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Title 17 — Zoning

Chapter 17.46 — SITE PLAN AND ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW

Crescent City Zoning Code · 2026-06 edition · updated 2026-07-06 · Crescent City

§ 17.46.010. Purposes and application.

  • A. The purposes of a site plan and architectural review are to permit the city to evaluate site plans and designs of structures to assure compatibility, harmony in appearance in neighborhoods, reduce negative impacts on adjacent properties, reduce the unnecessary destruction of the environment and ground cover to avoid the creation of hazardous conditions and drainage problems, to avoid monotonous and otherwise nonaesthetic development injurious to the overall community; to provide a vehicle to encourage full development of streets servicing the properties, and to assure full installation of all public utilities necessary to serve such properties.

  • B. Site plan review and architectural review provisions of this title shall apply to all permitted uses in the R-3, R-P, C-1, C-2, CM, CW, M, and the HS districts and shall be required of all uses subject to use permit.

  • (Ord. 695 § 2, 2003)

§ 17.46.020. Architectural review committee.

  • A. The architectural review committee shall consist of the five-member planning commission, the city planner and the city engineer. The architectural review committee may also invite individuals of known expertise to make comments and recommendations on site plans and architectural renderings submitted for architectural review.

  • B. A quorum shall consist of any four members.

  • C. The architectural review committee may convene at any meeting of the planning commission or may schedule special meetings to streamline project review.

  • D. No member shall participate in the discussions or determination on any project in which the member has a business or professional interest, or if the member resides within three hundred feet of the nearest project property line.

  • E. The architectural review committee will stand as established, and from time to time as conditions warrant, the planning commission may make such changes within such personnel as it deems fit.

  • (Ord. 695 § 2, 2003; Ord. 722 § 2, 2007)

§ 17.46.030. Procedures.

  • A. The applicant shall submit an application on a form provided by the planning director, together with seven copies of such site plans or elevations of buildings on which a review committee report is required. The site plan shall be drawn to a scale which shall equally indicate the full dimensions and information necessary for the committee to make an evaluation of the request. Architectural drawings shall be of such scale and contain such information to permit the committee to make a full evaluation of the outside appearance, color, texture of materials, and appurtenances necessary for the development of the structure.

  • B. Scale drawings of all signs that will be included within the subject property shall also be submitted concurrently with the site plan and architectural plans of any proposed project. The review committee may require additional information, if necessary, to carry out the purposes of this chapter and/or may authorize the omission of any or all drawings required by this section if they are not necessary.

  • (Ord. 695 § 2, 2003; Ord. 722 § 2, 2007)

§ 17.46.035. Review standards.

  • A. The architectural review committee shall review the application as to consistency with the applicable zoning, parking and landscaping, fencing, signage, street, sidewalk and public services requirements as set forth by this code.

  • B. Where the city council has adopted a development plan and/or development standards for a specifically defined neighborhood within the city, the application shall also be reviewed for consistency with the criteria of such plan or standards.

  • C. Where a structure(s) forty-five years or older is proposed for remodel or demolition, a review of the potential for impact upon a site listed on the National Historical Register or a site of local historical significance shall be made and considered in the architectural review decision. It is the goal of the city general plan to encourage property owners and other land managers to preserve or rehabilitate important historical and cultural sites rather than destroying them.

  • D. If a project requires a variance or use permit, the architectural review committee shall not issue final approval of the project until the planning commission or city council has taken final action on the variance or use permit.

  • (Ord. 695 § 2, 2003; Ord. 722 § 2, 2007)

§ 17.46.040. Review, referral and action.

  • A. Within forty-five days after the submittal of a complete packet of drawings and applications for review, the committee shall conduct a public hearing and determine whether the project shall be denied, approved, or approved with conditions. Action by the committee shall be final unless the applicant appeals the action of the committee as set forth in this chapter.

  • B. Except as time requires to meet Section 17.46.035 , if no action is taken by the committee sixty days after receipt of all drawings and applications it shall be deemed accepted and building permits may then be issued, which are in compliance with the drawings submitted for review. If the committee requests modifications, the time periods established shall not be resumed until revisions to the drawings, as requested, are resubmitted for consideration.

  • C. Approved plans, together with such conditions, shall be signed by the planning director and shall be dated and mailed to the applicant. The planning commission secretary shall place one copy of the approved plans in the files of the planning commission.

  • (Ord. 695 § 2, 2003; Ord. 722 § 2, 2007)

§ 17.46.050. Decision of architectural review committee—Appeals to the city council.

  • A. Within ten days following the date of a decision of the architectural review committee on any site plan or architectural review application, the decision may be appealed to the city council by the applicant or any other interested party. An appeal shall be made on a form prescribed by the planning commission, and shall be filed with the planning commission secretary. The appeal shall state specifically where it is claimed that there was an error or abusive discretion by the committee and wherein its decision was not supported by evidence in the record.

  • B. Following the receipt of such an appeal application, the city council, at its next regular meeting, shall set a date of hearing at which time the applicant may make his presentation and shall at that time present the site drawings and structural renderings and all other data which was presented to the committee, together with his arguments on said appeal. Should the city council find favor with the appeal,

the planning director shall sign the documents, and the planning commission secretary shall mail a copy to the applicant and file one copy in the planning commission records.

(Ord. 695 § 2, 2003; Ord. 722 § 2, 2007)

§ 17.46.060. Appeals to the city council.

  • A. Should an application for a site plan and architectural review meet with the disapproval of the planning commission or upon any of the modifications as decided by the commission, he may file with the city council a request for consideration by the city council. Such a request shall be on forms prescribed by the city council and the city council shall set a date of hearing upon such receipt.

  • B. At the public hearing set for such an appeal, the city council shall be provided with all of the material, recommendations and data reviewed by the planning commission and they shall at such a hearing, either affirm, deny, or amend the recommendations of the planning commission. The city council shall, in setting their public hearing, follow the procedures prescribed as set forth in Chapter 17.56 .

  • (Ord. 695 § 2, 2003)

§ 17.46.070. Development requirements and improvements.

Consideration of approval of a site plan or architectural review shall include the requirements for the dedication of additional rights-of-way, the improvement of all public rights-of-way, the installation of underground utilities, and the provision of water, sewage, and drainage facilities.

  • (Ord. 695 § 2, 2003)

§ 17.46.080. Building permits and occupation.

  • A. Before a building permit shall be issued for any building or structure proposed as part of an approved site plan or architectural design, the building official shall determine that the proposed building location facilities and improvements are in conformity with the plans and conditions approved by the review committee, the planning commission, or the city council.

  • B. Before a building may be occupied the building official shall certify that the site or structure has been developed in conformity with the plans and conditions approved in this chapter.

  • (Ord. 695 § 2, 2003)

§ 17.46.090. Lapse of site plan or architectural design approval.

  • A. A site plan or architectural design approval shall lapse and shall become void one year following the date on which approval by the committee, planning commission or city council became effective unless prior to the expiration of one year a building permit is issued by the building official, and the construction is commenced and diligently pursued toward completion on the site or structures which were the subject of the site plan or architectural design approval.

  • B. Approval may be extended for an additional period for periods of one year upon written application to the planning commission before expiration of the first approval.

  • (Ord. 695 § 2, 2003)

§ 17.46.100. Site plan approval to run with the land.

A site plan or architectural design approved pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall run with the land and shall continue to be valid upon the change of ownership of the site which was the subject of the site plan or architectural design approval, subject to the provisions of Section 17.46.090 .

(Ord. 695 § 2, 2003)

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Contents — Crescent City Zoning Code
Crescent City Zoning Code
  1. Title 17 — Zoning
    Overview
    1. Chapter 17.02 — GENERAL PROVISIONS
    2. Chapter 17.04 — DEFINITIONS
    3. Chapter 17.06 — ADMINISTRATION
    4. Chapter 17.08 — DISTRICT CLASSIFICATIONS
    5. Chapter 17.10 — R-1 LOW DENSITY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT
    6. Chapter 17.14 — R-2 MODERATE DENSITY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT
    7. Chapter 17.16 — R-3 HIGH DENSITY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT
    8. Chapter 17.18 — R-P RESIDENTIAL-PROFESSIONAL DISTRICT
    9. Chapter 17.20 — C-1 DOWNTOWN BUSINESS DISTRICT
    10. Chapter 17.22 — C-2 GENERAL COMMERCIAL DISTRICT
    11. Chapter 17.23 — CW WATERFRONT COMMERCIAL DISTRICT
    12. Chapter 17.24 — HS HIGHWAY SERVICE DISTRICT
    13. Chapter 17.26 — C-M COMMERCIAL MANUFACTURING DISTRICT
    14. Chapter 17.28 — M MANUFACTURING DISTRICT
    15. Chapter 17.30 — M-P INDUSTRIAL PERFORMANCE DISTRICT
    16. Chapter 17.31 — NR NATURAL RESOURCES DISTRICT
    17. Chapter 17.32 — O OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
    18. Chapter 17.33 — PUBLIC FACILITY OR PF DISTRICT
    19. Chapter 17.34 — PUD PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT OVERLAY DISTRICT
    20. Chapter 17.35 — ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS
    21. Chapter 17.36 — SPECIFIC PLANS AND REGULATIONS
    22. Chapter 17.39 — SIGNS
    23. Chapter 17.40 — FENCES
    24. Chapter 17.41 — LANDSCAPING
    25. Chapter 17.42 — OFF-STREET PARKING
    26. Chapter 17.43 — LANDSCAPING STANDARDS
    27. Chapter 17.44 — HEIGHT AND AREA EXCEPTIONS
    28. Chapter 17.46 — SITE PLAN AND ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW
    29. Chapter 17.48 — SPECIAL ZONING USES
    30. Chapter 17.50 — NONCONFORMING USES
    31. Chapter 17.52 — TEMPORARY USES
    32. Chapter 17.54 — USE PERMITS
    33. Chapter 17.55 — RECREATIONAL VEHICLES ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY
    34. Chapter 17.56 — VARIANCES
    35. Chapter 17.58 — AMENDMENTS AND REZONING
    36. Chapter 17.59 — BED AND BREAKFAST ESTABLISHMENTS
    37. Chapter 17.60 — COASTAL ZONE GENERAL PROVISIONS
    38. Chapter 17.61 — COASTAL ZONE DEFINITIONS
    39. Chapter 17.62 — COASTAL ZONE ADMINISTRATION
    40. Chapter 17.63 — COASTAL ZONE DISTRICT CLASSIFICATIONS
    41. Chapter 17.64 — CZ-R1 COASTAL ZONE LOW DENSITY RESIDENTIAL DIS…
    42. Chapter 17.65 — CZ-R1B COASTAL ZONE LOW-DENSITY RESIDENTIALBEA…
    43. Chapter 17.68 — CZ-C2 COASTAL ZONE GENERAL COMMERCIAL DISTRICT
    44. Chapter 17.69 — CZ-HS COASTAL ZONE HIGHWAY SERVICE DISTRICT
    45. Chapter 17.70 — HARBOR-RELATED DISTRICT CZ-HR COASTAL ZONE
    46. Chapter 17 — 70A. CZ-HD COASTAL ZONE HARBOR DEPENDENT DISTRICT
    47. Chapter 17.71 — CZ-O COASTAL ZONE OPEN SPACE DISTRICT
    48. Chapter 17.72 — CZ-NR COASTAL ZONE NATURAL RESOURCES DISTRICT
    49. Chapter 17.73 — CZ-CW COASTAL ZONE WATERFRONT COMMERCIAL DISTR…
    50. Chapter 17.74 — COASTAL ZONE SIGNS
    51. Chapter 17.75 — COASTAL ZONE FENCES
    52. Chapter 17.76 — COASTAL ZONE OFF-STREET PARKING
    53. Chapter 17.77 — COASTAL ZONE SPECIFIC PLANS AND REGULATIONS
    54. Chapter 17.78 — COASTAL ZONE HEIGHT AND AREA EXCEPTIONS
    55. Chapter 17.79 — SITE PLAN AND ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW
    56. Chapter 17.80 — COASTAL ZONE NONCONFORMING USES
    57. Chapter 17.81 — COASTAL ZONE AMENDMENTS AND REZONING
    58. Chapter 17.82 — COASTAL ZONE USE PERMITS
    59. Chapter 17.83 — SPECIAL ZONING USES
    60. Chapter 17.84 — COASTAL ZONE COASTAL DEVELOPMENT PERMITS AND A…
    61. Chapter 17 — 84A. COASTAL RESOURCE PROTECTION PUBLIC ACCESS AN…
    62. Chapter 17 — 84B. CALIFORNIA COASTAL ZONE RESOURCE PROTECTION …
    63. Chapter 17 — 84C. CALIFORNIA COASTAL ZONE RESOURCE PROTECTION …
    64. Chapter 17 — 84D. CALIFORNIA COASTAL ZONE RESOURCE PROTECTION …
    65. Chapter 17 — 84F. CALIFORNIA COASTAL ZONE RESOURCE PROTECTION …
    66. Chapter 17 — 84G. CALIFORNIA COASTAL ZONE RESOURCE PROTECTION …
    67. Chapter 17.85 — VARIANCES
    68. Chapter 17.86 — COASTAL ZONE WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT
    69. Chapter 17.87 — PUBLIC TREES
    70. Chapter 17.88 — STORM WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT
    71. Chapter 17.89 — BED AND BREAKFAST ESTABLISHMENTS
    72. Chapter 17.90 — SALE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
    73. Chapter 17.91 — SALE OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS
    74. Chapter 17.92 — REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION
    75. Chapter 17.93 — STANDARDS FOR MARIJUANA
    76. Chapter 17.94 — CANNABIS CULTIVATION FOR PERSONAL OR MEDICAL USE
    77. Chapter 17.95 — COMMERCIAL CANNABIS REGULATIONS

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