to the public from adjacent streets, sidewalks or walkways or from other areas outside the establishment; and all building openings, entries and windows for sexually oriented businesses shall be located, covered or screened in such manner as to prevent the interior of such premises from being viewed from outside the establishment;
(d) A sexually oriented business lawfully operating as a conforming use shall not be rendered a nonconforming use by the subsequent location of a residential district or residential use, public park or playground, day-care center, place of worship or assembly, or school within 2,000 feet of the adult-oriented use;
(e) Such distances shall be measured between subject lot lines at their closest proximity on an aerial view without regard for intervening structures or topography; and
(f) A map showing the particular property or properties for which the application is being requested and the adjacent properties, buildings and structures, land uses, and public streets and ways within a radius of 2,000 feet of the exterior boundaries thereof shall be submitted along with the application for a conditional use permit.
(2) Recycling transfer stations or automated collection centers, municipal or county landfills.
(3) Refining, processing, or packaging of organic matter, raw agricultural products, or edible food products.
(4) Automobile wrecking and salvage yards, storage of junk automobiles and trucks, storage and processing of scrap metals; provided, that such uses shall conform to the following requirements:
(a) The property shall be screened from neighboring properties and public view with an eight-foot solid masonry wall; and
(b) No storage shall be visible above the wall.
(5) Hazardous waste and bio-hazardous medical waste treatment facilities.
(6) Water and sewer treatment plants and utility generating plants.
(7) Extractive industries, including the removal of sand, rock, soil, gravel and including concrete or asphalt batch plants as an accessory use and including smelting only after it has been found to be in compliance with the following standards:
(a) No excavation or processing of excavated materials shall be permitted within 30 feet to the exterior boundaries and within 150 feet to any residential zoned property or existing residence;
(b) Material shall be excavated in such a manner so as to assure the convenient, efficient, and successful restoration of the land and to hold to a minimum any adverse effects to adjacent and surrounding land as a result of piling or storing the overburden material;
(c) Material shall be excavated in such a manner that leaves a minimum of two feet of undisturbed sand, gravel, or soil over the entire excavation tract to provide a water-bearing strata for any ground water; or more if the required geological report indicates that it is necessary;
(d) The excavation operator shall maintain haul roads within the premises covered by the permit and the perimeter public roads in a dust-free condition;
(e) The hours of operation, unless otherwise specified by the City, shall not be prior to 6:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m. unless the City grants special permission for temporary expansion of the hours;
(f) Operations shall be conducted in such a manner that excavated areas will not collect or permit stagnant water to remain therein; and
(g) The required development plan shall indicate compliance with the above standards and shall include the following topographic information at a minimum of five-foot contour intervals: (i) pre-excavation contours; (ii) proposed excavation contours; (iii) degree of slope of banks for all excavations; (iv) location of any public facilities, irrigation canals, ditches, or streambeds; and (v) post excavation re-use and contours.
(8) Wireless communication towers and antennas in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 18.95 SLCC.
(9) Medical marijuana dispensary, subject to the requirements found in SLCC 18.70.160, Medical marijuana uses.
(10) Medical marijuana dispensary off-site cultivation location, subject to the requirements found in SLCC 18.70.160, Medical marijuana uses.
(D) Temporary Uses – “H-I” Zoning District. A temporary asphalt and/or cement batch plant, or construction equipment storage yard, when in conjunction with a state or federal highway or public roadway project, provided they are not located within the public right-of-way.
(E) Site Design Standards – “H-I” Zoning District.
(1) All new industrial developments (subdivisions) shall be subject to all requirements set forth in the San Luis Subdivision Ordinance.
(2) Parking areas adjacent to the required front yard shall be screened by a decorative wall or landscape berm or combination thereof to a height not to exceed three feet in order to adequately screen the parked vehicles. All required front and street side yards shall be landscaped and shall not be used for parking, maneuvering, product display or drive aisle other than for the necessary points of ingress and egress.
(3) Trash and refuse collection containers shall be screened with a six-foot decorative wall. Trash and refuse containers should be located such that they are not the visual focal point of a driveway or parking area, or cannot be viewed from a public street. Refuse locations in highly visible locations shall provide latching gates for screening the opening to the enclosure.
(4) Building site details related to utility boxes, transformers, generators, chiller farms, mailboxes, trash bins and air conditioning units shall be integrated into the overall design of the building and/or development and screened from view, yet remain accessible for servicing.
(5) Service and loading bays should be oriented away from adjacent residential zoning districts and should not front onto or be visible from the public street.
(6) All activities not within an enclosed building and all outside storage areas shall be screened from the public street view and adjacent residential, office, and commercial uses with a minimum six-foot-high solid wall or fence. Materials shall not be stacked, piled, or stored in such a manner as to project above the screen wall.
(7) A perimeter decorative wall, a minimum of six feet in height, shall be required along and adjacent to the side or rear property line of an industrial development that abuts a residential district whether separated by an alley or not. Any access gates shall be constructed of opaque material to provide effective site screening.
(8) The exterior side of all perimeter walls shall be decoratively treated to match the architectural style and design of the industrial building/development.
(9) Mechanical equipment, electrical meter and service components, and similar utility devices, whether ground level or roof mounted, shall be screened from public view and designed to appear as an integral part of the building. The mechanical equipment screening shall be included in the overall building height. Mechanical equipment shall be treated to be nonreflective.
(F) Recommended Architectural Standards – “H-I” Zoning District.
(1) All exterior elevations (360° architecture) should provide architectural detailing, not just the front elevation.
(2) Exterior building design, as well as architectural details related to color, patterning, finish, type and application of materials and building form, should be coordinated for all elevations of a building to achieve harmony and continuity of design on all elevations.
(3) The building materials of a project shall be durable, require low maintenance, and be of a substantial quality. The City strongly encourages all new buildings to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification standards.
(4) The use of metal or corrugated metal should only be used as an architectural accent or decorative element and not as the primary building material.
(5) Mirrored surfaces or any treatment that changes ordinary glass into a mirrored surface are prohibited. Metallic surfaces, including roof materials, should be chemically treated to be nonreflective.
(6) Subtler, less intense colors should be used on larger, more plain-looking buildings, while the use of a greater variety and intensity of color should be reserved for smaller structures. Color should be used to accent entryways and special architectural features of a building.
(7) Full roof architecture utilizing simple and varied roof forms is encouraged for all new industrial development, while long, continuous mansard roofs, false mansard roofs, large expanses of flat roofs and veneer (false-front) parapets are discouraged. Parapet walls shall be designed and constructed in a manner to appear as a solid, three-dimensional form rather than a veneer.
(G) Open Space Standards – “H-I” Zoning District.
(1) Open space shall be required for all new developments, based on the net area of the development, as delineated in Table No. 8. The required on-site parking areas/lot and outdoor storage areas shall not be calculated as open space. However, building setbacks, street frontage, and on-site retention areas may be calculated as open space if those areas are landscaped.
(2) An industrial development, developed as an industrial subdivision, shall provide the minimum net acreage, as delineated in Table No. 8, on a subdivision basis through the subdivision process.
Table No. 8. Open Space Requirements – Industrial Zoning Districts
(see Open Space definitions in SLCC 18.05.130)
Zoning District | Open Space Required on an Individual Lot | Open Space Required for a Subdivision (minimum) |
|---|---|---|
“L-I” | 0% | 3% |
“H-I” | 0% | 3% |
Table No. 9. Development Standards – Industrial Zoning Districts
District | Min. District Size | Lot Area (sq. ft.) | Lot Width (feet) | Bldg. Height (feet) | Minimum Yard Setback (feet) | Lot Coverage | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front | Side | Street Side | Rear | ||||||
“L-I” | 1 acre | 10,000 | 80 | 60 | 15 | 5(a) | 10 | 10(b) | 60% max. |
“H-I” | 2 acres | 20,000 | 100 | 60 | 15 | 5(a) | 10 | 10(b) | 60% max. |
(a)If the property line or adjoining street abuts a residential zone, the setback shall be 20 feet.
(b)If the property line or adjoining street abuts a residential zone, the setback shall be 25 feet.
(Ord. 312 § 2(8.2), passed 4-11-2012; Ord. 338 § 1(Exh. B), passed 5-27-2015. Code 2012 § 152.122.)