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Home My WebLink AboutItem Rkl May 10, 1999 STAFF REPORT To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council Attention: Keith R. Till, City Manager From: Lee Whittenberg, Director of Development Services Subject: ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE NO. 1419 re: ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT 96-1 - Decks along Crestview and Catalina Avenues and Surf Place "' %,COMMENDATION Adopt Ordinance No. 1419, An Ordinance of the City of Seal Beach Amending Section 28-401 of the Code of the City of Seal Beach to Conditionally Allow Deck Structures in Rear -Yard Setbacks on Properties in the Residential Low Density Zone District, which abut the Hellman Ranch or Gum Grove Park as revised based on previous City Council direction. Refer issue of height limitations for retaining walls in subject area to Planning Commission for Zone Tent Amendment consideration. DISCUSSION Overview of proposed Ordinance No. 1419: lWinor Plan Review for Pre-erisrine non -Permitted structures: As introduced and as requested for amendments by the City Council on April 26, Ordinance No. 1419 (See Attachment 1) would require owners of existing, non -permitted decks within the rear yard setback to apply for a minor plan review to allow those decks to remain within 12 months of the adoption of the ordinance. The minor plan review process is a consent calendar item on the Planning Commission agenda, and requires notification to owners and occupants within 100 feet of the subject property. The City can condition its approval of any request to ensure health, safety and public welfare concerns are properly addressed. AGENDA ITEM R C.Wy DmnamslZTA1ZTA 961 CC Adoplim aufrR"mdmLW 5-05-99 J City Council StafReleort re: Ordinance No. 1419 Rear Yard Setback Standards for Decks along Crestview and Catalina Avenues and Sur(Place May 10, 1999 Enforcement Process for Pre-existing non -permitted structures: Upon adoption of Ordinance No. 1419, if properties with non -permitted structures within the rear yard setback area do not apply for the appropriate minor plan review approval within the stipulated 12 -month time period, a notice of code violation would be filed with the County Recorder's office or other appropriate enforcement actions initiated. Conditional Use Permit required for nnv deck structures —12 S -foot height limitation • In addition, the City Council determined to allow future applications for additional decks to be processed through the conditional use permit (CUP) process, subject to a height limitation of 12.5 feet. The CUP process involves a public hearing before the Planning Commission, and requires notice to owners and occupants within 300 feet of the subject property. As with the minor plan reviews, the City can condition its approval of any request to ensure health, safety and public welfare concerns are properly addressed. Height limimtion for retainine ivalls for Properties subject to ZTA 96-1 • In response to City Council discussion regarding the height of retaining walls, staff has reviewed the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance and the Building Code, and finds no applicable height limitations regarding retaining walls. Provided below are sections of the Zoning Ordinance and Building Code regarding retaining walls: Zoning Ordinance• "ection 28-2316 Fences Walls, Hedges and Screen Planting . 2. General Fence Provisions (D) Retaining Walls. Where a retaining wall is located either on a property line or within the lot, a fence, wall, hedge or screen planting may be placed on the retaining wall. The height of such fence, wall or screen planting shall be six (6) feet or less in height measured from the highest elevation of land contiguous to the fence, wall or screen planting but in no case shall be greater than eight (8) feet as measured from either side of the fence." SAffGommeM. As staff and the City Attorney understand this section, the height limitations refer to a "fence, wall, hedge or screen planting" on top of the retaining wall. This section does not limit the height of a retaining wall, it limits the height of a "fence, wall, hedge or screen planting" on top of the retaining wall to 6 feet as measured from the highest elevation of land contiguous to the fence, and in no case greater than 8 feet from either side of the fence. The Zoning Ordinance does not include any limitations regarding the permitted height of a retaining wall. ZTA 96-1 CC Adoption Staff Report 2 City Council StaffReporl re.' Ordinance No. 1419 Rear Yard Setback Standards for Decks along Crestview and Catalina Avenues and Surf Place May 10, 1999 Building Cade: "SEC77ON 221— W Walls shall be defined as follows: Retaining Wall is a wall designed to resist the lateral displacement of soil or other materials." "SEC77ON 1609 — SPECIAL DESIGN 1609.2 Retaining Walls. Retraining walls shall be designed to resist the lateral pressure of the retained material in accordance with accepted engineering practice. Walls retaining drained earth may be designed for pressure equivalent to that exerted by a fluid weighing not less than 30 pounds per cubic foot (4.7lkN/m3) and having a depth equal to that of the retained earth. Any surcharge shall be in addition to the equivalent fluid pressure. Retaining walls shall be designed to resist sliding by at least 1.5 times the lateral force and overturning by at least 1,5 times the overturning movement." Staff Comment. As staff and the City Attorney understand these sections, the Building Code does not limit the height of retaining walls. The Building Code requires retaining walls to be designed "to resist the lateral pressure of the retained material in accordance with accepted engineering practice." "Accepted Engineering Practice" Plans for Retaining Walls In reviewing the issue of "accepted engineering practice with the City Engineer, it was indicated the City would utilize the standard plans for retaining walls provided in the following documents: • Standard Plans, California Department of Transportation • Standard Plans for Public Works Construction, American Public Works Association, Southern California Chapter These documents provide a number of standard plans for retaining wails, ranging in height from 4 to 36 feet. In reviewing all of the above information, staff is of the opinion there are no currently established City standards to limit the height of a retaining wall, other than the limitations of the "standard plans" set forth in the Caltrans and APWA publications. ZTA 96-1 CC Adoption Staff Report City Council Sla ffReport re: Ordinance No. 1419 Rear Yard Setback Standardifor Decks along Crestview and Catalina Avenues and Surf Place May 10, 1999 iiy't Imposed Height Limitation on Retainine Walls,• If the City Council desires to establish a height limitation for retaining walls, staff and the City Attorney would recommend an amendment to Section 28-2316.2(B) to establish that height limit. As the Planning Commission has not considered this issue in its consideration of ZTA 96-1, it would be appropriate for the City Council to refer this issue to the Planning Commission for appropriate public hearings. FISCAL IMPACT Minor. Allocation of staff resources to prepare appropriate Zone Text Amendment application, and processing of application for public hearings before Planning Commission and City Council. Future costs of processing minor plan review or conditional use permit requests will be bome by project applicants. Whi enberg Director of Development Services Attachments: (1) NOTED AND APPROIVED Keith R. Till City Manager Attachment 1: ORDINANCE 1419, AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH AMENDING SECTION 28401 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH TO CONDITIONALLY ALLOW DECK STRUCTURES IN REAR -YARD SETBACKS IN PROPERTIES IN THE RESIDENTIAL LOW DENSITY ZONE, DISTRICT V, WHICH ABUT THE HELLMAN RANCH OR GUM GROVE PARK (ZTA 96-1) ZTA 96-1 CC Adoption Staff Report