5.1 Purpose and Applicability

5.1.1 Purpose
The regulations in these Development Standards are intended to implement the development of Santa Paula’s Specific Plan Zone SP-3 (East Area 1) in a manner that successfully creates neighborhoods with pedestrian-oriented streets, a wide variety of housing types and an economically vital mixed-use area, and achieves the related goals and objectives identified in Section 2 of this Specific Plan (Form and Character).

This graphically oriented form-based Development Standards describe the required urban and architectural design patterns, while also regulating the uses of the buildings and lots within the Plan area. The Development Standards specify the allowed residential densities and intensity of the development that may be achieved under the Specific Plan. It also describes and regulates the design of the public space network that provides the framework and infrastructure for the East Area 1, focusing on a circulation network that balances the use of all travel modes, including automobiles, pedestrians, bicycles and transit. The Development Standards are intended to complement the Santa Paula Municipal Code (SPMC).

5.1.2 Applicability of Development Standards

A. Applicability.
The requirements of these Development Standards apply to all proposed development, subdivisions, and land uses within the East Area 1 Specific Plan area.

B. Relationship of the Specific Plan’s regulations to zoning and other local ordinances.
Unless otherwise provided in the SPMC, this Specific Plan applies to all portions of the East Area 1 Specific Plan Area. In the event of a conflict between the SPMC and this Specific Plan, the more specific regulation takes precedence over the more general. The Planning Director is authorized to provide administrative determinations regarding the Specific Plan. Such administrative determinations must be in writing and may be appealed in accord with the SPMC.

This Specific Plan provides the entire zoning for East Area 1. The entire property is zoned “SP-3-East Area 1”, and the applicable zoning regulations for East Area 1 are those set forth in this Section 5 of the Specific Plan.

5.1.3 Definitions
This Section provides definitions of terms and phrases used in these Development Standards that are technical or specialized, or that may not reflect common usage. If a definition in this Section conflicts with a definition in another provision of the SPMC, these definitions control for the purposes of these Development Standards. If a word or phrase used in these Development Standards is not defined in this Section, or in the SPMC, the Director can determine the correct definition, giving deference to common usage.

As used in these Development Standards, the following terms and phrases have the meaning ascribed to them, unless the context in which they are used clearly requires otherwise.

Adverse Impact: The negative consequences of the use of a building on adjacent lots, usually as a result of noise, vibration, odor, pollution, or socioeconomic disruption.

Arcade: A series of arches - curved or square - linked together, supported by columns on the outer side, and covering the pedestrian way at a building Frontage. As distinct from a Gallery (see below) an Arcade generally supports habitable interior space at the upper floors, whereas galleries support roofs or open Porches.

Building Type: The structure defined by the combination of configuration, disposition and function.

Build-to Line: A line appearing graphically on the regulating plan or stated as a setback dimension, along which a building facade must be placed.

Carriage Unit: A Carriage unit is an auxiliary housing unit located above or adjacent to the garage of the primary housing unit on the lot, with the front door and access directed towards an alley. A carriage unit constitutes a residential second unit in compliance with the Government Code Section 65852.2 and, as provided by the Government Code, is not included in the maximum density limitations established by this specific plan. Carriage units must be between 375 square feet and 500 square feet in floor area, and be provided with an off-street parking space.

Dooryard: A yard between the street and a building, raised at least 18 inches above the grade of the sidewalk adjacent, or bounded by a garden wall, between 18 inches and 36 inches in height built on the frontage line(s). See Section 5.5 (Frontage Types).

Facade: The vertical surface of a building that is set parallel to a Frontage Line and facing a street. (Building walls containing garage doors are not classified as Facades, and may not be located on lots where Facades are permitted and/or required by these regulations.)

Frontage Line: The property lines of a lot fronting a street or other public way, or a park, green or paseo.

Front Porch: A roofed structure, that is not enclosed, attached to the facade of a building.

Frontage Type: See Section 5.5 (Frontage Type Standards).

Gallery: A roofed promenade extending along the facade of a building and supported by columns on the outer side.

Health/Athletic Club: A fitness center, gymnasium, health and athletic club, which may include any of the following:

exercise machines, weight facilities, group exercise rooms, sauna, spa or hot tub facilities; indoor tennis, handball, racquetball, archery and shooting ranges and other indoor sports activities, indoor or outdoor pools.

Indoor Recreation Center: An establishment providing indoor amusement and entertainment services for a fee or admission charge, including:

bowling alleys, coin-operated amusement arcades, electronic game arcades (video games, pinball, etc.), ice skating and roller skating, pool and billiard rooms as primary uses.

Four or more electronic games or amusement devices (e.g., pool or billiard tables, pinball machines, etc.) in any establishment, or a premises where 50 percent or more of the floor area is occupied by electronic games or amusement devices, are considered a commercial recreation facility; three or fewer machines or devices are not considered a land use separate from the primary use of the site.

Live-Work or Work-Live Unit: An integrated dwelling unit and working space, occupied and utilized by a single household in a structure that has been designed or structurally modified to accommodate joint residential occupancy and work activity, and which includes:

1. Complete kitchen space and sanitary facilities in compliance with the SPMC; and
2. Working space reserved for and regularly used by one or more occupants of the unit.

The difference between live-work and work-live units is that the “work” component of a live-work unit is secondary to its residential use, and may include only commercial activities and pursuits that are compatible with the character of a quiet residential environment; while the work component of a work-live unit is the primary use, to which the residential component is secondary.

Master Developer: The master developer controls or owns the site, is responsible for managing the development and disposition of the property from initiation and design of the master plan or specific plan that guides development for the entire site to final buildout, obtains financing and approvals, oversees site preparation and infrastructure development, controls and contracts for of the phased implementation of the plan by specialized builder(s) /developer(s) with experience in each product type required to complete the approved plan. The Master Developer may or may not be involved in the construction of buildings, but performs design review to insure quality control of proposals by specialized builder(s)/developer(s) implementing the Master Plan or Specific Plan.

Mixed use: Multiple functions within the same building or the same general area through superimposition or within the same area through adjacency.

Neighborhood Builder / Developer: Someone who contracts with the Master Developer to build or develop a specific Neighborhood or portion of a Neighborhood contained in the Master Plan or Specific Plan.

Net Floor Area: The enclosed area of a building, excluding unglazed porches, arcades and balconies.

Parking Determination: The Planning Director makes a Parking Determination to identify the number and location of required Parking Spaces in compliance with the requirements of the Development Standards. Parking Determinations are required before issuing a Live-Work License, and for projects located in the Civic/Institutional Zone.

Parking District: An area where parking has rules and restrictions that are commonly managed by an entity.

Parking Spaces: Parking Spaces must be a minimum of 9 feet x 19 feet, except that in off-street parking lots of more than 10 spaces, up to 20 percent of the spaces may be a minimum of 8 feet x 16 feet. The parking requirement may be accommodated on the lot and on the street on the corresponding frontage, or on another site by way of a shared parking proposal approved by the Director. Pairs of on-site parking spaces for use by employees of a single business, or for use by residents of a single dwelling unit, may be provided in tandem configuration (one behind the other) when approved by the Director.

Paseo: A pedestrian alley. Paseos are located and designed to reduce the required walking distance within a neighborhood.

Personal Service: Establishments that provide non-medical services to individuals as a primary use. Examples of these uses include:

barber and beauty shops, clothing rental, dry cleaning pick-up stores with limited equipment, home electronics and small appliance repair, laundromats (self-service laundries), locksmiths, massage as permitted by the SPMC, nail salons, pet grooming with no boarding, shoe repair shops, tailors, tanning salons.

These uses may also include accessory retail sales of products related to the services provided.

Primary Building: A building that accommodates the primary use of the site.

Residential: Premises used primarily for human habitation. Units cannot be less than 375 square feet in net area.

Restaurant: A retail business selling ready-to-eat food and/or beverages for on- or off-premise consumption. These include eating establishments where customers are served from a walk-up ordering counter for either on- or off-premise consumption (“counter service”); and establishments where customers are served food at their tables for on-premise consumption (“table service”), that may also provide food for take-out, but does not include drive-through services, which are separately defined and regulated.

Rowhouse: A building with two or more single-family dwellings located side by side, with common walls on the side lot lines, the facades reading in a continuous plane.

Secondary Building: A building that accommodates the secondary use of the site.

Setback: The mandatory distance between a property line and a building or appurtenance. This area must be left free of structures that are higher than 3 feet, except as noted in Section 5.4 (Urban Standards).

Shopfront: The portion of a building at the ground floor that is made available for retail or other commercial use. Shopfronts must be directly accessible from the sidewalk, with no intervening step. See Section 5.7 (Architectural Standards).

Smart Growth: A planning and development theory that promotes town-centered and pedestrian oriented development patterns as alternative to suburban “sprawl”. Smart Growth principles include: range of housing choices; walkable neighborhoods; strong sense of place; predictable and fair development decisions; mix of land uses; preserved open space and natural beauty; variety of transportation choices; compact building design.

Storefront (or storefront infill assembly): The portion of a Shopfront that is composed of the display window and/or entrance and its components including windows, doors, transoms and sill pane that is inserted into the Shopfront. It does not include the wall and piers that are a part of the Shopfront Facade, in which the display window assembly is set. See Section 5.7 (Architectural Standards).

Story: A habitable floor level within a building, typically 8’ to 12’ high from floor to ceiling. Individual spaces, such as lobbies and foyers may exceed one story in height. In Shopfront spaces, the ceiling height of the first story may be as high as 16’.

Studio - Art, Dance, Martial Arts, Music, etc: Small scale facilities, typically accommodating no more than two groups of students at a time, in no more than two instructional spaces. Larger facilities are included under the definition of “Schools - Specialized Education and Training.” Examples of these facilities include:

individual and group instruction and training in the arts; production rehearsal; photography, and the processing of photographs produced only by users of the studio facilities; martial arts training studios; gymnastics instruction, and aerobics and gymnastics studios with no other fitness facilities or equipment.

Also includes production studios for individual musicians, painters, sculptors, photographers, and other artists.

Sustainable Development: Development that balances the fulfillment of human needs with the protection of the natural environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but in the indefinite future. The way communities are planned and laid out is fundamental to sustainability. Community sustainability requires a transition from poorly-managed sprawl to land use planning practices that create and maintain efficient infrastructure, ensure close-knit neighborhoods and sense of community, and preserve natural systems. Key planning principles of sustainable land use planning include: design comprehensive, mixed-use neighborhoods instead of isolated pods, subdivisions and developments; make neighborhoods as pedestrian-friendly and as bicycle friendly as possible; create mass transit systems to link neighborhoods, employment centers and other “nodes”; create communities that contain the full range of development densities and land-uses; avoid large tracts with the same density or land-use.

Tower: A portion of a building that is at least one story higher than the rest of the building. Its massing must have vertical proportions, i.e. its height to the eave must be greater than any of its horizontal exterior dimensions. The purpose of a tower is generally to access a view which is distant or otherwise blocked.

Traditional Neighborhood Design: A development pattern that reflects the characteristics of small, older communities of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Traditional Neighborhood Design is characterized by neighborhoods with a discernible center located within a 5-minute walk from most residences. Each neighborhood provides a variety of dwelling types and land uses, interconnected network of narrow, walkable streets, neighborhood parks, and a distinct sense of place.