- Accessory Use
- An activity or structure that is incidental to the main use of a site.
Building Envelope
- The space remaining on a site for structures after all building setback,
height limit, and bulk requirements have been met.
- Capital Improvement Program
- A timetable for the installation of permanent public structures, facilities,
roads, and other improvements based upon budget projections.
- CEQA
- The California Environmental Quality Act (see Public Resources Code
section 21000). CEQA requires that private and public projects' potential
adverse effects upon the environment be reviewed by decision-makers.
- Charter City
- A city which has been incorporated under its own charter rather than
under the general laws of the state. Charter cities have broader powers
than do general law cities.
- Cluster Development
- Development which is clustered in a portion of a site, leaving the
remainder in open-space. The amount of development allowed equals the amount
that would have otherwise been allowed on the entire site.
- COG
- Council of Governments. California's 25 COGs are regional planning
agencies concerned primarily with transportation planning and housing;
they do not directly regulate land use. Elected officials from each of
the cities and counties belonging to the COG make up its governing board.
- Community Plan
- A portion of the local general plan that focuses on a particular area
or community within the city or county. Community plans supplement the
contents of the general plan.
- Conditional Use Permit (CUP)
- A permit authorizing a use not routinely allowed on a particular site,
subject to a public hearing. If approval is granted, the developer must
meet certain conditions to harmonize the project with its surroundings.
- Dedication
- A grant of private land to a public agency for public use. Dedications
are often used to obtain roads and parkland needed to serve a project.
- Density Bonus
- An increase in the allowable number of residences granted by the city
or county in return for the project's providing low- or moderate-income
housing. (see Government Code section 65915)
- Density Averaging (or Transfer)
- The density of development on a portion of a site is allowed to exceed
usual limits provided that the overall density of the site does not do
so. Density increases in one area are offset by a corresponding decrease
in allowable density in another part of the site.
- Design Review Committee
- A group appointed by the city council to consider the design and aesthetics
of development within all or a portion of the community.
- Development Agreement
- A binding contract between a developer and a city or county establishing
the conditions under which a particular development may occur. The local
government "freezes" the regulations applicable to the site for
an agreed upon period of time. (see Government Code section 65864)
- Development Fees
- Fees charged as a precondition to construction or development approval.
The most common are: (1) impact fees (such as parkland acquisition fees,
school facilities fees, or street construction fees) related to funding
public improvements necessitated in part or in whole by the development;
(2) connection fees (such as water fees) to cover the cost of installing
public services to the development; (3) permit fees (such as building permits
or grading permits) for the administrative costs of processing development
plans; and, (4) application fees (rezoning, variance, etc.) for the administrative
costs of reviewing and hearing development proposals.
- Downzone
- A change of zoning to a more restrictive zone (for example, from multi-family
residential to single-family residential).
- EIR
- Environmental Impact Report. A detailed review of a proposed project,
its potential adverse impacts upon the environment, measures that may avoid
or reduce those impacts, and alternatives to the project.
- Easement
- The right to use property owned by another for a specific purpose.
Power line easements are a common example.
- Eminent Domain
- The right of government to take private property for public use upon
the payment of just compensation to the owner. This is also called condemnation
(condemnation can also mean the closing of an unsafe structure by a public
agency to protect the community safety).
- Exaction
- A fee or dedication required as a condition of development permit approval.
- Final Map Subdivision (also, tract map or major subdivision)
- Land divisions creating 5 or more lots. They are generally subject
to stricter standards than parcel maps. Requirements may include road improvements,
the construction of drainage and sewer facilities, park land dedications,
and more.
- Findings
- The legal "footprints" which an agency must leave to bridge
the analytical gap between the raw data considered by the agency and its
ultimate decision. They expose its mode of analysis of facts, regulations,
and policies.
- Floor Area Ratio (FAR)
- A measure of development intensity. FAR is the ratio of the floor area
of a building to the area of its site. For instance, both a two-story building
that covers an entire lot and a four-story building that covers 1/2 of
a lot have FARs of 2.
- General Law City
- A city incorporated under and subject to the general laws of the state.
- General Plan
- A statement of policies, including text and diagrams, setting forth
objectives, principles, standards, and plan proposals, for the future physical
development of the city or county. (see Government Code section 65300)
- "Granny" Housing
- An accessory dwelling for one or more elderly persons that is attached
to or separate from a main residence. Government Code section 65852.1 allows
cities and counties to approve such units in single-family neighborhoods.
- Growth Management
- A local program limiting the rate of community growth. Growth management
strategies vary, but they can include capping the annual number of building
permits, relating allowable development intensity to certain levels of
infrastructure service or limiting the location of new development.
- Impact Fees
- See Development Fees.
- Infrastructure
- A general term for public and quasi-public utilities and facilities
such as roads, bridges, sewer plants, water lines, power lines, fire stations,
etc.
- Initial Study
- An analysis of a project's potential environmental effects and their
relative significance. An initial study is preliminary to deciding whether
to prepare a negative declaration or an EIR.
- Initiative
- A ballot measure which has qualified for election as a result of voter
petition. At the local level, initiatives usually focus on changes or additions
to the general plan and zoning ordinance. The initiative power is reserved
for the public by the California Constitution.
- Inverse Condemnation
- The illegal removal of property value through excessive government
regulation. Legal advice should be sought before proceeding in cases of
potential inverse condemnation.
- LAFCO
- The Cortese/Knox Act (see Government Code section 56000) establishes
a Local Agency Formation Commission in each county. A LAFCO is made up
of elected officials from the county, cities, and, in some cases, special
districts. It administers the state law governing city incorporation and
annexation proposals.
- Mitigation Measure
- The California Environmental Quality Act requires that when an environmental
impact or potential impact will occur, measures must be proposed that will
eliminate, avoid, rectify, compensate for or reduce that effect.
- Moratorium
- A halt to new development or the issuance of permits. Moratoria are
often imposed while a new general plan or zoning ordinance is written or
when sewer or water facilities are inadequate to serve additional development.
(See Government Code section 65858)
- Negative Declaration
- A negative declaration is written when a project is subject to CEQA,
but will not have a significant effect upon the environment. The negative
declaration describes why the project will not have a significant effect
and may propose measures that avoid all possible effects.
- Nonconforming Use
- A land use which does not meet current zoning requirements.
- Overlay Zone
- A zone which is superimposed upon other zoning. Overlay zones are used
in areas which need special protection (as in a historic preservation district)
or have special problems (such as steep slopes or flooding). Development
of land subject to an overlay must comply with the regulations of both
zones.
- Parcel Map
- A minor subdivision resulting in fewer than 5 lots.
- Planned Unit Development (PUD)
- Land use zoning which allows the adoption of a set of development standards
that are specific to a particular project. PUD zones usually do not contain
detailed development standards; those are established during the process
of considering proposals and adopted by ordinance upon project approval.
- Referendum
- A voter challenge to legislative action taken by a city council or
county board of supervisors. If enough voters' signatures are filed before
the legislative action becomes final, the council or board must either
rescind its decision or call an election on the issue. The California Constitution
guarantees the public's power of referendum.
- School Impact Fees
- Fees imposed on new developments to offset their impacts on area schools.
- Setback
- The minimum distance required by zoning to be maintained between two
structures or between a structure and a property line.
- Specific Plan
- A plan addressing land use distribution, open space availability, infrastructure,
and infrastructure financing for a portion of the community. Specific plans
put the provisions of the local general plan into action (see Government
Code section 65450).
- Sphere of Influence
- A plan for the "probable physical boundary and service area of
a local agency" as approved by the LAFCO. It identifies the area available
to a city for future annexation. However, unless another arrangement has
been made, the city has no actual authority over land outside its city
limits.
- Spot Zoning
- The zoning of an isolated parcel in a manner which is inconsistent
or incompatible with surrounding zoning or land uses, particularly if done
to favor a particular landowner. A conditional use permit is not a spot
zone.
- Strip Development
- Commercial and high-density residential development located adjacent
to major streets. This type of development is characterized by its shallow
depth, street-oriented layout, lack of unified design theme, and numerous
points of street access. It impedes smooth traffic flow.
- Tentative Map
- The map or drawing illustrating a subdivision proposal. The city or
county will conditionally approve or deny the proposed subdivision based
upon the design depicted on the tentative map.
- Tract Map
- See final map subdivision.
- Transportation Systems Management (TSM)
- A program coordinating many forms of transportation (car, bus, carpool,
rapid transit, bicycle, etc.) in order to distribute the traffic impacts
of new development. Instead of emphasizing road expansion or construction,
TSM examines methods of increasing road efficiency.
- Variance
- A limited waiver from the requirements of the zoning ordinance. Variance
requests are subject to public hearing and may only be granted under special
circumstances.
- Zoning
- Local codes regulating the use and development of property. The zoning
ordinance divides the city or county into land use districts or "zones",
illustrated on zoning maps, and specifies the allowable uses within each
such zone. It establishes development standards such as minimum lot size,
maximum structure height, building setbacks, and yard size.
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State of California
Governor's Office of Planning and Research
1400 Tenth Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-0613