Vehicle Storage Facilities as a Primary Use
San Diego Municipal Code § 141.0803
in effect§141.0803 Vehicle Storage Facilities as a Primary Use
This use includes short or long-term storage of all types of operable motor vehicles as a primary use. This use may be permitted as a Limited Use in the zones indicated with an “L” in the Use Regulations Tables in Chapter 13, Article 1 (Base Zones) subject to the following regulations.
(a) This use shall only occur upon a premises where every street frontage is improved to the current standards of the City of San Diego as determined by the City Engineer.
(b) The facility shall be screened from the public right-of-way by a solid fence with a minimum height of 6 feet. The fencing shall be screened with plant material that includes 24-inch box evergreen canopy form trees separated by a maximum distance of 30 feet along the street frontage.
(c) The facility shall be screened from adjacent properties by 10-foot wide landscape strips that include 24-inch box evergreen species separated by a maximum distance of 30 feet along the side and rear yards. Landscape strips shall not be required along the side or rear yards abutting parcels zoned as Open Space or Agricultural. This screening requirement does not apply to abutting lots, if both lots are occupied by a use in this same land use sub-category.
(d) The entire surface of the facility, excluding required landscape areas, shall be paved with asphalt, concrete, compacted gravel, compacted decomposed granite, or similar surface paving material of at least four inches in depth.
If compacted gravel, compacted decomposed granite, or similar materials are used to pave any surface of the facility upon which vehicles are stored or driven, then a 6-inch thick reinforced concrete or asphalt driveway of not less than 25 feet in length for automobile storage or 50 feet in length for truck storage from the public right-of-way shall be required.
(e) One or more commercial coaches, or other accessory use structures, shall be located on the premises for facility staff to provide for security, inventory control, or other directly related administrative functions and shall be placed or built upon a concrete slab or other permanent foundation in compliance with the Construction permit.
(f) No vehicles shall be stored until a Certificate of Occupancy has been issued for the accessory use structure.
(g) Vehicles shall be stored in an orderly manner in accordance with the site plan approved by the Construction permit.
(h) The following activities may be permitted as accessory uses on the premises:
(1) Auctioning of vehicles from inventory provided there is no dismantling of vehicles for the purposes of selling parts.
(2) Performing minor repairs to vehicles held in inventory if there is no discharge of fluids.
(i) Vehicle components that may contain oil, grease, or similar ground water contaminants shall not be washed except if the facility is equipped, as authorized by the Construction permit, to prevent the contaminants from leaching into the water table.
(j) The parking stalls for visitor and employee parking shall be subject to the landscape regulations in Section 142.0402.
(“Vehicle Storage Facilities as a Primary Use” added 1-8-2020 by O-21164 N.S.; effective 2-9-2020.)
Source: City of San Diego Office of the City Clerk, San Diego Municipal Code and City Charter (docs.sandiego.gov PDFs)URL: https://docs.sandiego.gov/municode/MuniCodeChapter14/Ch14Art01Division08.pdf#page=4Fetched: 10/28/2026