18.32.120 Usable Outdoor Area Requirements.
A. The following usable outdoor areas shall be required for all residential uses in the R-3 District: three hundred (300) square feet of usable outdoor area for every studio apartment, or three hundred (300) square feet of usable outdoor area for every one-bedroom dwelling unit, plus one hundred (100) square feet of usable outdoor area for each additional bedroom within the unit.
B. Usable outdoor area may consist of outdoor area on the ground, balcony deck or roof deck, all of which are designed and accessible for outdoor living and recreation, complying with the following provisions:
1. Areas included in computing usable outdoor area shall be either common or private, or a combination of both.
2. Common usable outdoor area is an on-site area of lawn, pool, garden court, or deck, which is readily and safely accessible to all dwelling units via a walk, path or stairway. Such required space shall be no less than three hundred (300) square feet in area and have no dimension less than fifteen (15) feet.
3. Private usable outdoor area shall be contiguous and safely accessible only to the dwelling unit it serves, and shall have an area of at least one hundred fifty (150) square feet, if located at ground level, with no dimension less than six (6) feet.
4. Required parking areas, driveways and internal roadway systems, service areas and other areas similar in function shall not be included in computing usable outdoor area.
5. Each element of usable outdoor area shall be open on at least one side and shall have a clear vertical height of not less than seven (7) feet.
6. Not less than fifty (50) percent of the total required usable outdoor area shall be unobstructed to the sky.
7. Outdoor area shall be located on the same zoning plot as the dwelling units for which it is required. The computation of such outdoor area shall include no obstructions other than devices and structures designed to enhance its usability such as swimming pools, game courts, fountains, planters, benches and landscaping.
8. Areas with a slope greater than ten (10) percent are not allowed for computing usable outdoor area.
9. Areas which lie below the mean high water line as established by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey are not allowed for computing usable outdoor area.
10. Commercial recreation shall not be construed as meeting the usable outdoor area requirement.
11. Those areas used to comply with the above standards shall not be used for dedicated open space easements or park and recreation lands per Larkspur Municipal Code Chapter 17.13. (Ord. 1030 § 2(12), 2018; Ord. 929 § 23, 2004; Ord. 508 § 1, 1975)