23.302.020 General Use Regulations | Berkeley Municipal Code

23.302.020 General Use Regulations.

1. Long-Term Rental of Rooms in a Dwelling Unit. Renting rooms and/or providing board in a dwelling unit to persons not living as a household is permitted by right as an accessory use in all Residential Districts. The room rental/boarding must comply with the following requirements:

(a) Minimum time period for rental: 14 days.

(b) Maximum number of renters: four persons.

i. Must be fully integrated within the dwelling unit such that it has interior access to the rest of the dwelling unit;

ii. May not have a separate kitchen; and

iii. May not have separate assigned street addresses.

(d) All requirements for off-street parking must be met.

2. Non-Processed Edibles. The sale or donation of non-processed edibles grown or raised on the premises is permitted by right as an accessory use in all residential districts. All sale and donation activities must comply with the following requirements:

(a) Sales and donations must be directly to the end consumer of the non-processed edibles.

(b) Sales and donation-related activities must occur between the hours of 8am and 8pm.

(c) Sales and donation-related activities must be located either indoors or in an area generally shielded from view from the public right-of-way to the extent practical based on the accessibility of the subject lot.

(d) The sale or donation of non-processed edibles may not involve hazardous materials or processes or create offensive or objectionable noise, vibration, odors, heat, dirt, or electrical disturbance perceptible by the average person beyond the lot line of the subject lot.

(e) The sale or donation of non-processed edibles may not involve more than ten customer visits to the premises in one day.

(a) Chair massage is permitted by right as an accessory use when incidental to a retail use in the commercial districts and the MU-R district.

(b) No additional parking is required.

4. Commercial Uses in Residential Districts. A commercial use is allowed in a Residential District as an accessory use only if the use is specifically allowed by the Zoning Ordinance.

1. Allowed Hours. Table 23.302-1: Allowed Hours of Operation shows allowed hours of operation for commercial uses in the commercial districts and the MU-R district.

Exceptions. The City may allow extended hours of operations with the approval of a permit as shown in Table 23.302-1.

2. Alcohol Sales in C-T District. A Use Permit is required in the C-T district for a business selling alcohol for off-site consumption to remain open past midnight. The Use Permit may be approved only if the business’s ABC license does not require sales of alcohol for off-site consumption to cease by midnight. The Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) may approve the Use Permit only upon finding that the extended hours will not generate excessive noise, traffic or parking problems affecting the well-being of the residents of the district.

Table 23.302-1. ALLOWED HOURS OF OPERATION
DISTRICT	ALLOWED HOURS OF OPERATION	PERMIT REQUIRED TO EXTEND HOURS
C-C, C-U	7:00 a.m.--12:00 midnight	AUP
C-N, C-E, C-NS, C-SO, C-W outside nodes	7:00 a.m.--11:00 p.m.	UP
C-W nodes	6:00 a.m.--12:00 midnight with Zoning Certificate	UP
C-SA	7:00 a.m.--12:00 midnight Sundays through Thursdays 7:00 a.m.--12:00 Fridays and Saturday	UP
C-AC	7:00 a.m.--12:00 midnight Sundays through Thursdays 7:00 a.m.--2:00 a.m. Fridays and Saturday	UP
C-T between Bancroft Way and the north side of Dwight Way	24 hours per day 7 days a week	N/A
C-T between the south side of Dwight Way and Parker Street	7:00 a.m.--12:00 midnight	AUP
C-DMU	6:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m.	AUP
MU-R	6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.	AUP

3. C-T District Findings. The Zoning Officer may approve an AUP to extend hours of operation in the C-T district upon finding that the extended hours will not generate excessive noise, traffic, or parking problems affecting the well-being of the residents of the district.

(a) For retail or customer-serving office commercial uses, hours of operation are those times that the business is open to customer access.

(b) For food service establishments, hours of operation include the time that the business is open for customer access to the departure of the last patron. These limitations do not apply to:

i. The delivery, maintenance, security, product preparation and other pre-opening activities, and

ii. Cleanup, shutdown, and other post-closure activities which do not involve presence of customers.

(c) For other commercial and manufacturing uses which do not involve customer access, hours of operation are those times that employees are present who are engaged in non-maintenance or security activities.

C. Indoor Storage of Goods. In the Commercial Districts, an AUP is required for the indoor storage of goods as an incidental use occupying over 25 percent of the gross floor area.

D. Live Entertainment--Permits Required. Live entertainment incidental to a permitted use is allowed as shown in Table 23.302-2.

Table 23.302-2. PERMIT REQUIREMENTS FOR LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
ZONES	PERMIT REQUIRED
ZONES	AMPLIFIED	UNAMPLIFIED
C-C, C-U, C-SA, C-T, C-SO, C-DMU, C-AC	AUP	ZC
C-N, C-NS, C-W	UP(PH)	ZC
C-E	Not Permitted	ZC
M, MM	Not Permitted	Not Permitted
MU-LI, MU-R	UP(PH)	UP(PH)

(a) In the S-O district, food service establishments may have no live entertainment other than unamplified music, poetry reading, comedy or other quiet activities.

(b) In the C-NS district, food service establishments may have no live entertainment other than unamplified background music, unless a Use Permit is obtained.

1. Applicability. This subsection applies to outdoor uses including but not limited to exterior service windows, outside automatic teller machines, and the outside storage of goods, containers and/or materials.

2. General. Commercial and manufacturing uses shall be conducted solely within an interior of a building unless:

(a) The permit as required by Paragraph 3 (Permits Required) is obtained; or

(b) the outdoor use is specifically allowed by the Zoning Ordinance.

3. Permits Required.

4. Table 23.302-3: Permit Requirements for Outdoor Uses shows permits required for uses outside of a building in the Commercial and Manufacturing Districts.

Table 23.302-3. PERMIT REQUIREMENTS FOR OUTDOOR USES
DISTRICT/USE CHARACTERISTICS [1]	PERMIT REQUIRED
All Commercial Districts Except for C-W
Not abutting a residential district	AUP
Abutting a residential district	UP(PH)
C-W
Not abutting a residential district and less than 10,000 s. ft.	AUP
Abutting a residential district	UP(PH)
10,000 sq. ft. or more	UP(PH)
M, MM [2]
Less than 20,000 sq. ft.	ZC
20,000 sq. ft. or more	AUP
MU-LI
Less than 20,000 sq. ft.	ZC
20,000 to 30,000 sq. ft.	AUP
More than 30,000 sq. ft.	UP(PH)
MU-R
Not abutting a residential district	AUP
Abutting a residential district	UP(PH)

[1]Size is measured as the lot area of the outdoor activity or storage.

[2]In the M and MM district permits are required only for activity or storage not ancillary to a permitted use.

5. C-W District. In the C-W district, uses outside of a building must be permitted or incidental to permitted use in the district.

6. M, MM, MU-LI Districts. Outside uses in the M, MM, and MU-LI districts may not abut a residential district. (Ord. 7787-NS § 2 (Exh. A), 2021)