| Part 3 Chapter 8 - Required Improvements, Installation, and Maintenance | Part 4 - Chapter 2 Acronyms |
Accessory. Accessory uses and buildings are those customarily associated with and clearly subordinate to a permitted building or use. Common accessory uses, like a parking lot for a business, and buildings, like a detached garage for a home, raise few questions. Some potentially problematic accessory uses and buildings are specifically addressed here.
EXCEPTION: Day care centers shall be considered customarily accessory to any institutional, commercial, or industrial use that provides on-site day care for its employees.
Adjacent. Includes all lots or parcels that directly border the lot or parcel on which a development is proposed, and all lots or parcels separated from that lot or parcel by only a public or private easement or right-of-way.
Administrator. Refers to the county employee or contractor who is responsible for the administration of Part III. See II.D for the administrator's duties.
Agriculture. Includes the raising of fish, livestock, and crops, and the accessory uses customarily associated with those activities in NE Santa Cruz County. Accessory uses to agriculture specifically include farm or ranch dwellings and dwellings for farm or ranch employees, provided that all such dwellings remain in the same ownership as the agricultural land to which they are accessory. Agriculture does not include confined animal feeding operations,which are industrial uses.
Arterial. An arterial street or road connects a community with other communities or major activity centers. State Routes 82 and 83 are the arterials in NE Santa Cruz County.
BOA. Refers to the Santa Cruz County Board of Adjustment. See II.C for the board of adjustment's duties in the administration of Part III.
Board. Refers to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, the county's chief elected officials. See II.A for the board of adjustment's duties in the administration of Part III.
Buffer. A buffer is an area of native vegetation or landscaping that separates uses or separates uses from streams or wetlands. It is open to the sky, but may be crossed by roads, sidewalks, trails, and utility lines, as permitted in this ordinance.
Building. As used in this ordinance, refers to any object or structure constructed or installed by man, including, but not limited to, buildings, towers, smokestacks, earthworks, liquid storage tanks, fences, and overhead transmission lines.
Building Height. The vertical distance from mean natural grade to the highest point on a building. Building height excludes chimneys, vents, and antennae.
Building Bulk. For the purposes of this ordinance, building bulk will be measured and compared in terms of floor area ratio (floor area on all stories: lot size). Bulk and scale are independent considerations.
Building Scale. For the purposes of this ordinance, how a building compares with adjacent or neighboring buildings in terms of building height, shape, bulk, and volume.
Certificate of Compliance. A certificate of compliance is issued upon completion of a use or building and completion, inspection, and acceptance of any required improvements. See III.T.
Commercial. Any development that is not solely residential or industrial.
Commission. Refers to the Santa Cruz County Planning and Zoning Commission. See II.B for the commission's duties in the administration of this ordinance.
Compatible. Land uses need not be identical to be compatible, but must be sited, designed, constructed, and used in such a way that the normal functions and operation of neighboring uses do not seriously conflict, and so that their appearance is harmonious.
Confined Animal Feeding Operation. Any parcel of land devoted to the feeding of any kind of livestock on a commercial or "for fee" basis. This term does not include seasonal feeding of livestock raised on a ranch on that ranch.
Conflict of Interest. A conflict of interest occurs whenever the administrator or a member of the board, commission, or BOAs related to the developer or has the potential of financial gain if the proposed development is approved. For the purposes of this ordinance, Ôrelated' includes parents, children, grandparents and grandchildren, and siblings.
County. Refers to Santa Cruz County.
Crossroads Development Strategy. Refers to the Crossroads Development Strategy established in the Comprehensive Plan for NE Santa Cruz County.
Days. Includes working days only.
Day Care. Means less than 24-hour out of home care for people, whether that care is during daytime or nighttime hours. There are three kinds of day care facilities.
dBa. The measure of sound level in A-weighted decibels.
Degree of Nonconformity. The degree of nonconformity is the measured extent to which an existing building or use fails to comply with the standards of this ordinance. For example, the degree of nonconformity of a parking lot that has four spaces, but serves a use requiring nine, is five parking spaces. No change in the nonconforming building could be permitted that would reduce the number of parking spaces or increase the demand for parking, because that would increase the degree of nonconformity.
Development. Development is used as a generic term covering any and all activities for which a permit is required by this III.A-C of Part III. The developer is the owner of the parcel on which a development is proposed, or the owner of a recorded option on that parcel, but the owner may appoint a representative for all proceedings required by this ordinance. An approved development is any development for which a Class II permit has been approved, in full compliance with Part III.
Development Agreement. A development agreement permits the installation of required improvements in phases. See Part III, Chapter 8.
Disturbance. For the purposes of this ordinance, to clear, grub, grade, excavate, cut, or fill land in preparation for, or construction of, a development.
Education and Research Institutions. In the Grasslands Zoning District, includes public and private schools and private educational and research institutions. Institutional uses are subject to the same performance standards as commercial uses in the Crossroads Zoning District.
Effective Date. The day on which this ordinance became law. See I.J.
Ephemeral. The flow regime is ephemeral: flow only occurs during intense storms or under other runoff conditions. The channel is dry for the most part except under these extreme conditions. If subsurface flow is present, riparian vegetation may be mesoriparian. If the watercourse lacks shallow groundwater, vegetation may be xeroriparian or upland. Stream corridor classifications used here follow Johnson, et al (1981) and Steiner, et al (1994).
Et. seq. Latin term for "that which follows."
Farm Animals. Animals, other than household pets, that are kept and maintained for commercial production or family food and/or recreation, including, but not limited to: dairy animals, swine, poultry, cattle, sheep, llamas, horses, mules, goats, ostriches, emus, and turkeys.
Flood Hazard Areas. For the purposes of this ordinance, the special flood hazard areas identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Groundwater Vulnerability Area. Any area in which a high or seasonally high water table combines with moderately to rapidly permeable soils to create a hazard of groundwater contamination. Determined using the soil survey.
High Density Residential. For the purposes of this ordinance, refers to all types of multiple-family dwellings and mobile home parks.
Home Business. A commercial or light industrial activity conducted in a dwelling or a building accessory to a dwelling. Home businesses must comply with the detailed performance standards of Appendix N.
Industrial. Only light industrial uses are permitted NE Santa Cruz County.
Intermittent. The flow regime is intermittent. Flow may be subsurface and surface flow is dependent on runoff conditions. Riparian vegetation is mesoriparian. Stream corridor classifications used here follow Johnson, et al (1981) and Steiner, et al (1994).large scale development
Large-Scale. Defined at VI.EE.
Major Change of Occupancy. For the purposes of this ordinance, a proposed change from residential or institutional (in the Grasslands Zoning District) to commercial or industrial, a change from commercial to industrial, or a change from one type of commercial or industrial to another, where that change will in an increase of more than 10% in traffic generation, as estimated using the Traffic Generation Manual published by the International Association of Traffic Engineers (ITE), the number of parking spaces required by Appendix F, or other measures of impact specifically suited to the proposed use, including, as appropriate, water consumption, the volume of solid waste generated, and similar measures.
Manufactured Home. Any dwelling manufactured in compliance with the National Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act (42 U.S.C. 5401, et seq., as amended) that is transportable in one or more sections, and which in the traveling mode is eight body feet or more in width or 40 body feet or more in length or, when erected on site, is 320 or more square feet, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation.
A manufactured home may be used as a single-family dwelling if it complies with VII.EE. A manufactured home may also be used as temporary dwelling quarters for no more than one year while a single family home is under construction.
Minimize. For the purposes of this ordinance, "to minimize" (as in the number of stream corridor crossing) means to show that no reasonable alternative plan for the proposed development will result in a smaller impact.
Minor Change of Occupancy. Any change in occupancy that is not "major," as defined in IX.LL.
Nonconforming. Describes any lot, use, or building that was in existence on the effective date of this ordinance, but that would not comply with one or more of its requirements if submitted for approval. See I.E and F.
Open Space Use. Use for passive or active recreation for the public or the occupants of a development. Use as a marketing feature for a development. Use to provide environmental amenities for occupants of a development, including views, attractive natural vegetation, and the presence of wildlife.
Perennial. The flow regime is mostly perennial. Flow may slow to a trickle or seeps may connect pools which contain water all year. Riparian vegetation is hydroriparian or mesoriparian. Stream corridor classifications used here follow Johnson, et al (1981) and Steiner, et al (1994).
Recreational Vehicle. A recreational vehicle is a motor home, travel trailer, truck camper, or camping trailer, with or without motive power, designed for recreational or emergency occupancy. Recreational vehicles are not manufactured homes.
Required Improvements. Defined at VIII.A.
Sensitive Lands. Sensitive lands include wetlands, lands within riparian corridors, all slopes of 15%, and any lands included in the proposed - but not adopted - open space framework developed for Comprehensive Plan for NE Santa Cruz County, which may be voluntarily classified as sensitive for the purposes of this ordinance.
Sign. Any object or structure used to identify, advertise, or in any way attract or direct attention to any use, building, person, or product by any means, including, but not limited to, the use of lettering, words, pictures, and other graphic depictions or symbols. Specific types of signs are defined in Appendix K.
Single-Family Dwelling. A detached building designed for occupancy by one family or household. Also includes "any home in which eight or fewer unrelated mentally and/or physically handicapped persons reside; and which is supervised". Includes both conventional dwellings and manufactured homes that comply with the National Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act (40 USC 5401) or the Uniform Building Code; have all hitches, wheels, chassis, and other running gear removed; are attached to a permanent foundation; and are at least 20 feet wide. Recreational vehicles and travel trailers are not single-family dwellings.
Site Plan. A site plan is a scaled drawing, or a series of such drawings, that illustrates all those details of a proposed development needed to demonstrate compliance with this ordinance, including the location of existing and proposed property lines, easements, buildings, parking areas, streets, sidewalks, landscaped buffers, and other features of the site. Where an erosion and runoff control plan is required, the site plan must be prepared on a detailed (contour intervals of two feet) topographic base.
Solid Waste. Material being stored, packaged, or processed for ultimate disposal or recycling. For the purposes of this ordinance, the waste normally generated by a ranching operation (crop stubble and residue, manure, etc.) is not solid waste until transported from the ranch on which it was generated
Subdivision. As defined by 31-2101, ARS, means "improved or unimproved land or lands divided or proposed to be divided for the purpose of sale or lease, whether immediate or future, into six or more lots, parcels or fractional interests. Subdivision or subdivided lands include a stock cooperative and include lands divided or proposed to be divided as part of a common promotional plan. This paragraph shall not apply to leasehold offerings of one year or less or to the division or proposed division of land located in the state of Arizona into lots or parcels each of which is, or will be, thirty-six acres or more in area including to the center line of dedicated roads or easements, if any, contiguous to the lot or parcel and provided further that this definition shall not be deemed to include the leasing of agricultural lands, or of apartments, offices, stores, hotels, motels, pads or similar space within an apartment building, industrial building, rental recreational vehicle community, rental manufactured home community, rental mobile home park or commercial building, except that residential condominiums as defined in title 33, chapter 9 shall be included in this definition, nor shall this definition include the subdivision into or development of parcels, plots or fractional portions within the boundaries of a cemetery that has been formed and approved pursuant to this chapter."
Variance. A variance is a modification of the performance standards of this ordinance that provides a reasonable use of a lot or parcel that cannot otherwise be developed in compliance with this ordinance. Specific findings are required for approval of a variance. See III.O.
Vested Right. A vested right is the right to complete a development for which a permit had been obtained in full compliance with previous regulations, without obtaining another permit or complying with new regulations. See I.D.
Wetland. A jurisdictional wetland, as currently defined for the purposes of enforcing the provisions of §404 of the Clean Water Act.
| Part 3 Chapter 8 - Required Improvements, Installation, and Maintenance | Part 4 - Chapter 2 Acronyms |
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