Glossary
Access: A way of
approaching or entering a property, including ingress (the right to enter) and
egress (the right to leave).
Acres: Gross: The
total area of a site, including those areas that cannot be built upon.
Acres: Net:
The portion of a site that can actually be built upon. The following generally are not included in
the net acreage of a site: public or private road rights‑of‑way,
public open space, and flood ways.
ADT: Average daily
trips made by vehicles in a 24-hour period.
Air Basin:
A geographical area in California defined as a distinct air basin for the
purpose of managing the air resources of the State on a regional basis. An air
basin generally has similar meteorological and geographic conditions
throughout. The State is currently divided into 15 air basins.
Air Pollutant Emissions:
Discharges into the atmosphere, usually specified in terms of weight per unit
of time for a given pollutant from a given source.
Air Pollution:
The presence of contaminants in the air in concentrations that exceed naturally
occurring quantities and are undesirable or harmful.
Airport Local Area of Influence:
A boundary defined by the Salinas Municipal Airport Land
Use
Plan (1993) that encompasses the area affected by all the following elements:
1.
Airport building restriction zones;
2. Imaginary aircraft approach surfaces;
3. Local flight patterns;
4. Aircraft noise;
5. Natural features;
6. Airport-related accessible land;
7. Airport
access peripheral roads.
The
Area of Influence defines the jurisdiction of the Monterey County Airport Land
Use
Commission
created by Government Code 21670.
Air Quality Standards:
The prescribed (by the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air
Resources Board) level of pollutants in the outside air that cannot be exceeded
legally during a specified time in a specified geographical area.
AMBAG: Association of
Monterey Bay Area Governments
Ambient Noise Level:
The overall noise from all sources near and far. In this context, the ambient noise level constitutes the normal
or existing level of environmental noise at a given location.
Annexation:
The incorporation of a land area into an existing city with a resulting change
in the boundaries of that city.
Application For Development:
The application form(s) and all accompanying documents and exhibits required of
an applicant by an approving authority for development review by governmental
agency(ies).
Aquifer: An underground
bed or layer of earth, gravel or porous stone that contains water.
Archaeological Site:
Land or water areas which show evidence of human, plant or animal activity,
usually dating from periods of which only vestiges remain.
Arterial:
A major street carrying the traffic of local and collector streets to and from
freeways and other major streets, with controlled intersections and generally
providing direct access to nonresidential properties.
Assisted Housing:
Housing units whose construction, financing, sales prices, or rents have been
subsidized by federal, state, or local housing programs.
A‑Weighted Decibel (dBA):
A numerical method of rating human judgement of loudness. The A-weighted scale reduces the effects of
low and high frequencies in order to simulate human hearing.
Base Flood Elevation:
The highest elevation, expressed in feet above sea level, of the level of flood
waters expected to occur during a 100-year flood (i.e., a flood that has 1
percent likelihood of occurring in any given year).
Benefit Assessment District:
An area within a public agency's boundaries that receives a special benefit
from the construction of one or more public facilities. A Benefit Assessment District has no legal
life of its own and cannot act by itself.
It is strictly a financing mechanism for providing public infrastructure
as allowed under the Streets and Highways Code. Bonds may be issued to finance the improvements, subject to
repayment by assessments charged against the benefiting properties. Creation of
a Benefit Assessment District enables property owners in a specific area to
cause the construction of public facilities or to maintain them (for example, a
downtown, or the grounds and landscaping of a specific area) by contributing
their fair share of the construction and/or installation and operating costs.
Bike Lane:
A corridor expressly reserved by markings for bicycles, existing on a street
or
roadway in addition to any lanes for use by motorized vehicles (Class 2
Bikeway).
Bike Path:
A paved route not on a street or roadway, and expressly reserved for bicycles.
Bike paths may parallel roads but typically are separated from them by
landscaping (Class I Bikeway).
Bike Route: A facility shared with motorists and
identified only by signs. A bike
route
has no pavement markings or lane stripes (Class 3 Bikeway).
Blight: A condition of
a site, structure, or area that may cause nearby buildings and/or areas to
decline in attractiveness and/or utility.
The Community Redevelopment Law (Health and Safety Code, Sections 33031
and 33032) contains a definition of blight used to determine eligibility of
proposed redevelopment project areas.
Buffer: A strip of land
designated to protect one type of land use from another with which it is
incompatible. Where a commercial
district or agricultural uses abuts a residential district, for example,
additional use, yard, or height restrictions may be imposed to protect
residential properties. The term may
also be used to describe any zone that separates two unlike zones such as a
multifamily housing zone between single-family housing and commercial uses.
Building:
Any structure having a roof supported by columns or walls and intended for the
shelter, housing or enclosure of any individual, animal, process, equipment,
goods or materials of any kind or nature.
California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA): A State law requiring State and local agencies
to regulate activities with consideration for environmental protection. If a proposed activity has the potential for
a significant adverse environmental impact, an Environmental Impact Report
(EIR) may be required to be prepared and certified as to its adequacy before
taking action on the proposed project.
California Housing Finance Agency (CHFA):
A State agency, established by the Housing and Home Finance Act of 1975, which
is authorized to sell revenue bonds and generate funds for the development,
rehabilitation, and conservation of low‑ and moderate‑income
housing.
Caltrans:
California Department of Transportation.
Capital Improvement Program (CIP):
A proposed timetable or schedule of all future capital improvements (government
acquisition of real property, major construction project, or acquisition of
long lasting, expensive equipment) to be carried out during a specific period
and listed in order of priority, together with cost estimates and the
anticipated means of financing each project.
Capital improvement programs are usually projected five or six years in
advance and should be updated annually.
Census: The official
decennial enumeration of the population conducted by the federal government.
CHDO:
Community Housing Development Organization.
Central City: The downtown area of
Salinas, particularly the area in the vicinity of Main Street.
City: City, with a
capital "C," generally refers to the government or administration of
the City of Salinas. City, with a lower case "c" may mean any city.
Clean Air Act:
Federal legislation establishing national air quality standards.
Clustered Development:
Development in which a number of dwelling units are placed in closer proximity
than usual, or are attached, with the purpose of retaining an open space area.
Collector:
A street for traffic moving between arterial and local streets, generally
providing direct access to properties.
Common Interest Development (CID): A
form of real estate where each owner holds exclusive rights to a portion of the
property typically called a unit or a lot, and shared rights to portions of the
property typically called a common area.
The most numerous forms of CODs are the condominium and the planned
development.
Community Care Facility: Any facility, place, or building which is
maintained and operated to provide non-medical residential care, day treatment,
adult day care, or foster family agency services for children, adults, or
children and adults, including, but not limited to, the physically handicapped,
mentally impaired, incompetent persons, and abused or neglected children, and
includes residential facilities, adult day care facilities, day treatment
facilities, foster family homes, small family homes, social rehabilitation
facilities, community treatment facilities, and social day care facilities.
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG):
A grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) on a formula basis for entitlement communities, and by the
State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for non-entitled
jurisdictions. This grant allots money
to cities and counties for housing rehabilitation and community development,
including public facilities and economic development.
Community Facilities District (CFD):
Under the Mello‑Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 (Government Code
Section 53311 et seq), a legislative body may create within its jurisdiction a
special district that can issue tax‑exempt bonds for the planning,
design, acquisition, construction, and/or operation of public facilities, as
well as provide public services to district residents. Special tax assessments levied by the
district are used to repay the bonds.
Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL):
The average equivalent sound level during a 24‑hour day, obtained after
addition of five decibels to sound levels in the evening from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
and after addition of 10 decibels to sound levels in the night after 10 p.m.
and before 7 a.m. See also
"A-Weighted Decibel."
Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA):
A local agency created under California Redevelopment Law, or a local
legislative body which has elected to exercise the powers granted to such an
agency, for the purpose of planning, developing, replanning, redesigning,
clearing, reconstructing, and/or rehabilitating all or part of a specified area
with residential, commercial, industrial, and/or public (including
recreational) structures and facilities.
The redevelopment agency's plans must be compatible with adopted
community General Plans.
Compatibility:
The characteristics of different uses or activities that permit them to be
located near each other in harmony and without conflict. The designation of permitted and
conditionally permitted uses in zoning districts is intended to achieve
compatibility within the district. Some
elements affecting compatibility include:
intensity of occupancy as measured by dwelling units per acre;
pedestrian or vehicular traffic generated; volume of goods handled; and such
environmental effects as noise, vibration, glare, air pollution, or the
presence of hazardous materials. On the
other hand, many aspects of compatibility are based on personal preference and
are much harder to measure quantitatively, at least for regulatory purposes.
Condominium:
A building, or group of buildings, in which units are owned individually, and
the structure, common areas and facilities are owned by all the owners on a
proportional, undivided basis.
Congestion Management Plan (CMP):
A mechanism employing growth management techniques, including traffic level of
service requirements, development mitigation programs, transportation systems
management, and capital improvement programming, for the purpose of controlling
and/or reducing the cumulative regional traffic impacts of development. AB 1791, effective August 1, 1990, requires
all cities, and counties that include urbanized areas, to adopt and annually
update a Congestion Management Plan.
Congregate Care Housing:
Generally defined as age segregated housing built specifically for the elderly
which provides services to its residents, the minimum of which is usually an on‑site
meal program, but which may also include housekeeping, social activities,
counseling, and transportation. There is generally a minimum health requirement
for acceptance into a congregate facility as most do not offer supportive
health care services, thus differing from a nursing home. Residents usually have their own bedrooms
and share common areas such as living rooms, dining rooms, and kitchens;
bathrooms may or may not be shared.
Conservation:
The management of natural resources to prevent waste, destruction or neglect.
Cooperative:
A group of dwellings or an apartment building that is jointly owned by the
residents, the common ownership including the open space and all other parts of
the property. The purchase of stock
entitles the buyer to sole occupancy, but not the individual ownership of a
specified unit.
Council of Governments (COG):
A regional planning and review authority whose membership includes
representation from all communities in the designated region. The Association of Monterey Bay Area
Governments (AMBAG) is an example of a COG for the Central California area.
Coverage:
The proportion of the area of the footprint of a building in relation to the
area of the lot on which its stands.
CRA: Community
Redevelopment Agency.
Critical Movement:
Any of the through or turning movements at an intersection that determine the
allocation of green signal time.
Cumulative Impact:
As used in CEQA, the total impact resulting from the accumulated impacts of
individual projects or programs over time.
Day-Night Average Level (Ldn):
The average equivalent sound level during a 24‑hour day, obtained after
addition of 10 decibels to sound levels in the night after 10 p.m. and before 7
a.m. See also "Community Noise
Equivalent Level."
Decibel (dB):
A unit for describing the amplitude of sound, as it is heard by the human
ear. See also "A-Weighted
Decibel," "Community Noise Equivalent Level," and
"Day-Night Average Level."
Dedication:
The turning over by an owner or developer of private land for public use, and
the acceptance of land for such use by the governmental agency having
jurisdiction over the public function for which it will be used. Dedications for roads, parks, school sites,
or other public uses often are made conditions for approval of a development by
a city.
Density: The number of
dwelling units per unit of land; for the purposes of this General Plan density
is the number of dwelling units per net acre of land (du/acre), exclusive of
existing or proposed streets and rights-of-way. Thus, the density of a development of 100 units occupying 20 net
acres is 5.0 units per net acre.
Density Bonus:
The allocation of development rights as required by State law that allow a
parcel to be developed at a higher residential density than the maximum for
which the parcel is designated, in exchange for the provision of a certain
percentage of those units as affordable.
Density Transfer:
A way of retaining open space by concentrating densities, usually in compact
areas adjacent to existing urbanization and utilities, while leaving unchanged
historic, sensitive, or hazardous areas.
Developer: An individual or business that prepares raw
land for the construction of buildings or causes to be built physical building
space for use primarily by others, and in which the preparation of the land or
the creation of the building space is in itself a business and is not
incidental to another business or activity.
Development:
The division of a parcel of land into two or more parcels; the construction,
reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration, relocation or enlargement of
any structure; any mining, excavation, landfill or land disturbance, and any
use or extension of the use of land.
Development Impact Fees:
A fee or charge imposed on developers to pay for the costs to the City of
providing services to a new development.
Development Phasing Program: A program which establishes the requirement
that the issuance of building and grading permits shall be phased in a manner
that assures implementation of required transportation or other improvements
within the City. However, through the
CEQA process, the City may tie the phasing of development to improvements
outside of the City as mitigation measures/conditions of approval for
project-generated traffic impact fees.
Development Plan:
A plan, to scale, showing uses and structures proposed for a parcel or multiple
parcels of land. It includes lot lines,
streets, building sites, public open space, buildings, major landscape features
and locations of proposed utility services.
Development Rights:
The right to develop land by a land owner who maintains fee-simple ownership
over the land or by a party other than the owner who has obtained the rights to
develop. Such rights usually are
expressed in terms of density allowed under existing zoning. For example, one development right may equal
one unit of housing or may equal a specific number of square feet of gross
floor area in one or more specified zone districts.
Domestic
water; potable water: Water that has undergone adequate
treatment and is considered suitable for human drinking and cooking uses.
Dwelling:
A structure or portion of a structure used exclusively for human habitation.
Dwelling, Multi-Family:
A building containing two or more dwelling units for the use of individual
families maintaining households; an apartment or condominium building is an
example of this dwelling unit type.
Dwelling, Single-Family Attached:
A dwelling attached to one or more other dwellings by a common vertical wall;
duplexes and townhomes are examples of this dwelling unit type.
Dwelling, Single-Family Detached:
A dwelling, not attached to any other dwelling, which is designed for and
occupied by not more than one household and is surrounded by open space or
yards.
Dwelling Unit:
One or more rooms, designed, occupied or intended for occupancy as separate
living quarters, with cooking, sleeping and sanitary facilities provided within
the unit.
Easement:
A grant of one or more of the property rights by the property owner to and/or
for use by the public, a corporation, or another person or entity.
Economic Base:
The production, distribution and consumption of goods and services within a
planning area.
Element: A division of
the General Plan referring to a topic area for which goals, policies, and
programs are defined (e.g., land use, housing, circulation).
Eminent Domain:
The authority of a government to take, or to authorize the taking of, with
compensation, private property for public use.
Endangered Species:
A species of animal or plant is considered to be endangered when its prospects
for survival and reproduction are in immediate jeopardy from one or more
causes.
Environment:
The sum of all external conditions and influences affecting the life,
development and, ultimately, the survival of an organism.
Environmental Impact Report (EIR):
A report, as prescribed by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), on
the effect of a development proposal and other major actions which
significantly affect the environment.
Exaction:
A contribution or payment required as an authorized precondition for receiving
a development permit; usually refers to mandatory dedication (or fee in lieu of
dedication) requirements found in many subdivision regulations.
Fault: A fracture in
the earth's crust forming a boundary between rock masses that have shifted.
Fault, Active:
A fault that has moved within the last 11,000 years and which is likely to move
again within the next 100 years.
Fault, Inactive:
A fault which shows no evidence of movement in the last 11,000 years and no
potential for movement in the relatively near future.
Fault, Potentially Active:
A fault that last moved within the Quaternary Period (the last 2,000,000 to
11,000 years) before the Holocene Epoch (11,000 years to the present); or a
fault which, because it is judged to be capable of ground rupture or shaking,
poses an unacceptable risk for a proposed structure.
FEMA: Federal
Emergency Management Agency.
FHWA: Federal Highway
Administration.
Finding(s):
The result(s) of an investigation and the basis upon which decisions are
made. Findings are used by government
agents and bodies to justify action taken by the entity.
Fire Flow:
A rate of water flow that should be maintained to halt and reverse the spread
of a fire.
Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM):
For each community, the official map on which the Federal Insurance
Administration has delineated areas of special flood hazard and the risk
premium zones applicable to that community.
Flood Plain:
A lowland or relatively flat area adjoining the banks of a river or stream
which is subject to a one percent or greater chance or flooding in any given
year (i.e., 100‑year flood).
Flood, Regulatory Base:
Flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given
year (100‑year flood).
Floodway:
The channel of a watercourse or river, and portions of the flood plain
adjoining the channel, which are reasonably required to carry and discharge the
base flood of the channel.
Floor Area Ratio (FAR):
The ratio between the total gross floor area of all buildings on a lot and the
total land area of that lot; usually expressed as a numerical value (e.g., a
building having 5,000 square feet of gross floor area located on a lot of
10,000 square feet in area has a floor area ratio of 0.5, sometimes also
designated as a FAR of 0.5:1).
FmHA: Farmers Home
Administration.
General Aviation Facility:
A facility that handles all types of aviation other than that
performed
by air carriers (airlines) and the military.
General Plan:
A legal document which takes the form of a map and accompanying text adopted by
the local legislative body. The plan is
a compendium of policies regarding the long‑term development of a
jurisdiction. The state requires the
preparation of seven elements or divisions as part of the plan: land use, housing, circulation,
conservation, open space, noise, and safety. Additional elements pertaining to
the unique needs of an agency are permitted.
Goal: The ultimate
purpose of an effort stated in a way that is general in nature and
immeasurable; a broad statement of intended direction and purpose (e.g.,
"A balance of land use types within the city").
Grade: The degree of
rise or descent of a sloping surface.
Greenbelt:
An open area which may be cultivated or maintained in a natural state
surrounding development or used as a buffer between land uses or to mark the
edge of an urban or developed area.
Ground Failure:
Mudslide, landslide, liquefaction or the compaction of soils due to ground
shaking from an earthquake.
Ground Shaking:
Ground movement resulting from the transmission of seismic waves during an
earthquake.
Groundwater:
The supply of fresh water under the ground surface in an aquifer or soil that
forms a natural reservoir.
Group Quarters: A facility which houses groups of unrelated
persons not living in households (U.S. Census definition). Examples of group quarters include
institutions, dormitories, shelters, military quarters, assisted living
facilities and other quarters, including single-room occupancy (SRO) housing,
where 10 or more unrelated individuals are housed.
Growth Management:
Techniques used by government to control the rate, amount and type of
development.
Habitat: The physical
location or type of environment in which an organism or biological population
lives or occurs.
HCD: State
Department of Housing and Community Development.
HDC: Non-profit
Housing Development Corporation.
HOME: Home Investment
Partnership Act.
HOPE: Homeownership
for People Everywhere.
Hazardous Materials:
An injurious substance, including pesticides, herbicides, toxic metals and
chemicals, liquefied natural gas, explosives, volatile chemicals and nuclear
fuels.
Historic Area:
A district, zone or site designated by local, state or federal authorities
within which buildings, structures and places are of basic and vital importance
due to their association with history, or their unique architectural style and
scale, and therefore should be preserved and/or developed in accord with a
fixed plan.
Household:
According to the Census, a household is all persons living in a dwelling unit
whether or not they are related. Both a
single person living in an apartment and a family living in a house are
considered households.
Household Income:
The total income of all the people living in a household. Households are
usually described as very low income, low income, moderate income, and upper
income for that household size, based on their position relative to the county
median income.
Housing Affordability:
Based on State and Federal standards, housing is affordable when the housing
costs are no more than 30 percent of household income.
Housing Payment:
For ownership housing, this is defined as the mortgage payment, property
taxes,
and insurance and utilities. For rental
housing this is defined as rent and utilities.
HUD: U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development.
Human Services:
The programs which are provided by the local, state, or federal government to
meet the health, welfare, recreational, cultural, educational, and other
special needs of its residents.
ILS: Instrument
Landing System.
Implementation Measure:
An action, procedure, program, or technique that carries out General Plan
policy.
Income Categories:
Four categories for classifying households according to income based on the
median income for each county. The
categories are as follows: Very Low (0-50% of county median); Low (50-80% of
county median); Moderate (80-120% of county median); and Upper (over 120% of
county median).
Infrastructure:
The physical systems and services which support development and population,
such as roadways, railroads, water, sewer, natural gas, electrical generation
and transmission, telephone, cable television, storm drainage, and others.
Intensity:
A measure of the amount or level of development often expressed as the ratio of
building floor area to lot area (floor area ratio) for commercial, business,
and industrial development, or dwelling units per acre of land for residential
development (also called "density").
For the purposes of this General Plan, the intensity of non-residential
development is described through the use of floor area ratio and building floor
area square footage.
Intersection: Where
two or more roads cross at grade.
Issue: A problem,
constraint, or opportunity which becomes the basis for community action.