July 20, 2004

  *** _ = non-conforming to current SMC

Background

Previous Actions on the Site:  In 1950, a 900 square foot home was previously constructed at this site but was later demolished due to structural deterioration.  In 2000, as assessment district was approved by the City Council in the Conway Road neighborhood for the purposes of maintaining the private road and utilities.  As part of this action, an 11-foot easement across the front of the northern parcels was required for the expansion of the street.  This easement is for utility purposes only and the individual property owners still own title to the land.  Conway Road is a private street maintained solely by the property owners.  No redevelopment or expansion of homes had occurred on Conway Road for approximately 20 years since a building moratorium was placed on the properties.  The new private road and utilities enabled this restriction to be lifted in 2003.

Planning Commission Hearing: On May 24, 2004, the Planning Commission considered the Variance and Design Review applications.  After presentations by staff and the applicant, the Planning Commission denied the Variance and granted the Design Review application on a 7-0 vote.  The Commission stated that granting the Variance would constitute a special privilege not enjoyed by surrounding property owners and concluded that a redesign of the proposed home is appropriate.  (Please see Attachment 4 for Draft Planning Commission Minutes). The applicant appealed this decision on May 28, 2004.

Description of Proposed Project

The applicant is proposing construction of a new 3,062 square foot residence.  The proposed residence is two stories, with the first story totaling 1,982 square feet and the second 1,079 square feet.  The Planning Commission reviewed this Design Review application since the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) is 51% where the Planning Commission must review all FARs over 45%.

Environmental Review

A Class 3 Categorical Exemption relieves this project from California Environmental Quality Act, as amended, and in accordance with City Guidelines. Class 3 Categorical Exemptions include construction of one single-family residence.

Design Review

Use: The site is currently vacant land.

Site Layout: The site has typical dimensions for lots in this neighborhood at 45 feet wide by 121 feet deep.  The parcels to the back of this development, on Vanderbilt Avenue, contain similar lot dimensions and square footages.  The lots on the west side of Hollenbeck Avenue and on Winggate Avenue are typically larger parcels at around 7,000 to 8,000 square feet (these properties are Zoned R-0).

The 11-foot easement across the front of the applicant’s property is considered part of the private right-of-way and owned by the applicant.  All building setbacks are measured from the back of the right-of-way, although the total property square footage includes this area.

Architecture: 

Subject Design

The proposed architecture is Spanish eclectic style with a stucco exterior and curved Spanish roof tile (see elevations in Attachment 3).  The design makes effective use of articulated walls and rooflines.  The applicant proposes gabled roofs on the front elevation to help blend with the neighborhood and hipped roofs on the side and rear elevations to help minimize the visual impact of the new second story.  The total height of the home is proposed to be 26 feet high where 30 feet is the maximum allowed.  The proposed design offers several unique features including a courtyard by the front entrance and a turret element on the second story.

The residence is sited near the center of the lot with side yard dimensions of 4 and 6 feet on the first story.  The second story is set back 3 feet from the first story on both side elevations, which adds interest to each elevation and reduces the appearance of bulk. 

Neighborhood

There is no one prevailing architectural design in this neighborhood, although many of the homes have similar features such as front porches with front-gabled roofs.  Roof materials and exterior colors vary, with exterior materials being either stucco or wood siding.  Most of the homes in the neighborhood, including those adjacent to the subject site are single story homes.  Three new two-story home (Tudor-style with stucco exterior) were approved in 2001 and are now under construction nearby on Hollenbeck Avenue.  These homes have FARs of 56%, 57%, and 51% and total square footages of 1,996sf, 1,994sf, and 2,473sf.  Another new residence at 694 Conway Road was recently approved across Conway Road from the subject site with an FAR of 56% and a total square footage of 3,058.  This home is a two-story residence with a similar Spanish eclectic style.

While the proposed home is larger than a majority of the surrounding homes in terms of mass and scale, staff believes the proposed design will ultimately blend with the streetscape.  As the neighborhood continues to experience redevelopment of its older homes, similar sized homes will become the dominate scale of architecture on the street.  In addition, the proposed design of the new home is aesthetically appealing and would add to the visual appearance of the neighborhood.

The following table shows the square footages, number of stories, and FAR for the homes on Conway and part of Hollenbeck:

            * proposed home

The following Guidelines from the Single Family Design Techniques were considered in the analysis of the project architecture.

 Variance

The applicant has requested a variance from SMC section 19.34.030 to allow a 10-foot total side-yard setback where 12 feet is required for the first story and 16 feet total side-yard setback where 18 feet is required for the second story.  The applicant’s justification for the variance request is based on the recent Special Development Permit approval for three single-family homes at 1204 Hollenbeck Avenue, which are now under construction. (See Attachment 5, Letter from Appellant)  This three-lot subdivision was approved in 2001 by the City Council and contains deviations from the required side and front yard setbacks. (See Attachment 7)  Two of the homes have deviations in the required second story setback and total side yard setback.  One residence was approved with a 15 foot total second story setback where 18 feet total is required and the other was approved with a 12 foot total second story setback where 18 feet total is required.  The deviation in front yard setback was to allow an 18-foot average front yard setback where 20 feet is required.  These deviations were approved at that time primarily due to the narrow lot widths (39’, 39’, and 54’).  Both of the properties with setback deviations were the 39-foot wide parcels.  The larger parcel with a 54-foot setback was not approved with a side yard deviation.

The property owner states that their parcel in quite narrow, similar to the 1204 Hollenbeck properties, and this narrow width has inhibited their ability to design a fully functional residence.  The applicant had submitted a previous application for Design Review showing a 2,500 square foot residence that did not require a variance from the setback requirements, but the applicant says that this layout does not serve their needs. (See Attachment 6)  The property owner also states that their lot width of 45 feet is much less than the required lot width for properties in the R-2 Zone, which are required to be 76 feet minimum. 

Although the 1204 Hollenbeck property was granted approval for variances in the required setbacks, staff could not make the required findings to support approval of the variance for the subject application.  Staff does not believe there are exceptional or extraordinary circumstances or conditions applicable to the property which would deprive the property owner of privileges enjoyed by other properties in the vicinity and within the same zoning district.  Examples of such conditions of the property include: size, shape, topography, location, or surroundings.  Staff also does not believe this property owner is confronted with a hardship unique to their property since this property is similarly sized to others in the surrounding neighborhoods.  All but one lot on Conway have lot widths of 45 or 50 feet.  In addition, another new residence at 694 Conway Road was recently approved (February 2004) on the south side of Conway with an FAR of 56% and a total square footage of 3,058.  This approval did not require a setback variance and the lot size is also 45 feet in width.

The following table shows the lot frontage widths of homes in the surrounding neighborhood: