Policy LU-1.1 and Table LU-4 in the 2030 Yolo Countywide General Plan establish and define six (6) overlay land use designations, which correspond to five (5) new overlay zoning districts listed below. The Mineral Resource Overlay defined in the General Plan is implemented by the existing Sand and Gravel, and Sand and Gravel Reserve, zones. A seventh overlay, the Airport Overlay (A-O), is not identified in the General Plan, but has been added to protect properties around the County Airport. An eighth overlay zone incorporates some of the existing Planned Development (PD) zones approved by the County which have been retained for certain development projects.
Overlay zones are added to, or on top of, a base zone, augmenting the base zone regulations with additional regulations related to the unique location or character of the parcels that are subject to the overlay zoning. If there are any inconsistencies between the overlay and the base zoning regulations, the overlay regulations prevail. When referring to an overlay zone, the overlay name is added to the base zoning, following it separated by a slash marking ("/"), e.g., A-N/A-O (except for the Planned Development overlay zones, which are designated with the number of the original approved zone, e.g., PD-45).
The overlay zones, excluding the PD zones, are identified with their corresponding total acreage in Table 8-2.903-1, below.
Overlay Zone | Acreage |
Natural Heritage | n/a |
Agricultural District (Clarksburg) | 35,171 |
Delta Protection | 73,053 |
Sand and Gravel (Mineral Resource) | 18,452 |
Tribal Trust | 483 |
Airport | n/a |
Source: 2030 Countywide General Plan, 2009
(a) Natural Heritage Overlay (NH-O) Zone. The Natural Heritage Overlay (NH-O) applies to focused conservation areas identified in the Yolo Natural Heritage Program (the Yolo County Habitat Conservation/ Natural Communities Conservation Plan). Allowed land uses are limited to those consistent with the adopted Yolo Natural Heritage Program and HCP/NCCP.
(b) Agricultural District Overlay (AD-O) Zone. The Agricultural District Overlay (AD-O) applies to designated agricultural districts. Land uses consistent with the base designation and the district specifications are allowed. At the current time only one (1) agricultural district has been adopted in the Clarksburg area. The zoning regulations for the Clarksburg Agricultural District are included in Section 8-2.401 in Article 4 of this chapter.
(c) Delta Protection Overlay (DP-O) Zone. The Delta Protection Overlay (DP-O) applies to the State designated "primary zone" of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, as defined in the Delta Protection Act. Land uses consistent with the base designation and the Delta Protection Commission's Land Use and Resource Management Plan are allowed.
(d) Sand and Gravel and Sand and Gravel Reserve Overlay (SG-O and SGR-O) Zones. The Sand and Gravel and Sand and Gravel Reserve Overlays (SG-O and SGR-O) apply to State designated mineral resource zones (MRZ-2) containing critical geological deposits needed for economic use in the future, as well as applying to existing mining operations.
(e) Tribal Trust Overlay (TT-O) Zone. The Tribal Trust Overlay (TT-O) applies to tribal trust lands held by the Federal government for recognized tribal governments.
(f) Airport Overlay (A-O) Zone. The Airport Overlay (A-O) zone is applied to the properties within a ten thousand (10,000) foot radius around the Yolo County Airport and included within the identified "safety zones" of the airport. The purpose of the overlay zone is to regulate uses and structural heights to ensure aviation safety as required by the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) for the County Airport. The regulations specifically advise private property owners of the restrictions related to vegetation and height of structures.
(g) Planned Development (PD) Overlay Zone. The purpose of the Planned Development (PD) overlay zone is to encourage a more flexible and efficient use of land for larger urban development projects that include an excellence in site design greater than that which could be achieved through the application of established zoning standards. Use of a PD zone process requires the rezoning of a parcel or parcels from the existing base zone to the base zone overlain with a uniquely defined PD zone with its own number identification (such as PD-45). A PD zone must be generally consistent with its associated base, e.g., residential or commercial. PD zoning is not intended for agricultural zones or uses.
Many of the Planned Development projects in Yolo County were approved decades ago and have since been developed. These completed projects have been rezoned to their appropriate base zones, based on developed densities and uses, and the PD regulations have been rescinded, unless they are still relevant. The relevant PD zones that have been retained in their individual PD zoning, including recently approved subdivisions in Esparto that have not yet been constructed, are identified in Table 8-2.903-2, below.
Planned Development No. /Name | Associated Zone | Location |
Planned Development No. /Name | Associated Zone | Location |
PD-9 Hilltop Estates | A-N/RR-5 | Monument Hills |
PD-25 Binning Farms | R-L | North Davis |
PD-42 Country West I | R-L | Esparto |
PD-45 Wild Wings | R-L | Wild Wings |
PD-47 North Davis Meadows II | R-L | North Davis |
PD-48 Country West II | R-L | Esparto |
PD-49 Parker Place | R-L | Esparto |
PD-49 Snow Subdivision | R-L | Knights Landing |
PD-53 Esperanza Estates | R-L | Esparto |
PD-56 Dunnigan Truck and Travel Center | C-H | Dunnigan |
PD-57 Lopez Subdivision/Ryland | R-L | Esparto |
PD-58 White/Castle Subdivision | R-L | Knights Landing |
PD-59 Orciuoli/Castle Subdivision | R-L | Esparto |
PD-60 E. Parker Subdivision/Emerald | R-L | Esparto |
PD-61 Story Subdivision/Emerald | R-L | Esparto |
PD-62 Capay Cottages Subdivision | R-L | Esparto |
PD-64 Jensen Parcel Map | I-L | Clarksburg |
PD-65 Willowbank | R-L | Davis |
PD-66 El Macero | R-L | Davis |
PD-67 Patwin Road | RR-2 | Davis |
PD-68 El Macero | R-M | Davis |
(h) Special Building Overlay (B) Zone. The "B" overlay is a Special Building overlay zone that is applied to areas zoned for development where the lack of public facilities and utilities indicates a need for new building sites of larger acreage than otherwise permitted in the zone. The County Environmental Health Division is responsible for setting these minimum parcel size restrictions in compliance with State laws that set standards for on-site sewage disposal and private water wells. The B overlay zone sets a minimum parcel size of two (2) acres for newly created parcels zoned for development that do not have access to public water and public wastewater treatment services. The two (2) acre minimum parcel size to build a house does not apply to existing lots, only newly created lots. There are numerous areas within the unincorporated area where homes and businesses must rely on private wells and private septic/ leachfield systems. In these areas, such as Capay Valley, the Hardwoods in Dunnigan, and Patwin Road in Davis, the Rural Residential (RR-2) or Residential Low Density (R-L) zoning regulations include a B overlay zone that sets a minimum parcel size of two (2) acres for purposes of creating new lots and issuing building permits for homes.
(Ord. 1445, eff. August 14, 2014, as amended by Ord. 1453, eff. April 9, 2015; as amended by § 3, Ord. 1486, eff. March 23, 2017; as amended by § 2, Ord. 1490, eff. August 17, 2017; as amended by § 2, Ord. 1497, eff. June 7, 2018)