Vehicle and Vehicle Equipment Sales and Service Use Category --Separately Regulated Uses

San Diego Municipal Code ch. 14, art. 1, div. 8

in effect

San Diego Municipal Code § 141.0801 Automobile Service Stations

§141.0801 Automobile Service Stations Automobile service stations are 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. Automobile service stations may be permitted with a Neighborhood Use Permit decided in accordance with a Process Two in the zones indicated with an “N” or with a Conditional Use Permit decided in accordance with Process Three in the zones indicated with a “C” in the Use Regulations Tables in Chapter 13, Article 1 (Base Zones) subject to the following regulations. (a) The following activities may be permitted in automobile service stations: (1) Sale and dispensing of engine fuels and lubricants; (2) Sale and servicing of tires, batteries, automotive accessories and replacement items; (3) Minor automotive maintenance and repair, including all government mandated automobile diagnostic evaluations; and (4) Other incidental customer services and products. (5) Hydrogen vehicle fueling stations in accordance with Section 141.0804. (b) The following activities may be permitted as accessory uses in automobile service stations: (1) Sale of groceries and sundries; (2) Automatic or manual automobile washing, waxing, interior cleaning and detailing services; (3) Sale of liquefied or pressurized butane, propane, or natural gas; and (4) Other accessory uses similar in nature to the uses listed in this section. (5) Hydrogen vehicle fueling stations in accordance with Section 141.0804. (c) The minimum street frontage required is as follows: (1) 100 feet on one street for a station that engages only in the sale and dispensing of engine fuels and lubricants; and (2) 150 feet on one street for a station that engages in any two or more activities listed in Section 141.0801(a) and (b). (d) The minimum setback requirements are as follows: (1) For corner lots, the minimum front setback and the minimum street side setback shall be the minimum setback required by the zone of the abutting property. (2) For interior lots, the minimum front setback shall be the minimum front setback required by the zone of the abutting properties. If the required front setbacks of the abutting properties differ, the service station is required to provide the greater setback. (3) The minimum side setback and the minimum rear setback are as required by the applicable zone, except that if the lot abuts residentially zoned property, the minimum side or rear setback along the common property line is 15 feet or as required by the zone, whichever is greater. (e) Driveways shall be in compliance with Chapter 14, Article 2, Division 5 (Parking Regulations) except as provided in the following regulations. (1) One driveway up to 35 feet wide may be permitted on each street frontage if it is the only driveway on that street frontage and the adjacent street has four or more lanes and is classified as a collector street, a major street, or a primary arterial. In all other cases driveways shall be no more than 30 feet wide. (2) No more than two driveways are permitted for any street or alley frontage. (3) Corner lots with an area of 20,000 square feet or less shall have no more than three driveways per lot. (4) No more than one driveway is permitted on any frontage of 100 feet or less. (5) Driveways shall be at least 30 feet apart. (6) On corner lots, driveways shall be located at least 20 feet from the end of the curb radius. (7) No driveway should be located closer than 15 feet to an abutting property line. (f) Devices to alert station attendants to entering vehicles shall be located and adjusted so that they do not cause noise disturbance to adjoining properties. (g) Stations abutting residentially zoned property shall operate only between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 midnight. Signs on sites abutting residentially zoned property may be lighted only between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 midnight. (h) Merchandise, material, and products for sale shall be stored and displayed only within an enclosed building, except that motor oil, tires, batteries, and other automotive supplies may be displayed at pump islands or adjacent to a building if the display or storage racks and containers are designed to appear as an integral part of the pump island or building exterior. (i) When a service station is abandoned or the use changed, the property owner shall remove the underground tanks in accordance with the procedures of the City of San Diego Fire Department and the County of San Diego Health Services Department. (Added 12-9-1997 by O-18451 N.S.; effective 1-1-2000.) (Amended 11-13-08 by O-19803 N.S; effective 12-13-2008.) (Amended 6-15-2026 by O-22109 N.S.; effective 7-15-2026.) [Editors Note: Amendments as adopted by O-22109 N.S. will not apply within the Coastal Overlay Zone until the California Coastal Commission certifies it as a Local Coastal Program Amendment. Click the link to view the Strikeout Ordinance highlighting changes to prior language http://docs.sandiego.gov/municode_strikeout_ord/O-22109-SO.pdf ]

San Diego Municipal Code § 141.0802 Outdoor Storage and Display of New, Unregistered Motor Vehicles as a Primary Use

§141.0802 Outdoor Storage and Display of New, Unregistered Motor Vehicles as a Primary Use This use may be permitted with a Conditional Use Permit decided in accordance with Process Three in the zones indicated with a “C” in the Use Regulations Tables in Chapter 13, Article 1 (Base Zones) subject to the following regulations. (a) Automobile access to the facility shall be at points of low pedestrian activity and shall be located away from any adjacent residential development. (b) The facility shall be screened from adjacent residential development by fences or walls and landscaping. (c) Measures shall be taken to ensure that the ground water table is not adversely affected by the increase of impermeable surfaces due to the development of the facility. (d) Measures shall be taken to ensure that the water quality is not adversely affected by runoff containing fuel and lubricants or other pollutants. (Added 12-9-1997 by O-18451 N.S.; effective 1-1-2000.)

San Diego Municipal Code § 141.0803 Vehicle Storage Facilities as a Primary Use

§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.)

San Diego Municipal Code § 141.0804 Hydrogen Vehicle Fueling Stations

§141.0804 Hydrogen Vehicle Fueling Stations Hydrogen vehicle fueling stations are facilities that contain equipment and structural design components necessary to ensure the safety of hydrogen vehicle fueling stations, including hydrogen-refueling canopies, that are used to store and dispense hydrogen fuel to vehicles, according to industry codes and standards, that are open to the public. Hydrogen vehicle fueling stations are 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. The regulations are intended to facilitate the use of hydrogen vehicle fueling stations, to comply with state requirements for timely administrative approvals, and allow an applicant to appeal a denial of an application of a construction permit for a hydrogen vehicle fueling station. (a) A construction permit decided in accordance with Process One shall be required for the installation of a hydrogen vehicle fueling station with a deemed complete application submitted prior to January 1, 2030. (1) The construction permit application shall be submitted in accordance with Sections 112.0102 and 129.0105. (2) Within a planned district, subject to Chapter 15 of the Land Development Code, a separate Planned District Ordinance Permit shall not be required in addition to the construction permit required under Section 141.0804. (b) In reviewing the construction permit, the Building Official shall evaluate whether the hydrogen vehicle fueling station meets all applicable health and safety requirements of local, state, and federal law and shall apply the following regulations: (1) A hydrogen vehicle fueling station shall meet all the following, as applicable: (A) Safety and performance standards established by the Society of Automotive Engineers and accredited nationally recognized testing laboratories; and (B) Any rules established by the California Air Resources Board, Energy Commission, or Department of Food and Agriculture regarding safety, reliability, weights, and measures. (2) Existing landscaping shall not be removed if it is required under the Landscape Regulations (Chapter 14, Article 2 Division 4), unless it is replaced with equivalent or greater landscape elsewhere on the premises. (3) The applicant shall demonstrate that a hydrogen vehicle fueling station on private property will accommodate a vehicle to be fueled while parked without protruding into the public right-of-way. (4) Street frontage, setback, and driveway requirements shall be consistent with Sections 141.0801(c) through 141.0801(e). (5) The premises of a hydrogen vehicle fueling station shall not contain any residential uses. (6) Notwithstanding the zones indicated with an “L” in the Use Regulations Tables in Chapter 13, Article 1 (Base Zones), a hydrogen vehicle fueling station may be permitted on a premises that was previously developed with an automobile service station. (7) A hydrogen vehicle fueling station may be an accessory use for an automobile service station in accordance with Section 141.1801. (c) The Building Official shall approve, in accordance with Process One, the hydrogen vehicle fueling station unless the Building Official determines there is substantial evidence of a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, which for the purpose of Section 141.0408(c) means a significant quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact based on objective, identified, and written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete, and there is no feasible method or alternative to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact. (d) If the Building Official determines that the proposed hydrogen fueling station could have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, then the Building Official shall make written findings notifying the applicant that the construction permit for the hydrogen vehicle fueling station is denied, the basis for that denial, and the appeal rights set forth in Section 141.0408(e). (e) Notwithstanding Section 112.0502, an applicant may appeal the denial of an application for a construction permit for a hydrogen vehicle fueling station to the Planning Commission by filing an application for an appeal hearing with the City Manager no later than 10 business days after the decision date. The applicant shall be responsible for all administrative costs associated with processing the appeal. (f) The application shall include the contents for appeal identified in Section 112.0510(a). (1) Grounds for Appeal. A denial may only be appealed on the grounds that the stated findings to deny the construction permit are not supported by substantial evidence. (2) Scheduling an Appeal Hearing. The City Manager shall assign a date for an appeal hearing before the Planning Commission no later than 30 calendar days after the date on which an application for the appeal hearing is filed with the City Manager. (3) Power to Act on the Decision at Appeal Hearing. The Planning Commission may affirm, reverse, or modify the decision to deny a construction permit for a hydrogen vehicle fueling station in accordance with the following: (A) A decision to affirm the Building Official decision requires a finding based on substantial evidence in the record that the proposed hydrogen vehicle fueling station would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety and there is no feasible or alternative method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact. In addition, the finding shall include the basis for rejection of potential alternatives to prevent the adverse impact. (B) If the Planning Commission determines that there is no substantial evidence in the record that the proposed hydrogen vehicle charging station would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, then the decision by the Building Official shall be reversed and the construction permit shall be approved. (C) If the Planning Commission determines that conditions of approval would mitigate the specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, then the decision by the Building Official shall be reversed, and the construction permit shall be conditionally approved. Any conditions imposed shall be mitigated by the applicant at the lowest cost possible. (“Hydrogen Vehicle Fueling Stations” added 6-15-2026 by O-22109 N.S.; effective 7-15-2026.) [Editors Note: Amendments as adopted by O-22109 N.S. will not apply within the Coastal Overlay Zone until the California Coastal Commission certifies it as a Local Coastal Program Amendment. Click the link to view the Strikeout Ordinance highlighting changes to prior language http://docs.sandiego.gov/municode_strikeout_ord/O-22109-SO.pdf ]

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=1Fetched: 10/28/2026