STAFF REPORT. Douglas N Mclsaac Community Development Department3K 1. single family residential properties

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1 REVIEWEDIVERIFIED BY All America City Management Analyst Finance Director Prepared By Art Bashmakia Presented By Art Bashmakian STAFF REPORT DATE July TO Honorable Mayor and Council a rs THRU FROM Donald D Lamm City Manager Douglas N Mclsaac Community Development Department3K 1 1 SUBJECT Case No Review of Draft Development Land Use Ordinance of the Westminster Municipal Code to regulate of paving and the size of driveways yards Standards to Amend Title 17 the amount within the minimum front and street side 2 RECOMMENDED ACTION MOTION Staff recommends that the Mayor and City Council conduct a public hearing consider the proposed draft zoning standards regulations and refer the draft zoning standards to the Planning Commission for a recommendation 3 BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION On January the Mayor and City Council conducted a public hearing and considered amendments to the Westminster Municipal Code regarding the use of canopies tarps and size of driveways within front and street side yards of single family residential properties After conducting the public hearing the Mayor and City Council voted to continue the project to July 2009 A key concern for the Council related to the impact of a new ordinance on properties that currently have front yard paving the proposed regulations in excess of AGENDA ITEM NO I MEETING DATE

2 Page 2 In order to better isolate and focus attention of the specific issues at hand staff has separated the three items driveways canopies and landscaping and will address each item separately on different dates Therefore this report addresses only the driveway issue which relates to parking vehicles on front and street side yards Tha Icsi is The essential issue at hand is establishing standards that will allow for an appropriate balance between paved areas that can also be used for parking of vehicles and landscaped areas in the front yards of single family residential properties This is a concern in that it is desirous to maintain the quality and appearance of residential neighborhoods by ensuring the proper use of landscaping and limiting the use of pavement area and proliferation of parked vehicles in front yards Well manicured landscaped front and street side yards enhance the aesthetic quality of properties which helps to maintain or increase property values Yards with little or no landscaping coupled with excessive parked vehicles minimizes the aesthetic quality of a house and the neighborhood leading to negative impacts on property values The City s Zoning Code already includes standards dating back to at least 1974 which attempt to achieve this objective Specifically Municipal Code Section states Required residential front and street side yard setbacks must be landscaped and may not be used for parking In the R1 Single Family Residence District where required parking is provided turning and maneuvering areas and temporary standing of vehicles is permitted on driveways in front yards and street side yards The intent of this code section is to promote the use of landscaping and limit the amount of allowed paving The code language however allows for the pavement of and parking on driveways and turning and maneuvering areas without placing any limitations on where or how large driveways and turning and maneuvering areas can be Since the code does not regulate the size of the turning and maneuvering areas or size of driveways the City s enforcement efforts have been hampered Absent a specific size criteria an owner can argue that the large paved area of the yard is used as a turning and maneuvering area Staff has further evaluated the issue and has modified the proposed ordinance so that it better reflects the needs of the community while keeping with a key development goal which calls for design features that promotes the image of the City as a vital and desirable community 1 Except permitted under the provisions for recreational vehicle parking per Section AGENDA ITEM NO MEETING DATE

3 Page 3 The proposed ordinance will simply enable the City to enforce its long standing ordinance by specifying the maximum amount of paving driveway size that would be permitted within front and street side yards Definition of Front and Street Side Yards the words The code does not clearly define the above terms Therefore required yard yard and setback need to be addressed concurrently with the driveway size issue For example the code section prohibiting the parking of vehicles within front and street side yards only applies to required yards The word required is understood to be the minimum required yard which in most cases is 20 feet as as measured from the front property line Therefore parking of vehicles beyond the 20 foot required minimum front yard is not prohibited Figures 1 and 2 are examples of paved areas outside the required yard with parked vehicles Staff believes that extending the prohibition to the entire yard areaie the area from the front of the house or structure to the front property line would be consistent with the City s goals as articulated earlier y Y a f a k Figure is Vehicle parked beyond the entrance line of the garage AGENDA ITEM NO MEETING DATE

4 Page 4 r ME ra r a c y L r t c 1 S y Ml 4 CMS wri Gy Figure 2 Vehicle parked beyond the entrance line of the garage Establishing the Standards The maximum size of driveways and the extent of paving within front and street and for side yards should be large enough to accommodate access to garages the temporary parking of vehicles on the driveway without minimizing the aesthetic quality of such yards At minimum the width of the driveway should relate to the size of the garage when the garage is facing the street and has direct access from the street For example taking direct access from a street needs a wider driveway a house that has a three car garage than a two car garage A standard also needs to recognize varied lot widths within the City For example on a 40 foot wide lot a driveway should be at least 20 feet wide if it serves a two car garage By adding the width of typical walkway that may be three to five feet wide coupled with the area between the driveway and the nearest side property line that is often paved the total width of the paved area can be approximately 30 feet This equals to 75 percent wide lot The following are the proposed standards of the width of a 40 foot Driveway area inclusive of walkways side yard shall not exceed 50 percent of such yard area within the minimum front or street o For lots with substandard widths of less than 60 feet or less than 65 feet if a corner lot the following are the standards Less than 60 feet but more than 55 feet Less than 55 feet but more than 50 feet Less than 50 feet but more than 45 feet 55 percent 60 percent 65 percent AGENDA ITEM NO MEETING DATE

5 Page 5 Less than 45 feet but more than 40 feet 40 feet or less 75 percent 70 percent Driveway areas inclusive of walkways within the minimum front and street side yards may exceed the above limits by no more than 10 feet width when serving a required three car garage fronting a street Vehicles shall not be parked in the open within the front yard area beyond the entrance line location of garage door of a garage except as may be permitted under the provisions of Section and on driveways leading to code compliant parking spaces or parking areas Residential front and street side yards shall be landscaped and may not be used for off street parking or the permanent storage of vehicles or recreational vehicles except on driveways and except as may be permitted under the provisions New Definitions of Section Yard an area between a lot line and building s Driveway a private way providing access for vehicles to City approved legal parking spaces or garage Walkway or facility A private way used by pedestrians for access to a lot dwelling Staff is also suggesting utilizing the current Administrative Adjustment process to allow an applicant to exceed the maximum allowable size by 10 percent subject to notification to adjacent property owners and subject to findings Any request to exceed the standards beyond that allowed by the Administrative Adjustment process will require Planning Commission review ie variance Impacts of New Ordinance on Existing Properties Staff suggests that all properties that exceed the standards of the proposed ordinance be grandfathered Therefore the proposed ordinance would not impact current property owners property owners was a major concern during the last public hearing The impact of the new ordinance on current Planning Commission Review According to Government Code Section Commission review of legislative body s changes the legislative body may approve modify or disapprove the recommendation of the planning commission provided that any modification of the proposed ordinance or amendment by the legislative body not previously AGENDA ITEM NO MEETING DATE

6 Page 6 considered by the Planning Commission during its hearing shall first be referred to the Planning Commission for report and recommendation Should the Mayor and Council agree with the latest proposed draft ordinance staff will promptly schedule the matter for the Planning Commission consideration Planning Commission takes action on the matter staff will promptly matter for the Mayor s and Council s consideration CEQA After the schedule the The proposed project has been reviewed pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act CEQA and the requirements of the City and has been deemed to be exempt from further CEQA analysis under Class 3 Section which pertains to placement of minor structures accessory to existing facilities PUBLIC NOTICE A public hearing notice was published in the Orange County News on July Pursuant to Westminster Municipal Code Section 128 notices were also posted at City Hall Community Services Center Westminster Library and Community Services and Recreation Center At the completion date of this staff report staff has not received any comments from interested parties 4 FISCAL IMPACT None 5 ATTACHMENTS 1 January City Council Staff Report 2 January City Council Minutes SDepartments Community Development Planning Advanced Planning Zoning Text City Council Staff Report Amendments ZTA 2007 AGENDA ITEM NO MEETING DATE

7 REVIEWEDNERIFIED BY All America City t Management Analyst Finance Director Prepared By Kelvin Parker STAFF REPORT Presented By Doug Mclsaac DATE January TO THRU FROM Honorable Mayor and Council Members Ray Silver City Manager Doug Mclsaac Community Development Department 1 SUBJECT Case No Review of Ordinance No 2436 Amendment to Title 17 Land the use and Use Ordinance of the Westminster Municipal Code to regulate placement of canopies and tarps and limit the amount of paving and side yard setbacks within the front 2 RECOMMENDED ACTION MOTION Staff recommends that the Mayor and City Council introduce Ordinance No 2436 entitled An Ordinance of the Mayor and City Council of the City of Westminster Amending Title 17 Land Use Ordinance of the Westminster Municipal Code to Establish Development Standards That Will Regulate the Use and Placement of Canopies and Tarps As Well As Limit the Amount of Paving Within the Front and Side Yard Setbacks on Residential Properties and waive further reading 3 BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION Canopies and Tarps Over the course of the past few years the City has experienced a proliferation of canopies and tarps utilized as accessory structures in various residential districts Canopies and tarps are temporary structures made of canvas thick cloth plastic vinyl or other similar material AGENDA ITEM NO MEETING DATE 14 09

8 Page 2 Canopies and tarps are typically bought from home improvement stores eg Home Depot Lowe s These canopies are being utilized as permanent structures for vehicle storage patio covers and storage of material see Figures 13 below In many instances canopies have been located in front yards adjacent to property lines and are not being maintained or replaced upon deterioration They create visual blight and are detrimental to the preservation of property values As a result the City s Code Enforcement Division has received numerous complaints from the community regarding these structures Tarp E FI 4r yi la Figure l Deteriorating Canopy attached to residential dwelling Canopy Figure 2 Canopy within front yard setback covering driveway AGENDA ITEM NO MEETING DATE 14 09

9 Page 3 Tarp r Figure 3 Tarp used as car cover in front yard The Westminster Municipal Code currently does not address this type of canopy or tarp The amendment staff is proposing will regulate canopies and tarps in a manner consistent with accessory buildings or structures Currently a canopy or tarp can be placed outside the front setback and still be visible to public view as shown in Figure 3 above The proposed amendment will prohibit such canopies unless they are screened from public view by a building and or solid opaque wall or fence that is a minimum six feet in height in permitted areas Front and Street Side Yard Driveways The City s Code Enforcement Division has encountered several instances of residences with fully paved front yards Some residents within the City have removed a significant portion or all front yard landscaping to provide paving to accommodate the off street parking of vehicles See Figures 46 below Westminster Municipal Code Section requires landscaping in front and street side yard setbacks and prohibits the use of said setbacks for parking However code permits the temporary standing of vehicles on driveways in front and street side yards Since the code does not regulate the size of driveways some residents have substantially paved over front yards under the guise of driveways These actions have not upheld the spirit of the code language in the code to address driveway size the Code Enforcement Division has little ability to enforce the prohibition of parking within setbacks Without clear AGENDA ITEM NO MEETING DATE 14 09

10 Page 4 Paved Front Yard MyyLwr Figure 4 Parking on brick pavers in front yard I Paved Front Yard Figure 5 No landscaping parking on concrete front yard AGENDA ITEM NO MEETING DATE 14 09

11 Page 5 Concrete Front Yard tl z11e Ar if Figure 6 Partially paved front yard to provide parking Staff is proposing amendments to clarify the extent of paving within the front and street facing side yard setbacks that can occur The amendment also defines the term landscaping As the code currently allows the temporary parking of vehicles on driveways the amendment will establish a maximum size for driveways in order to preclude situations identified in the photos above Ordinance No 2436 is attached Attachment A identifies the proposed amendments to the Westminster Municipal Code in bolds and italics PLANNING COMMISSION HEARING Because the Planning Commission is required by state statute to consider and recommend to the City Council on matters pertaining to land use the Planning Commission considered the proposed revisions to Title 17 at their regular meeting of June During the public hearing no one spoke in favor or in opposition to the proposed code amendments The Planning Commission expressed their support for the ordinance and voted401 Commissioner Chow absent to adopt Resolution recommending that the City Council adopt the proposed amendments to Title 17 A copy of the Planning Commission Resolution recommending adoption of the ordinance is attached AGENDA ITEM NO MEETING DATE 14 09

12 Page 6 CEQA The proposed project has been reviewed pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act CEQA and the requirements of the City and has been deemed to be exempt from further CEQA analysis under Class 3 Section which pertains to placement of minor structures accessory to existing facilities PUBLIC NOTICE A public hearing notice was published in the Orange County News on December Pursuant to Westminster Municipal Code Section 128 notices were also posted at City Hall Community Services Center Westminster Library and Community Services and Recreation Center At the completion date of this staff report staff has not received any comments from interested parties 4 FISCAL IMPACT None 5 ATTACHMENTS None AGENDA ITEM NO MEETING DATE 14 09

13 CITY COUNCIL AGENCY MINUTES January CASE NO REVIEW OF ORDINANCE NO 2436 AMENDMENT TO TITLE 17 LAND USE ORDINANCE OF THE WESTMINSTER MUNICIPAL CODE TO REGULATE THE USE AND PLACEMENT OF CANOPIES AND TARPS AND LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF PAVING WITHIN THE FRONT AND SIDE YARD SETBACKS CN RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Mayor and City Council introduce Ordinance 2436 entitled An Ordinance of the Mayor and City Council of the City of Westminster amending Title 17 Land Use Ordinance of the Westminster Municipal Code to establish development standards that will regulate the use and placement of canopies and tarps as well as limit the amount of paving within the front and side yard setbacks on residential properties and waive further reading Kelvin Parker Associate Planner provided a item PowerPoint presentation on this Mayor Rice asked that if the Council adopts the Ordinance tonight will the residents who are in violation need to take down the canopies and remove the concrete The City Attorney stated that the canopies would have to come down but the cemented areas would have to be removed within a period of time through an abatement process Doug Mclsaac Community Development Director stated that if the Ordinance is adopted the Council can determine a specific amount of time that the canopies and concrete remain until they have to be removed Mayor Pro Tern Ta feels that the proposed Ordinance is not practical at this time during the difficult economic times MAYOR RICE OPENED THE PUBLIC HEARING AND ASKED IF THERE WERE ANY PERSONS WISHING TO SPEAK IN FAVOR TO THE ITEM Judy Ahrens Westminster resident spoke in favor of this item because the property values are at risk with all of the cars parked in front of houses MAYOR RICE ASKED IF THERE WERE ANY PERSONS WISHING TO SPEAK IN OPPOSITION TO THE ITEM Darrell Nolta Westminster resident spoke in opposition to this item because if the Ordinance is adopted and the residents must remove the concrete they will have to pay the increased water rates to water the grass THERE BEING NO FURTHER SPEAKERS MAYOR RICE CLOSED THE PUBLIC HEARING Council Member Quach stated his opposition to the Ordinance in its current form He expressed support of a limited code that includes tarps that are deteriorating Page 8

14 CITY COUNCIU AGENCY MINUTES January and are deemed unsafe to be removed but is not in favor of the regulating the use and placement of canopies Mayor Pro Tern Ta stated his opposition to the Ordinance as he does not feel that it is appropriate at this time and doesn t feel that homeowners should have to remove existing concrete He feels that canopies on properties should be safe expressing support of the idea in general but would like this matter to be brought back to explore further Council Member Diep stated that he supports the Ordinance because he does not like the fact that the front yards of homes are being converted into parking lots Motion was made by Council Member Quach and seconded by Mayor Pro Tern Ta to direct staff to come back in July with a new Ordinance which states that abatement of existing concrete paving within front and side yard setbacks be considered at a different time with another Ordinance that pertains to tarps and canopies that are deteriorating and rendered unsafe that builds in tarp safety and building criteria Council Member Diep informed the Council that the adoption of this Ordinance is not to enforce but to prevent other residents from replacing their landscaping with concrete The motion carried by a 50 vote CASE NO CONSIDERATION OF AN APPEAL BY THE PROPE OWNER AND COUNCIL MEMBER FRY REGARDING THE PL G MMISSION ACTION TO UPHOLD THE PLANNING M GER S DE MINATION THAT A 255 SQUARE FOOT ADDITION S THE MAXI ADDITION ALLOWED FOR AN EXISTING RE ENCE ITH A SINGLE C GARAGE CN WESTMINSTER NICIPAL CODE WMC CTION H13 LIMITS AN ADDITIO O 25 PERCENT OF E ORIGINAL GROSS FLOOR AREA WHEN THE EXI G GARAGE ES NOT MEET THE MINIMUM REQUIRED DIMENSIONS A CAR GARAGE THE SUBJECT RESIDENCE IS LOCATED A 51 KLAMATH DRIVE ASSESSOR PARCEL NUMBER AP LANTS APPLICANTS CEDAR PINE CONSTRUCTION CORP R ESENTIN E PROPERTY OWNERS AND PERRY AND RICHARD LANOWETH PR RTY OWNERS RECOMMENDATI Staff recommends that the or and City Council uphold the PI mg Commission prwosed addition is inconsisten ith Westminster Municipal Code Section May ice recused herself from this item because she lives within 5 feet of th roposed project and left the dais Mayor Pro Tern Ta chaired the mee Page 9