Palo Alto Zoning Ordinance Technical Manual for Single-Family Residential Zones

Arnold Mammarella provided architectural guidance to planning staff on interpretation of residential zoning standards for an Illustrated Technical Manual to be provided to the public. The residential floor area ratio regulations, daylight plan regulations, and contextual garage placement regulations are examples of zoning standards needing clarification on measurement methods as well as graphic illustration. 

He also provided illustrations for the manual, including those showing various conditions, such as porches and entry forms, attic or tall interior spaces, etc that may or may not count towards floor area depending on design factors. The layout of the technical manual is similar to the Single-Family Individual Review Guidelines document to make these companion documents. The popular Zoning Technical Manual won recognition from the American Planning Association.

A few illustrations are shown here. The technical manual is available online at the City of Palo Alto website.