Sebastopol City Zoning Code

17.25 Commercial

Office, and Industrial Districts

17.25.010 Purpose of the districts.

A. Office Commercial. The CO District is intended to create, preserve, and enhance areas containing a mixture of professional, medical, administrative, and general offices, residential, and small-scale retail uses and to encourage mixed-use developments of commercial and residential uses. This district is typically appropriate along major thoroughfares and adjacent to residential neighborhoods.

B. General Commercial. The CG District provides areas for commercial uses with clusters of street-front stores. This district permits primarily local-serving retail establishments, specialty shops, banks, professional offices, motels, residential uses, and business and personal services that are typically appropriate along major thoroughfares as well as regional commercial uses. The following types of retail uses are discouraged: factory outlets, large regional-serving shopping centers, and other similar retail uses generating high traffic volumes.

C. Central Core. The CD District is intended to create, preserve, and enhance the downtown area as the historic retail core of Sebastopol. This district provides for a range of uses, including office, retail, restaurant, service, and other commercial uses, while allowing for residential growth, including mixed-use and affordable housing development, with the intent of increasing the vibrancy of the City’s central downtown area, and it is noted that the CD District is not applied to the entire downtown.

D. Industrial. The purpose of the M District is to implement the “Industrial” land use category of the General Plan and to provide areas for the manufacture, assembly, packaging, or storage of products which are not harmful, injurious, or detrimental to property or the general welfare of the City and its residents; and other general commercial and residential uses that are compatible with the industrial uses. This district is applicable to light and general industrial areas of the City.

E. Office/Light Industrial. The purpose of the OLM District is to implement the “Office/Light Industrial” land use category of the General Plan and to provide areas for well-planned, integrated business parks that may include office and related uses as well as research and development, laboratories, warehousing and distribution, exercise facilities, child care uses, and food service uses which are not harmful, injurious, or detrimental to property or the general welfare of the City and its residents; and other general commercial and residential uses that are compatible with the permitted uses. This district is applicable to office and light industrial areas of the City.

F. Commercial Industrial. The CM District is intended to encourage local production, innovation, and sales of local art, textile, food, beverage, and other tangible goods by allowing a range of complementary, community-oriented building types and spaces that accommodate small- and mid-size makers, fabricators, producers, and manufacturers, as well as specified commercial, residential, and other uses. (Ord. 1111, 2018)

17.25.020 Allowed uses.

Table 17.25-1 identifies permitted and conditionally permitted uses in the commercial, office, and industrial districts. (Ord. 1111, 2018)

17.25.030 Development standards.

A. Table 17.25-2 identifies development standards in the commercial, office, and industrial districts. Additional standards, criteria, and regulations for parking, various uses and activities, signage, and recycling and trash collection areas are established in Chapters 17.100 through 17.360 SMC.

B. General Project Layout and Design Criteria. The following criteria apply to commercial uses with three or more storefronts or 15,000 square feet or larger in the CO, CG, CD, M, CM, and OLM zones:

1. The development shall be human-scale and pedestrian-friendly, with the site plan focused on pedestrian access and architecture.

2. The development shall be oriented toward the street frontages and primary pedestrian access points, rather than the parking lot. Safe and convenient pedestrian access shall be provided throughout the development, with access and connections provided to existing and planned sidewalks and bicycle routes.

3. Development shall not resemble a typical strip commercial development. Strip commercial development is characterized by uses that are one store deep, buildings are arranged in a linear fashion rather than clustered, and site design that emphasizes automobile access and parking.

4. Off-street parking shall be distributed to the rear of buildings, except in unusual circumstances when parking to the side will be considered.

1. Residential uses in the commercial, office, and industrial districts shall be permitted as mixed-use projects, with ground-floor nonresidential uses located along the primary street frontages.

2. Residential uses permitted as mixed-use projects shall be located on upper floors above nonresidential uses or, if located on the ground floor, shall be located along side street frontages behind commercial or office uses. Access to the residential use may be located on the primary street frontage; provided, that the access is 25 percent or less of the building width along that frontage. This subsection does not apply to deed-restricted affordable housing projects.

3. In nonresidential zoning districts, residential uses permitted in the R7 zone that are not part of a mixed-use project are allowed as a conditionally permitted use subject to the findings that the project will not create substantial adverse effects on commercial uses or street-front vitality and that the project will be compatible with nearby uses and development. (Ord. 1111, 2018)

17.25.040 Open space and landscaping standards.

Developments shall provide open space as required under Table 17.25-2. Said open space shall conform to the following standards:

A. None of the following shall be counted as part of the open space required by this section:

1. Any access area, open area, or other space required by any other code or ordinance of the City such as a Building Code or Safety Code;

2. Required parking areas or driveways, which are designed and utilized primarily for vehicular circulation. Courtyards and similar facilities, which are designed and utilized primarily for pedestrian use, but through which vehicles may travel, may be considered by the Planning Commission as allowable usable open space;

3. Any area having a dimension of less than five feet;

4. Any area having a grade of more than 15 percent.

B. The following may be counted as a part of the open space required by this section:

1. Patios or balconies that have a minimum area of 30 square feet and a minimum dimension of five feet;

2. Uncovered swimming pools, tennis courts, and similar recreation facilities, tot lots, rear yards.

C. In projects of 25 units or greater, at least 50 percent of the total amount of open space required on any building site shall be common open space, available and readily accessible to all dwelling units on the site.

Use	CO	CG	CD	M	OLM	CM
Commercial Uses
Agriculture, outdoor and indoor growing and harvesting	-	-	-	-	C	-
Alcoholic beverage tasting establishment	C	C	C	-	-	C
Animal hospital and kennels	-	C	-	C	C	-
Animal hospital, office only	CD	CD	C	CD	CD	C
Automotive gas or fueling station	-	-	-	-	-	-
Automotive repair and service	-	-	-	P	-	-
Automotive sales, service, and repair	-	C	C	-	-	-
Beekeeping, commercial	-	P	-	P	P	P
Commercial manufacturing	-	-	-	P	-	P
Convenience sales and service	P	P/C⁽¹⁾	P	-	-	P
Drive-through	-	-	-	-	-	-
Exercise facilities	CD	CD	C	C	P	C
Extensive commercial	-	C⁽¹⁾	C	-	-	-
Food sales	P	P/C⁽¹⁾	P	P	P	P
General wholesale sales	-	C	-	P	-	P
Home occupations	P	P	P	P	P	P
Mobile food truck court	P	P	P	-	-	P
Office	P	P	P	P⁽²⁾	P	P⁽²⁾
Outdoor commercial barbecue	-	C	C	C	-	C
Plant nurseries	-	C	-	P	P	P
Restaurant, fast-food	-	C	C	-	-	-
Restaurant, table or counter service	P	P	P	P	P	P
Restaurant, walk-up	P	P	P	-	-	P
Retail sales	P	P/C⁽¹⁾	P	C	-	P/C⁽³⁾
Storage, personal or vehicle	-	C	-	C	-	-
Tobacco or smoke shops, vape shops	-	C	-	-	-	-
Industrial Uses
Artist work studios and arts-related fabrication	CD	CD	C	P	P	P
General industrial	-	-	-	C	-	C
Heavy industrial	-	-	-	C	-	-
Laboratories	C	-	-	P⁽⁴⁾	P⁽⁴⁾	C
Light industrial	-	-	-	P	CD	P
Research and development	-	-	-	P	P	C
Warehouse, storage and transport	-	-	-	P	-	C⁽⁵⁾
Warehouse, wholesaling and distribution	-	-	-	C	P	C⁽⁵⁾
Wineries, distilleries, and brewing facilities	-	-	-	C	C	C
Civic Uses
Community assembly	C	C	C	C	C	C
Community garden	P	P	C	P	P	P
Community nonassembly	C	C	C	C	C	C
Community park	P	P	P	P	P	P
Extensive impact civic	-	-	-	C	C	-
Health care uses	C	C	C	C	C	C
Large community care	C	-	-	-	-	-
Large community education	C	C	C	C	C	C
Large community education, adult	C	C	C	C	C	C
Outdoor farmers’ market	-	C	C	C	C	C
Parking facilities	C	C	C	C	C	-
Small community care	P	-	-	-	-	-
Small community education	P	P	P	-	P	-
Sports park	C	C	-	C	C	-
Utility civic	C	C	C	C	C	C
Residential/Transient Residential Uses
Affordable housing projects	P	P	P	C	C	C
Bed and breakfast inns	C	C	C	-	-	-
Homeless shelter	-	P	C	-	-	-
Permanent residential uses that are allowed in the R7 District when part of a mixed-use development	P⁽⁶⁾	P⁽⁶⁾	P⁽⁶⁾	C	C	C
Permanent residential uses that are allowed in the R7 District when not part of a mixed-use development	C	C	C	C	C	C
Residential, semi-transient	C⁽⁷⁾	C⁽⁷⁾	C	-	-	-
Residential, transient	C⁽⁷⁾	C	P/C⁽⁸⁾	C	-	C
Other Use Types
New development comprising ≥ 20,000 square feet of floor area	-	-	-	C	-	C
New development comprising ≥ 25,000 square feet of floor area	-	-	C	C	-	C
New drive-through uses	-	-	-	-	-	-
P = Permitted Use C = Conditional Use Permit, Planning Commission review CD = Conditional Use Permit, Planning Director review - = Use Not Allowed ⁽¹⁾Commercial uses allowed that have individual buildings exceeding 30,000 square feet in size. ⁽²⁾ Only when located on second floors. ⁽³⁾ Permitted where uses are 1,500 square feet or less and the use is located within a footprint or space existing as of August 7, 2018; all other retail uses require a conditional use permit. ⁽⁴⁾ Except those which in the opinion of the Planning Director have the potential to be harmful, injurious, or detrimental to property or the general health, safety, and welfare of the City and its residents in which case a conditional use permit shall be required. ⁽⁵⁾Allowed when secondary to a primary permitted use. ⁽⁶⁾Live-work units are not permitted along the street frontage on Sebastopol Avenue, Healdsburg Avenue/Gravenstein Highway North, or Gravenstein Highway South, except by conditional use permit. ⁽⁷⁾ Allowed when part of a mixed-use development. ⁽⁸⁾Permitted only when involving less than 50 rooms; conditional use permit required when involving 50 or more rooms.

Development Standard	CO	CG	CD	M	OLM	CM
Maximum floor area, single establishment
Convenience sales and service or general retail uses	5,000 sf	-	-	-	-	-
Nonresidential uses, except for office uses	-	35,000 sf	35,000 sf	-	-	-
Nonresidential and nonindustrial uses	-	-	-	35,000 sf	-	35,000 sf
Exercise and food sales and service	-	-	-	-	25,000 sf	-
Minimum lot area	6,000 sf	6,000 sf	6,000 sf	15,000 sf	130,680 sf	15,000 sf
Minimum lot width	60 ft.	-	-	60 ft.	150 ft.	60 ft.
Minimum new building height	-	-	2 stories	-	-	-
Maximum building height
Buildings and other facilities	32 ft., 2 stories	32 ft., 2 stories	40 ft., 3 stories/ 50 ft. 4 stories⁽¹⁾	35 ft., 2 stories⁽²⁾	40 ft., 3 stories	35 ft., 2 stories^(1,2)
Accessory buildings	17 ft., 1 story	17 ft., 1 story	17 ft., 1 story	17 ft., 1 story	17 ft., 1 story	17 ft., 1 story
Deed-restricted affordable housing	40 ft., 3 stories⁽³⁾	40 ft., 3 stories⁽³⁾	-	-	-	50 ft., 4 stories^(1,3)
Minimum building setbacks
Front yard	West side of South Main St: 10 ft. Other: N/A⁽⁴⁾	0 ft.⁽⁴⁾	0 ft.	15 ft. from existing curb or property line if there is no curb⁽⁵⁾	20 ft./25 ft.⁽⁶⁾	15 ft. from existing curb or property line if there is no curb⁽⁵⁾
Secondary front yard (corner lots)	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.
Side yard, interior	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.
Rear yard, main building	5 ft.	5 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.
Rear yard, main building when abutting residential district	20 ft.	20 ft.	20 ft.	20 ft.	20 ft.	20 ft.
Rear yard, accessory building	3 ft.	3 ft.	3 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.
Rear yard, parking	6 ft.	6 ft.	6 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.
Special setbacks – commercial outdoor barbecues	-	10 ft. from property line; see Chapter 17.300 SMC	10 ft. from property line; see Chapter 17.300 SMC	10 ft. from property line; see Chapter 17.300 SMC	-	10 ft. from property line; see Chapter 17.300 SMC
Special setbacks – commercial beekeeping	-	See Chapter 17.300 SMC	-	See Chapter 17.300 SMC	See Chapter 17.300 SMC	See Chapter 17.300 SMC
Maximum floor area ratio, not including residential except for purposes of calculating minimum FAR	1.5	1.5	Minimum (new buildings): 1.0 Maximum: 2.5	0.75	1.5	0.75
Maximum residential density	1 DU/2,900 sf lot area⁽⁷⁾	1 DU/2,000 sf lot area⁽⁷⁾	1 DU/1,000 sf lot area⁽⁷⁾	1 DU/2,000 sf lot area⁽⁷⁾	1 DU/2,000 sf lot area⁽⁷⁾	1 DU/1,750 sf lot area⁽⁷⁾
Minimum usable open space	50 sf/ DU	50 sf/ DU	50 sf/ DU	50 sf/DU	50 sf/DU	50 sf/DU
Buffering/screening	If abutting a lot in any residential district, screening shall be provided along the entire abutting residential lot by dense landscaping, including screen-type trees, or by a solid fence of six feet in height.
Transitional sites	See Chapter 17.320 SMC for standards for commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential developments located next to residential districts.
ac = acre ft. = feet sf = square feet DU = dwelling unit N/A = not applicable ⁽¹⁾ Four stories and 50 feet allowed for projects with residential uses, including hotel rooms, on upper floors, provided a conditional use permit is obtained, and the Planning Commission finds that the project design provides appropriate massing, height transitions and variations, and suitable relationships to neighboring sites. ⁽²⁾ Additional height may be permitted by a conditional use permit, if each yard is increased by one foot for each foot in additional height up to a height of 40 feet and three stories. ⁽³⁾ Provided, that front, side, and rear setbacks for the third story are equal to a minimum of 10 feet beyond required second story setbacks. ⁽⁴⁾Buildings should provide a zero first floor front setback, unless the Design Review Board determines a different setback is appropriate due to site conditions, existing improvements, provision of pedestrian amenities, or the neighborhood context. ⁽⁵⁾ No front setback shall be required for buildings not fronting on a public street. ⁽⁶⁾ 20 feet for buildings of up to 30 feet in height, and 25 feet for buildings of more than 30 feet in height. ⁽⁷⁾ With mixed-use (residential and office) development, the entire lot area may be used to calculate the maximum residential density.

(Ord. 1140 § 2, 2022; Ord. 1129 Exh. A § 3, 2019; Ord. 1123 § 2 (Exh. A § 3), 2019; Ord. 1122 § 3, 2019; Ord. 1111, 2018)

Sebastopol City Zoning Code

17.25 Commercial

Office, and Industrial Districts

17.25.010 Purpose of the districts.

17.25.020 Allowed uses.

Table 17.25-1 identifies permitted and conditionally permitted uses in the commercial, office, and industrial districts. (Ord. 1111, 2018)

17.25.030 Development standards.

B. General Project Layout and Design Criteria. The following criteria apply to commercial uses with three or more storefronts or 15,000 square feet or larger in the CO, CG, CD, M, CM, and OLM zones:

1. The development shall be human-scale and pedestrian-friendly, with the site plan focused on pedestrian access and architecture.

4. Off-street parking shall be distributed to the rear of buildings, except in unusual circumstances when parking to the side will be considered.

1. Residential uses in the commercial, office, and industrial districts shall be permitted as mixed-use projects, with ground-floor nonresidential uses located along the primary street frontages.

17.25.040 Open space and landscaping standards.

Developments shall provide open space as required under Table 17.25-2. Said open space shall conform to the following standards:

A. None of the following shall be counted as part of the open space required by this section:

1. Any access area, open area, or other space required by any other code or ordinance of the City such as a Building Code or Safety Code;

3. Any area having a dimension of less than five feet;

4. Any area having a grade of more than 15 percent.

B. The following may be counted as a part of the open space required by this section:

1. Patios or balconies that have a minimum area of 30 square feet and a minimum dimension of five feet;

2. Uncovered swimming pools, tennis courts, and similar recreation facilities, tot lots, rear yards.

Use	CO	CG	CD	M	OLM	CM
Commercial Uses
Agriculture, outdoor and indoor growing and harvesting	-	-	-	-	C	-
Alcoholic beverage tasting establishment	C	C	C	-	-	C
Animal hospital and kennels	-	C	-	C	C	-
Animal hospital, office only	CD	CD	C	CD	CD	C
Automotive gas or fueling station	-	-	-	-	-	-
Automotive repair and service	-	-	-	P	-	-
Automotive sales, service, and repair	-	C	C	-	-	-
Beekeeping, commercial	-	P	-	P	P	P
Commercial manufacturing	-	-	-	P	-	P
Convenience sales and service	P	P/C⁽¹⁾	P	-	-	P
Drive-through	-	-	-	-	-	-
Exercise facilities	CD	CD	C	C	P	C
Extensive commercial	-	C⁽¹⁾	C	-	-	-
Food sales	P	P/C⁽¹⁾	P	P	P	P
General wholesale sales	-	C	-	P	-	P
Home occupations	P	P	P	P	P	P
Mobile food truck court	P	P	P	-	-	P
Office	P	P	P	P⁽²⁾	P	P⁽²⁾
Outdoor commercial barbecue	-	C	C	C	-	C
Plant nurseries	-	C	-	P	P	P
Restaurant, fast-food	-	C	C	-	-	-
Restaurant, table or counter service	P	P	P	P	P	P
Restaurant, walk-up	P	P	P	-	-	P
Retail sales	P	P/C⁽¹⁾	P	C	-	P/C⁽³⁾
Storage, personal or vehicle	-	C	-	C	-	-
Tobacco or smoke shops, vape shops	-	C	-	-	-	-
Industrial Uses
Artist work studios and arts-related fabrication	CD	CD	C	P	P	P
General industrial	-	-	-	C	-	C
Heavy industrial	-	-	-	C	-	-
Laboratories	C	-	-	P⁽⁴⁾	P⁽⁴⁾	C
Light industrial	-	-	-	P	CD	P
Research and development	-	-	-	P	P	C
Warehouse, storage and transport	-	-	-	P	-	C⁽⁵⁾
Warehouse, wholesaling and distribution	-	-	-	C	P	C⁽⁵⁾
Wineries, distilleries, and brewing facilities	-	-	-	C	C	C
Civic Uses
Community assembly	C	C	C	C	C	C
Community garden	P	P	C	P	P	P
Community nonassembly	C	C	C	C	C	C
Community park	P	P	P	P	P	P
Extensive impact civic	-	-	-	C	C	-
Health care uses	C	C	C	C	C	C
Large community care	C	-	-	-	-	-
Large community education	C	C	C	C	C	C
Large community education, adult	C	C	C	C	C	C
Outdoor farmers’ market	-	C	C	C	C	C
Parking facilities	C	C	C	C	C	-
Small community care	P	-	-	-	-	-
Small community education	P	P	P	-	P	-
Sports park	C	C	-	C	C	-
Utility civic	C	C	C	C	C	C
Residential/Transient Residential Uses
Affordable housing projects	P	P	P	C	C	C
Bed and breakfast inns	C	C	C	-	-	-
Homeless shelter	-	P	C	-	-	-
Permanent residential uses that are allowed in the R7 District when part of a mixed-use development	P⁽⁶⁾	P⁽⁶⁾	P⁽⁶⁾	C	C	C
Permanent residential uses that are allowed in the R7 District when not part of a mixed-use development	C	C	C	C	C	C
Residential, semi-transient	C⁽⁷⁾	C⁽⁷⁾	C	-	-	-
Residential, transient	C⁽⁷⁾	C	P/C⁽⁸⁾	C	-	C
Other Use Types
New development comprising ≥ 20,000 square feet of floor area	-	-	-	C	-	C
New development comprising ≥ 25,000 square feet of floor area	-	-	C	C	-	C
New drive-through uses	-	-	-	-	-	-
P = Permitted Use C = Conditional Use Permit, Planning Commission review CD = Conditional Use Permit, Planning Director review - = Use Not Allowed ⁽¹⁾Commercial uses allowed that have individual buildings exceeding 30,000 square feet in size. ⁽²⁾ Only when located on second floors. ⁽³⁾ Permitted where uses are 1,500 square feet or less and the use is located within a footprint or space existing as of August 7, 2018; all other retail uses require a conditional use permit. ⁽⁴⁾ Except those which in the opinion of the Planning Director have the potential to be harmful, injurious, or detrimental to property or the general health, safety, and welfare of the City and its residents in which case a conditional use permit shall be required. ⁽⁵⁾Allowed when secondary to a primary permitted use. ⁽⁶⁾Live-work units are not permitted along the street frontage on Sebastopol Avenue, Healdsburg Avenue/Gravenstein Highway North, or Gravenstein Highway South, except by conditional use permit. ⁽⁷⁾ Allowed when part of a mixed-use development. ⁽⁸⁾Permitted only when involving less than 50 rooms; conditional use permit required when involving 50 or more rooms.

Development Standard	CO	CG	CD	M	OLM	CM
Maximum floor area, single establishment
Convenience sales and service or general retail uses	5,000 sf	-	-	-	-	-
Nonresidential uses, except for office uses	-	35,000 sf	35,000 sf	-	-	-
Nonresidential and nonindustrial uses	-	-	-	35,000 sf	-	35,000 sf
Exercise and food sales and service	-	-	-	-	25,000 sf	-
Minimum lot area	6,000 sf	6,000 sf	6,000 sf	15,000 sf	130,680 sf	15,000 sf
Minimum lot width	60 ft.	-	-	60 ft.	150 ft.	60 ft.
Minimum new building height	-	-	2 stories	-	-	-
Maximum building height
Buildings and other facilities	32 ft., 2 stories	32 ft., 2 stories	40 ft., 3 stories/ 50 ft. 4 stories⁽¹⁾	35 ft., 2 stories⁽²⁾	40 ft., 3 stories	35 ft., 2 stories^(1,2)
Accessory buildings	17 ft., 1 story	17 ft., 1 story	17 ft., 1 story	17 ft., 1 story	17 ft., 1 story	17 ft., 1 story
Deed-restricted affordable housing	40 ft., 3 stories⁽³⁾	40 ft., 3 stories⁽³⁾	-	-	-	50 ft., 4 stories^(1,3)
Minimum building setbacks
Front yard	West side of South Main St: 10 ft. Other: N/A⁽⁴⁾	0 ft.⁽⁴⁾	0 ft.	15 ft. from existing curb or property line if there is no curb⁽⁵⁾	20 ft./25 ft.⁽⁶⁾	15 ft. from existing curb or property line if there is no curb⁽⁵⁾
Secondary front yard (corner lots)	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.
Side yard, interior	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.
Rear yard, main building	5 ft.	5 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.
Rear yard, main building when abutting residential district	20 ft.	20 ft.	20 ft.	20 ft.	20 ft.	20 ft.
Rear yard, accessory building	3 ft.	3 ft.	3 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.
Rear yard, parking	6 ft.	6 ft.	6 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.
Special setbacks – commercial outdoor barbecues	-	10 ft. from property line; see Chapter 17.300 SMC	10 ft. from property line; see Chapter 17.300 SMC	10 ft. from property line; see Chapter 17.300 SMC	-	10 ft. from property line; see Chapter 17.300 SMC
Special setbacks – commercial beekeeping	-	See Chapter 17.300 SMC	-	See Chapter 17.300 SMC	See Chapter 17.300 SMC	See Chapter 17.300 SMC
Maximum floor area ratio, not including residential except for purposes of calculating minimum FAR	1.5	1.5	Minimum (new buildings): 1.0 Maximum: 2.5	0.75	1.5	0.75
Maximum residential density	1 DU/2,900 sf lot area⁽⁷⁾	1 DU/2,000 sf lot area⁽⁷⁾	1 DU/1,000 sf lot area⁽⁷⁾	1 DU/2,000 sf lot area⁽⁷⁾	1 DU/2,000 sf lot area⁽⁷⁾	1 DU/1,750 sf lot area⁽⁷⁾
Minimum usable open space	50 sf/ DU	50 sf/ DU	50 sf/ DU	50 sf/DU	50 sf/DU	50 sf/DU
Buffering/screening	If abutting a lot in any residential district, screening shall be provided along the entire abutting residential lot by dense landscaping, including screen-type trees, or by a solid fence of six feet in height.
Transitional sites	See Chapter 17.320 SMC for standards for commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential developments located next to residential districts.
ac = acre ft. = feet sf = square feet DU = dwelling unit N/A = not applicable ⁽¹⁾ Four stories and 50 feet allowed for projects with residential uses, including hotel rooms, on upper floors, provided a conditional use permit is obtained, and the Planning Commission finds that the project design provides appropriate massing, height transitions and variations, and suitable relationships to neighboring sites. ⁽²⁾ Additional height may be permitted by a conditional use permit, if each yard is increased by one foot for each foot in additional height up to a height of 40 feet and three stories. ⁽³⁾ Provided, that front, side, and rear setbacks for the third story are equal to a minimum of 10 feet beyond required second story setbacks. ⁽⁴⁾Buildings should provide a zero first floor front setback, unless the Design Review Board determines a different setback is appropriate due to site conditions, existing improvements, provision of pedestrian amenities, or the neighborhood context. ⁽⁵⁾ No front setback shall be required for buildings not fronting on a public street. ⁽⁶⁾ 20 feet for buildings of up to 30 feet in height, and 25 feet for buildings of more than 30 feet in height. ⁽⁷⁾ With mixed-use (residential and office) development, the entire lot area may be used to calculate the maximum residential density.

(Ord. 1140 § 2, 2022; Ord. 1129 Exh. A § 3, 2019; Ord. 1123 § 2 (Exh. A § 3), 2019; Ord. 1122 § 3, 2019; Ord. 1111, 2018)

Sebastopol City Zoning Code

17.25 Commercial

Office, and Industrial Districts

17.25.010 Purpose of the districts.

17.25.020 Allowed uses.

Table 17.25-1 identifies permitted and conditionally permitted uses in the commercial, office, and industrial districts. (Ord. 1111, 2018)

17.25.030 Development standards.

B. General Project Layout and Design Criteria. The following criteria apply to commercial uses with three or more storefronts or 15,000 square feet or larger in the CO, CG, CD, M, CM, and OLM zones:

1. The development shall be human-scale and pedestrian-friendly, with the site plan focused on pedestrian access and architecture.

4. Off-street parking shall be distributed to the rear of buildings, except in unusual circumstances when parking to the side will be considered.

1. Residential uses in the commercial, office, and industrial districts shall be permitted as mixed-use projects, with ground-floor nonresidential uses located along the primary street frontages.

17.25.040 Open space and landscaping standards.

Developments shall provide open space as required under Table 17.25-2. Said open space shall conform to the following standards:

A. None of the following shall be counted as part of the open space required by this section:

1. Any access area, open area, or other space required by any other code or ordinance of the City such as a Building Code or Safety Code;

3. Any area having a dimension of less than five feet;

4. Any area having a grade of more than 15 percent.

B. The following may be counted as a part of the open space required by this section:

1. Patios or balconies that have a minimum area of 30 square feet and a minimum dimension of five feet;

2. Uncovered swimming pools, tennis courts, and similar recreation facilities, tot lots, rear yards.

Use	CO	CG	CD	M	OLM	CM
Commercial Uses
Agriculture, outdoor and indoor growing and harvesting	-	-	-	-	C	-
Alcoholic beverage tasting establishment	C	C	C	-	-	C
Animal hospital and kennels	-	C	-	C	C	-
Animal hospital, office only	CD	CD	C	CD	CD	C
Automotive gas or fueling station	-	-	-	-	-	-
Automotive repair and service	-	-	-	P	-	-
Automotive sales, service, and repair	-	C	C	-	-	-
Beekeeping, commercial	-	P	-	P	P	P
Commercial manufacturing	-	-	-	P	-	P
Convenience sales and service	P	P/C⁽¹⁾	P	-	-	P
Drive-through	-	-	-	-	-	-
Exercise facilities	CD	CD	C	C	P	C
Extensive commercial	-	C⁽¹⁾	C	-	-	-
Food sales	P	P/C⁽¹⁾	P	P	P	P
General wholesale sales	-	C	-	P	-	P
Home occupations	P	P	P	P	P	P
Mobile food truck court	P	P	P	-	-	P
Office	P	P	P	P⁽²⁾	P	P⁽²⁾
Outdoor commercial barbecue	-	C	C	C	-	C
Plant nurseries	-	C	-	P	P	P
Restaurant, fast-food	-	C	C	-	-	-
Restaurant, table or counter service	P	P	P	P	P	P
Restaurant, walk-up	P	P	P	-	-	P
Retail sales	P	P/C⁽¹⁾	P	C	-	P/C⁽³⁾
Storage, personal or vehicle	-	C	-	C	-	-
Tobacco or smoke shops, vape shops	-	C	-	-	-	-
Industrial Uses
Artist work studios and arts-related fabrication	CD	CD	C	P	P	P
General industrial	-	-	-	C	-	C
Heavy industrial	-	-	-	C	-	-
Laboratories	C	-	-	P⁽⁴⁾	P⁽⁴⁾	C
Light industrial	-	-	-	P	CD	P
Research and development	-	-	-	P	P	C
Warehouse, storage and transport	-	-	-	P	-	C⁽⁵⁾
Warehouse, wholesaling and distribution	-	-	-	C	P	C⁽⁵⁾
Wineries, distilleries, and brewing facilities	-	-	-	C	C	C
Civic Uses
Community assembly	C	C	C	C	C	C
Community garden	P	P	C	P	P	P
Community nonassembly	C	C	C	C	C	C
Community park	P	P	P	P	P	P
Extensive impact civic	-	-	-	C	C	-
Health care uses	C	C	C	C	C	C
Large community care	C	-	-	-	-	-
Large community education	C	C	C	C	C	C
Large community education, adult	C	C	C	C	C	C
Outdoor farmers’ market	-	C	C	C	C	C
Parking facilities	C	C	C	C	C	-
Small community care	P	-	-	-	-	-
Small community education	P	P	P	-	P	-
Sports park	C	C	-	C	C	-
Utility civic	C	C	C	C	C	C
Residential/Transient Residential Uses
Affordable housing projects	P	P	P	C	C	C
Bed and breakfast inns	C	C	C	-	-	-
Homeless shelter	-	P	C	-	-	-
Permanent residential uses that are allowed in the R7 District when part of a mixed-use development	P⁽⁶⁾	P⁽⁶⁾	P⁽⁶⁾	C	C	C
Permanent residential uses that are allowed in the R7 District when not part of a mixed-use development	C	C	C	C	C	C
Residential, semi-transient	C⁽⁷⁾	C⁽⁷⁾	C	-	-	-
Residential, transient	C⁽⁷⁾	C	P/C⁽⁸⁾	C	-	C
Other Use Types
New development comprising ≥ 20,000 square feet of floor area	-	-	-	C	-	C
New development comprising ≥ 25,000 square feet of floor area	-	-	C	C	-	C
New drive-through uses	-	-	-	-	-	-
P = Permitted Use C = Conditional Use Permit, Planning Commission review CD = Conditional Use Permit, Planning Director review - = Use Not Allowed ⁽¹⁾Commercial uses allowed that have individual buildings exceeding 30,000 square feet in size. ⁽²⁾ Only when located on second floors. ⁽³⁾ Permitted where uses are 1,500 square feet or less and the use is located within a footprint or space existing as of August 7, 2018; all other retail uses require a conditional use permit. ⁽⁴⁾ Except those which in the opinion of the Planning Director have the potential to be harmful, injurious, or detrimental to property or the general health, safety, and welfare of the City and its residents in which case a conditional use permit shall be required. ⁽⁵⁾Allowed when secondary to a primary permitted use. ⁽⁶⁾Live-work units are not permitted along the street frontage on Sebastopol Avenue, Healdsburg Avenue/Gravenstein Highway North, or Gravenstein Highway South, except by conditional use permit. ⁽⁷⁾ Allowed when part of a mixed-use development. ⁽⁸⁾Permitted only when involving less than 50 rooms; conditional use permit required when involving 50 or more rooms.

Development Standard	CO	CG	CD	M	OLM	CM
Maximum floor area, single establishment
Convenience sales and service or general retail uses	5,000 sf	-	-	-	-	-
Nonresidential uses, except for office uses	-	35,000 sf	35,000 sf	-	-	-
Nonresidential and nonindustrial uses	-	-	-	35,000 sf	-	35,000 sf
Exercise and food sales and service	-	-	-	-	25,000 sf	-
Minimum lot area	6,000 sf	6,000 sf	6,000 sf	15,000 sf	130,680 sf	15,000 sf
Minimum lot width	60 ft.	-	-	60 ft.	150 ft.	60 ft.
Minimum new building height	-	-	2 stories	-	-	-
Maximum building height
Buildings and other facilities	32 ft., 2 stories	32 ft., 2 stories	40 ft., 3 stories/ 50 ft. 4 stories⁽¹⁾	35 ft., 2 stories⁽²⁾	40 ft., 3 stories	35 ft., 2 stories^(1,2)
Accessory buildings	17 ft., 1 story	17 ft., 1 story	17 ft., 1 story	17 ft., 1 story	17 ft., 1 story	17 ft., 1 story
Deed-restricted affordable housing	40 ft., 3 stories⁽³⁾	40 ft., 3 stories⁽³⁾	-	-	-	50 ft., 4 stories^(1,3)
Minimum building setbacks
Front yard	West side of South Main St: 10 ft. Other: N/A⁽⁴⁾	0 ft.⁽⁴⁾	0 ft.	15 ft. from existing curb or property line if there is no curb⁽⁵⁾	20 ft./25 ft.⁽⁶⁾	15 ft. from existing curb or property line if there is no curb⁽⁵⁾
Secondary front yard (corner lots)	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.
Side yard, interior	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.
Rear yard, main building	5 ft.	5 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.
Rear yard, main building when abutting residential district	20 ft.	20 ft.	20 ft.	20 ft.	20 ft.	20 ft.
Rear yard, accessory building	3 ft.	3 ft.	3 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.
Rear yard, parking	6 ft.	6 ft.	6 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.	0 ft.
Special setbacks – commercial outdoor barbecues	-	10 ft. from property line; see Chapter 17.300 SMC	10 ft. from property line; see Chapter 17.300 SMC	10 ft. from property line; see Chapter 17.300 SMC	-	10 ft. from property line; see Chapter 17.300 SMC
Special setbacks – commercial beekeeping	-	See Chapter 17.300 SMC	-	See Chapter 17.300 SMC	See Chapter 17.300 SMC	See Chapter 17.300 SMC
Maximum floor area ratio, not including residential except for purposes of calculating minimum FAR	1.5	1.5	Minimum (new buildings): 1.0 Maximum: 2.5	0.75	1.5	0.75
Maximum residential density	1 DU/2,900 sf lot area⁽⁷⁾	1 DU/2,000 sf lot area⁽⁷⁾	1 DU/1,000 sf lot area⁽⁷⁾	1 DU/2,000 sf lot area⁽⁷⁾	1 DU/2,000 sf lot area⁽⁷⁾	1 DU/1,750 sf lot area⁽⁷⁾
Minimum usable open space	50 sf/ DU	50 sf/ DU	50 sf/ DU	50 sf/DU	50 sf/DU	50 sf/DU
Buffering/screening	If abutting a lot in any residential district, screening shall be provided along the entire abutting residential lot by dense landscaping, including screen-type trees, or by a solid fence of six feet in height.
Transitional sites	See Chapter 17.320 SMC for standards for commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential developments located next to residential districts.
ac = acre ft. = feet sf = square feet DU = dwelling unit N/A = not applicable ⁽¹⁾ Four stories and 50 feet allowed for projects with residential uses, including hotel rooms, on upper floors, provided a conditional use permit is obtained, and the Planning Commission finds that the project design provides appropriate massing, height transitions and variations, and suitable relationships to neighboring sites. ⁽²⁾ Additional height may be permitted by a conditional use permit, if each yard is increased by one foot for each foot in additional height up to a height of 40 feet and three stories. ⁽³⁾ Provided, that front, side, and rear setbacks for the third story are equal to a minimum of 10 feet beyond required second story setbacks. ⁽⁴⁾Buildings should provide a zero first floor front setback, unless the Design Review Board determines a different setback is appropriate due to site conditions, existing improvements, provision of pedestrian amenities, or the neighborhood context. ⁽⁵⁾ No front setback shall be required for buildings not fronting on a public street. ⁽⁶⁾ 20 feet for buildings of up to 30 feet in height, and 25 feet for buildings of more than 30 feet in height. ⁽⁷⁾ With mixed-use (residential and office) development, the entire lot area may be used to calculate the maximum residential density.

(Ord. 1140 § 2, 2022; Ord. 1129 Exh. A § 3, 2019; Ord. 1123 § 2 (Exh. A § 3), 2019; Ord. 1122 § 3, 2019; Ord. 1111, 2018)