18.35.030 Development standards – RS Districts

18.35.030 Development standards – RS Districts.

Table 18.35.030 prescribes development regulations for the RS Districts. The first six columns establish minimum requirements for permitted and conditional uses. Letters in parentheses in the “Additional Regulations” column refer to regulations following the schedule. The numbers in each illustration below refer to corresponding regulations in the “#” column in the associated table. Regulations applicable to multiple districts are in Division 4 of this code.

Table 18.35.030 Development Standards – RS Districts
	District				Additional Regulations	#
	RS-1	RS-3	RS-4	RS-5	Additional Regulations	#
Lot Density Standards
Minimum Lot Area (s/f)	12,000	9,000	7,000	5,000	(A), (B)
Minimum Lot Width (ft.)	100	80	60	50	(B)	❶
Maximum Lot Coverage
One Story	40%	45%	50%	55%
Two/Three stories	35%	40%	45%	50%
Building Standards
Maximum Building Height (ft.)	30	30	30	30		❷
Setbacks (ft.)
Front	25	20	20	15 (2)	(C)(1)	❸
Interior Side	10	7.5	5	5		❹
Street Side	20	7.5	5	5	(C)	❺
Rear	25	20	20	15		❻
Garages and Driveways	(C)(3)
Other Standards
Street Side Setbacks	For all lots under 10,000 square feet, a minimum 10-foot landscape tract or no-build easement must be provided on the street side of the lot, in addition to the minimum interior side setback required.
Covered Patios	(C)
Residential Diversity	(C)
Clustered Development	(C), (D)
Additional Standards
Accessory Structures	MCC 18.80.020, Accessory building or structures
Exceptions to Height Limits	MCC 18.80.080, Exceptions to height limits
Fences and Walls	MCC 18.80.090, Fences and freestanding walls
Landscaping	Chapter 18.90 MCC, Landscaping
Lighting	Chapter 18.95 MCC, Lighting
Off-Street Parking and Loading	Chapter 18.105 MCC, On-Site Parking and Loading
Outdoor Storage	MCC 18.80.100, Outdoor storage
Projections into Required Setbacks	MCC 18.80.040, Building projections into yards
Screening	MCC 18.80.110, Screening
Signs	Chapter 18.115 MCC, Signs
Swimming Pools	MCC 18.80.120, Swimming pools and spas
Visibility at Driveways	MCC 18.80.150, Visibility at intersections and driveways

1For RS-4 and RS-5 Districts, livable areas and side entry garages may have a minimum setback of 10 feet from the property line.

2For RS-5 Districts, street-facing garage entrances shall be no less than a distance of 18 feet from the property line.

3Detached garages shall be located in the rear half of the lot. The zoning administrator may approve a detached garage in the front half of the lot subject to the front setback requirements of the district where the size, shape, location, surroundings, or existing structures make it infeasible to locate the garage in the rear half of the lot.

A. Diversity in Lot Size. Chapter 17.25 MCC sets minimum requirements for a diversity of lot sizes within a residential subdivision.

B. RS-5 Districts – Open Space, Lot Size Variation Allowed. Open space for projects with lots less than 7,000-square-foot lot size shall be a minimum of 22 percent of the total net acres. Up to 25 percent of the lots in a subdivision may be smaller than the minimum lot size, with a minimum width of 45 feet. No lot shall be less than 4,500 square feet.

C. Residential Design Approval. All new single-family standard home plans, and additions to existing standard home plans, shall be reviewed for compliance with the “City of Maricopa Single-Family Residential Design Guidelines” prior to issuance of a building permit. A zoning permit shall be issued for all plans found to meet the intent of the “City of Maricopa Single-Family Residential Design Guidelines,” subject to conditions.

D. Clustered Development. Clustered development may be approved in RS-3, RS-4, RS-5, and RM Districts through development review permit, subject to the standards in Table 18.35.030.D and the regulations that follow the table.

Table 18.35.030.D Clustered Development Standards
	Standard
Site Development
Maximum Lot Coverage (% of site)	50 or as approved by PAD
Maximum Number of Units in an Individual Cluster	8 for a cluster with a single access point
Setbacks
Project Site	The perimeter of the project site is subject to the setback requirements of the base zone.
Individual Lot Setbacks
Front	10 ft.; 7 ft. for porch
Side	5 ft. or as approved by PAD
Rear	15 ft.; 0 for detached garage on alley or private autocourt, but a 3-ft. setback for maneuvering and pedestrian safety may be required. See MCC Title 17, Subdivisions, for minimum alley dimensions.
Minimum Building Separation	International Residential Code
Parking and Access
Maximum Driveway Width (ft.)	32 ft.
Number of Parking Spaces for Each Unit	3 with one space being nonexclusive.
Building Orientation
Entrance Location	The main entrance to each ground-floor dwelling shall be visible to and located directly off a common courtyard, autocourt, open space paseo, or directly from a public or private street.
Other Standards
Open Space	See MCC Title 17, Subdivisions.

1. Access. Cluster subdivisions may use public streets or private accessways to provide vehicular access to each cluster. Private accessways shall meet the minimum city standards for public streets in terms of engineering and design standards and construction materials. Private accessways shall be maintained by a homeowners’ association.

2. Shared Driveways. Cluster subdivisions may use shared driveways to provide access to each unit in the cluster. Shared driveways shall have a minimum width of 24 feet at the intersection with public streets or private accessways and may transition to a minimum width of 20 feet within each cluster, and shall be maintained by a homeowners’ association.

a. Shared driveways within individual clusters shall be differentiated from adjacent public streets or private accessways by a strip of decorative pavers, stamped or colored concrete, or materials other than those used to pave adjoining streets.

b. Shared driveways within individual clusters shall not exceed 150 feet in length, measured from the curb line at the intersection with the public street or private accessway to termination of the shared drive.

3. Required Parking. Cluster subdivisions shall provide a minimum of three parking spaces for each unit in the cluster, with at least one space per unit being nonexclusive and located within 150 feet of the dwelling unit the space is intended to serve.

4. Additional Parking. If additional parking is provided internal to the cluster, driveways to accommodate such parking should be a minimum of 18 feet long and a minimum eight feet wide per garage bay. If the garage door of any unit faces a private accessway or public street serving other clusters in the subdivision, then a minimum of 18 feet must be provided between the back of sidewalk (or curb, if no sidewalk) to the face of the garage door.

5. Minimum Maneuvering Space. Each dwelling unit driveway in the cluster shall be designed such that each driver backing a large-size passenger vehicle out of the driveway can maneuver with one turning movement in order to exit the cluster, and vehicles entering a garage can drive into the garage without having to back up. Driveways for 60 percent of the units in each cluster shall be designed such that a large-size vehicle may back out with one turning movement in order to exit the cluster without backing into the public street or private accessway.

6. Drainage. Surface water drainage shall not be allowed to pass from one cluster to another over the shared driveway of another cluster. Surface water drainage from individual clusters, however, may pass over the driveway for that respective cluster, but not from lot to lot unless located within a drainage easement.

a. Integrated Theme. Buildings and structures shall exhibit an integrated architectural theme that includes similar or complementary materials, colors, and design details.

b. Site Entrance. Clustered development shall have at least one major driveway entrance feature that provides an organizing element to the site design. Major driveway entrances shall include such features as a landscaped entry corridor or a divided median drive separated by a landscaped center dividing island.

c. Entries and Porches. At least 35 percent of homes must include entries and porches extending along a minimum of 50 percent of the width of the homes’ front facades, excluding the width of garages. Porches meeting this requirement shall have a minimum width of eight feet and a minimum depth of four feet.

8. Additional Landscaping Required. A clustered development shall provide 25 percent more landscaping than required by MCC Title 17, Subdivisions, for standard size lots, which may be in common areas, landscaped right-of-way, trails, or other open space. [Res. 22-12; Ord. 22-03 § 2; Res. 21-09; Ord. 21-05 § 2; Res. 14-36 § 202.03; Ord. 14-12 § 1.]