Parcels have different zones.  Each Zone represents what the city will allow to be built there.   We will be primarily be talking about residential zoning only, having said that we should define what zoning is.

R-1, R-2, R-3 zoning.

1.    R-1 is reserved for hotels and transient boarding houses; occupants are transient and sleeping in their rooms for less than 30 days.  The requirements are assuming that the occupants are not familiar with the surroundings.
2.    R-2 is reserved for apartments, dormitories and long-term residential boarding houses. Occupants are permanent sleeping for more than 30 days and limited to 16 or fewer.
3.    R-3 is reserved for occupants that are permanent, like homes.  Although we do tend to move every seven years. R-3 occupancy is considered permanent and is defined as being those not meeting the criteria for R1 or R-2.  This is primarily single family residences and duplexes. .Day-car facilities for five or fewer people using the facility for less than 24 hours also fall into this occupancy group.

It should be noted that the codes are changing and as of this righting the International Residential building Code will be most likely be adopted and be used.

There is a lot of territory to cover so we best get to it directly, so lets jus jump right in.  One more item, I may say lot, or property, or parcel, they really are one in the same thing.  They tend to be indifferent sizes; however I am trying to refer to the land which you will build your home.

Set backs
Even if you have not purchase your parcel yet, if you know the general area you are going to build get the setbacks.  The setback is just that you must set back a certain distance from the property line before you can build. In all cases you will want to be more than three feet otherwise you run into some really nasty fire codes.

Set backs are different everywhere and even for the first story and second story of your home, they can even be different on the same street or house to house.  I know it sounds incredibly strange; however now you know and you must get correct ones for where you are going to build.

Another item is the lot coverage maximums and their unique formula.  The city of Davis which you may or may not have heard of has one of the most unique formulas I have seen. I guess the point I am trying to make is if you do not follow it you could be completely done, go down to the city to submit your plans and find out that you can not build your home they way you have it designed and laid out, it is as simple as that. Every step here must be followed or Boom! It could blow up on you.  I know, you think I am making a mountain out of a mole hill.  No, I have done it my self even after years of doing this you tend to think you know what is expected and that’s the rub, which is exactly when Boom occurs.  I am trying to save you the pain that I have had to endure.

Note: If you have the wrong setbacks and something actually gets built wrong it will have to be removed, and or moved.  If that something is concrete or the actual foundation Boom!  there goes the budget, maybe even a lawsuit.  So make sure to get this part is absolute perfect, actually make sure everything is perfect!

Setbacks are easy to get (for the most part) there are some weird items such as accessory buildings that have strange requirements like if you build on Tuesday it is 5’ but on Wednesday it is 6’ (just kidding) but the truth is it really can get complex.

On one occasion I had three different planners arguing about a silly little garage setback for over two hours at the counter.  This is exactly why I recommend that you do several dry runs; each planner had a different opinion of what the local codes and ordinance say. So as you can see it can be a bit trying at times, just keep your cool and make sure to get the correct answers.

So how do you know if you got the right answers, well as attorney once said to me you read the law and I interpret it?  That is where the rub is, everyone seems to interpret it differently.  So I suggest you purchase a copy of the city or county general plan and read it for yourself.  Come up with a list of questions and then go get the answers from your local planning department.

Don’t be afraid to stand your ground, you may be right and they could be new and not quite understand how things are done.

“Interpretation of the local building code, local ordinance, and any municipal codes is extremely difficult at times however it is always very important to get it right.”

This stuff may seem very simple and most of the time it is, but if you do not follow the rules they will kill your design and your dreams.  I always recommend that you do a dry run past planning on paper and see if you can get them to approve it in writing.

Then when you come back with your design it is harder for them say well this simply wont work.  Because you did your homework!  I am not talking about trying to beat the system, I am saying that there is always more than one way to look at some part of the code and it is always best to do a pre-luminary run through.

Even after you do the floor plan design (basic one) and put it on your plot plan (I will talk about that in detail later) then run that past them.  You can keep doing this all the way through the entire design, if need be.

Some towns and cities really are picky and you need to make sure all the way through that you are on the right track.

On more than one occasion I had an approval in writing and came back and that person was gone, yes gone (it seem to happen a lot around here).  My ticket (I was pushing the limits) was no longer valid, and we had to change the plan. Lesson learned.

This can even happen after you are building the house.  I have seen plans be approved with windows on the second floor looking into a neighbor’s yard, the neighbor complained to the city and the window had to be removed.  Yes it was in the CCNR’s (Community Covenants Neighborhood Restrictions, more on that later) but the window was at a 45 degree so it really was not pointing into his yard, all you could see was his back fence, but he got his way and that window was well lets say upgraded to a stained glass window.  Some times you need to be creative.