City of Vernon - Title 17 Zoning: Permitted Use Summary VMC Title 17 Zoning Use Summary August 2026 Page 1
City of Vernon
Zoning: Permitted Use Cross-Reference Matrix
Prepared August 2026
The matrix below shows every permitted use as a row and all twelve Vernon zones and overlay zones as columns. The color-coded abbreviation in each cell indicates the required approval level for that use in that zone. Uses not listed in a MU zone’s own tables but not prohibited follow I Zone standards. See legend at the bottom of the table. Verbatim VMC § 17.16.020 definitions for all uses follow the matrix.
I Zone & Overlay Zones Mixed-Use Zones
Use / Activity I Zone C-1 C-2 S R H T E MU-CC MU-S MU-N MU-PH Industrial Uses — By Right in I Zone (inherited by all overlays and applicable to unlisted uses in MU zones) Industrial use BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR
Data centers BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR
Cold storage warehouses BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR Industrial gas manufacturing BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR Warehouse — lots < 150,000 sf BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR Wholesale — lots < 150,000 sf BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR Ancillary use (≤20% of floor
area) BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR
Incidental use (>20%–<50% of
floor area) BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR
City activities and uses BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR BR Warehouse & Wholesale — Larger Lots (Development Agreement) Warehouse — lots ≥ 150,000 sf DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA Wholesale — lots ≥ 150,000 sf DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA Commercial Uses (I Zone & Overlays)
Ancillary retail use (≤10% of floor
area) MCUP MCUP MCUP — — — MCUP — BR BR BR BR
Commercial / retail uses
(general) — MCUP MCUP — — — — — BR BR BR BR
Fueling stations — MCUP MCUP — — — MCUP — — — — —
Incidental use with right to sell
at retail (Minor CUP unlocks
retail element of incidental use)
— MCUP MCUP — — — MCUP — — — — —
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I Zone & Overlay Zones Mixed-Use Zones
Use / Activity I Zone C-1 C-2 S R H T E MU-CC MU-S MU-N MU-PH Commercial/retail — First
Amendment uses — — BR — — — — — — — — —
Religious uses — — MCUP — — — — — BR BR BR BR
CUP Uses — I Zone Base (inherited by all overlays and MU zones for unlisted uses) Refineries CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP Generating facilities / power
plants / cogeneration CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP Trash to energy facilities CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP Petroleum-related uses /
storage CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP Recycling facilities CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP Trade schools CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP BR BR BR BR Public utilities CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP Overlay-Specific CUP and DA Uses
Slaughtering of animals (lots ≥ 1
acre) — — — CUP — — — — — — — —
Rendering plant (lots ≥ 1 acre) — — — — CUP — — — — — — — Hazardous waste facilities — — — — — — CUP — — — — —
Solid waste facilities — — — — — — CUP — — — — —
Fueling stations (CUP tier) — — — — — — CUP — — — — —
Freight/truck
terminal/transportation-related
(lots ≥ 2 acres)
— — — — — — CUP — — — — —
Emergency shelters — — — — — — — BR — — BR BR
Residential uses (H Overlay DA;
MU zones by right) — — — — — DA — — BR BR BR —
MU Zone Uses (not applicable to I Zone or Overlays unless noted) Single-Family Dwelling — — — — — — — — BR — — —
Multifamily Dwelling (≤100 units) — — — — — — — — BR BR BR — Multifamily Dwelling (>100 units) — — — — — — — — CUP CUP CUP — Residential Care Facilities — — — — — — — — BR BR BR —
Live/Work Units — — — — — — — — BR BR BR —
City of Vernon - Title 17 Zoning: Permitted Use Summary VMC Title 17 Zoning Use Summary August 2026 Page 3
I Zone & Overlay Zones Mixed-Use Zones
Use / Activity I Zone C-1 C-2 S R H T E MU-CC MU-S MU-N MU-PH Hotel — — — — — — — — E E — —
Offices — — — — — — — — BR BR BR BR
Office Manufacturing — — — — — — — — BR BR E E
Media Production Studios — — — — — — — — BR BR BR E
Goods Sales — — — — — — — — BR BR BR A/C
Market — — — — — — — — E E BR —
Production Retail — — — — — — — — E E E BR
Restaurant — — — — — — — — E E E BR
Art Galleries — — — — — — — — E E E E
Personal Services — — — — — — — — BR BR BR BR
Fitness and Recreation — — — — — — — — BR BR BR BR
Artisan Industrial — — — — — — — — E E E BR
Light Industrial — — — — — — — — BR BR BR BR
Community Facilities — — — — — — — — BR BR BR BR
Nightlife — — — — — — — — CUP CUP CUP —
Big Box Retail (>40,000 sf) — — — — — — — — CUP CUP CUP CUP Drive-Through Retail — — — — — — — — CUP CUP CUP CUP
Legend: BR = By Right E = Encouraged (by right with incentives; MU zones only) MCUP = Minor CUP (Director) CUP = Conditional Use Permit (City Council) DA = Development Agreement (City Council) A/C = Accessory or Conditional — = Not permitted in this zone City of Vernon - Title 17 Zoning: Permitted Use Summary VMC Title 17 Zoning Use Summary August 2026 Page 4
USE DEFINITIONS — Verbatim from VMC § 17.16.020
The following definitions are reproduced verbatim from Vernon Municipal Code § 17.16.020 (as amended through Ord. 1309, 2/3/2026) and apply to all uses identified in the matrix above.
"Adult or sexually oriented businesses": Shall have the same meaning as defined in Chapter 5.04, "Business Licenses Generally," Chapter 5.40, "Adult or Sexually Oriented Businesses" (see Section 5.40.020 of this Code), and shall be deemed to be a First Amendment protected use. "Ancillary retail use": A retail use customarily incidental or subordinate to a person's permitted use, as further described in Section 17.22.040 that does not occupy more than 10% of the gross floor area occupied by the person's permitted use. Any retail activity exceeding this limit shall be considered a primary use of property and subject to the land use regulations applicable to such use. Ancillary retail use shall not include mail-order or internet sales in connection with a permitted use. "Ancillary use": A use customarily incidental or subordinate to a person's permitted use, as further described in Section 17.22.020(J), such as office space or showroom space that does not occupy more than 20% of the gross floor area occupied by the person's permitted use. Ancillary use shall include mail-order or internet sales in connection with a permitted use.
"Art galleries": A physical location where art is shown to the public and may be made available for purchase. "Artisan industrial": Industrial uses under 5,000 square feet per space which do not produce noise, vibration, fire hazard or noxious emissions that would disturb or endanger neighboring units or properties. Examples include artist and artisan studios, custom manufacturing, photofinishing or photography studios, commercial kitchens, and print shops.
"Big box retail": A retail use with individual tenant space(s) over 40,000 square feet housed in a newly constructed standalone commercial building. These types of uses engage in selling goods or merchandise to the general public as well as to other retailers, contractors, or businesses, and rendering services incidental to the sale of the goods.
"Cold storage warehouse": A building or part of a building used primarily to store non-durable, perishable goods under refrigeration at temperatures of 35º Fahrenheit or lower, excluding areas used for the processing, preparing, or packaging of such goods for storage. "Commercial use": Businesses that provide goods or services, including, but not limited to, banks, publishing and printing shops, equipment rental and leasing, offices, automotive repair, and urgent care facilities.
"Community facilities": Buildings and facilities intended to be used by the general public (or segments of the general public), including, without limitation, government offices, public schools, private schools (including special purpose schools, such as nursery schools or special interest schools, but not including trade schools), libraries, museums, senior citizen centers, day care centers, hospitals and emergency rooms, multi-use facilities, such as YMCAs and community centers, cemeteries, and other similar facilities, but not including a religious use, fitness and recreational facilities, or a convention venue, as defined below. "Data center": A building with a controlled environment used for housing a large amount of electronic equipment, typically computers and communications equipment, for the purpose of creating a hosted computer environment. "Development Agreement": A contract duly executed and legally binding between the City of Vernon and a developer(s) pursuant to Government Code Section 65864 et seq.
"Drive-through or drive-up facilities": An establishment that sells products or provides services to occupants in vehicles, including drive-in or drive-up windows and drive-through services; examples include fast food restaurants, banks, and pharmacies. "Emergency shelter": Pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Section 50801(e), a facility that provides immediate and short-term housing to homeless persons or families on a first-come, first-served basis where the individual(s) must vacate the facility each morning and have no guaranteed bed for the next night. No individual or household may be denied emergency shelter because of inability to pay. "Encouraged": A use permitted of right in the mixed-use zones and which, when combined with other encouraged uses, triggers incentives per Chapter 17.53.
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"First Amendment protected uses": Those uses with legal precedent to be protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, specifically those uses constitutionally protected due to "freedom of association" in the form of intimate association ("intimate human relations") or expressive association ("engaging in those activities protected by the First Amendment—speech, assembly, petition for the redress of grievances, and the exercise of religion"). First Amendment protected uses shall include, but not be limited to, adult or sexually oriented businesses and tattoo parlors. "Fitness and recreational facilities": Buildings and facilities used for fitness and recreational purposes, including, but not limited to, cross-fit and rock-climbing gyms, dance and martial arts studios, skate parks, roller derby, and spectator-related events related thereto. "Freight terminal": Any lot, building, or portion thereof where goods or freight, excluding perishable goods, are transferred or redistributed from one vehicle to another; provided, however, that such use in connection with the operation of a warehouse use or cold storage warehouse shall not be deemed to be a freight terminal. A freight terminal shall not include any use involved in the storage of products for more than 72 hours. (For products stored longer than 72 hours, see "Warehouse use.")
"Fueling station": Any establishments engaged in the retail sale of gasoline, diesel, and alternative fuel, not including electric vehicle charging, lubricants, parts, and accessories, that may include accessory minor maintenance and repair of automobiles and light trucks, vans, or similar size vehicles (i.e., vehicles that have gross vehicle weights less than 10,000 pounds). Minor repair does include body and fender work. "Goods sales": Physical retail spaces where goods are sold. This includes warehouse stores and boutiques. "Hazardous waste facility": Any facility or location which has a primary function to store or process, treat, transfer, dispose of, or recycle all substances defined as hazardous waste, acutely hazardous waste, extremely hazardous waste, or biohazardous waste, as defined by the State of California in Chapter 6.5 of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code or in any amendments to or recodifications thereof. The definition shall not include the storage, use, generation, recycling, or disposal of hazardous materials as a secondary effect, product, or input of a permitted use on the same lot as the permitted use. "Hotel": Any building containing two or more individual rooms or suites of rooms intended or designed to be used, or which are used, rented, or hired out to be occupied for sleeping or housing purposes by guests. Hotels include motels, boarding houses, rest homes, sanitariums, dormitories, hostels, and any other structure or building other than a residence or emergency shelter used for the housing or sleeping of humans. Co-living and executive apartment facilities are also included in this definition.
"Incidental use": A use that is in connection with a person's permitted use, as further described in Section 17.22.020(K), such as office space, design area or showroom space, that occupies more than 20% but less than 50% of the gross floor area occupied by the person's permitted use. Incidental use shall not include a retail use, but may include mail-order or internet sales in connection with a permitted use. "Industrial gas manufacturing": The separation of the constituents of air into liquid or gaseous form for storage, transport, or cylinder filling, and the distribution and sale of those products, as well as other related welding gases. "Industry / Industrial use": The manufacture or production of any saleable article, substance, or commodity, so long as the process adds substantial value to the article, substance, or commodity, and shall not include tasks primarily consisting of collecting, sorting, shipping, distributing, or inspecting goods from or in a warehouse or terminal. Industrial use includes uses ancillary to the manufacturing or production process, such as storage, use, generation, and disposal of hazardous materials (as defined in Federal and State laws and regulations) incidental to a manufacturing or production process; recycling incidental to a manufacturing or production process; and use of space for ancillary use. "Light industrial": Industrial uses that do not create smoke, gas, odor, dust, noise, vibration of earth, soot, lighting, or other similar output to a degree that is offensive when measured at the property line of the subject property. The facilities have an emphasis on activities other than manufacturing and typically have minimal office space. Typical light industrial activities include printing, material testing, and assembly of data processing equipment. These land uses are generally less than 50,000 square feet in gross floor area. Other examples include photographic processing shops, textiles, apparel and furniture upholstery, leather and leather products, appliance repair shops, and mechanical assembly cleaning. "Live/work": Units that combine a residential space and an adequate artistic, office or productive (work) space within the same unit. "Market": A physical storefront with a focus on selling food and drink for off-site preparation, including a farmers' market. "Media production studios": Studio space for media production activities including: storyboarding, photography, audio recording, video recording, post-production editing, sound design, and any other media production activity.
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"Minor Conditional Use Permit": A discretionary permit granted by the Director for certain uses of property not permitted of right because such uses require special review and may be subject to special conditions.
"Multifamily dwelling": A building or a portion of a building used and/or designed as residences for two or more households living independently of each other.
Apartments and condominium flats are multi-family dwellings while townhomes (attached single-family dwellings within a condominium parcel) are not considered multifamily dwellings.
"Nightlife": Establishments that primarily serve alcoholic beverages (not including restaurants that primarily serve food, and that also serve alcoholic beverages), including, without limitation, bars, breweries, taverns, lounges, and nightclubs. Nightlife shall not include an adult or sexually oriented business, even if it serves alcoholic beverages.
"Office manufacturing": A dual purpose space containing office spaces as well as spaces within which to manufacture goods, where manufacturing activities are directly related to and subservient to the office activities, such as design, engineering, testing, etc. Examples include R&D campuses and maker spaces. "Offices": Uses where professional, administrative, or common business services are provided and which are not ancillary uses or incidental uses as defined by this title, such as, but not limited to, real estate firms, medical and professional offices, stock brokerages, and bond and insurance firms. "Personal services": Personal care services provided in storefronts. These services include dry cleaners, beauty salons, fitness studios, barbers, dog groomers, nail salons, massage businesses and similar uses. Massage businesses are separately regulated by Chapter 17.108. "Petroleum refinery": An establishment or plant primarily engaged in producing gasoline, kerosene, distillate fuel oils, residual fuel oils, lubricants, and other products from crude petroleum and its fractionation products through straight distillation, redistillation, cracking, or other processes. "Petroleum-related use": An establishment or plant for the blending or processing of petroleum products but not including a petroleum refinery or petroleum storage facility. Petroleum-related use does not include storage of fuel as an ancillary use to a permitted use. "Petroleum storage facility": An establishment, including a tank farm, for keeping and storing gasoline, kerosene, distillate fuel oils, residual fuel oils, lubricants, and other petroleum products, but not including storage of fuel as an ancillary use. "Production retail": Retail uses with artisan or light industrial uses, where retail activities involve sale of the goods produced or processed on site. This includes production beverage, production fashion, production furniture, and commercial food production. "Public utilities": Facilities owned or operated by an entity that is not the City of Vernon, that is subject to governmental regulation such as the California Public Utilities Commission, and that provides an essential commodity or service such as water, power, transportation, or communication to the public. It shall include electrical substations, water or wastewater treatment plants, and similar facilities of public agencies or public utilities, but shall not include wireless facilities and property used solely for wireless communications, and related wireless transmission equipment. "Recycling facility": A facility that recycles used or waste materials, excluding hazardous waste, to convert and redistribute them, or a significant portion of them, as raw materials or to convert them and manufacture a product made wholly or partly from recycled materials, including a biodiesel facility. Recycling facility does not include recycling activities undertaken as an ancillary use to a permitted use. "Religious use": Use of a lot for religious assemblies, institutions, or structures. "Rendering plant": An establishment where one or more of the following items is cooked, melted down, extracted, clarified, or otherwise processed to produce oil, tallow, grease, fertilizer (other than fertilizer from manure), animal feed, or ash: carcasses of animals or fowl, dead animals or fowl, fish, blood, offal, bones, meat, animal or vegetable fat, feathers, food scraps or waste, and other animal, fowl, or fish byproducts. Rendering plant shall not include an establishment exclusively producing fats, oils, lard, or similar products for human consumption; nor, a rendering process in connection with and incidental to a slaughterhouse, abattoir, packing plant, or similar establishment producing food for human consumption. "Residence / Residential use": One or more rooms in a building managed or used as living quarters, including, without limitation: a building or buildings used as a single-family dwelling or a multifamily dwelling; a building or buildings used as a live-in treatment facility, substance abuse center, half-way house, or home for senior citizens, disabled persons, or other residential care facilities. Emergency shelter is specifically excluded from this definition. Residential use means the development and use of a property exclusively with a residence or residences, and any accessory uses or buildings customarily associated with a residence, such as, but not limited to, private recreational facilities, private open space, and on-site support facilities to residents of the property.
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"Residential care facilities": Facilities providing 24-hour residential, assisted living, social and personal care for children, the elderly, and people with limited ability for self-care, such as board and care homes, children's homes, orphanages, rehabilitation centers, convalescent homes, nursing homes and similar facilities. "Restaurant": A food establishment that serves food to customers for consumption on-or off-premises, including fast-food and full-service dining establishments. It includes, but is not limited to, walk-up counters, coffee shops, cafes, pizza parlors, and dine-in establishments. "Single-family dwelling": A dwelling unit that is designed for occupancy by one household, located on a single parcel that does not contain any other dwelling unit (except an accessory dwelling unit, where permitted). Single-family dwellings include townhomes (attached single-family dwellings where no unit is located above or below), even when included within a condominium.
"Slaughtering": The industrial process of butchering animals and dressing and preparing the products of their carcasses for food or other purposes. "Solid waste facility": Any facility or location that stores, processes, or transfers solid waste as defined in California Public Resources Code Section 40191, or in any amendments to or recodifications of such statute, and related regulations. "Supportive housing": Housing with no limit on length of stay that is occupied by the target population as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 50675.14, and that is linked to on-site or off-site services that assist tenants to retain the housing, improve their health status, maximize their ability to live, and when possible, to work in the community.
"Trade school": A facility or teaching unit designed to educate an adult on the skills needed to perform a specific job, apprentice education, and similar training. "Transitional housing": Temporary rental housing with length of stay that ranges between six months to two years for homeless individuals or families who are transitioning to permanent housing, operated under program requirements that call for the termination of assistance and recirculation of the assisted unit to another eligible program recipient at some predetermined future point in time. "Transportation-related use": Any use that is the same or similar to a freight terminal or truck terminal, or that supports the movement of goods or people, such as taxi dispatch. A transportation-related use shall not include a public street or railroad right-of-way. "Trash to energy facilities": The process of creating energy in the form of electricity or heat from waste conversion. "Truck terminal": Any lot, building, or portion of a lot or a building used primarily for the parking, storage, maintenance, repair, or servicing of highway-type vehicles carrying persons or property, including, but not limited to, trucks, buses, and cargo containers. Truck terminal does not include parking of vehicles in connection with a permitted use or repairing or maintaining vehicles used in connection with a permitted use on the same lot as the permitted use. "Warehouse use": A building or portion thereof used primarily for the storage of saleable goods or raw materials to be incorporated into saleable goods (including storage for distribution to other locations for wholesale or retail sale), but not including a cold storage warehouse. The storage of scrap materials shall not constitute a warehouse use.
"Wholesale use": A building or part of a building used primarily for the storage and distribution of merchandise that is sold in large volumes to retailers or other professional businesses, but not to a standard retail consumer. Wholesale use includes the storage and distribution of merchandise for more than 72 hours. The storage and sale of scrap materials shall not constitute a wholesale use.