"P" Definitions

Santa Clara City Code § 18.160.160

in effect

Palisade Fencing. See “Fence, Palisade.” Parcel. Tract or area of land established by plat, subdivision, or as otherwise permitted by law, to be used, developed or built upon as required by this Code, and fronting upon a street or a private easement adequate for purposes of access. Parcel area. The total of the area, measured in a horizontal plane, within the parcel lines of a parcel. Parcel, corner. A parcel located at the intersection of two or more streets at an angle of not more than 130 degrees. If the angle is greater than 130 degrees, the parcel shall be considered an “interior parcel.” Parcel depth. The horizontal distance between the front and the rear parcel lines measured in the mean direction of the side parcel lines. Parcel, flag. A parcel with access provided to the bulk of the lot by means of a corridor less than 25 feet in width. See illustration below. Parcel line. Any line bounding a parcel as defined in this Article. See illustration below. Parcel line, Front. A property line abutting a street. Parcel line, Rear. The parcel line opposite the front parcel line. Parcel line, Side. Any parcel line that is not a front parcel line or rear parcel line. Parcel, reversed corner. A corner parcel, the side line of which is substantially a continuation of the front parcel lines of the parcels to its rear, whether across an alley or not. Parcel, substandard. A parcel of land that has less than the required minimum land area, width or depth as established by the zone in which it is located. Parcel, through. A parcel having frontage on two dedicated streets, not including a corner or reversed corner parcel. See illustration below. Parcel width. The horizontal distance between the side parcel lines, measured at right angles to the parcel depth at the front setback line. See illustration below. Parking Facility. A parking lot or parking structure customarily used for the temporary parking motor vehicles. Parking facilities should be either primary use or accessory use. Park and Ride Facility. Designated area where vehicles may be temporarily parked in order to carpool with other commuters or to ride public transit. Parks and Plazas. Means a public park, including playgrounds and athletic fields/courts and public plazas and outdoor gathering places, for community use. Pawn Shop. A building or portion thereof where personal property is received and for which money is advanced, with the right of privilege granted to the person to whom said money is advanced to reclaim such property upon repayment of said money, together with all legal charges incident thereto. This does not banks, saving and loan institutions, credit unions, or other banking organizations regulated by State or Federal law. Period of Significance. The span of time during which relevant events and activities occurred at an HRI property. Personal Service, General. Commercial establishment that provides recurrently needed services of a personal nature. Illustrative examples of these uses include:  Barber and Beauty Shop  Clothing rental shop;  Dry-cleaning pick-up store with limited equipment;  Laundromats (self-service laundry);  Locksmith;  Nail salon;  Shoe repair shop;  Tailors and seamstress; and  Tanning Salon. These uses may also include accessory retail sales of products related to the personal services provided. Personal Service, Restricted. Commercial establishment that may tend to have a blighting and/or deteriorating effect upon surrounding areas/uses and that may need to be dispersed from other similar uses to minimize adverse impacts. Illustrative examples of these uses include:  Pawnshop ;  Check-cashing and Payday lending establishments ; and  Tattoo service, branding or body piercing studio. The application of permanent makeup is specifically excluded from this definition. These uses may also include accessory retail sales of products related to the personal services provided. Photovoltaic Equipment. Items including a solar photovoltaic cell, panel or array, lines, mounting brackets, framing and foundations used for or intended to be used for collection of solar energy. Photovoltaic (PV) System: A solar collection system consisting of one or more building- and/ or ground - mounted systems, solar photovoltaic cells, panels or arrays and solar related equipment that rely upon solar radiation as an energy source for collection, inversion, storage and distribution of solar energy for electricity generation. A solar photovoltaic system is a generation system with a nameplate capacity of not greater than 50 kilowatts if installed at a residential service or not larger than 3,000 kilowatts at other customer service locations. Place of Assembly. Facility for public or private assembly and meetings, including civic and private auditoriums, banquet halls, community centers, conference and convention facilities; meeting halls for clubs, religious institutions (i.e., church, temple, synagogue, and mosque), and other membership organizations. Preventative Maintenance. Any work to prevent deterioration or damage to the structural integrity or any exterior feature of an HRI property that does not involve a change in design, material or exterior appearance. Such work includes, but is not limited to, painting, wood trim or siding repair, roof repair, patching, caulking, foundation or chimney repairs, or landscape maintenance. Primary Use. The main or principal use of land or structure, as distinguished from a secondary or accessory use. Public Building. Structure used (both owned and rented) by public agencies, including city, county, Federal, and State administration buildings; fire stations, and other fire prevention and firefighting facilities; police and sheriff substations and headquarters, including interim incarceration facilities; public libraries, and post offices. Does not include facilities specifically identified under another land use category, including schools. Public Safety Facility. Facility necessary to respond to immediate hazards or threats to public health and safety, including fire stations, other fire prevention and firefighting facilities, police and sheriff substations and headquarters, including interim incarceration facilities.

Source: City of Santa Clara Zoning Code (santaclaraca.gov PDF)URL: https://www.santaclaraca.gov/our-city/departments-a-f/community-development/planning-division/zoningFetched: 10/24/2026