Article 40.08 — RESIDENTIAL GARDEN APARTMENT (R3) DISTRICT

§ 40.08.010. Purpose. ¶

The purpose of a residential garden apartment (R-3) district is to stabilize and protect the residential character of the district, and to promote, insofar as compatible with the intensity of land use, a suitable environment for family life.

(Ord. 296 § 10.1)

§ 40.08.020. Permitted uses. ¶

The principal permitted uses of land in an R-3 district are as follows:

(a) Single-family dwellings and duplexes.
(b) Multiple dwellings.
(c) Agriculture, except the raising of animals or fowl for commercial purposes or the sale of any products at retail on the premises.
(d) Family and group day care homes as defined in Section 40.26.270 .
(e) Group care homes with six or fewer clients.
(f) Cooperative housing, as defined in Section 40.01.010 .
(g) Supportive housing.
(h) Transitional housing.

(Ord. 296 § 10.2; Ord. 862 § 2; Ord. 1198 § 1; Ord. 1737 § 5, 6, 1994; Ord. 1787 § 12; Ord. 2413 § 2, 2013; Ord. 2677, 11/4/2025)

§ 40.08.030. Accessory uses. ¶

The following accessory uses shall be permitted in an R-3 district:

(a) Home occupations, subject to the provisions of Sections 40.01.010 and 40.26.150 .
(b) Swimming pools, subject to the provisions of Section 40.26.350 .
(c) Signs, subject to the regulations of Section 40.26.020 .
(d) Other accessory uses and accessory buildings customarily appurtenant to a permitted use, subject to requirements of Section 40.26.010 .
(e) Accessory dwelling units meeting the requirements of Section 40.26.450 (Ministerial accessory dwelling units).

(Ord. 296 § 10.3; Ord. 875 § 7; Ord. 1357 § 10; Ord. 1419 § 7; Ord. 2126 § 5, 2003; Ord. 2359 § 4, 2010; Ord. 2572 § 9, 2020)

§ 40.08.040. Conditional uses. ¶

The following conditional uses may be permitted in an R-3 district:

(a) Boarding houses for any number of guests.
(b) Nursery schools and day care centers, subject to the provisions of Section 40.26.270 .
(c) Public and semipublic buildings and uses of a recreational, educational, religious, cultural or public service type, including public utility, but not including corporation yards, storage or repair yards, warehouses and similar uses.
(d) Medical clinics, and laboratories that meet a B occupancy in the California Building Code, in the R-3-M district.
(e) Professional and administrative offices in the R-3-M district.
(f) Hospitals, churches and other religious or eleemosynary institutions, subject to the provisions of Section 40.26.160 .
(g) Social halls, lodges, fraternal organizations and clubs, except those operated for a profit.
(h) Group care homes with more than six clients, subject to the provisions of Section 40.26.135 .
(i) Living groups, subject to the provisions of Section 40.26.260 .
(j) Single room occupancy (SRO) units.

(Ord. 296 § 10.4; Ord. 377 § 9; Ord. 416 § 2; Ord. 501 § 2; Ord. 862 § 2; Ord. 1357 § 11; Ord. 1419 § 8, 9; Ord. 1737 § 7, 1994; Ord. 1786 § 2; Ord. 1787 § 13; Ord. 2113 § 1, 2003; Ord. 2413 § 4, 2013; Ord. 2572 § 9, 2020)

§ 40.08.050. Height regulations. ¶

No principal building shall exceed three stories or thirty-eight feet in height. No accessory building shall exceed two stories or twenty-five feet in height, except as provided in Section 40.27.030 . (Ord. 296 § 10.5; Ord. 1786 § 1)

§ 40.08.060. Area, lot width, open space and yard requirements. ¶

The following minimum requirements shall be observed, except where increased for the conditional uses, or as provided in Sections 40.27.040 to 40.27.070 :

(a) Lot area.
- (1) Zone R-3-L, seventy-five hundred square feet.
- (2) Zone R-3-M, seventy-five hundred square feet.
(b) Usable open space.
- (1) Zone R-3-L. Each efficiency apartment, six hundred square feet. Each one-bedroom apartment, six hundred square feet. Each two-bedroom apartment, six hundred fifty square feet. Each additional bedroom, fifty square feet. Twenty-five percent of the lot area shall be devoted to open space in the case of rooming and boarding houses and dwellings occupied by living groups.
- (2) Zone R-3-M. Each efficiency apartment, three hundred square feet. Each one-bedroom apartment, three hundred fifty square feet. Each two-bedroom apartment, four hundred square feet. Each additional bedroom, fifty square feet. Twenty-five percent of the lot area shall be devoted to open space in the case of rooming and boarding houses and dwellings occupied by living groups.
(c) Lot coverage. Forty percent.
(d) Lot width. Zones R-3-L and R-3-M, seventy feet.
(e) Front yards. Zones R-3-L and R-3-M, twenty feet.
(f) Side yards. Zones R-3-L and R-3-M. Street side yard, fifteen feet. Interior side yard, one side, six feet, total both sides, eighteen feet. If the principal building is three or three and one-half stories, one side, twelve feet, total both sides, thirty feet.
(g) Rear yard. Zones R-3-L and R-3-M, fifteen feet. If the principal building is two or two and onehalf stories, twenty feet. If the principal building is three or three and one-half stories, twenty-five feet.
(h) Lot area per dwelling unit.
- (1) Zone R-3-L:
  - (A) Efficiency apartment, nine hundred square feet.
  - (B) One bedroom apartment, one thousand two hundred fifty square feet.
  - (C) Two or more bedroom apartment, one thousand four hundred square feet.
- (2) Zone R-3-M:
  - (A) Efficiency apartment, seven hundred fifty square feet.
  - (B) One bedroom apartment, nine hundred square feet.
  - (C) Two or more bedroom apartment, one thousand one hundred fifty square feet.
(i) For the purpose of setback determination, a converted attic space shall have the same setbacks as the story directly below it in all residential districts.
(j) No exterior changes to the existing roofline of the structure shall be allowed except for the provision of egress windows or doors in compliance with California Building Code (CBC). Any dormers or similar structures provided to comply with the UBC required egress window, shall not exceed the minimum size necessary to obtain the required egress.
(k) No attic conversion shall be allowed if one of the following occurs:
- (1) The maximum stories allowed in the district have been achieved.
- (2) The number of stories that can be built on a lot are restricted (usually restricted to one story building.)
(l) If no restrictions apply and the maximum stories allowed in the district have not been achieved, a building permit only would be required for the attic conversion.
(Ord. 296 § 10.6; Ord. 312 § 1; Ord. 360 § 1; Ord. 503; Ord. 862 § 4; Ord. 2572 § 9, 2020)

§ 40.08.070. Special conditions. ¶

Site plan and architectural approval by the director or designee shall be required for all uses. (Ord. 296 § 10.7; Ord. 316 § 5; Ord. 333 § 2; Ord. 600 § 1; Ord. 1627 § 7; Ord. 2390 § 2, 2012; Ord. 2677, 11/4/2025)