The purpose of a commercial service (C-S) district is to provide locations in several sectors of the City for a broad range of commercial service uses including automotive and equipment repair, custom manufacturing, light wholesale storage and distribution, contractors offices as well as small convenience retail. Uses in this zone are typically not as retail intensive as those found in the downtown core or in neighborhood centers. Although, minor retail uses may be permitted to serve immediate needs of the surrounding businesses or residents.
(Ord. 296 § 17.1; Ord. 2022 § 1, 2000)
The principal permitted uses of land in a C-S district are as follows:
(a) 
Auto, motorcycle sales, which shall be conducted within an enclosed building (use size limit ten thousand square feet).
(b) 
Automotive/truck repair uses, which typically include, but are not limited to, brake, muffler, tire, engine, transmission repair and automotive drive-through car washes (use size limit ten thousand square feet).
(c) 
Repair services. Uses typically include but are not limited to upholstery, furniture, and large electrical appliance repair services (use size limit ten thousand square feet).
(d) 
Auto, building and light equipment supplies. Uses typically include, but are not limited to, retail sale or rental from the premises of goods and equipment including auto parts, paint, glass, hardware, tile, carpet, fixtures (use size limit ten thousand square feet).
(e) 
Building contractors offices. Use size limit ten thousand square feet.
(f) 
Service establishments. Uses typically include, but are not limited to, print shops, cabinet shops, glass shops and exterminators (use size limit ten thousand square feet).
(g) 
Agricultural/nursery supplies and services. Uses typically include, but are not limited to, feed and grain stores, greenhouses, tree service firms and nurseries (use size limit ten thousand square feet).
(h) 
Office for professional and administrative uses. Use limited to ten thousand square feet.
(i) 
Custom/light manufacturing. Uses typically include but are not limited to manufacturing, processing, assembling, packaging, treatment or fabrication of custom made items, or of products within an enclosed building which do not require large container truck traffic or the transport of large scale bulky products. Products are typically ready for use or consumption or may be semi-finished to become a component for further assembly and packaging. On-site wholesale or retail of the goods produced may be permitted if accessory in use and area to the principal manufacturing use. Uses typically include but are not limited to jewelry, household furniture, art objects, apparel products, specialty foods, confectionery products, hand tools, bicycle frames, signs, architectural and ornamental metal work, toys, stationary or small musical instruments (use size limit fifteen thousand square feet).
(j) 
Light wholesale, storage, distribution and vending. Uses typically include, but are not limited to, wholesaling, storage, and warehousing services within an enclosed building and the storage and wholesale to retailers from the premises of finished goods and food products. Retail operation may be permitted which is accessory in use and area to the principal warehouse use (use size limit fifteen thousand square feet), subject to retail warehouse/manufacturing performance standards.
(k) 
Research services. Allow for smaller scale start-up or incubator research activities. Uses typically include but are not limited to research, design, analysis, development and/or testing of a product (use size limit fifteen thousand square feet).
(l) 
Any other business or service establishment determined by the director to be of the same general character as the above permitted uses.
(m) 
Exercise studios or classes, yoga studios, martial arts studios, dance studios, occupying less than ten thousand gross square feet.
(n) 
Animal care. Uses typically include, but are not limited to, animal clinics, large and small animal hospitals, and kennels that operate entirely within a wholly enclosed building.
(Ord. 296 § 17.2; Ord. 431 §§ 1, 5; Ord. 1014 §§ 2, 3; Ord. 2022 § 2, 2000; Ord. 2572 § 15, 2020)
The following accessory uses are permitted in a C-S district:
(a) 
Signs, subject to the regulations in Section 40.26.020.
(b) 
Accessory uses and buildings customarily appurtenant to a permitted use, subject to the provisions of Section 40.26.010.
(c) 
Home occupations are allowed for existing nonconforming residential dwellings and uses, subject to provisions of Sections 40.01.010 and 40.26.150.
(Ord. 296 § 17.3; Ord. 875 § 12)
The following conditional uses may be permitted in a C-S district:
(a) 
Permitted uses or combinations thereof, that exceed the stated use size limits.
(b) 
Any use permitted in the district that has outdoor storage, display, work areas or parking of fleet vehicles.
(c) 
Auto service stations.
(d) 
Restaurants.
(e) 
Public or semipublic uses, including utilities.
(f) 
Day care facility. Establishments for non-medical care to infants, preschool and school age children under eighteen years of age for a portion of the day.
(g) 
Convenience retail sales. Uses typically include but are not limited to bakeries, postal annex, video rental, and donuts. Uses are small in scale and are intended to serve local immediate needs. Convenience markets or mini-marts are specifically prohibited.
(h) 
Drive-through facilities. Subject to performance standards in Sections 40.26.420 and 40.26.430.
(i) 
Personal services. Uses typically include but are not limited to dance studios, music schools, martial arts schools, driving schools, cleaning and laundering establishments, beauty/barber establishments.
(j) 
Commercial recreation. Uses typically include but are not limited to health clubs, exercise studios or classes, swimming centers, skating rinks, bowling alleys, sports field and golf courses.
(k) 
Animal care. Uses typically include but are not limited to animal clinics, large and small animal hospitals, and kennels.
(l) 
Any use permitted in the district that has outdoor activity associated with the use, including but not limited to, storage, display, work areas or parking of fleet vehicles.
(m) 
Public storage. Uses typically include mini-warehouse or recreation vehicle storage facilities for the rental or lease of small scale enclosed storage units or parking spaces primarily to individuals rather than firms or organizations.
(n) 
Social/health services. Uses may include but are not limited to nursing facilities, alcohol and drug treatment centers or blood bank.
(o) 
Funeral parlors.
(Ord. 296 § 17.4; Ord. 416 § 4; Ord. 431 § 3; Ord. 1739 § 6, 1994; Ord. 2022, § 3, 2000; Ord. 2113 § 1, 2003; Ord. 2572 § 15, 2020)
The following yard requirements shall be met in a C-S district:
(a) 
Front yard. None.
(b) 
Setbacks. Side and rear yards, none except when abutting P-A or R districts, then not less than ten feet, or not less than the required side yard in such adjacent district, whichever is greater. Additional landscaping may be required as part of the design review process.
(Ord. 296 § 17.6; Ord. 2022 § 4, 2000)
(a) 
Site plan and architectural approval by the director or designee shall be required for all uses.
(b) 
Landscaping and screening shall be in accordance with provisions of Section 40.26.250, except that in the C-S district, a minimum of ten percent of the total site shall be provided and twenty percent encouraged.
(c) 
On-site freeway landscaping. Projects that are adjacent to either I-80 or SH-113 freeways (including properties separated by a street) shall provide a minimum fifteen-foot tree/landscape setback along the property boundary that parallels the freeway. Tree plantings shall include a mix of deciduous and evergreen trees designed to provide a primarily green backdrop punctuated by view corridors providing visibility to businesses adjacent to the freeway.
(d) 
Street tree and right-of-way landscaping. Project shall provide street trees and plant materials along streets within the public right-of-way and adjacent spaces, which shall be installed and maintained by the property owner. Landscape and irrigation plans shall be approved by the community development and sustainability department through a site plan approval process.
(e) 
Plant materials. Plant materials shall be used in landscaped areas; gravel, bark, rock or mulch is not adequate by itself as a ground cover.
(f) 
Landscape maintenance. All landscaped areas shall be kept free from weeds and debris and maintained in a healthy, growing condition and shall receive regular pruning, fertilizing, mowing, and trimming. Any damaged, dead, diseased, or decaying plant material shall be replaced within thirty days.
(g) 
Property and parking lot maintenance. Property owners are responsible for maintaining all buildings, structures, yards, signs, parking areas and other improvements in a manner which does not detract from the appearance of the surrounding area. Parking lots shall be maintained in an attractive and suitable fashion with any potholes, significantly cracked or uneven paving and any other significant damage repaired in a timely fashion throughout the life of the project.
(h) 
Master plan design theme. The design of the major elements of a project which includes multiple buildings, shall be coordinated as part of a master plan for development to ensure unification of such elements as the building forms, key architectural feature/styles, materials, colors, textures, site layout, circulation, access, parking, landscaping and signage. Guidelines or plans that include illustrative graphics shall be required prior to approval of a design review application or final planned development for the project.
(i) 
Exterior building design. All exterior elevations of buildings shall have architectural treatment. Expanses of blank building walls shall be minimized with creative use of materials, texture, color and/or building form, including door and window placement. Building walls facing the arterial street(s) shall receive an enhanced treatment and entries through appropriate architectural elements.
(j) 
Roof design. Flat roofs are discouraged. Vertical and horizontal variation of the roofline, through the use of elements such as parapet design, multiple gables, pitched roofs, towers or other structural elements, shall be provided on all sides of the building.
(k) 
Project circulation and employee amenities. Convenient, safe pedestrian and bicycle circulation shall be provided throughout all projects to connect public streets, parking, and public transit facilities with buildings and between buildings. Employee outdoor eating areas shall be provided as an integral part of site designs. They are encouraged for projects under one acre and required for all projects one acre and greater.
(l) 
Work area screening. Disabled vehicles, work-bays, loading areas, and other similar areas shall be permanently screened from the public right-of-way and from land used in common (public view).
(m) 
Project landscaping. Project landscaping shall be evaluated during the design review process to consider at a minimum, the nature and extent of landscaping that will be required between parking areas and buildings, between driveways and buildings, between buildings, adjacent to building elevations, at project entries, between parking areas and the street, at property boundaries and as a buffer to residential or other less intensive uses.
(n) 
Outdoor storage or display screening. Uses shall be conducted within an enclosed building and/or any outdoor storage or display areas shall be permanently screened from the public right-of-way and from land used in common (public view). Screening shall be architecturally compatible with the surrounding environment. Concrete masonry, wood, landscaping and other similar permanent materials shall be used to achieve effective screening.
(o) 
Pump island and drive-through screening. Pump islands and drive-through lanes should be screened from view to the extent possible through the individual or combined use of elements including building location and site layout, architectural features such as trellis, screen walls, as well as berming and landscaping. Drive-through facilities shall be subject to Sections 40.26.420 and 40.26.430.
(p) 
Temporary use sales. Outside sale of merchandise on a temporary basis shall be prohibited, except where the event is part of an organized parking lot sale, in which adequate provisions have been made for traffic circulation off-street parking, and pedestrian safety to the satisfaction of the director. Any such use is subject to the temporary use permit, Article 40.30B and Section 22.08.210 of the Davis Municipal Code.
(q) 
Retail warehouse/manufacturing performance standards. The retail establishment is accessory to and incidental to the principal warehouse/manufacturing use, with the maximum area used for retail sales limited to twenty-five percent or four thousand square feet, whichever is less, of the principal use. The items on sale in the retail establishment are actually part of the stock of the warehouse or manufactured on site. Outdoor storage areas will be included as floor area of the warehouse and lot coverage for the purpose of evaluating compliance with floor area and lot coverage standards.
(r) 
Exterior lighting. All lighting shall be shielded and directed downward consistent with provisions of the City's Dark Sky Ordinance No. 1966. Where a commercial recreation use is located adjacent to nearby residential uses, light shielding is paramount, such that there will be no significant negative impacts to the surrounding residential neighborhoods.
(s) 
Additional use findings: That the proposed use shall not undermine the economic viability of the downtown in that the use shall be complementary to existing or proposed uses in the downtown and shall continue the preservation of the downtown as the primary retail destination.
(Ord. 296 § 17.7; Ord. 1627 § 28; Ord. 2022 §§ 9, 10, 2000; Ord. 2390 § 2, 2012; Ord. 2445 § 8, 2015; Ord. 2677, 11/4/2025)