Redwood City
Zoning districts
8 districts, grouped by category.
Mixed use
3Residential
5R-1 Residential—Single-Family
- Min lot
- 6,000 sq ft
- Max height
- 28 ft
- Front setback
- 15 ft
- Permitted uses
- 2
R-2 Residential—Duplex District
- Min lot
- 5,000 sq ft
- Max height
- 28 ft
- Front setback
- 35 ft
- Permitted uses
- 5
Multi-Family—Low Density District
- Min lot
- 5,000 sq ft
- Max height
- 35 ft
- Front setback
- 35 ft
- Permitted uses
- 10
Multi-Family—Medium Density District
- Min lot
- 5,000 sq ft
- Max height
- 28 ft
- Front setback
- 15 ft
- Permitted uses
- 5
Multi-Family—High Density District
- Min lot
- 5,000 sq ft
- Max height
- 100 ft
- Front setback
- 20 ft
- Permitted uses
- 12
General provisions
189 rules that bind every district rather than one — sign regulations, parking, floodplain and the rest of the code’s citywide chapters.
The addition of a combining district designation with any zoning district... shall not operate to reduce or eliminate any requirements established by the basic district with which the combining district is added unless expressly provided otherwise by this ordinance.
The letter 'T' may be added as a suffix to any district designation... subject to first securing a use permit therefore: A. Motels and mobile home parks; B. Nursing homes and hospitals; C. Clubs, lodges, and fraternities.
The letter 'O' may be added as a suffix to any R-4 or R-5 District designation... subject to first securing a use permit therefor: A. Professional offices; B. Medical or dental offices and laboratories...
The letter 'V' may be added as a suffix to any CG, CP, IR, or IP District designation... subject to first securing a use permit therefor: A. Franchised automobile dealer sales and service establishments...
The letter 'W' may be added as a suffix to any TP District designation... all those permitted uses and conditional uses of the district in the immediately adjacent, differently-zoned property on the landward side of the TP-W District may be permitted within the district subject to first securing a planned development permit therefor.
The letter 'R' may be used as a suffix to any zoning district which allows for residential uses or has been designated for a 'mixed use'... The R Combining District allows residential uses consistent with the requirements of the R-5 Zoning District.
In addition to the permitted uses of the underlying district, emergency shelters shall be permitted in the Emergency Shelter combining district. ... An emergency shelter shall contain a maximum of fifty (50) beds ... No more than one (1) emergency shelter shall be permitted within a radius of three hundred (300) feet of another such facility ...
The requirements of this Article 29 apply to new nonresidential development projects and residential development projects as set forth below.
Ten percent (10%) of the proposed units in a rental residential development project shall be affordable to moderate income households, five percent (5%) ... low income ... five percent (5%) ... very low income.
The housing impact fee shall not apply to developers of residential development projects consisting of four (4) or fewer dwelling units; ... accessory dwellings created under Article 37.
All affordable units required by this Article shall be comparable to the overall quality of construction to market-rate units in the same housing development.
Projects that demolish existing residential dwellings must create at least as many dwellings as demolished consistent with Government Code Section 66300 (Housing Crisis Act of 2019).
Any structure originally designed for use as a dwelling or dwellings, in any district, shall not be used for a non-residential use unless the owner first obtains a use permit for the proposed use.
Home occupations are permitted by right in a legal dwelling unit in any zoning district with the following requirements: 1. All business activity occurring at the residence is conducted entirely within a dwelling and is carried on exclusively by the inhabitants. 2. The use does not change the character of the dwelling or adversely affect the uses permitted in the residential district. 3. The use creates no significant additional traffic and requires no additional parking spaces. 4. For all business activity occurring at the residence, no persons are employed other than that necessary for domestic purposes. Employees for off-site business activities shall not assemble at the dwelling. 5. All storage and display of goods, equipment, or material that serves the home occupation is enclosed within a building. 6. The entrance to the space devoted to such use is from within the building, and no internal or external alterations or construction features not customarily used in dwellings is involved.
Prohibited Uses: 1. On-site vehicle repair; 2. Sexually-oriented businesses; 3. Animal-related uses; 4. Firearm and ammunition retail sale use; 5. Any use deemed by the Zoning Administrator to not be incidental to the residential use of the dwelling unit.
It shall be unlawful for any person to occupy or use any trailer for living or sleeping purposes unless such trailer is either located in a trailer park or is being used as an office for a construction project, a circus, or carnival, while such activities are being conducted. ... No trailer or mobile home, regardless of size or type, shall be parked in a public right-of-way or parked so that it takes up or blocks a required automobile parking space or loading space for more than forty-eight (48) hours.
Accessory outdoor uses are permitted with the following requirements: 1. Hours of Operation: Hours of operation for outdoor services shall not exceed the normal hours of operation of the business. 2. Outdoor Dining and Bars: Outdoor dining shall be available only for existing restaurants that are current tenants of the shopping center or commercial building. 3. Location: Accessory outdoor uses may be located on sidewalks or patio areas, or in parking areas with up to thirty percent (30%) of the total non-accessible spaces. These uses must be contiguous to the commercial structure or walkways immediately adjacent to the commercial structure. Landlords may designate an alternative location for consolidated outdoor dining provided that all State and County requirements are met. Outdoor uses in parking areas must provide safety barriers such as fences, water-filled K-rails, or landscape planters. 4. Pedestrian and Bike Access: Outdoor service areas shall comply with Americans with Disabilities Act access requirements. A minimum six-foot wide path of travel shall be maintained along the building frontage and all pedestrian walkways, and a six-foot radius clearance shall be maintained from any doorway. A six-foot wide emergency egress path shall be maintained at, or between every frontage or occupied space, in fifty-foot intervals. 5. Access to Fire Safety Infrastructure: Access to fire hydrants, fire hose connections for sprinkler systems, and entrances and exits of all buildings shall not be obstructed at any time by barriers, seating, or displays. Fire lanes shall not be obstructed at any time. 6. Outdoor Fixtures: Furniture, umbrellas, heaters or other equipment shall be moveable and shall not be permanently installed outdoors. Portable heaters must be stored inside when the business is closed. Canopies, tents or other covered structures may require separate approval from the Fire Department. 7. Property Owner Authorization: The business owner or operator shall obtain written authorization from the property owner for the use of private sidewalks, parking areas, or other areas for outdoor services. Tenants in shopping centers with multiple commercial tenants shall work with the management or property owner to equitably allocate the available sidewalks, patios, and parking areas for all accessory outdoor uses. 8. Maintenance: The business owner or operator shall be responsible for maintaining the outdoor area in a clean and tidy manner.
Commercial storage of manures and topsoils shall be permitted in accordance with other sections of this ordinance, subject, in all cases, to first obtaining a use permit therefor, and not otherwise.
Salvage and wrecking yards, as defined in Article 2, are prohibited except where specifically permitted. It shall be unlawful to store or permit to be stored, or to continue to store or permit to be stored after the effective date of this section, junk or salvage materials, as described in Article 2, in any amount except within a completely enclosed building. This provision shall not include the normal storage of scrap materials incidental to a permitted or conditionally permitted use in an IR or GI District, provided the area coverage does not exceed five percent (5%) of the lot area, and provided, further, that such storage area is enclosed by a fence, or other screening device, subject to approval by the Architectural Committee.
The following temporary uses, activities, and structures are allowed subject to the issuance of a Temporary Use Permit in accordance with this Section: 1. Temporary real estate sales offices and model homes; 2. Seasonal sales lots, including Christmas tree lots, pumpkin patches, and similar seasonal sales; 3. Outdoor display and sale of merchandise, including sidewalk sales, parking lot sales, and similar events; provided, however, that the sale of firearms and ammunition is subject to Article 58 "Firearms and Ammunition Retail Sale Use" and are not subject to this Section; 4. Food truck vending; 5. Entertainment and assembly events, including carnivals, circuses, concerts, fairs, festivals, food events, haunted houses, outdoor entertainment/sporting events, and similar events designed to attract large crowds; 6. Structures and uses such as construction offices and storage sheds associated with the construction of a building or group of buildings that are located within one-quarter (¼) mile of a property if such property has an active Building Permit; and 7. Other temporary activities, uses, and structures that the Zoning Administrator determines are similar in nature and intensity to those identified above.
Source documents
The chapters of the adopted code that were retrieved, read and extracted from. Everything above traces back to one of these.
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