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Minutes-ZA 1999/07/01ACTION AGENDA REGULAR MEETING OF THE ANAHEIM CITY ZONING ADMINISTRATOR THURSDAY, JULY 1, 1999 9:30 A.M. Staff Present: Annika Santalahti, Zoning Administrator Selma Mann, Deputy City Attomeyj Kevin Bass, Associate Planner David See, Associate Planner Peter Gambino, Associate Engineer Danielle Masciel, Word Processing Operator 1a. CEQA EXEMPT {SECTION 15061(bl(31} 1b. ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUSTMENT NO. 166 Continued to July 29,1999 OWNER: Gregory and Virginia Speth 2566 W. Runyon Place Anaheim, CA 92604 LOCATION: 2566 W. Runyon Place. Property is 0.2 acre having a frontage of approximately 73 feet on the south side of Runyon Place, and a maximum depth of 136 feet and located 250 feet east of the centerline of Magnolia Avenue. Waiver of minimum front yard setback (20 feet-6-inches proposed [82.6°/a of code requirementj; 25 feet required) to construct a 225 square foot garage addition to an existing single-family home. ZONING ADMINISTRATOR DECISION NO. _______ Appeal period ends, June 30, 1999 at 5:00 p.m. REMARKS: Annika Santalahti, Zoning Administrator, set Administrative Adjustment No. 166 for public hearing on July 29, 1999 Kevin Bass stated that one letter of opposition was received from the property owner at 2562 W. Runyon Place. The applicant was contacted and had elected to set the administrative adjustment for public hearing. ZA070199.DOC 07/01 /99 Page 1 PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS: 2a. CEQA CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION CLASS-15 Continued to July 15, 1999 2b. TENTATIVE PARCEL MAP N0.99-159 OWNER: Gary Frederick Almas and Joyce Almas dba - Almaron Corporation 8055 E. Florence, Downey, CA 90240 AGENT: Jim Nugent 521 Iris Avenue Corona Del Mar, CA 92625 LOCATION: 828 South Western Avenue. Property is 1.04 acres located at the northwest corner of Western Avenue and 285 feet on the north side of Teranimar Drive. To establish a 4-lot single-family residential subdivision in the RS-7200 Zone. ZONING ADMINISTRATOR DECISION NO. ______ REMARKS: Annika Santalahti, Zoning Administrator, stated while reviewing the project some concerns arose that we had been discussing here with staff. That is the code requirements both in Title 18 Zoning, as well as in Chapter 17.08 Subdivisions, which pertain to residential lots that abut arterial highways. Western Avenue is an .arterial highway and my interpretation of the code is that this parcel or this subdivision of land necessitates a public notice for a variance on the property because of that particular configuration. So I don't know if staff has any further information before it is open for public input. Kevin Bass, Associate Planner: Staff will need to readvertise the case in order to add the two additional waivers. The advertising period will still be under the Categorical Exemption therefore it should be approximately a ten day advertising period. He would have to check to see how fast the matter could be advertised. Annika Santalahti, Zoning Administrator: Has anybody had a chance to look at Title 17. Kevin Bass, Associate Planner: We are still reviewing Title 17. Annika Santalahti, Zoning Administrator: Is the applicant here and do you have any thoughts on this subject Jim Nugent, Nuggent Company: We are an engineering firm out of Newport Beach. This is just going to cause a hardship with the owner who does have the properly in escrow and it is going to jeopardize the sale. is there any way to get the Tentative Parcel Map approved without the Variance. Annika Santalahti, Zoning Administrator: I was surprised when I read the staff report and I'm familiar with the area. I knew that there was another map and I expected to find that a Variance had been approved somewhere along the line for this configuration. Jim Nugent: Variance No. 4052 approved in 1990 and that showed the two lots right up against Westem Avenue. He asked if that Variance could apply to this Tentative Parcel Map. 07/01 /99 Page 2 Annika Santalahti, Zoning Administrator: That was granted for a particular condition which isn't the same one reflected on this map and that is the alignment of the property. She determined there was no one else other than the individual earlier who is an interested neighbor. We will need to advertise this item to cover the situation of the lot siding onto Western Ave. Staff had recommended approval of the map, however, I have been out there and with the general circumstances of your neighbors, she could not approve it. Jim Nugent: Is there any way we can get the map approved the way it is so we can go through the 10 or 15 day waiting period and then try to get the Variance and then we won't have to wait the additional 15 day after the next meeting. Selma Mann, Deputy City Attorney: It would be poor practice to approve it with an impossible element to it as the Code stands today with what's being identified as a required Variance here. There wouldn't be anything here that would prohibit that, but it wouldn't give any definite approval for purposes of being able to proceed with any sort of development because it would still have a land use approval that would be required with no assurances as to what the decision would be. You can't apply a variance from one property to another. There are two different findings that have to be made in order for a variance to be approved. One is that there is some characteristic of the property itself that necessitates the granting of a Variance in a particular situation. The classic situation is a triangular lot where it's just impossible to build your structure if you are going to be meeting all of the requirements of the code. There is a second finding that failure to grant the Variance would deprive the property owner of privileges that are enjoyed by other neighbors in the zone and so everyone else is able to build a house on this size lot, but you can't because of the shape. It is a case by case determination based upon very specific facts, including that even where you have characteristics of the property that are unusual, that characteristic must be different from characteristics of other property in the area. For example in the hills, they all have strange slopes so that's not an unusual characteristic and the unusual characteristic has to prevent you from meeting the requirement. Jim Nugent: The last 5 or 6 projects have gone through without a need of this variance. Our lots are not only wider but they are deeper and have more square footage than any other projects that have gone through in the past. All of the sudden now a condition has come up so our maps are being stopped where the City policy in the past has always been to grant these. We are the first to have this requirement to apply for a variance out of the last 5 or 6 tentative parcel map applications that have been recorded. All we are trying to do is save a 15 day waiting period. We know that we can't record the final map until this has been resolve. Approval would saves 15 days and now we are out another 3p days and may lose our buyer. If we lose our buyer the owner is out a substantial amount of money. Selma Mann, Deputy City Attorney: That would be up to the Zoning Administrator in terms of approving it with a condition. Jim Nugent: If it were approved according to the conditions, in 30 days, then we've already met our time frame. The variance would have already have approved hopefully in 30 days. If not then it's no good anyway, but it saves 15 days. Annika Santalahti, Zoning Administrator: If the property owner understands, there is that finding, because it is acknowledging if it's approved. Jim Nugent: We can't close escrow until the variance is approved but at least the map would be official. Annika Santalahti, Zoning Administrator: The timing of the two would end up together in any case because the appeal periods for my actions on the variances are 15 days and just 10 days for a Tentative Parcel Map. I always try to make the decisions at the early end of the seven days, it hardly works out that way but I can always make that or note that so we can get this one out to try to pick up a week potentially or close to a week. I agree with the attorney because the map is not supposed to be approved other than it complies with all applicable codes with the exception where waivers have been approved prior to the map being acted on. 07/01 /99 Page 3 Jim Nugent: Asked if the Zoning Administrator meetings were once a month? Is there any way to get this on a two week agenda. Kevin Bass, Associate Planner: We will make every effort to possibly have it on a two week continuance, I just can't guarantee because of the scheduling of the newspaper requirements. Annika Santalahti, Zoning Administrator: Staff will be contacting you to fill out the form for the variance. Jim Nugent: Asked if there is an additional fee he is going to have to pay? Annika Santalahti, Zoning Administrator: We are going to have to discuss that a little bit since you should have been informed of this earlier. Annika Santalahti, Zoning Administrator: I will go ahead and pay the advertising fees. I will continue this for lwo weeks on the assumption that the other one will have been advertised. If it doesn't tum out then we will have to continue it for another two weeks. Item No. 2 is continued, Tentative Parcel Map No. 99-159 for two weeks until the meeting of July 15, 1999 3a. CEQA EXEMPT {SECTION 15315} CLASS-15 3b. TENTATIVE PARCEL MAP NO. 98-248 APPROVED OWNER: CAFIG, INC. A Delaware Corporation 5875 Landerbrook Drive, #250 Mayfield Heights, Ohio 44124 AGENT: Juergen Milczewsky 3040 Saturn, Suite 201 Brea, CA 92821 LOCATION: 1001 East Ball Road. Property is 10.9 acres located at the northwest corner of Ball Road and East Street. To establish a 2-lot industrial subdivision on an ML (Limited Industrial) zoned property. ZONING ADMINISTRATOR DECISION NO. 99-21 Continued from the Zoning Administrator meeting of May 6, May 20, June 3, and June 16, 1999. Ronald McCartel: I live adjacent to the east of the property. I know you were there the other day. I don't know if you've looked at the condition of the property as it stands now. I think they want to go ahead and grade it and knock down the property as soon as possible. Annika Santalahti, Zoning Administrator: I don't think there is if they meet the appropriate requirements of the Engineering Department Peter Gambino, Associate Engineer: No, there is nothing that would preclude you from submitting plans and obtaining the necessary permit to do the grading work. It is separate from what is being heard today. 07/01 /99 Page 4 Ron McCartel: What happened to the retaining walls that apply to the east side? That belongs to me. I personally put them in there. Peter Gambino, Associate Engineer: We focus our discussion here on grading and not the subdivision. Any work or earthwork that is going to be conducted on the property is going to have to be self-contained within the property, therefore, it should not affect any fixed items you have on your property. So they would have to join at the property line or just short of the property line-such that it doesn't Affect anything that you have on your property. There are situations where they can or they do want to do work on adjacent properties and of course, they are going to be working with the adjacent landowner. They would need to obtain the necessary permission and obtain an agreement before we would even grant such a permit Ron McCartel: When they grade, they will disturb the fence as it would because of the grade change between my property and his, and they won't have to notify me. 4a. CEQA NEGATIVE DECLARATION 4b. VARIANCE N0.4351 APPROVED OWNER: THE SCHWAB FOUNDATIONIARDATH SCHWAB 5000 E. Bonanza Road Las Vegas, NV 89110 AGENT: JEFFJONSSON 6 Morgan, #100 Irvine, CA 92610 LOCATION: 3361 - 3369 East Miraloma Avenue. Property is 0:83 acre having a frontage of 165 feet on the north side of Miraloma Avenue, and a maximum depth of 221 feet and is located 160 feet west of the centerline of Miller Street. Waiver of minimum number of parking spaces (48 required; 31 proposed) to retain 8,742 square feet of office space within an existing 20,395 industrial complex. ZONING ADMINISTRATOR DECISION NO. 9999=22 Continued from the Zoning Administrator meetings of April 8, April 22, May 6, May 20, and June 17, 1999. 5. ITEMS OF PUBLIC INTEREST: NONE 07/01 /99 Page 5