16.101 INTrODUCTOrY PrOVISIONS

TITLE 16: ZONING CODE

PART I GENERAL PROVISIONS

16.101 INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS

16.101.01 TITLE AND AUTHORITY

The provisions of Title 16 of the Municipal Code shall be known as the “Zoning Ordinance” of the City of Vallejo and cited herein as “the Zoning Code”. These regulations are adopted pursuant to the authority contained in Section 65850 of the California Government Code.

16.101.02 PURPOSE AND APPLICABILITY

The purpose of the Zoning Code shall be to serve the public health, safety and general welfare, to provide the advantages resulting from the implementation of the Vallejo General Plan, cited in the Zoning Code as ‘the General Plan”, and to achieve the following objectives:

A. To provide a precise guide for the physical development of the City in a manner that will progressively achieve the arrangement of land uses depicted in the General Plan, consistent with the goals and policies of the General Plan; B. To foster harmonious and workable relationships between different land uses to ensure compatible infill development consistent with the General Plan; C. To support economic development and job creation and provide for the housing needs of all economic segments of the community consistent with the Housing Element; D. To promote high quality architecture, landscaping and urban design that will conserve the City’s natural beauty, improve its appearance and enhance its physical character; E. To provide adequate open spaces for light and air; F. To facilitate the adequate provision and appropriate location of community facilities, institutions, parks, and recreational areas; G. To promote the stability of existing land uses that conform with the

General Plan, protecting them from adverse influences and harmful intrusions, and conserve and enhance the value of real property; and H. Promote responsible use and conservation of natural resources taking full account of present needs and interests without compromising the interests of future generations and other species.

SECTIONS

16.101 INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS ........................ 1 16.102 ESTABLISHMENT OF ZONING DISTRICTS ........ 4 16.103 RULES FOR LANGUAGE AND INTERPRETATION 6 16.104 RULES FOR MEASUREMENT .......................... 7 16.105 NON-CONFORMING USES .............................14

The Zoning Code shall apply, to the extent permitted by law, to all property within the corporate limits of the City of Vallejo and to property for which applications for annexation and/or subdivisions have been submitted to the City of Vallejo, including all uses, structures and land owned by any private person, firm, corporation or organization, or the City of Vallejo or other local, State or federal agencies. Any governmental agency shall be exempt from the provisions of the Zoning Code only to the extent that such property may not be lawfully regulated by the City of Vallejo.

I. Compliance with regulations. No land shall be used, and no structure shall be constructed, occupied, enlarged, altered, demolished or moved in any zoning district, except in accordance with the provisions of the Zoning Code. The lawful use or uses of all buildings, improvements and premises existing in any zoning district at the time of the adoption of and codified in the Zoning Code may be continued except as provided by the Zoning Code.

1. Conformity of open spaces. No yard, court or open space, or part thereof, shall be included as a part of the yard, court or open space similarly required for any other building, structure or dwelling under this Code. 2. Permitted uses. Any use that is not listed or enumerated in the Zoning Code is prohibited.

Unless specified in this Code no land use may be established within the City by right. All persons wishing to establish a use within the City must apply to the Director or his or her designee to ascertain if the proposed use is permitted and must apply for and receive approval for the proposed use as provided in the Zoning Code. 3. Permits. Any person desiring to operate, establish, expand, convert one use to another, or relocate any use shall file with the Planning Division an application for the appropriate permit on a standard application form supplied by the Planning Division. 4. Use justification. It is the burden of the applicant to supply evidence to justify the approval of the proposed use, as applicable.

J. Relation to other regulations. 1. General. The regulations of the Zoning Code and requirements or conditions imposed pursuant to the Zoning Code shall not supersede any other regulations or requirements adopted or imposed by the Vallejo City Council, the State of California, or any federal agency that has jurisdiction by law over uses and development authorized by the

Zoning Code. All uses and development authorized by the Zoning Code shall comply with all other such regulations and requirements. Where conflict occurs between the provisions of the Zoning Code and any other City ordinance, chapter, resolution, guideline or regulation, the more restrictive provisions shall control, unless otherwise specified. 2. Permit Streamlining Act. It is the intent of the

Zoning Code that all actions taken by the review authority and decision-making body pursuant to the Zoning Code that are solely adjudicatory in nature be within a time frame consistent with the provisions of Government Ordinance Section 65920 et seq. (the Permit Streamlining Act). Nothing in the Zoning Code shall be interpreted as imposing time limits on actions taken by the review authority and decision-making body pursuant to the Zoning

Code that are legislative in nature or that require both adjudicatory and legislative judgments. 3. Relation to private agreements. The Zoning

Code shall not interfere with or annul any recorded easement, covenant, or other agreement now in effect, provided that where the Zoning Code imposes greater restriction than imposed by an easement, covenant, or agreement, the Zoning Code shall control. 4. Relation to Prior Ordinance. The provisions of the Zoning Code supersede all prior Zoning

Ordinances codified in Title 16 of the Vallejo

Municipal Code and any amendments. No provision of the Zoning Code shall validate any land use or structure established, constructed or maintained in violation of the prior Zoning

Ordinance, unless such validation is specifically authorized by the Zoning Code and is in conformance with all other regulations. 5. Application During Local Emergency. The

City Council may authorize a temporary deviation from a provision of the Zoning Code during a local emergency declared and ratified under the Vallejo Municipal Code. The City

Council may authorize a temporary deviation by resolution without notice or public hearing.

K. Consistency with the General Plan. Any permit, license or approval issued pursuant to the Zoning

Code must be consistent with the General Plan and all applicable specific plans. In any case where there is a conflict between the Zoning Code and the General Plan, the General Plan shall prevail. L. Effect on previously approved projects and projects in progress. The following projects shall have a vested right to proceed without complying with the Zoning Code.

1. Projects with currently valid Building Permit.

Any building or structure for which a Building

Permit has been issued may be completed and used in accordance with the plans, specifications and permits on which said Building Permit was granted, provided that at least one inspection has been requested and posted for the primary structure on the site where the permit is issued and provided that construction is diligently pursued and completed within one year of permit issuance; 2. Previously approved Development Permit. The erection, construction, enlargement, demolition, moving, conversion of, and excavation and grading for any building or structure for which a valid

Development Permit is in effect. A Development

Permit that does not contain an express limit on the time for exercising the permit shall be deemed valid only if a Building Permit is obtained within one year of the date of adoption of the Zoning Code; and 3. Applications deemed complete. Any project for which an application was filed pursuant to Ordinance Number TBD and deemed complete in accordance with Ordinance Number

TBD prior to the adoption of the Zoning

Code will be reviewed under the prior Zoning

Code. Any application submitted after the adoption of this Zoning Code will be reviewed in compliance with this Zoning Code.

16.101.03 SEVERABILITY

If any chapter, section, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of the Zoning Code is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the Zoning Code. The Vallejo City Council hereby declares that it would have passed the Zoning Code, and each chapter, section, sentence, clause and phrase thereof, regardless of the fact that any or one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional.

16.101.04 FEES

The City Council shall by resolution establish, and from time to time, amend the Master Fee Schedule that includes fees for permits, appeals, amendments, and approvals required or permitted by the Zoning Code. Applications processed concurrently shall be subject to separate fees for each application filed unless specifically exempted by the City Council.

16.101.05 EFFECT ON PROJECTS IN PROGRESS

This Zoning Code or amendments to it may impose different standards on new land uses, structures, or improvements than those that formerly applied to existing development. The following provisions determine how the requirements of this Zoning Code apply to projects in progress at the time requirements are changed.

A. Projects with pending applications. Permit applications that have been filed and/or accepted as complete by the Planning Division before the effective date of the

Zoning Code or any amendment, will be processed according to the requirements in effect when the application was accepted as complete. Applications that have not been deemed complete within 90 days of the effective date of this Zoning Code or any amendments shall comply with the requirements of this Zoning Code. Applications for time extensions shall be consistent with the requirements in effect when the time extension application is requested. B. Approved projects not yet under construction.

Any approved development project for which construction has not begun as of the effective date of this Zoning Code or amendment, may still be constructed as approved, so long as required

Building Permits have been obtained before the expiration of any applicable permit issued pursuant to the Zoning Code, or, where applicable, before the expiration of any approved time extension granted under Chapter 16.602, Common Procedures. C. Approved projects not requiring construction.

Any approved land use not requiring construction that has not been established as of the effective date of the Zoning Code or amendment, may still be established in compliance with its approved permit, so long as establishment occurs before the expiration of the permit, or, where applicable, before the expiration of any approved time extension granted under Chapter 16.602, Common Procedures.