HomeMy WebLinkAboutPA2018-099_F15b-10-2018_CCC_addendaSTATE OF CALIFORNIA - THE RESOURCES AGENCY EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor
CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION
South Coast Area Office 200 Oceangate, Suite 1000
Long Beach, CA 90802-4302 (562) 590-5071
ADDENDUM
TO: Coastal Commissioners and Interested Parties
FROM: South Coast District Staff
SUBJECT: City of Newport Beach Local Coastal Program Amendment Request No. 4-17 Part B (LCP-5-NPB-17-0084-1) for action at the Commission meeting of
October 12, 2018.
I. Correspondence Received
Staff received a letter dated October 5, 2018 from Dr. James Mosher with comments regarding
the City of Newport Beach’s Amendment Request No. 4-17 Part B (LCP-5-NPB-17-0084-1) to
both the Land Use Plan (LUP) and the Implementing Plan (IP) portions of the Newport Beach
certified Local Coastal Program (LCP) adding provisions for the regulation of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). Dr. Mosher’s letter is attached at the end of this staff report addendum.
Staff recommends the incorporation of the following staff response to the comments/concerns
expressed in his letter:
In his letter, Dr. Mosher states that the City’s intention may be to have parallel (generally identical) provisions regulating ADUs in both the IP portion of the LCP which is Title 21 of the
Newport Beach Municipal Code and the Zoning Code which is Title 20 of the Newport Beach
Municipal Code. He notes that the City’s proposed LCP amendment is per City Council
Resolution No. 2017-51, included as Exhibit 1 of the staff report, and that since adoption of that
City Resolution, in response to additional changes to the State law regarding ADUs effective January 1, 2018, the City plans on adopting a second resolution, Resolution No. 2018-65 in an
effort to be in full compliance with State law.
However, to date, Resolution 2018-65 has not yet been adopted by the City Council and it has
not been submitted as part of an LCP amendment request to the Commission. Therefore, as explained on page 2 of the staff report, following the City’s December 2017 submittal of the
LCP amendment to add provisions for the regulation of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) per
recent State law (Government Code Section 65852.2), the State made changes to Government
Code Section 65852.2 that became effective January 1, 2018. As the City’s 2017 submittal does not reflect the most recent changes made to the State law, the intention of staff’s suggested modifications are to bring the LCP into compliance with the recent changes to Government Code
October 10, 2018
F15b
Addendum City of Newport Beach LCP Amendment No. 4-17 Part B
Page 2
Section 65852.2 relating to ADUs. Staff recommended suggested modifications are not specifically intended to match any possible additional changes the City may or may not make to
their Zoning Code as the Zoning Code is separate from the IP. Specifically, four (4) suggested
modifications are necessary to effectively update the proposed new regulations to permit ADUs
in conjunction with a single dwelling unit in all residential zoning districts, including two-unit
and multiple residential zoning districts. If modified as suggested, the Commission finds that the City’s IP conforms with and is adequate to carry out the requirements of the certified LUP,
consistent with Section 30513 of the Coastal Act.
Additionally, Dr. Mosher points out three typos: one, a typo in the City’s Resolution No. 2017-
51 included as Exhibit 1 of the staff report, which staff is unable to correct as part of the staff report; and two and three are Commission staff suggested modifications that differ from the City’s proposed language and not actually typos. For example, according to Government Code
Section 65852.2, “Parking requirements for accessory dwelling units shall not exceed one
parking space per unit or per bedroom, whichever is less.” Thus, in the last paragraph at the
bottom of page 9 of the staff report, Suggested Modification 3 proposes language changes to the City’s proposed IP Section 21.48.200(C)(9)(a) language A maximum of one One parking space shall be provided for an accessory dwelling unit. required for one-bedroom or efficiency unit;
two parking spaces required for unit with two or more bedrooms. In his letter, Dr. Mosher
expresses concern that the use of the word “maximum” is a typo and should in fact read
“minimum.” Thus, staff’s suggested modification, as further modified here in this addendum, to read, “A maximum of one parking space shall be required for an accessory dwelling unit”
clarifies that one is the maximum number of parking spaces that may be required for an ADU.
This modification is necessary to be consistent with the parking requirements in Government
Code Section 65852.2, and will facilitate the creation/construction of ADUs by removing
potentially onerous parking obligations that may prevent or hinder the construction of ADUs.
Additionally, Dr. Mosher questions Suggested Modification 3, which includes changes to the
language of the City’s proposed IP Section 21.48.200(C)(9)(c) language: No parking shall be
required for: (i) Accessory dwelling unit converted as part of the a proposed or existing principal
residence or existing accessory structure as described in subsection (C)56. This suggested modification is meant to clarify the situations in which parking is not required to be provided in
connection with ADUs, as required by Government Code Section 65852.2. Government Code
Section 65852.2(d) provides that a local agency shall not impose parking standards for ADUs in
certain instances, including when an ADU “is part of the proposed or existing primary residence
or an accessory structure.” Suggested Modification 3 is intended to conform the City’s proposed language to the ADU statute, consistent with the direction in LUP Policy 2.7-5 (approved
concurrently) that the City should administer the provisions of Government Code section
65852.2. However, Dr. Mosher is correct that subsection (C)6 applies to conversion of space
“within existing structures.” Accordingly then, staff recommends modifying Suggested
Modification 3, pertaining to proposed IP Section 21.48.200(C)(9)(c), by deleting the language “as described in subsection (C)56” as part of this staff report addendum.
Dr. Mosher also states that the addition of LUP Policy 2.7-5 (requiring the City to administer
Government Code section 65852.2 consistent with the LCP and Coastal Act), requires changes to
the narrative language in Policy 2.7 to reflect “current thinking” about the value of ADUs. While an updated discussion of the policies related to ADUs and housing availability and
Addendum City of Newport Beach LCP Amendment No. 4-17 Part B
Page 3
affordability concerns would be helpful, it is not necessary for the LUP to comply with the Coastal Act, which is the standard that must be met for the Commission’s adoption of Suggested
Modifications.
Dr. Mosher also suggests modifying the definition of “accessory dwelling unit” to make the
definition more clear that ADUs may only be located on lots zoned for and occupied by one single-family residential use. However, staff does not agree that additional changes to the
definition of ADU are necessary since proposed IP Section 21.48.200(D)(4) describing
additional requirements for all accessory dwelling units already makes this clarificiation.
Subsection (D)(4) states: “Existing development. A single-unit dwelling must exist on the lot or
shall be constructed on the lot in conjunction with the construction of the accessory dwelling unit.”
II. Changes to the Staff Report/Suggested Modifications
Commission staff proposes clarifying language to reflect the intent of the suggested
modifications and the supporting findings. No changes or additions to the staff report findings
are necessary to enact these minor clarifications. Proposed new language proposed as part of this addendum is shown in bold, italic, double underlined, and ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.
Proposed deletions are shown as bold, italic, double underlined, and double strikethrough.
Suggested Modification 3 addition of IP Section 21.48.200(C)(6)(c) language
6. Conversion of space within existing structure. Notwithstanding the provisions of
subsections C(1), C(2), C(3), C(4) and C(5) above, an accessory dwelling unit shall be
permitted if the unit is contained within the existing space of a single-unit dwelling or
existing accessory structure, has independent exterior access from the existing dwelling,
and the side and rear setbacks comply with required Building Codes, and if the accessory dwelling unit conforms with the following:
a. For the purposes of this section, the portion of the single-unit dwelling or
accessory structure must have been legally permitted and existing for a minimum
of three years prior to the issuance of a permit to convert the space into an accessory dwelling unit.
b. No new or separate utility connection may be required between the accessory
dwelling unit and the utility service, such as water, sewer, and power.
c. The property is located within a coastal residential zoning district that permits single-unit dwellings and no more than one dwelling unit exists on the property.
Suggested Modification 3 to proposed IP Section 21.48.200(C)(9)(a) and IP Section 21.48.200(C)(9)(c) language as follows:
Addendum City of Newport Beach LCP Amendment No. 4-17 Part B
Page 4
9. Parking. Parking shall comply with requirements of Chapter 21.40 (Off-Street Parking), except as modified below:
a. A maximum of one One parking space shall be provided REQUIRED for an
accessory dwelling unit. required for one-bedroom or efficiency unit; two parking
spaces required for unit with two or more bedrooms.
b. Such parking may be provided as tandem parking and/or may be located on an
existing driveway; however, in no case shall parking be allowed in a rear setback
abutting an alley.
c. No parking shall be required for:
i. Accessory dwelling unit converted as part of the a proposed or existing
principal residence or existing accessory structure as described in subsection (C)56.
ii. Accessory dwelling units located within one-half mile of a public transit.
For the purposes of this section “public transit” shall include a bus stop
with fixed route bus service that provides transit service at 15-minute
intervals or better during peak commute periods.
iii. Accessory dwelling units located within an architecturally and historically
significant historic district.
iv. When on-street parking permits are required but not offered to the occupant of the accessory dwelling unit.
v. When there is a car-share vehicle located within one block of the
accessory dwelling unit. For the purposes of this section, “car-share
vehicle” shall mean part of an established program intended to stay in a fixed location for at least 10 years and available to the public.
Date of comment: October 5, 2018 Agenda Item: F15b-10-2018
My position: as described
To: Liliana Roman, Coastal Program Analyst
200 Oceangate, Suite 1000, Long Beach, CA 90802
Re: Amendment Request No. 4-17 Part B (LCP-5-NPB-17-0084-1) to the City of Newport
Beach Local Coastal Program (LCP),
Although the staff report indicates it was prepared in response to changes to the City of Newport
Beach’s LCP requested by City Council Resolution No. 2017-51 (Exhibit 1), adopted July 25,
2017, as CCC staff undoubtedly knows, since the passage of that resolution additional changes
to California Government Code Section 65852.2 were made, effective January 1, 2018, and as
Item 12 on its September 11, 2018, agenda, the City Council adopted a new Resolution No.
2018-65 authorizing a request for additional changes to the ones requested with Resolution No.
2017-51 (with a redline version presented starting on page 69 of the Item 12 City staff report).
To avoid a need to immediately re-amend what is here being amended, CCC staff’s
“Suggested Modifications” to the Resolution No. 2017-51 request appear intended to
anticipate the additional changes the City would be requesting with Resolution No. 2018-65.
The Commission should, however, be aware that the changes to the LCP-IP (Title 21 of the
Newport Beach Municipal Code) requested with Resolution No. 2018-65 were intended to
duplicate changes being made to the parallel (and generally identical) provisions the Council
expected to make to Title 20 (the City’s separate Zoning Code) with Ordinance No. 2018-14.
That ordinance was introduced on September 11 and expected to be adopted at its second
reading on September 25, 2018. But Ordinance No. 2018-14 was not adopted on September
25. Instead, City staff submitted a memo asking for more time for further input and discussion.
As a result, the present set of “Suggested Modifications” to the Resolution No. 2017-51
language may or may not represent the City’s final word on how it wants the ADU
regulations to read.
Assuming the City has asked the CCC to proceed with adoption of what may not be its finally
requested language, I would note a couple of typos:
1. In Section 6, near the top of page 5 of 9 of Exhibit 1, the City requests modifications to a
non-existent “Table 3-10 in NBMC Section 21.41.040.” I believe that was intended to
read “Table 21.40-1 in NBMC Section 21.40.040.”
2. In the last paragraph at the bottom of page 9 of the staff report, in its “Suggested
Modifications,” CCC staff asks for the off-street parking requirement to read “A
maximum of one parking space shall be provided for an accessory dwelling unit.” I
believe the City asked for that to read “A minimum of one parking space.” And the
City’s version makes more sense to me (I can see why the Commission would want to
require off-street parking; I cannot see why it would want to limit it).
Jim Mosher to Coastal Commission re: F15b-10-2018 (LCP-5-NPB-17-0084-1) Page 2 of 2
3. Although not so obvious a “typo,” near the top of page 10 of the staff report, CCC staff is
suggesting changing “the existing” to “a proposed or existing.” This change was not for
in either of the City resolutions, and I don’t see the point of it, since this sentence refers
to subsection (C)6, and that subsection deals only with “Conversion of space within [an]
existing structure.”
I might also point out that Suggested Modification 1 is actually suggesting no change at all to
the existing language of NBMC Section 21.18.010 – in other words, it is asking the Commission
to reject the amendment requested in Exhibit 1 (and later retracted by the City). That is, with
Resolution No. 2017-51, the City asked for the words “accessory dwelling units” to be added in
two places, and CCC staff is anticipating that with Resolution No. 2018-65 they will be asking for
them to be removed. The net result will be no change to that part of the LCP.
As to the City’s requested insertion of the new Policy 2.7-5 into the Coastal Land Use Plan (the
first Item on page 4 of 9 of Exhibit 1), I would ask if some of the narrative preceding the policy
on pages 2-50 and 2-51 of the presently certified CLUP needs to rewritten to provide a logical
context for the new policy. The present narrative makes the small dwelling units sanctioned by
it sound illegal and frowned upon, which does not seem to be the current thinking.
Regarding that thinking, my understanding from the public hearings is that the City interprets the
proposed rules as allowing legal ADU’s only on lots where the only other structure is a single
one-family home. In other words, they could not be added to either or both units of a duplex.
I do not know if that is the intent of Government Code Section 65852.2, or would be the intent of
the CCC, but if it is, then I think the definition proposed by the City in Section 9 on page 9 of 9 of
Exhibit 1 could be made more clear. I might suggest: “Dwelling Unit, Accessory (Land Use). A
dwelling unit accessory to and attached to, detached from, or contained within, the principal
dwelling unit on a site zoned for and occupied by one a single-family residential use.”
Yours sincerely,
James M. Mosher, Ph.D.
2210 Private Road
Newport Beach, CA. 92660
jimmosher@yahoo.com