A. 
Measurement of yard areas shall be as follows:
1. 
Required yards shall be measured as the minimum horizontal distance from the property line of the site or street line parallel thereto on the site; provided, that where a street plan has been adopted by the City Council, site area and required yards shall be measured from the plan line, and no provision of this Title shall be construed to permit a structure or use to extend beyond such line; provided further, that where a site abuts on a street having only a portion of its required width dedicated or reserved for street purposes, site area and required yards shall be measured from a line drawn on the boundary of the additional width required for street purposes abutting the site.
2. 
On a lot that is not rectangular or approximately rectangular in shape, required yard areas shall be measured in a manner prescribed by the planning commission.
3. 
On a flag lot with an average width that exceeds its average depth, the longer dimension may be considered the depth for purposes of measuring front, side and rear yards.
4. 
Front yard setbacks for interior lots fronting on a cul-de-sac, which are not generally rectangular in shape, shall be a line parallel with the curve of the cul-de-sac. The two lines that are tangent to the curved front yard setback shall be considered the side property lines and all other property lines shall be considered rear property lines.
B. 
Front yard requirements and exceptions.
1. 
On a lot situated between lots improved with buildings, the minimum front yard may be the average depth of the front yards on the improved sites adjoining the sidelines of the site.
2. 
Where a lot is not situated between lots improved with buildings but where lots comprising 40 percent of the frontage on a block are improved with buildings, the minimum front yard may be the average of the existing front yard depths on the block.
3. 
Where the elevation of a lot at the front property line is five feet or more above or below the established street elevation at the edge of the existing or proposed pavement, or where a lot has an average natural slope of 20 percent or more measured from the existing or proposed pavement to the rear line of the required front yard, a garage or carport may be constructed not less than 15 feet from the edge of the existing or proposed pavement; provided, that in no case shall a garage or carport have a front yard of less than three feet. Where the front yard setback to a garage measures less than 18 feet, the garage shall be provided with an automatic pull-up door opener.
C. 
Side yards abutting front or rear entrances of dwellings.
Where dwellings are arranged so that their front or rear entrances abut on a side yard, the required side yard abutting the front entrances shall be increased by two feet. The required side yard abutting the rear entrances shall be increased by one foot.
D. 
Increased side yard opposite living room windows.
On lots containing two or more dwelling units, where a legally required window or windows of a living room faces an interior side yard, the width of the side yard within 20 feet of the centerline of the window shall be not less than 20 percent of the width of the site, provided that a width of less than 12 feet shall not be permitted and a width of more than 18 feet shall not be required. Such side yard shall be provided at and above the floor level of the first story containing a legally required living room window.
E. 
Vision clearance, corner lots.
On corner lots, within a triangular area formed by the street property lines and a line connecting points on the street property lines 30 feet from the street intersection, no fence, wall, hedge, or other obstruction, except the natural grade of a site, shall exceed a height of 30 inches above established grade at the edge of the existing or proposed pavement, provided that trees pruned up to eight feet above street grade shall be permitted.
F. 
Width, corner lots.
The minimum width of corner lots in an R or ORM district shall be 20 percent greater than the minimum width for the district as otherwise provided.
G. 
Building setbacks adjoining a freeway or railroad.
No lot adjacent to a freeway or railroad right-of-way shall be allowed to have buildings constructed within 130 feet of said right-of-way until noise mitigation is provided along with project development as approved by the planning director such that the sound level standards are not exceeded for that zoning district as set forth in Chapter 9.32 HMC.
(Ord. 950 § 2 (Exh. A § 1805), 1998; Ord. 971 § 2 (Exh. A § 4), 2001; Ord. 1010 § 4 (Exh. A § 8), 2003; Ord. 1012 § 2 (Exh. B § 1), 2004)
Except as otherwise provided in this Title, projections from exterior building walls of main structures into required yards shall be permitted as follows.
A. 
Uncovered patios, decks, and similar elements having a height of not more than 18 inches above natural or finished grade, whichever is more restrictive, shall be exempt from these provisions and shall be permitted anywhere in a side or rear setback.
B. 
Eaves, cornices, bay windows, utility closets, fireplace chimneys, and similar projections may extend up to two feet into any required front, rear or side structures.
C. 
Porches, decks, balconies, exterior stairs, landings, and similar structures may extend up to five feet into any required front or rear yard and up to two feet into any required side yard, provided such structures are open on three sides, except for low walls or railings up to 42 inches in height above the finished floor.
D. 
Notwithstanding subsection (C) of this section, uncovered porches, decks, balconies, exterior stairs, landings, and similar structures may encroach up to 75 percent into a required side or rear yard, provided the structure has a finished floor elevation of no more than 30 inches in height above natural or finished grade, whichever is more restrictive.
A structure with a finished floor of more than 30 inches in height above natural or finished grade that encroaches into a required side or rear yard may be approved, provided the planning and building director finds that the structure design would be compatible with the character and pattern of other structures on the site and within the surrounding neighborhood, and that the structure would not be injurious to the privacy, views or access to sunlight of adjacent neighbors, or create a visual intrusion on the public right-of-way.
E. 
Notwithstanding subsection (C) of this section, covered patios, porches, decks, balconies, exterior stairs, and similar structures may extend into a required rear yard, provided the structure is at least 10 feet from the rear property line and the planning and building director finds that the structure's design is compatible with the character and pattern of other structures on the site and within the surrounding neighborhood, and that it would not be injurious to the privacy, views or access to sunlight of adjacent neighbors, or create a visual intrusion on the public right-of-way.
(Ord. 950 § 2 (Exh. A § 1810), 1998; Ord. 956 § 2 (Att. A § 1810(b)), 1999; Ord. 1012 § 2 (Exh. C § 1810), 2004; Ord. 1074 § 1, 2009)
A. 
Where two exterior walls of the same or separate structures on the same lot, one or both of which contain a legally required window of a habitable room, are directly opposite one another, a court shall be provided between such walls with a minimum size as indicated below. A wall shall be deemed to be directly opposite another wall whenever a line drawn perpendicularly in a horizontal plane from the wall on the same story within 15 feet in either direction from the center of the legally required window, intersects the other wall. The required court shall be provided at and above the floor level of the first story containing the legally required window for not less than 15 feet in both directions from the centerline of the window. The required minimum size of the court shall be calculated on the basis of the height of the walls above floor level.
B. 
Where there is a legally required window of a habitable room in two directly opposite walls, the required dimension of the court between the walls shall be 150 percent of the average height of the two walls, provided that the maximum separation shall not exceed 60 feet. Where there is a legally required window of a habitable room in one of two directly opposite walls, the required size of the court between the walls shall be the height of the wall without the legally required window, with a minimum distance of 12 feet and a maximum distance of 40 feet.
(Ord. 950 § 2 (Exh. A § 1815), 1998)