A.

For the purpose of this title, certain terms are defined in this chapter.

B.

Words used in the present tense include the future; words used in the singular include plural; the word "shall" is mandatory, and the word "may" is permissive.

C.

Definitions of the terms used in this title are set forth in Sections 18.08.020 through 18.08.550.

(Ord. 45-63 §§2.1, 2.2, 1963).

To ensure that people and commerce are able to safely enter and access all lands within the city, all building sites shall abut upon a public right of way or have an approved access easement to a public street as allowed by this section. All new parcels and land uses shall have legal access from a publicly maintained street or may derive access from a privately maintained road or approved access easement meeting the standards deemed appropriate by the city during subdivision review and approval.

(Ord. No. 442-2017, § 3, 1-11-2018)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 442-2017, § 3, adopted January 11, 2018, set out provisions intended for use as § 18.08.095. For purposes of alphabetization, and at the editor's discretion, these provisions have been included as § 18.08.015.

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

(Ord. 45-63 §2.201, 1963).

"Apartment" means any building or portion thereof which is designed and built for occupancy of four or more families.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.202, 1963).

"Apartment hotel" means a building or portion thereof designed for or containing both apartments and individual, furnished guestrooms or rental units under resident supervision. Such facilities typically maintain an inner lobby through which all tenants must pass to gain access to apartments, rooms, or units. Typically used for long-term accommodations (stays longer than thirty days), apartment hotels are fitted with amenities the average home would require (e.g., facilities for refrigeration and preparation of food, such as a refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, or kitchenette sink, and self-serve laundry facilities). For the purpose of this Code, an "apartment hotel" is a separate and distinct use from a "hotel" or "motel."

(Ord. No. 484-2025, § 1, 6-12-2025)

"Block" means all property fronting upon one side of a street, between intersecting and intercepting streets, or between a street and a railroad right-of-way, waterway, deadend street or unsubdivided land. An intercepting street shall determine only the boundary of the block on the side of a street which it intercepts.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.204, 1963).

"Boardinghouse" means a dwelling other than a hotel, where lodging and/or meals for three (3) or more persons is provided for compensation.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.205, 1963).

"Building" means any structure having a roof supported by columns or by walls and designed for the shelter or housing of any person, animal or chattel.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.206, 1963).

"Accessory building" means a subordinate building, including shelters of pools, the use of which is incidental to that of the main building on the same lot and/or building site.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.207, 1963).

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

(Ord. 45-63 §2.208, 1963).

"Building site" means a lot or parcel of land, in single or joint ownership, and occupied or to be occupied by a main building and accessory buildings, or by a dwelling group and its accessory buildings, together with such open spaces as are required by the terms of this title, having its principal frontage on a street, road, highway, waterway, or recorded access easement or other lawful access as provided in this title.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.209, 1963).

(Ord. No. 442-2017, § 2, 1-11-2018)

"Retail business" means the retail sale of any article, substance or commodity, within a building, but not including the sale of lumber or other building materials.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.210, 1963).

"Wholesale business" means the wholesale handling of any article, substance or commodity, but not including the handling of lumber or other building materials or the open storage or sale of any material or commodity, and not including the processing or manufacture of any product or substance.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.211, 1963).

"Combining district" means any district in which the general district regulations are combined with those special districts defined in Section 18.12.020 for the purpose of adding additional special regulations.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.212, 1963).

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

(Ord. 45-63 §2.213, 1963).

"Dwelling" means a building or portion thereof designed and used exclusively for residential occupancy, including one-family, two-family, three-family dwellings and apartments, and multiple-family dwellings, but not including hotels, motels or boardinghouses.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.214, 1963).

"Dwelling group" means a group of two or more detached or semi-detached, one-family, two-family, or multiple-family dwellings occupying a parcel of land in one ownership and having any yard or court in common, but not including automobile courts.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.219, 1963).

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

(Ord. 45-63 §2.218, 1963).

"Single-family dwelling" means a building designed for or used to house not more than one family, including all necessary employees of such family.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.215, 1963).

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

(Ord. 45-63 §2.216, 1963).

"Three-family dwelling" or "triplex" means a building containing not more than three kitchens, designed and/or used to house not more than three families, living independently of each other, including all necessary employees of each such family.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.217, 1963).

"Emergency shelter" means housing with minimal supportive services for homeless persons that is limited to occupancy of six months or less by a homeless person and in which no person or persons are denied emergency shelter because of an inability to pay.

(Ord. No. 404-2012, 6-14-2012)

"Extended stay hotel" means a hotel, motel, or inn containing ten or more sleeping rooms that have facilities for the refrigeration and preparation of food by guests (e.g., facilities for refrigeration and preparation of food, such as a refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, or kitchenette sink) and a self-serve laundry facility available for guest use, in more than fifty percent of the individual rooms, with a floor area no less than two hundered square feet for each individual room. For the purpose of this Code, an "extended stay hotel" is a separate and distinct use from a "hotel" or "motel."

(Ord. No. 484-2025, § 2, 6-12-2025)

"Family" means one or more persons occupying a premises and living as a single housekeeping unit, as distinguished from a group occupying a hotel, club, fraternity or sorority house. A family shall be deemed to include necessary servants.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.220, 1963).

"Farmworker housing" means housing owned by an agricultural employer whose place of business is within the city limits of Weed, which housing provides accommodations for six or fewer employees of that employer. Such housing shall be within the place of business and shall be deemed to be a single-family structure with a residential land use designation. Farmworker housing shall not be within the definition of a boarding house, rooming house, hotel, dormitory, or any other housing which is a business run for profit.

(Ord. No. 404-2012, 6-14-2012)

"Fence" means any structural device forming a physical barrier, including a wall. "Hedge" is a boundary formed by a dense row of shrubs. "Wall" means any such device constructed primarily of brick, rock, other masonry, or concrete.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.221, 1963).

(Ord. No. 410-2012, § 1, 12-13-2012; Ord. No. 440-2017, § 1, 10-12-2017)

"Garage" or "carport" means accessible and usable covered space of not less than ten by twenty feet each for the storage of automobiles.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.222, 1963).

"Group care facilities" means dwellings which are provided for those in need of social assistance and who are deemed incapable of living alone or without supervision.

(Ord. No. 404-2012, 6-14-2012)

"Group residential" means a single-family residence intended to serve as a home for unrelated persons who share a common characteristic; a place where people live or stay in a group living arrangement that is owned or managed by an entity or organization providing housing and/or services for the residents.

(Ord. No. 404-2012, 6-14-2012)

"Guesthouse" means detached living quarters of a permanent type of construction and without kitchens or cooking facilities, and where no compensation in any form is received or paid.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.223, 1963).

"Height of building" means the vertical distance from the average level of the highest and lowest point of that portion of the lot covered by the building to the topmost point of the roof, excluding elevator equipment rooms, ventilating and air-conditioning equipment.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.225, 1963).

"Home occupation" means an operation 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 connection therewith and no mechanical equipment designed to be used in connection therein, other than that necessary or convenient for domestic purposes.

(Ord. 276-90 §1, 1990: Ord. 45-63 §2.224, 1963).

"Hotel" means any structure, or any portion of any structure, which is occupied or intended or designed for occupancy by transients for temporary dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes, and includes any hotel, inn, studio hotel, bachelor hotel, dormitory, public or private club, or other similar structure or portion thereof where stays are less than thirty days. Structures that offer stays of more than thirty days shall not be a hotel but shall meet the requirements for an "extended stay hotel" or "apartment hotel." Hotel facilities may include meeting/conference rooms, business center, restaurant, bar or nightclub, and small store. For the purpose of this Code, a "hotel" is a separate and distinct use from an "extended stay hotel" or "apartment hotel."

(Ord. 45-63 §2.226, 1963; Ord. No. 484-2025, § 3, 6-12-2025).

"Junkyard" means more than one hundred square feet of the area of any lot 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.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.227, 1963).

For the definition of "lot," see "building site," defined in Section 18.08.090.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.228, 1963).

"Lot front" means the shortest dimension of a lot fronting on a street.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.229, 1963).

"Lot line" 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.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.232, 1963).

"Lot rear" means the lot boundary opposite, or approximately opposite, the lot front.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.230, 1963).

"Lot side" means any lot boundary not a front or rear lot line.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.231, 1963).

For the purpose of this title, the narrowest frontage of a corner lot facing the street is the front, and the longest frontage facing the intersecting street is the side, irrespective of the direction in which the dwelling faces.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.242, 1963).

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

(Ord. 45-63 §2.233, 1963).

"Low Barrier Navigation Centers" means a low barrier, service-enriched shelter focused on moving people into permanent housing that provides temporary living facilities while case managers connect individuals experiencing homelessness to income, public benefits, health services, shelter, and housing. (Gov. Code, § 65660, subd. (a).)

(Ord. No. 477-2024, § 1, 10-14-2024)

"Manufactured home" means a structure that was constructed on or after June 15, 1976, is transportable in one or more sections, is eight feet or more in width or forty feet or more in length in the transportable mode, or, when erected on site, is three hundred twenty or more square feet in area, is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a single-family dwelling, with or without a foundation, when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein. "Manufactured home" includes any structure that meets all of the requirements of this section except the size requirements and with respect to which the manufacturer voluntarily files a certification and complies with the standards established under the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Cat of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5401, et seq.).

(Ord. No. 454-2019, § 2.A, 6-13-2019)

"Motel" means a hotel providing transients with lodging and parking facilities. Motels are typically a roadside hotel having rooms adjacent to, and usually accessible to, an outside parking area. Motels are also known as a motor lodge. Structures that offer stays of more than thirty days shall not be a motel but shall meet the requirements for an "extended stay hotel" or "apartment hotel." For the purpose of this Code, a "motel" is a separate and distinct use from an "extended stay hotel" or "apartment hotel."

(Ord. 45-63 §2.203, 1963; Ord. No. 484-2025, § 4, 6-12-2025).

"Nonconforming use" means a use that does not conform to the regulations for the district in which it is situated.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.234, 1963).

"Office" means a business establishment for rendering of service or administration, but excluding retail sales.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.235, 1963).

"Parking space" means an accessible and usable space on the building site, or adjacent lot, at least nine feet by twenty feet, for the parking of automobiles.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.236, 1963).

"Person" includes any individual, city, county, or city and county, partnerships, corporations, cooperatives, associations, trust or any other legal entities, including the state and the federal government.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.237, 1963).

"Residential hotel" means "apartment hotel."

(Ord. No. 484-2025, § 5, 6-12-2025)

"Rest home" means any premises licensed under Section 2300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code of the state.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.238, 1963).

For the definition of "roominghouse" see "boardinghouse," defined in Section 18.08.050.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.239, 1963).

"Sanitarium" 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.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.240, 1963).

"Setback line" means a line established by this title to govern the placement of buildings or structures with respect to lot lines, streets or alleys.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.241, 1963).

"Sign" means any advertising display or structure.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.243, 1963).

"Single-room occupancy" means a structure with three or more dwelling units that have separate sleeping or living areas, some combination of shared bath(s) or toilet(s), and which may or may not have separate or shared cooking facilities, all of which are available for rental occupancy for periods of seven days or longer, in which said dwelling units are accessed through a common primary entrance, and in which on-site management is provided on a twenty-four-hour basis. Stays shall be less than thirty days. Stays more than thirty days shall meet the requirements provided in the definition of "extended stay hotel."

(Ord. No. 404-2012, 6-14-2012; Ord. No. 484-2025, § 6, 6-12-2025)

"Street" means a public thoroughfare which affords principal means of access to abutting property, including avenue, place, way, drive, land, boulevard, highway, road and any other thoroughfare except an alley as defined in this chapter.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.244, 1963).

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

(Ord. 45-63 §2.245, 1963).

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

(Ord. 45-63 §2.247, 1963).

"Structure" 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, patios or parking spaces.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.246, 1963).

"Supporting housing" means housing with no limit on length of stay that is occupied by persons who are linked to onsite or offsite services that assist such persons 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.

(Ord. No. 404-2012, 6-14-2012)

"Trailer court" means land or premises used, or intended to be used, let or rented for occupancy by one or more trailers or movable dwellings, rooms or sleeping quarters of any kind.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.248, 1963).

"Transitional housing" means housing operated under federal, state, county, or city of Weed program requirements that serve persons on the condition that such housing will terminate at some predetermined future point in time, which shall be no less than six months.

(Ord. No. 404-2012, 6-14-2012)

"Transient" has the meaning provided in Section 3.28.020 of the Weed Municipal Code.

(Ord. No. 484-2025, § 7, 6-12-2025)

"Transient Occupancy Tax" means the tax imposed under Chapter 3.28 of the Weed Municipal Code.

(Ord. No. 484-2025, § 8, 6-12-2025)

"Use" means the purpose for which land or a building is designed, arranged or intended or for which either land or buildings is or may be occupied or maintained.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.249, 1963).

"Accessory use" 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.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.250, 1963).

"Yard" means an open space other than a court on the same lot with a building, which open space is unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward, except as otherwise permitted in Chapter 18.24.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.251, 1963).

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

(Ord. 45-63 §2.252, 1963).

"Rear yard" means a yard extending across the full width of the lot and measured between the rear line of the lot and the nearest line of the main building.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.253, 1963).

"Side yard" means a yard between the side line of the lot and the nearest line of the building and extending from the front line of the lot to the rear yard.

(Ord. 45-63 §2.254, 1963).