For the purpose of this title, certain words and terms used herein, or which may be hereafter used, are defined as set forth in this chapter.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
A. 
Words used in the present tense include the future.
B. 
Words in the singular number include the plural, and words in the plural include the singular.
C. 
The words "shall" or "must" identify a mandatory, not directory or permissive, element that is required to be followed.
D. 
"Should" identifies guidance provided by ordinance, based on policy considerations. Future city councils and the planning commission are advised to follow this guidance in the absence of compelling, countervailing considerations.
E. 
"May" identifies a permissive element that is left fully to the discretion of the city.
F. 
The following words or terms, when applied in this title, shall carry full force when used interchangeably:
1. 
Lot, plot, parcel, or premises;
2. 
Used, arranged, constructed, converted, designed, leased, intended (to be used), maintained, occupied, or rented;
3. 
Sold or dispensed, construct, reconstruct, erect, alter (structurally or otherwise), but not the term maintenance;
4. 
Building or structure.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Access"
means the place or way by which pedestrians and/or vehicles have usable ingress and egress to a property or use.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Accessory use"
means a subordinate use of a building, other structure, or use of land that is:
A. 
Clearly incidental to the use of the main building, other structure, or use of land; and
B. 
Customary in connection with the main building, other structure, or use of land; and
C. 
Located on the same zoned lot with the main building, other structure, or use of land.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Adult bookstore"
means an establishment having as a substantial or significant portion of its stock in trade, books, magazines, and other periodicals that are substantially devoted to the depiction of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Adult entertainment activity"
means any activity that is conducted exclusively for the patronage of persons who are 18 years of age or older and from which persons 17 years of age or younger are specifically excluded and includes, but is not limited to, such businesses as adult bookstores, adult motion picture theaters, adult entertainment, and adult entertainment in cabarets.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Adult motion picture theater"
means an enclosed building used for presenting material in the form of motion picture film, videotape, or other similar means that is substantially devoted to the depiction of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas for observation by persons therein.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Agriculture"
means the commercial production of field, row, or tree crops, but not including livestock other than those kept for the use of the family occupying the site.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Alley"
means a public or private way not more than 25 feet wide that affords only secondary access to abutting property.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Apartment"
means a suite of rooms within a building arranged, designed, or used for residential purposes for one family, and containing independent sanitary and cooking facilities. The presence of cooking facilities conclusively establishes the intent to use for residential purposes. Each apartment shall be considered a dwelling unit.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Artist"
means one who practices the fine arts, which shall be limited to painting, drawing, sculpture, poetry, music, dancing, and dramatic art. This is not deemed to include the business of teaching one or more of the arts.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Minor auto repairs"
means the adjustment or replacement of parts, tires, brakes, headlights, and the like, and the tuning of engines. It shall not include complete engine overhaul or rebuilding, body and frame repairs, or painting.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"General automotive services"
means establishments for the sale or rental of new and used cars, trucks, and trailers; gasoline service stations; automobile and truck repair garages, body, fender and paint shops; tire shops and tire recapping plants; stores for the sale of new auto parts supplies and accessories; and any other establishment of a similar nature, but not including auto wrecking or the storage or sale of used parts.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Automobile service station"
means a place of business having pumps and/or storage tanks from which liquid fuel and/or lubricants are dispensed at retail directly into the motor vehicle. Sales and installation of auto accessories, washing, polishing, inspections, and cleaning, but not steam cleaning, may be carried on incidental to the sale of such fuel and lubricants.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Bar"
means an establishment the main use of which is to serve spirituous liquors to be consumed on the premises. Food may or may not be served. Usually, a counter and stools are present.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Block face"
means that property abutting one side of a street and lying between the two nearest intersecting streets, or nearest intersecting street and railroad right-of-way, unsubdivided acreage, waterways, but not an alley of such size as to interrupt the continuity of development of both sides thereof.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Boardinghouse"
means a dwelling in which there is no more than one dwelling unit and more than two but not exceeding five rooming units or guest rooms. Meals may or may not be provided to the occupants thereof. A boardinghouse shall not include homes for persons not members of the family requiring professional or semiprofessional care by reason of physical or mental infirmity or disease or by reason of age.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Building"
means any structure, or part thereof, having a roof supported by columns or walls, for the housing or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels, or property.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Cabaret"
means an establishment serving alcoholic beverages under the following classes: Class I, No entertainment; Class II, Jukebox, no dancing; Class III, Jukebox, dancing; Class IV, Live entertainment, no dancing; and Class V, Live entertainment with dancing.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Carport"
means a covered area open on one or more sides for the storage of passenger vehicles, boats, or trailers.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Commissary"
means a food facility approved by the Humboldt County Health and Human Services Department, Division of Environmental Health, that services mobile food vehicles where any of the following occur: (A) food, containers or supplies are stored, (B) food is prepared or prepackaged for sale or service at other locations, (C) utensils are cleaned, and/or (D) liquid and solid wastes are disposed of or (E) potable water is obtained.
(Ord. 2011-693 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Community care facility"
means all the use types defined in state law as community care facilities (currently at California Health and Safety Code, Chapter 3, commencing with Section 1500) and refers to any facility, place, or building which is maintained and operated to provide nonmedical residential care, day care, or home finding agency services for children, adults, or children and adults, including but not limited to the physically handicapped, mentally impaired, incompetent persons and abused or neglected children. Community care facilities providing these services for six or fewer individuals shall be considered a residential use of the property for the purposes of zoning. (See also "Child care facility" and "Sheltered care home.")
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A); Ord. 2012-698 § 1 (Exh. A))
"Coverage"
means the percent of the total site area covered by structures, open or enclosed, excluding uncovered steps, plazas, patios, and terraces. The area covered by a structure shall be the area under the solid roof of the structure.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"District"
means a portion of the city within which the use of land and structures and the location, height, and bulk of structures are governed by this title; same as "zone."
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Driveway"
means a private road, the use of which is limited to persons residing, employed, or otherwise using or visiting the parcel on which it is located.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Dwelling"
means any building or portion thereof designed or used exclusively as the residence of one or more persons, but not including a tent or recreation vehicle.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Mobile home dwelling"
means a moveable or portable dwelling over 32 feet in length or over eight feet wide, constructed to be towed on its chassis and designed to be installed, with or without permanent foundation, for occupancy as a residence. A mobile home may include one or more components that can be retracted for towing and subsequently expanded for additional capacity, or two or more units separately towable but designed to be joined into one integral unit, as well as a portable dwelling composed of a single unit. A mobile home does not include "recreational vehicle" as defined in this chapter.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Second residential dwelling"
means a second single-family dwelling constructed or installed prior to January 1, 2017, and that has not been permitted as an accessory dwelling unit, and is located or placed on a parcel of land in the residential estates or residential single-family zoning districts.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A); Ord. 2026-782 (Exh. A))
"Family"
means one or more persons sharing a dwelling unit whether or not related by blood, marriage, or adoption.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A); Ord. 2025-779 (Exh. A))
"Financial institution"
means an establishment or office offering financial service or counsel and includes banks, savings and loan institutions, stockbrokers' offices, bonding companies, finance company offices, and any other institution of a similar nature.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Floor area"
means the total of the gross horizontal area of all floors, including usable basements and cellars, below the roof and within the outer surfaces of the exterior walls of principal or accessory buildings.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Foster home"
means a home maintained by an individual or individuals having the care of or control of one or more but not more than four minor children, other than those related to each other by blood or marriage, or related to such individuals, or who are legal wards of such individuals.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Frontage"
means that portion of a parcel fronting on a public right-of-way, to include alleys and adjoining common use parking lots.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Home occupation"
means an accessory use of a nonresidential nature that is performed on the premises and involves the conduct of an art or profession, the offering of a service, the conduct of a business, or the handcraft manufacture of products within a dwelling or residential accessory structure and is clearly incidental and secondary to the residential use of the parcel.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Hospital"
means an institution in which patients are given medical or surgical care and which is licensed by the state to use the title "hospital" without qualifying descriptive words.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Hotel"
means any building or portion thereof containing living quarters or dwelling units without kitchen facilities and designed for or intended to be used by six or more transient guests; but not including motels, mobile home parks, boardinghouses, dormitories, or labor camps.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Junkyard"
means the use of a lot or portion thereof for the storage, keeping, or abandonment of junk, dismantled automobiles, or other vehicles, or machinery or parts thereof, including scrap metal, rags, or other scrap materials.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Kennel"
means any lot or premises on which five or more dogs or small animals of at least four months of age are kept.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Kitchen"
means any room or part of a room that is designed, built, used, or intended to be used for food preparation and dishwashing; but not including a bar, butler's pantry, or similar room adjacent to or connected with a kitchen.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Livestock"
includes all animals, poultry, bees, and aquatic and amphibian species that are raised, kept, or used for profit. It does not include those species that are usually kept as pets, such as dogs, cats, and pet birds.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Lot"
means a parcel of land, within a single block, that, by reason of ownership, recording, or use, is separate and distinct from other such parcels, and has frontage on a public street or an approved private street.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Gross lot area"
means net lot area, and the area of any adjoining and appurtenant half-street or half-alley dedicated or irrevocably offered to the public for right-of-way purposes.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Net lot area"
means the total horizontal area included within lot lines, but excluding any portion of such area which has been dedicated or irrevocably offered for public right-of-way purposes, or pedestrian, equestrian and bicycle easements.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Front lot line"
means, in the case of an interior lot, the line separating the lot from the street right-of-way; in the case of a corner lot, the shorter street frontage shall be the front lot line.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Lot width"
means the horizontal distance between the side lot lines measured at right angles to the depth of the lot of the front yard setback line.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Mobile food vending vehicle"
means any vehicle as defined in Section 670 of the California Vehicle Code which is equipped and used for retail sales of prepared, prepackaged or unprepared, unpackaged food or food stuffs of any kind that parks for more than 10 minutes daily but less than four hours, on more than 14 days in one calendar year at one or more locations within the city. For the purposes of this section, a "mobile food vending vehicle" shall also include any trailer or wagon equipped and used as described in this paragraph and pulled by a vehicle. See also FMC § 17.08.483, Stationary food vending vehicle.
(Ord. 2011-693 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Mobile home park"
means any lot, tract, or parcel of land licensed and used or offered for use, in whole or in part, with or without charge, for the parking of occupied mobile homes and travel trailers subject to a use permit and used solely for living and/or sleeping purposes. Travel trailers shall not occupy more than 15 percent of the spaces of the total mobile home park. See FMC § 17.06.123.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Motel"
means a building or group of buildings comprising individual sleeping quarters or dwelling units for the accommodation of transient guests that is so designed that parking is on the same building site and is conveniently accessible from the living units. This definition includes auto courts, tourist courts, and motor hotels, but does not include hotels.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Nursing home"
means a facility other than a hospital in which continuing nursing care on a 24-hour basis by a graduate nurse licensed in California or other nursing personnel meeting standards adopted by the state is provided, and in which medical services are prescribed or performed under the direction of a physician or surgeon licensed to practice in California for two or more unrelated persons who are not acutely ill and not in need of hospital care.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Person"
means an individual, organization, partnership, corporation, city, county, district, or the state or any department or agency thereof.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Projection"
means the distance that a sign, sign structure, or structural components of a sign extends over public property or beyond the building lines.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Recreational vehicle"
means a trailer or passenger vehicle 32 feet or less in length and eight feet or less in width, primarily designed as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, or travel use, which either has its own motive power or is mounted on or drawn by another vehicle.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Restaurant"
means an establishment where the principal business is the sale of food and beverages in a ready-to-consume state, including the retail sale of alcoholic liquor or malt beverages, for consumption on the premises.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Setback line"
means a line established by this title or by separate ordinance to govern the placement of buildings or structures with respect to lot lines, streets, or alleys.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Sheltered care home"
means a facility other than a hospital or nursing home for two or more unrelated persons who are not acutely ill, which renders personal care and assistance with meals, dressing, medications prescribed by a physician or surgeon licensed in California, and other personal assistance of a similar type and includes homes for the aged and infirm who do not need skilled nursing care.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Shopping center"
means a unified commercial development on a minimum site of two acres occupied by a group of five or more separate businesses occupying substantially separate divisions of a building or buildings fronting on a privately owned common mall or parking lot, rather than on a public street.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Sign"
means every sign, billboard, freestanding sign, portable freestanding sign, wall sign, roof sign, illuminated sign, painted sign, projecting sign, temporary sign, sandwich sign, and street clock and includes any announcement, declaration, demonstration, display, illustration, or insignia used to advertise or promote the interest of any person that is placed so that it is clearly visible to the general public from an out-of-doors position.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Sign area"
means the area of letters or symbols plus the area of the background panel on which the grouping of letters or symbols is painted or mounted. "Sign area" does not include the area of the supporting structure of said background panel. All readable surfaces of a sign shall be counted in calculating its area, with the exception of double-facing signs. Only one side of double-facing signs shall be counted.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Site"
means the parcel, lot, or group of contiguous parcels functioning as the location of a specific land use.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Space"
means a designated location for placement of a mobile home or recreational vehicle in a mobile home or recreational vehicle park.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Stationary food vending vehicle"
means any vehicle as defined in Section 670 of the California Code, which is equipped and used for retail sales of prepared, prepackaged or unprepared, unpackaged food or food stuffs of any kind that parks for more than four hours in any 24-hour period at any one location within the city. For the purposes of this section, a "stationary food vending vehicle" shall also include any trailer or wagon equipped and used as described in this paragraph and pulled by a vehicle. See also FMC § 17.08.373, Mobile food vending vehicle.
(Ord. 2011-693 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Story"
means that portion of a building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the next floor above it; or, if there is no floor above it, then the space between the floor and the ceiling next above it. A basement, the ceiling of which is less than four feet six inches above the grade level, shall not be considered a story. A mezzanine floor shall be considered a story if it exceeds 33 and one-third percent of the area of the floor next below it.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Street"
means a dedicated public passageway that affords a principal means of access to abutting property.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Structure"
means anything constructed, the use of which requires permanent location on the ground. This does not include driveways, parking spaces, or patios where the area is unobstructed from the ground up.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Supportive housing"
means housing with no limit on length of stay, that is occupied by the target population and that is linked to on-site or off-site services that assist the supportive housing resident 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, pursuant to Government Code Section 65582(n). Supportive housing is a residential use that is permitted in the same manner as other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone, and subject only to the same regulations and procedures that apply to other residential uses of the same type in the same zone pursuant to Government Code Section 65583(c)(3).
(Ord. 2012-698 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 2025-779 (Exh. A))
"Target population"
means persons with low income, persons who have one or more disabilities, including mental illness, HIV or AIDS, substance abuse, or chronic health conditions, or individuals eligible for services provided pursuant to the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act (Division 4.5 (commencing with Section 4500) of the Welfare and Institutions Code) and may include, among other populations, adults, emancipated minors, families with children, elderly persons, young adults aging out of the foster care system, individuals exiting from institutional settings, veterans, and homeless people pursuant to Government Code Section 65582(p).
(Ord. 2025-779 (Exh. A))
"Transitional housing"
means a building or buildings configured as rental housing developments, but operated under program requirements that call for the termination of assistance and recirculation of the assisted unit to another eligible program recipient at some predetermined future point in time that shall be no less than six months from the beginning of the assistance pursuant to Government Code Section 65582(q). Transitional housing is a residential use that is permitted in the same manner as other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone, and subject only to the same regulations and procedures that apply to other residential uses of the same type in the same zone pursuant to Government Code Section 65583(c)(3).
(Ord. 2012-698 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 2025-779 (Exh. A))
"Usable open space"
means the aggregate area of unobstructed space, subject to the requirements of the district in which the use is located, which is devoted to play areas, yards, courts, patios, balconies, roof terraces, or such other recreational or leisure areas as may be provided within a lot or planned area development. Usable open space shall not include area devoted to vehicular circulation, off-street parking, pedestrian sidewalks, storage, or space devoted exclusively to ornamental landscaping.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Use"
means the purpose for which either land or a structure thereon is designed, arranged, or intended, or for which it is or may be occupied or maintained.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Warehouse"
means an establishment for the storage of materials, equipment, or products within a building for manufacturing use or for distribution to wholesalers or retailers, as well as activities involving significant movement and storage of products or equipment. Typical uses include major mail distribution centers, frozen food lockers, and moving and storage firms, but excluding self-service storage warehouses for household items.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Yard"
means an open space other than a court on the same site with a building, which open space is unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward, except for landscaping or as specified elsewhere in this title; but not including any portion of any street, alley, or road right-of-way, except as specified elsewhere in this title.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Front yard"
means a yard of uniform depth extending across the full width of the lot between the front lot line and the nearest vertical support or wall of the main building, or enclosure or covered porch attached thereto. The front yard of a corner lot is the yard adjoining the shorter street frontage. On a through lot that fronts on two streets separated by the lot, front yards shall be maintained on both frontages.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Rear yard"
means a yard of uniform depth extending across the full width of the lot between the rear lot line and the nearest vertical support or wall of the main building or enclosure or covered porch attached thereto, except that the rear yard of a corner lot extends only to the side yard adjacent to the street.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Side yard"
means a yard on each side of the main building extending from the front yard to the rear yard, the width of each yard being measured between the side line of the lot and the nearest vertical support or main wall of each building or enclosure or porch attached thereto. A side yard on the street side of a corner lot shall extend from the front yard to the rear lot line.
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))
"Zone"
means a portion of the territory of the city within which certain uniform regulations and requirements or various combinations thereof apply under the provisions of this title. The word "zone" includes the word "district."
(Ord. 2011-692 § 2 (Exh. A))