Allowable Population Density in Airport Safety Zones

The most direct way to reduce risks to people on the ground is to restrict land uses so as to limit the number of people permitted to occupy an area. Greater restrictions shall be placed on the number of people permitted in a building than within an open area because of the greater difficulty of evacuating a building in case of an aircraft accident. In addition, damage to the building caused by an aircraft accident can exacerbate the danger of the accident

The procedures for applying the people-per-acre limits to determine consistency with the Maximum Population Density in Table 8B and Table 8C are as follows:

1. Indoor uses: The use shall not exceed the indoor population density limits in Table 8B and Table 8C applied to the net land area of the portion of the property to be developed. This area includes the privately owned property proposed for structures, landscaping, parking, driveways, walkways, utilities and other accessory uses directly related to the indoor uses, and land required to be dedicated to public streets as a condition of project approval, but does not include land which is already in publicly-owned vehicular right-of-way or which will be open space, undeveloped or in agricultural use.
2. Outdoor uses: The number of people in any acre of the property, including areas devoted to spectator seating, group events or other public assembly, shall not exceed the CALUP outdoor population density limits.
3. Alternate methods for determining the concentration of people for various types of uses are presented in Appendix D.

The procedures for applying the dwelling-unit-per-acre limits for Maximum Residential Density in Table 8B and Table 8C are as follows:

1. The proposed number and density of dwelling units shall not exceed what is allowed by applicable provisions of the local jurisdiction’s adopted General Plan and zoning.
2. Second dwelling units are not included in the density and are not restricted by the CALUP if such units are permitted under a local jurisdiction’s zoning code.
3. The dwelling units allowed by Table 8B and Table 8C shall not be transferred to another portion of the property if commercial, industrial or other non-residential uses are developed instead.
4. Live-work units where residential and non-residential uses are combined in each occupancy unit shall be considered to be dwelling units for the purposes of applying CALUP residential density requirements.
5. The number of dwelling units allowed by Table 8B or 8C on any portion of the property which will be undeveloped or in agricultural use may be transferred to be built upon other portions of the site if all of the following criteria are met:
   1. Project approval will include provisions for open space easements or other methods to assure that the portions of the property where the allowed residential density will be used elsewhere on the property, will remain undeveloped or in agricultural use on a permanent basis.
   2. Residential buildings will be no more than 35 feet in height.
   3. The density of dwelling units in any portion of the property will not exceed the maximum persons per acre. A higher density of up to three times the normal limit may be permitted for clustering of units if the Commission determines that the location and design of the project maximizes the usable open space, the safety of occupants and overhead aircraft, and the noise protection for residents.