(A) Intent.
(1) The intent of these seismic safety development standards is to ensure that development in areas subject to seismic hazards is properly located and designed to protect life and property.
(2) The standards in this section supplement those of the underlying zoning district(s). Where the standards of this section and those of the base zone conflict, this section’s standards apply.
(B) Areas subject to seismic safety development standards.
(1) The development standards in this section shall apply to all areas designated as Alquist Priolo Special Study Zones by the State of California Department of Conservation.
(2) These areas are not shown on the zoning map. The latest maps from the State of California Department of Conservation should be checked to determine whether this section applies.
(C) Permitted uses. The uses permitted, conditionally permitted, and prohibited in an Alquist Priolo Special Study Zone shall those of the base zoning district.
(D) Locational standards. The following standards apply to all new construction in an Alquist Priolo Special Study Zone:
(1) Except as to structures for human occupancy excluded under the Cal. Public Resources Code §§ 2621 et seq., no building to be used for human occupancy shall be placed across an active fault trace. For purposes of this section, the area within 50 feet of an active fault trace shall be assumed to be underlain by active branches of that fault trace unless and until proven otherwise by an appropriate geological investigation and submission of a report by a geologist registered in the State of California.
(2) For buildings over two stories high, buildings of an emergency nature such as hospitals, fire stations and police stations and buildings of high occupancy such as auditoriums, schools, theaters, stadiums and similar uses, the minimum required distance from a known active fault trace shall be 300 feet.
(3) The Planning Commission shall have power to increase this distance where there is geologic evidence that a greater distance is required for the protection of any building or structure or for the safety of its occupants.
(E) Geologic report required.
(1) Except as to structures for human occupancy excluded under Cal. Public Resources Code §§ 2621 et seq., applications for all uses which will result in the construction of buildings for human occupancy shall be accompanied by a geologic report directed to the potential for surface fault displacement throughout the site.
(2) The report must be prepared by a geologist registered in the State of California and be in conformance with the Alquist-Priolo Special Studies Zone Act of 1972. If the use would result in an undue hazard to life or property, it shall not be approved. If doubt exists as to the hazard, approval may be withheld pending geologic and engineering studies to adequately define the zone of hazard.
(3) If, on appeal, the Planning Commission or Board of Supervisors finds that no undue hazard exists, geologic and engineering studies may be waived with approval of the state geologist.
(4) Requirements for geologic reports may be satisfied for single- and two-family dwellings if, in the judgment of technically qualified county personnel and the approval of the state geologist, sufficient information is available from previous studies in the same area.
(Ord. 1043 § 3 (part), 2022)