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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/23/2014 - Planning Commission CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Council Chambers —100 Civic Center Drive Thursday, October 23, 2014 REGULAR MEETING 6:30 p.m. I. CALL TO ORDER-The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE—Chair Tucker III. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Brown, Hillgren, Lawler, Myers and Tucker ABSENT(Excused): Koetting and Kramer Staff Present: Brenda Wisneski, Deputy Community Development Director; Leonie Mulvihill, Assistant City Attorney; Gregg Ramirez, Senior Planner; Benjamin Zdeba, Assistant Planner; Brittany Ramirez, Administrative Technician IV. PUBLIC COMMENTS Chair Tucker invited those interested in addressing the Planning Commission on items not on the agenda, to do so at this time. June Maier, Secretary for Ebb Tide Mobile Home Park Homeowners Association, reported that the park closure application will be before the Planning Commission in the future. She reported that the park owners are going to tear down their homes and pocket their equity to build new homes. She added that homeowners will not receive their equity or fair market values for their homes but will receive $12,000 to $15,000 for their homes. She expressed concerns that homeowners will not be able to replace their homes and believed this to be unfair and unjust. She urged the Planning Commission to return the application as inadequate and incomplete and noted that homeowners need to be compensated for the value of their homes. Charles Cline, Sr. noted he is a wartime veteran and expressed concerns with the planned closure of Ebb Tide Mobile Home Park. He referenced his original contract and noted that it did not indicate the park would be sold. He opined that the park owners are being unfair and have failed to communicate properly with homeowner/residents. Tom Hackett expressed concerns with the proposed sale of Ebb Tide Mobile Home Park. He added that park owners failed to communicate that they would sell the park and that homeowners will lose their equity and homes. He expressed concern that homeowners will be displaced and urged the Planning Commission to approve low-income housing in order to avoid displacement. Chair Tucker noted that nothing has been presented to the Planning Commission regarding this matter but that when the item comes up for hearing, residents should submit as much written material as possible. Dan Wolfe reported that he bought his home in Ebb Tide Mobile Home Park about a year ago and was never told that the park was going to be sold. He stated that his disabled sister lives with him and urged the Planning Commission, when the item is presented, to keep in mind that homeowners need at least fair market value for their homes. He added that homeowners will have a difficult time finding affordable alternative housing and asked for the Planning Commission's consideration. Seeing no others wishing to address the Planning Commission, Chair Tucker closed Public Comments. V. REQUEST FOR CONTINUANCES-None VI. CONSENT ITEMS ITEM NO. 1 MINUTES OF OCTOBER 2,2014 Recommended Action: Approve and file Page 1 of 5 NEWPORT BEACH PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES 10/23/14 Chair Tucker noted that he submitted changes to the minutes of October 2, 2014, as did Mr. Jim Mosher. Chair Tucker opened public comments. Seeing no one wishing to provide comment, Chair Tucker closed public comments. Motion made by Commissioner Hillgren and seconded by Commissioner Brown and carried (5 — 0) to approve the Planning Commission meeting minutes of October 2, 2014, as amended. AYES: Brown, Hillgren, Lawler, Myers and Tucker NOES: None ABSTENTIONS: None ABSENT: Koetting and Kramer VII. PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS ITEM NO.2 Nonconforming Structures Code Amendment(PA2014-083) Site Location: Citywide Recommended Action: Direct staff to return with a resolution amending the Zoning Code to include one (1) of the options detailed in the staff report. Deputy Director of Community Development Brenda Wisneski reported that the Planning Commission conducted a study session in August, where an overview of the issue was presented along with potential options. She addressed the Planning Commission's direction at that time, the actions that can be taken at this time and deferred to staff for a report. Assistant Planner Benjamin Zdeba provided a PowerPoint presentation addressing background, prior cases considered, an overview of the intent and purpose of the nonconforming structures Zoning Code section to encourage the conformance of nonconforming structures over time, City Council concerns, details of available and recommended options, and various scenarios applying the recommended options. In response to Commissioner Hillgren's inquiry regarding the allowable percentage increase for a conforming property, Assistant Planner Zdeba reported that if a property is completely conforming, owners can add square footage to the maximum amount stipulated by floor area limitations. He added that different zoning districts have different regulations. Total maximum allowable floor area includes the garage square footage. Mr. Zdeba clarified that the issue at hand was more or less dealing with nonconforming setbacks rather than nonconforming parking, Commissioner Hillgren noted that the City is trying to create an incentive for people to be more in conformance with regard to parking and asked about incentives for people to reduce their setbacks or heights. Assistant Planner Zdeba stated that in this case, the addition of a conforming garage is seen as an added benefit regarding the nonconforming issue, and exclusion of the garage helps to eliminate the discrimination against smaller structures on properties that do not currently provide required parking. Discussion followed regarding the possibility of achieving 100 percent of the maximum floor area. Commissioner Lawler commented on Option No. 4 and asked about the discretionary review. Assistant Planner Zdeba reported that the matter would go to the Zoning Administrator. A mechanism would be provided to review allowance for additional square footage on a case-by-case basis. He added that Option No. 3 allows for the same provision, but eliminates the discretionary review component. Secretary Myers suggested that if the goal is to create more parking, it could be stated in Option No. 4 that attempting to increase the amount of available parking on-site is a factor in the determination of allowing additional square footage between 50 percent and 75 percent. Deputy Community Development Director Wisneski reported that the purpose of the zoning amendment is not to incentivize additional parking, but to address small structures and the fact that they may be penalized for being small structures dealing with nonconformities. She added that parking is a by-product of the zoning amendment. Page 2 of 5 NEWPORT BEACH PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES 10/23/14 In response to Secretary Myers' question, it was noted that if parking is nonconforming, another code section provides a 10 percent addition limitation. In order to get more than a 10 percent addition, a property owner would have to provide the Code-required parking. Chair Tucker commented on the purpose of the nonconforming structure regulations was to encourage conformity. He questioned whether or not the goal of the Zoning Code should be to allow an equitable expansion of nonconforming structures so that small structures are treated like big structures if the overall goal is to achieve conformity. He added that a discretionary process would need to be accompanied by definitive findings to help ensure that equitable expansion of nonconformity would make sense. He expressed concerns regarding the findings and coming up with an appropriate set of findings that would be a function of the size, condition and architecture of the structure. He opined that the level of review for nonconforming structures should be the Planning Commission. He added that there should be a ceiling on the percentage of allowable floor area that could be permitted with a discretionary review. Chair Tucker invited public comments on this item. John Loomis, 30th Street Architects, reported that the reason his clients appealed the case to the City Council was because the ordinance is unfair and grants more to the "haves" than to the "have nots". He stated that all of the options have the incentives for getting from the 10 percent to the 50 percent by improving parking to a fully- conforming state. He added that his clients feel that Option No. 4 is the fairest of all the options presented and that the strict percentage of a given area of a building favors those with more area and disfavors those with less. He also added that there are factors involved that are not considered as a straight percentage of the existing area and reiterated his clients' preference for Option No. 4. In response to Chair Tucker's question, Mr. Loomis reported that it is possible that providing a cap on the allowable floor area could work with a discretionary action. He added that if Option No. 4 passes, his clients would have a reduction of approximately 300 square feet, resulting in nearly 1.75 times the buildable area. He added that the options presented are creative and are going in the right direction, He noted the importance of having a discretionary action involved to be able to deal with particulars of a case. Chair Tucker commented on being fair versus being in conformity. Amber Hormann stated her preference for Option No. 4 as it allows for the most livable space. Gary Mobley, Attorney representing the Hormann's, spoke in support of Option No. 4, noting that it allows flexibility of Planning and the Commission to address the unique situations of each property. He added that there will always be flexibility regardless of whether Option No. 4 is selected or not in terms of a variance application. He added that encouraging conformity needs to be balanced against the property rights of owners and the equity of each situation as it is applied to each property. Chair Tucker closed public comments. Chair Tucker noted that the important thing is to figure out what will make sense and make a recommendation that must be complied with. Commissioner Hillgren commented on the 50 percent limitation and added that with the current code there is an intent to penalize for remaining nonconforming. He stated that using the existing building size may not be the right starting point. Rather, the limitation should be based on what can be built on the property not the size of the home today. He suggested that adding the square footage of a new garage to the denominator might encourage people, where there is not a garage, to build one. The result would be a square footage bonus for having built a more conforming project. Discussion followed regarding setting a 75 percent of allowable floor area limitation as the maximum. Secretary Myers commented on allowing property owners to maximize the value of their property, including the garage, and setting a limit of 2.0, with the goal of conformity. He agreed that these matters should go before the Planning Commission. Page 3 of 5 NEWPORT BEACH PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES 10/23/14 Commissioner Lawler commented on Commissioners Hiilgren and Myers' suggestion and indicated he would like to see examples. Additionally, he wondered if it would be prudent to try to quantify what the discretion means relative to Option No. 4 and what findings would be necessary in order to achieve that discretion. Discussion followed regarding the importance of understanding what the findings would have to be and of input from staff. Commissioner Brown suggested findings regarding architecture, building structure and materials and how the property became non-conforming. Senior Planner Gregg Ramirez reported that staff does not see many nonconforming cases where the 50 percent standard currently in effect is not sufficient to achieve what the property owner/developer is trying to achieve. He added that the Hormann case is unusual, noting that many of the older homes that are nonconforming are usually torn down and rebuilt. He agreed with the need for findings if the Planning Commission approves Option No. 4 and suggested an additional finding regarding the degree of the nonconformity. Chair Tucker added that the size of the structure should also be considered in the findings. Deputy Community Development Director Wisneski clarified that the Planning Commission is considering Option No. 4 and addressed inclusion of the garage in calculating the 50 percent. She reported that the modification permit could be utilized and be forwarded to the Planning Commission for consideration. She added that modification permit findings are broad and can be augmented in accordance with the comments made above. Chair Tucker agreed and reiterated that he would like to see a 75 percent limitation and that the goal is to encourage conformity. Discussion followed regarding the possibility of eliminating the discretion and using 75 percent as the number and the possibility of including a square footage bonus using the addition of a conforming garage. Motion made by Chair Tucker and seconded by Commissioner Brown and carried (5—0)to continue the matter until the Planning Commission meeting of December 4, 2014. AYES: Brown, Hillgren, Lawler, Myers and Tucker NOES: None ABSTENTIONS: None ABSENT: Koetting and Kramer Vlll. STAFF AND COMMISSIONER ITEMS ITEM NO. 3 MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION -None ITEM NO.4 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR'S REPORT 1. Update on the General Plan/Local Coastal Program Implementation Committee Deputy Community Development Director Wisneski reported that the General Plan/Local Coastal Program Implementation Committee meeting for this month was cancelled but will meet on November 26, 2014, to review the draft Implementation Plan. 2. Update on City Council Items Deputy Community Development Director Wisneski reported that last week, City Council approved the a-frame sign ordinance for Corona del Mar and added a temporary(one year) program to be applied at Balboa Village. She reported that the Balboa Marina West Mitigated Negative Declaration has been appealed to City Council and is scheduled for November 25, 2014. Page 4 of 5 NEWPORT BEACH PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES 10/23/14 In response to Chair Tucker's inquiry regarding the status of a case related to an apartment house that was going to be demolished in West Newport, Assistant City Attorney Mulvihill reported that the City Attorney's office was advised that the matter was settled. Assistant City Attorney Mulvihill reported that on August 11, 2014, the Planning Commission recommended approval of the EIR for the Lido House Hotel and City Council certified same, subsequently. She reported that the statute of limitations for a CEQA challenge on that EIR has passed and there were no challenges filed. Regarding the Ebb Tide Mobile Home Park, Ms. Wisneski reported that the matter is on a Planning Commission's future agenda and clarified the process including consideration of a Relocation Impact Report which will be reviewed by City Council prior to any project being considered on the property. Council will most likely not be reviewing it until after the beginning of the year and then the project will come before the Planning Commission for review. ITEM NO. 5 ANNOUNCEMENTS ON MATTERS THAT THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBERS WOULD LIKE PLACED ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION,ACTION, OR REPORT-None ITEM NO. 6 REQUESTS FOR EXCUSED ABSENCES Secretary Myers announced that he will be absent for the Planning Commission meeting of November 6, 2014, and requested to be excused. IX. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Planning Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 7:51 p.m. The agenda for the Planning Commission meeting was posted on Thursday, October 16, 2014, at 4:20 p.m. in the Chambers binder, on the digital display board located inside the vestibule of the Council Chambers at 100 Civic Center Drive and on the City's website on Thursday, October 16, 2014, at 3:55 p.m. 7--D) Larry Tucker, Chair Jay 7(7 yer ecr to Page 5 of 5