The purpose of a commercial mixed use district is to provide for a broad range of uses that are intended to serve the internal needs of Davis residents as well as the traveling public. These sites are located in the immediate vicinity of a freeway on-or off-ramp or along a service drive that is directly accessible to the highway. Uses may include automotive sales, repair, and commercial recreation. CMU districts are to be established in zones of two acres or larger.
(Ord. 296 § 18.1; Ord. 2022 § 6, 2000)
The principal permitted uses of land in a CMU district are as follows:
(a) 
Auto, motorcycle sales, which shall be conducted within an enclosed building.
(b) 
Automotive/truck repair. Uses typically include brake, muffler, tire, engine, transmission repair and automotive drive-through car washes (use size limit ten thousand square feet).
(c) 
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).
(d) 
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).
(e) 
Office for professional and administrative uses. Use limited to ten thousand square feet.
(f) 
Commercial service uses. Uses permitted in the commercial (C-S) district shall be permitted in the commercial mixed use (CMU) district.
(g) 
Exercise studios or classes, yoga studios, martial arts studios, dance studios, occupying less than ten thousand gross square feet.
(h) 
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.
(i) 
Any other business or service establishment determined by the director to be of the same general character as the above permitted uses.
(Ord. 296 § 18.2; Ord. 431 § 5; Ord. 1087 §§ 1, 2; Ord. 2022 § 7, 2000; Ord. 2572 § 16, 2020)
The following accessory uses are permitted in a CMU district:
(a) 
Signs, subject to the regulations of 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 § 18.3; Ord. 875 § 13)
The following conditional uses may be permitted in a CMU district subject to the granting of an administrative uses permit.
(a) 
Permitted uses or combinations thereof, that exceed the stated use size limits.
The following conditional uses may be permitted in a CMU district:
(a) 
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.
(b) 
Auto, motorcycle, agricultural equipment sales which are not conducted entirely within a enclosed building. Uses typically include, but are not limited to, new and used car sales/lots, motorcycle, boat, trailer sales. Servicing of vehicles may be considered if accessory in use and size (twenty-five percent or less of the principal use).
(c) 
Auto service stations.
(d) 
Drive-through facilities subject to performance standards in Sections 40.26.420 and 40.26.430.
(e) 
Restaurants.
(f) 
Public or semipublic uses, including utilities.
(g) 
Commercial recreation. Uses typically include, but are not limited to, swimming centers, skating rinks, bowling alleys, sports fields and golf courses.
(h) 
Inns and motor hotels.
(i) 
Moderate size community retail stores. Retail stores selling the kinds of retail goods for which there is substantial sales tax leakage within Davis, such as household appliances, electronics, and furniture.
(j) 
Commercial service conditional uses. Uses conditionally permitted in the commercial service district shall be conditionally permitted within the commercial mixed use district.
(Ord. 296 § 18.4; Ord. 416 § 2; Ord. 431 § 4; Ord. 501 § 2; Ord. 1087 §§ 3—8; Ord. 1739 § 7, 1994; Ord. 1793 § 1; Ord. 1903 § 1, 1997; Ord. 2022 § 8, 2000; Ord. 2113 § 1, 2003; Ord. 2572 § 16, 2020)
The following minimum yard, area, etc., requirements shall be observed, except where increased for conditional uses or as provided in Sections 40.27.040 through 40.27.070:
(a) 
Lot area. Ten thousand square feet.
(b) 
Lot coverage. Twenty-five percent, maximum.
(c) 
Front yard. Twenty-five feet.
(d) 
Side yards. Ten feet, except when abutting an R district or an A district designated in the city master plan for residential use, then not less than twenty-five feet.
(e) 
Rear yard. Ten feet, except when abutting an R district or an A district designated in the city master plan for residential use, then not less than twenty-five feet. The required rear yard shall be fully landscaped.
(Ord. 296 § 18.6; Ord. 1087 § 9)
(a) 
In any CMU district directly across a street or highway from any R district or A district designated for future residential use in the city master plan, the parking and loading facilities shall be distant at least ten feet from such street and the buildings and structures at least twenty feet from such street; provided, that this requirement does not apply when the street or highway is provided on one or both sides with a service road developed in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 36 or other ordinance or regulation of the city specifying the standards or specifications for the development of the service road.
(b) 
Site plan and architectural approval by the director or designee shall be required for all uses. The director or designee shall develop an architectural theme for buildings and signs in the CMU zone, which shall be approved by the planning commission and city council. Subsequent to adoption of the theme, all new and remodeled buildings and signs shall be made consistent with the theme through review by the director or designee.
(c) 
Landscaping and screening shall be in accordance with the provisions of Section 40.26.250 except that in the CMU zone, a minimum of ten percent of the total site area shall be provided and twenty percent shall be encouraged. In addition to the minimum site area landscaping, a row of trees shall be provided along all site property lines as determined by the director or designee. Similar plant materials shall be utilized in all projects to create a landscape theme subject to director or designee review. Plant materials shall be fifteen-gallon size for trees and five-gallon size for shrubs.
(d) 
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.
(e) 
Street tree and right-of-way landscaping. Projects 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.
(f) 
Plant materials. Plant materials shall be used in landscaped areas; gravel, bark, rock or mulch is not adequate by itself as a ground cover.
(g) 
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.
(h) 
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.
(i) 
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, texture, 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.
(j) 
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, textures, 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.
(k) 
Roof design. Flat roofs are discouraged. Vertical and horizontal variation of the roof-line, 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.
(l) 
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.
(m) 
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).
(n) 
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.
(o) 
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.
(p) 
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 locations 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.
(q) 
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 shall be subject to temporary use permit Section 40.30B and Section 22.08.210 of the Davis City Code.
(r) 
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.
(s) 
Hotel/inn performance standards. As part of the overall project review, an independent market analysis shall be provided to indicate that there is sufficient demand to support an additional facility without resulting in significant negative draw from hotels/inns in the downtown area.
(t) 
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.
(u) 
Moderate size retail store performance standard. Use shall not exceed thirty thousand square feet. Square footage calculation shall include any outdoor display. The size of the proposed retail store shall be established based on a determination by the planning commission that the size is desirable in order to meet community retail needs; and that the store will generally offer categories of merchandise otherwise under represented in the city based on the best available economic data; and that the size is consistent with the goals and policies of the general plan.
(v) 
Additional conditional use finding. 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 § 18.7; Ord. 894 § 2; Ord. 920 § 2; Ord. 1087 §§ 10, 11; Ord. 1627 §§ 29, 30; Ord. 2022 § 11, 2000; Ord. 2390 § 2, 2012; Ord. 2445 § 8, 2015; Ord. 2677, 11/4/2025)