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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Min 1988-04-06 . e e 4. ,; MINUTES OF MEETING SEAL BEACH PLANNING COMMISSION APRIL 6, 1988 The Plannlng Commlsslon of the Clty of Seal Beach met ln regular seSSlon wlth Vlce Chalrman Suggs call1ng the meetlng to order at 7:30 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was led by Vlce Chalrman Suggs. ROLL CALL Present: Commlssloners Jessner, Sharp, Suggs Absent. Commlssloner Rullo Reslgned: Chalrman Covlngton submltted a wrltten reslgnatlon to Bob Nelson, Seal Beach Clty Manager on Frlday, Aprll 1; lt was effectlve lmmedlately. Mr. Covlngton has moved out of the Clty of Seal Beach. Also Present. Ed Knlght, Dlrector, Development Servlces Department CONSENT CALENDAR MOTION by Sharp, Second by Jessner to approve Item A, Pl ann ing Commission Minutes of March 16, 1988. MOTION CARRIED 3 - O. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Variance 3-88 4280 Birchwood Avenue Seal Beach, CA Mr. Knlght gave the Staff Report on Varlance 3-88. ThlS lS a request by Eleanor Jeck, owner, to permlt after-the-fact an extenslon of the slde and rear fences ln her yard WhlCh exceed the S1X foot helght llmlt of the zonlng Code. Staff recommended the Plannlng Commlsslon not approve Varlance 3-88 because two of the requlred three flndlngs could not be met. Page 2 - Plannlng Commlsslon Mlnutes of Aprll 6, 1988 411 PUBLIC HEARING OPENED Mlchael Wllkenson - 4272 Blrchwood, Seal Beach - sald he lS against the fence extension. He stated S&S bUllders put ln the slde walls when the tract was bUllt and lt glves the College Park East tract a unlform, very nlce look. Addltlonal fence ex ten S 1 on s wo u 1 d further en c 1 0 set h e small yard s, de p r 1 v 1 n 9 h 1m of enJoYlng hlS yard by encloslng the area. e CommlsSloner's D1SCUSSlon - Side Walls: Ms. Jeck extended the southern part of the wall by three brlcks, each 8" hlgh, for a total of 24". The wooden lattlce extenslon lS on top of the brlck extenslon. Mr. Knlght stated that staff measured the fence helght on September 26 and 27, 1988. The slde walls are 9'9" or 9'10" (dependlng WhlCh slde yard you're standlng on) and wlth the latt1ce work (2'5") removed lt would leave the wall at 7'4" WhlCh would stlll requlre 1'4" of brlck to be removed on the slde yard areas. Rear Wall: The rear wall, wlth the lattlce work down, measured from the nelghbor's slde would be 5'2", so the fence could be lncreased by 8", to a 6' helgt. The rear wall measured from Ms. Jeck's slde 1 s 5' 1 0 II . The Cod e a 11 0 ws yo u t 0 mea sur e a fen c e from e 1 the r slde on a common--property llne. The extenSlon was added about one year ago. Staff assumes no permlts were taken for thlS extenslon. Eleanor Jeck - 4280 Blrchwood, Seal Beach - lntroduced herself as the owner/occupant of the property in questlon. She stated she wanted the fence extenslon for prlvacy ln her yard but she had assumed her llcensed contractor had taken care of the permlts for the wa 11 when he d 1 d the work ln February 1987. The spa lnstallatlon and the fence addltlon were done at dlfferent tlmes. CommlsSloner Jessner asked Ms. Jeck lf she had had an opportunlty to read the Staff Report dated Aprll 6, 1988 and lf she understood about the Code and State mandated three flndlngs to 9 ran tor den y a v a r 1 a n c~ She s a 1 dye S . He ask e d 1 f she had any supportlng eVldence to show the Commlsslon WhlCh would enable all three flndlngs to be made and Ms. Jeck sald no. Jackle Rublnacker - 3570 Daffodll, Seal Beach - stated she was the neighbor directly in back of 4280 Birchwood; the backyards me e t . She s a 1 d she 1 1 k est h e 1 at t 1 C e wo r k ex ten s 1 0 n put u P by Mrs. Jeck because lt provldes needed prlvacy and she wants lt to remaln. - Preston Wel ch - 4265 Blrchwood. Seal Beach - stated he does not want the fence extension to remain because lt mlght set a precedent ln the nelghborhood. . e e , Page 3 - Plannlng CommlSSlon Mlnutes of Aprll 6, 1988 Chuck Brlonl - 4273 Blrchwood, Seal Beach - sald he bought ln the College Park East tract because all the fences were ln at the tlme the tract was bUllt. He sald lf fence extenSlons were to be allowed there would be a varlety of structures on top of all the wa 11 san d 1 t wo u 1 d 1 00 k a wf u 1 . MOTION by Sharp, second by Jessner to deny Variance 3-88. MOTION CARRIED 3 - O. Vlce Chalrman Suggs advlsed Ms. Jeck that she has ten (10) buslness days from the adoptlon of the resolutlon (WhlCh would be the P 1 ann 1 n 9 Co mm 1 s s 10 n me e t 1 n g 0 f A P r 1 1 20) to a p pea 1 the declslon of the Plannlng Commlsslon to the Clty Councll lf she so wlshes. * * * B. VARIANCE 4-88 225 8TH STREET, SEAL BEACH Ed Knlght gave the Staff Report on Varlance 4-88. ThlS varlance lS a request to permlt a second story addltlon of approxlmately 1620 square feet to a non-conformlng slngle famlly resldence. The eXlstlng reSldence contalns approxlmately 1400 square feet and the lot 1 s approx lmately 4406 square feet. The requested addltlon exceeds the 10% allowable floor area; approxlmately 755 square feet could be added to the resldence. It lS posslble for ,the appllcant to redeslgn the requested addltlon to meet the 9' setback requlred by Code. The slde setback requlrements may be met under a new zonlng text amendment WhlCh staff lS looklng at. The alley lS 15'wlde. It was noted that ln 1973, Varlance 9-73 was granted WhlCh allowed the bUlldlng of trwo rooms and a small porch as a second story. Staff recommends denlal of thlS varlance. PUBLIC HEARING Charles Antos - P.O. Box 3593, Seal Beach - Mr. Antos lntroduced himself as the representatlVe for the owners, Mr. and Mrs. John Sykora. PRIOR ZONING ORDINANCE Mr. Antos stated that prlor to the recent amendment to the zonlng ordlnance (WhlCh allowed for more flexlblllty to non-conformlng bUlldlngs) there was a general provlslon ln the zonlng ordlnance that allowed addltlons to non-conformlng bUlldlngs, provlded the addltlon ltself was conformlng and dld not lncrease the degree of no n- con fo rml ty. e Page 4 - Plannlng CommlsSlon Mlnutes of Aprll 6, 1988 Mr. Antos sald that perhaps lf the appllcants had come forward two or three years ago they would have been glven Plannlng Commlsslon conslderatlon due to the effectlve ordlnances at that tlme. Commlssloner Sharp sald we must progress. Welre maklng new ordlnances to keep thlngs under control. Mr. Antos addressed Sectlon 28-2502 of the Code WhlCh sets forth the three requlred flndlngs for varlance approval: 1. Slnce the flrst flndlng, Such varlance shall not adversely affect the general plan can be made it was not d 1 S C U S s ed . o e staff felt thlS flndlng could not be made. Mr. Antos sald he felt the property locatlon was unlque, havlng a great deal of vehlcular trafflc because lt lS located one block off Maln Street, and close to Clty Hall; lt would have one hour parklng restrlctlons for on-street parklng. He stated hlS cllents have never purchased speclal parklng stlckers (demonstratlng they do park ln thelr two cars ln thelr garages). He stated thlS property has three garages, two are 171 deep and the thlrd lS "deeper". Staff felt thlS flndlng could not be made due to no unusual property-related clrcumstances. Mr. Antos pOlnted out that remodellng to meet Code would requlre ex ten s 1 v ere n 0 v at 1 n 9 w h 1 C h wo u 1 d r e q u 1 r e tear 1 n g-or f 9" a 11 a 1 0 n 9 one slde of the bUlldlng, tearlng off the upper story 415" ln the back, and on the lower story 51 would have to be demollshed, each of the garages would have to be deepened, all the pl umblng ln the downstalrs would be lost, there would be a lot of saw cuttlngs lnvolved ln pourlng a new foundatlon. Requlrlng compllance to meet Code setbacks lS requlrlng the destructlon of most of the bUlldl~ In that case, It'd be better economlcally to tear down and bUlld a duplex. The owners can legally bUlld a duplex. A duplex would generate more vehlcular trafflc. Mr. Antos recommended the Commlsslon look at thlS factor rather than the strlct adherence to the Code. e e e e '.' Page 5 - Plannlng Commlsslon Mlnutes of Aprll 6, 1988 BUILD SEPARATE STRUCTURE Commissioner Suggs asked lf the owner could structure, not attached to the present dwelllng. no, be c a use the 37. 5' lot w 1 d t h wo u 1 d m a k e provlde four legltlmate parklng spaces. bUlld a separate Mr. Knlght sald lt dlfflcult to 1973 VARIANCE Commlssioner Jessner: The 1973 varlance covers Just the upstalrs of the dwelllng and stated lt would add a porch and two rooms to a slngle famlly resldence. About half the upstalrs was added by the 1973 varlance. The upstalrs overhang lS to the zero property llne ln back. The argument that the downstalrs lS not at the correct setback because of the 1973 varlance lS not a true statement. REBUILDING THE HOME Commissioner Jessner: Another fact - the rear 4' setback looks llke most of the setbacks of the adJacent three or four houses. They may have been bUllt at the same tlme perlod. He wondered lf thlS setback at the rear would be a grant of speclal prlvllege. The other propertles have the same setback. Mr. Knlght: the lssue you have to look at lS the new constructlon. They have to provlde 9'as a setback. The eXlstlng propertles may have been constructed under a dlfferent set of crlterla where 4' setbacks were allowed. At thlS tlme you're looklng at a sltuatlon where the appllcant can add 755 square feet and stlll be ln zonlng conformlty but lS chooslng to more than double the Slze of the home. It's a matter of degree. The home lS vlrtually belng reconstructed and the equlvalent of a new home belng added on. So, you have a new home belng added on and the rear setback lS stlll ln non-conformlty. If thlS actlon were taken lt would vlrtually guarantee that the rear setback wlll never be met. NOT INCREASE DEGREE OF NON-CONFORMITY Mr. Antos' The property lS non-conformlng due to some eXlstlng condltlons. ThlS proposal lS to bUlld only ln conformlty. ThlS lS not a request for a varlance to lncrease the degree of non- conformlty. If the Commlsslon lS concerned about backlng lnto the alley, metal mlrror devlces could be added; they would not lmpact adJacent propertles. SIDE YARD SETBACKS Commissioner Jessner The plan shows the new constructlon on one slde to have a setback of 3' and the requlrement lS greater than that. Mr. Antos' The archltect was to put lt at 3'9". e e e . . . Page 6 - Plannlng CommlsSlon Mlnutes of Aprll 6, 1988 STOPPING THE PROBLEMS NOW Commissioner Sharp: What about future owners? If we keep on lettlng lt be a problem lt doesn't help anythlng. COMMENTS John srkora - 225 8th Street - lntroduced hlmself as the owner. He sta ed he wants to meet all Code requlrements. He lS bUlldlng a slngle famlly dwelllng on a---,-ot and a half. He has three garages. If they have to cut off 5' lt poses a flnanclal hardshlp on them as lt removes all the plumblng that they're utlllzlng on the new constructlon wlth the exceptlon of the kltchen. Commlssloner Jessner: We're looklng at the rear setback very carefully because of the safety aspects --- the narrow alley, the turnlng radlus, especlally pulllng out. They've done that for years wlth no problems. a nearby they use Carol Sykora - 225 8th Street - Mentloned a letter from a neighbor, Clifford Evans, who's in favor of thlS addltlon. CITY CODE AND STATE LAWS Commissioners Suggs, Sharp and Jessner all noted that the several varlances comlng before them recently they may personally have been ln favor of, but wanted to lnform the appllcants that the Code of the Clty of Seal Beach and the laws of the State of California mandated otherwise. There are three flndlngs all of WhlCh must be met for a varlance to be granted. MOTION by Sharp, second by Jessner to deny Variance 4-88. MOTION CARRIED 3 - 0 * * * SCHEDULED MATTERS There were no scheduled matters. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE There were no oral communications from the audlence. COMMISSION CONCERNS MOTION by Jessner, second by Sharp for the staff to prepare a resolution honoring Jay Covington for his many years of service to the community of Seal Beach. MOTION CARRIED 3 - 0 e e e ... . Page 7 - Plannlng CommlSSlon Mlnutes of Aprll 6, 1988 CommlsSloner Jessner noted that Chalrman Covlngton has recently moved from the Clty of Seal Beach. VARIANCES BEING OVER-TURNED AT CITY COUNCIL LEVEL CommlSSloner Jessner requested staff report to the Plannlng Commlsslon on the Clty Councll meetlng of Aprll 4, 1988 on ltems that affected the Plannlng Commlsslon. Speclflcal1y, Comm1ss10ner Jessner referred to the varlance request for 405 Opal Cove WhlCh the Plannlng Commlsslon denled and the Clty Councll overturned wlth one condltlon. That belng, at any tlme t h 1 S pro per t y wo u 1 d be sol d the s qua ref 00 tag e wo u 1 d h a vet 0 be reduced to brlng the property lnto conformlty wlth the Code. CommlSSloner Sharp sald he was told by staff at the March 2,-r988 Plannlng Commlss10n meetlng that lt was not posslble to put a change-at-sale-type stlpulatlon on a varlance. Otherwlse, the Plannlng CommlSSlon could have made the same case for 420 Marble Cove (Varlance 1-88). Commlssloner Jessner sald held llke to see the f 1 n d 1 n q s the C 1 t Y Co un c 1 1 f 0 un d t hat the P 1 ann 1 n 9 Co mm 1 S S ran couldn't flnd. He asked Mr. Knlght to call the Clty Attorney to see if they felt thlS could be defended ln court. Mr. Knlght sald he would call the Clty Attorney's offlce on thlS matter. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adJourned at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully Submltted, C4o~ ~o-..,"", Joan Flllman" Secretary THESE MINUTES ARE TENTATIVE AND ARE SUBJECT TO APPROVAL OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION. Mlnutes of Aprll 6, 1988 were approved by the Seal Beach Plannlng CommlSSlon on Apr11 ao~ 1988.