Yorba Linda City Zoning Code

Because of their special or unique characteristics, the following overlay zones are established:

The purposes of the housing overlay zones are to facilitate the construction of lower-priced and affordable housing on sites which are suitable, and to address the State-mandated regional housing needs.

Each overlay district may be applied to a property or group of properties by ordinance of the City Council. The Zoning Map will identify the overlay zone district with the appropriate suffix, given in Section 18.17.010, after the underlying zone district. Applicants may submit an entitlement application under the standards of either the underlying zone or the overlay zone and shall clearly state on their application which standards are being used. Projects applying under the standards of the overlay zone shall comply with all overlay zone requirements; where no requirement is given, the standards of the underlying zone shall apply.

The terms in this chapter are defined in Chapter 18.04 (Definitions) under the term "Affordable Housing Definitions."

The purposes of the affordable housing overlay zone are to facilitate the construction of lower-cost, smaller-lot housing; to assist in providing affordable housing to all segments of the community; and to make available additional land for multifamily and condominium housing development.

Any project utilizing the Affordable Housing Overlay zone shall comply with the use regulations of the underlying zone.

The minimum dwelling unit density of any development utilizing the standards of the Affordable Housing Overlay zone shall be 20 units per acre. The maximum dwelling unit density of any development utilizing the standards of the Affordable Housing Overlay zone shall be 35 units per acre.

The maximum height of any structure in the Affordable Housing Overlay zone shall be three stories and 40 feet.

Off-street parking standards shall be governed by the minimum parking requirements of the underlying zone (Section 18.22.030(B)) and all other requirements and incentives of this title.

The purpose of the Congregational Land Overlay zone is to encourage the construction of affordable housing in conjunction with religious institutions which provide important social and community services to the Yorba Linda community, to enable these institutions to further their mission to serve disadvantaged populations, and to improve utilization of land resources which may go unused for large portions of the week, in keeping with State Law AB 1851 (2020).

Multiple family dwellings and condominiums shall be permitted in the Congregational Land Overlay zone in addition to any uses permitted in the underlying zone, provided that these uses occur in conjunction with a church/temple/religious institution use with a valid conditional use permit. To operate in conjunction with a church/temple/religious institution includes, but is not limited to, ground leases to housing development either for rental or ownership, reciprocal parking, access, or use agreements, or other situations, which clearly demonstrate an integral connection or relationship between the two uses. Church/temple/religious institutional uses must continue to operate in conjunction with the previously approved conditional use permit, except as described in Section 18.17.230.

The maximum height of any structure in the Congregational Land Overlay zone shall be three stories and 40 feet, according to the methodology established in Section 18.26.030.

Pursuant to the maximum established in Government Code Section 65913.6, the development shall provide one uncovered or covered off-street parking space per dwelling unit for all qualifying affordable housing units, except for senior housing developments which shall provide a minimum of one-half uncovered or covered parking space per dwelling unit. Any market rate housing units shall provide parking in conformance with the RM-20 standards outlined in Chapter 18.22 of the Zoning Code. These spaces may be shared with the church/temple/religious institution or any previously permitted use on site.

The conversion of existing nonresidential structures into dwelling units shall be permitted, provided that they meet the stipulations of Section 18.17.220 and all building code requirements. Existing structures which are converted in this manner shall not trigger requirements to provide additional open space or setbacks, or to decrease the height of the structure.

A property owner within the Congregational Land Overlay zone may solicit a transfer of development rights to an abutting residential property contained within the Housing Element's housing sites inventory with a lower maximum density than the Congregational Land Overlay zone. The transfer of development rights will reduce the number of permitted units on the Congregational Land Overlay zone property and increase the number of permitted units by the same amount on the abutting property, provided that the resultant permitted density on the abutting property is no higher than 10% greater than the maximum density permitted on the abutting property. The property owner transferring its development rights may not transfer more than 10% of the total number of units described in the Housing Element's housing site's inventory. All units transferred must be transferred in compliance with the affordability requirements contained in Section 18.17.050. The transfer of development rights shall be subject to conditional use permit approval as described in Section 18.36.200, and once approved, shall be recorded against both properties. This transfer of development rights is only permitted during the sixth housing cycle and will expire after June 30, 2029.

The purposes of the mixed-use overlay zone are to increase the housing stock of the City which is affordable to households at different income levels, to spur revitalization and investment, to improve the utilization of land, and to decrease vehicular use by permitting the construction of housing on sites which contain community-serving retail and service uses.

Multiple-family dwellings and condominiums shall be permitted in the Mixed-Use Overlay zone, provided that these uses are located on the same site as retail uses containing at least 10,000 square feet of commercial space which meet the standards of the underlying zone. At least half of the building square footage within the MUO-zoned property shall be residential. Residential uses may be located on top of commercial uses (vertical mixed-use) or in separate structures on the same lot (horizontal mixed-use).

The minimum dwelling unit density of any development utilizing the standards of the Mixed-Use Overlay zone shall be 20 units per acre. The maximum dwelling unit density of any development utilizing the standards of the Mixed-Use Overlay zone shall be 35 units per acre. The site area shall be defined as the entirety of the legally defined parcels containing the residential development.