Chapter 18.60
SPECIAL USE REGULATIONS APPLICABLE TO CERTAIN
ZONING DISTRICTS
Sections:
18.60.020 Special permits required in industrial zoning districts.
18.60.030 Special permits required in other zoning districts.
18.60.040 Public utility and public service uses.
18.60.050 Electric power plants and water wells.
18.60.060 Temporary use of a mobile home.
18.60.070 Approval of development agreements pursuant to Chapter 17.10 SCCC.
18.60.010 Policy.
(a) To provide for encouragement of high-grade development within the city limits, the conversion of existing dwellings into commercial use or other than residential uses is prohibited unless a variance is approved.
(b) No section of this title is intended to preclude the installation, construction, use, or maintenance of public utility lines or underground utilities which comply with all other applicable Federal, State, County, or City laws and regulations. (Zoning Ord. § 30-1).
18.60.020 Special permits required in industrial zoning districts.
(a) Temporary use of trailer coaches for emergency working facilities for industrial and commercial purposes may be authorized by special permit from the City Manager or his/her designee for a period of up to two years while temporary activities or construction of necessary added facilities are under way. Extensions may be granted as deemed appropriate by the City Manager or his/her designee upon submittal of information providing sufficient justification for said extension.
(b) Temporary uses and structures not regulated by this title shall not be permitted unless a special permit is first approved by the City Manager or his/her designee. (Zoning Ord. § 30-2).
18.60.030 Special permits required in other zoning districts.
(a) Temporary use of trailer coaches for emergency working facilities for industrial and commercial purposes may be authorized by special permit from the City Council for a period of up to two years while temporary activities or construction of necessary added facilities are under way. Extensions may be granted as deemed appropriate by the City Council upon submittal of information providing sufficient justification for said extension.
(b) Temporary uses and structures not regulated by this title shall not be permitted unless a special permit is first approved by the City Council.
(c) To the extent not preempted by the laws of the State of California, (i) for those twenty-four (24)-hour care facilities providing the types of care identified in the California Community Care Facilities Act (Health and Safety Code Section 1500 et seq.), (ii) those facilities identified under the auspices of the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (California Health and Safety Code Section 11750 et seq.), and (iii) for all other facilities providing care and/or treatment in a residential or planned development zoning district, the City requires that a special permit first be obtained from the City Council after a hearing with public notice.
In order to grant such a special permit, the findings of the City Council shall be:
(1) The facility, under the circumstances of the particular case, is essential or desirable to the public convenience or welfare;
(2) The facility will not be detrimental to the health or safety of the persons residing in the neighborhood;
(3) The facility will not be detrimental to the property or improvements in the neighborhood;
(4) The facility will not impair the integrity or character of the zoning district; and
(5) The facility will not create a significant increase in the traffic to and from the premises or in the on-street parking within five hundred (500) feet.
Such a special permit shall be valid for a one-year period and, at applicant’s request and expense, shall be reviewed annually by the City Council based on the continuing validity of the required findings after a public hearing following notice given pursuant to the provisions of SCCC 18.112.060. (Zoning Ord. § 30-3).
18.60.040 Public utility and public service uses.
Public utility and public service uses as defined in Chapter 18.06 SCCC are permitted in the following zone districts:
(a) Residential, professional office, and planned development zoning districts if conducted entirely within a completely enclosed building, and only after first securing a use permit in each case as provided in Chapter 18.110 SCCC.
(b) General office, commercial, and light industrial zoning districts if conducted entirely within a completely enclosed building. (Zoning Ord. § 30-4).
18.60.050 Electric power plants and water wells.
(a) The construction or operation of electric power plants, or the drilling, construction, or operation of water wells, is permitted only in the MP, ML, MH, PD, or B zoning districts. Water wells and electric power plants (excluding fuel cells and photovoltaic panels) shall first secure a use permit in each case as provided in Chapter 18.110 SCCC.
(b) All power plants, except fuel cells, shall not exceed State of California emissions requirements. Emissions requirements can be met in whole or in part by purchasing renewable energy credits, or offsets that meet CARB requirements.
(c) For purposes of this section, “fuel cells” means all equipment, fixtures, and personal property operated or maintained in connection with a direct energy conversion device that converts chemical energy into electrical energy, or vice versa, using an electrochemical reaction.
(d) For purposes of this section, “State of California emissions requirements” shall mean the requirements applicable to retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers under Public Utilities Code Section 454.53, subdivision (a), and the interim targets established by the California Energy Commission (CEC) under Public Utilities Code Section 399.15, subdivision (b), pursuant to the Renewable Portfolios Standard (RPS) Program, as set forth below. Should these targets be amended by legislation or regulatory changes to be more stringent, the more stringent requirements shall be applicable under this section.
(1) Forty-four percent (44%) by December 31, 2024.
(2) Fifty-two percent (52%) by December 31, 2027.
(3) Sixty percent (60%) by December 31, 2030.
(4) Ninety percent (90%) by December 31, 2035.
(5) Ninety-five percent (95%) by December 31, 2040.
(6) One hundred percent (100%) by December 31, 2045. (Zoning Ord. § 30-5; Ord. 2061 § 1, 6-6-23).
18.60.060 Temporary use of a mobile home.
No mobile home, motor home, house car, trailer coach, travel trailer, camp car, van, bus, truck or other vehicle may be used as living or sleeping quarters in any place in the City outside of a lawfully operated mobile home park except as may be authorized under Chapter 2.140 SCCC or in SCCC 18.60.020 or 18.60.030. Under this section, with the consent of the owner of a residentially improved lot, any such vehicle or combination of them may be used on such residentially improved lot so long as the cumulative time the vehicle or vehicles are used for living or sleeping quarters does not exceed all or part of fourteen (14) days within any period of six consecutive months. (Zoning Ord. § 30-6).
18.60.070 Approval of development agreements pursuant to Chapter 17.10 SCCC.
Each City-approved development agreement approved in accordance with Chapter 17.10 SCCC, Article I, (Government Code Section 65864 et seq.), including any development control map and all notations, references, and regulations that are part thereof, all of which are on file for public inspection in the City of Santa Clara Planning and Inspection Department, are incorporated by reference into and made a part of this chapter. (Zoning Ord. § 30-7).