HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 9 - Presentation - Appellant - Heidelberg APPEAL OF THE PLANNING
COMMISSION ' S APPROVAL OF
THE VISTA DEL MAR PROJECT
The Vista Del Mar Project
■ In the C-1 Neighborhood Transition Combining District
0 Maximum FAR = 1.0
■ Project's FAR = 2.0
■ Planning Commission awarded
0 Maximum possible credit for three amenities
A development exception from the FAR
Purpose of the Neighborhood Transition
Combining District Regulations
■ "To ensure that the character of zones within the Specific Plan Area will
be compatible with and will complement surrounding residential areas"
■ Serve to implement one of the 10 "Key Principles" of the UCSP
"Transition new development to minimize impacts on existing
residential ne*g
hborhoods:"
Development Exception Awarded Despite Project's
Failure to Comply with All Other UCSP Regulations
■ Approval of a Development Exception requires four findings to be made
■ One finding is that "The proposed development will comply with all other
regulations of the Specific Plan:'
■ Planning Commission erred in finding that the Vista Del Mar Project
complied with all other regulations of the UCSP
NTCD Regulations include:
0 "Building design shall be cognizant of adjacent low density uses
(i.e., avoid balconies overlooking rear yards.)--'
Staff asserts that the intent of the provision directing that balconies be
IN
avoided i*f they overlook rear yards "is not to do away with balconies but
rather to address their potential effects on privacy."
■ No legislative history to support this
■ Staff points to policies and guidelines in the UCSP and General Plan which "encourage the use of balconies"
and states that those guidelines must be read "in harmony" with the requirement in the NICD regulations
to avoid balconies if they overlook rear yards of single-family homes
■ Staff's position violates a fundamental provision of statutory construction: that the "specific controls the
general"
• This means, when faced with a general statute or regulation and a specific statute or regulation on the
same subject, the more specific one should be applied
• Application of this principle means that while balconies are generally to be encouraged as a design
feature, balconies must be avoided in a C-1 NICD if they would overlook the yards of single-family homes
• Stated differently, a SPECIFIC REGULATORY REQUIREMENT to AVOID BALCONIES in special
circumstances trumps a more general guideline or policy encouraging balconies
Project Fa 'l' ls to Address Privacy Impacts
■ Even if staff were correct — that the intent of the NTCD requirement to avoid
balconies if they would overlook the homes and yards of single-family homes is
merely to "address their potential impacts on privacy" — the Vista del Mar Project
fails to address those privacy concerns in a satisfactory way
■ Staff touts that the Project meets the minimum step-down requirements of the C-1
NTCD and that the structure has been distanced "as much as possible" from the single
family residences
■ But the distancing is minimal, as stated in the staff report to the Planning
Commission:
0 "The second floor terrace is approximately 13Leet from the property line"
0 "The balconies along the east building elevation are approximately 47Leet from
the property line...:'
f
/ r
f
/
/
/
I /
1!.
111/....
/...... /iii/.................... // ,,,
/ //,................. /,....../ilii .................................... ,.....:::::::.'
................./..........................................................................................,....... /.. iii..........,......... ................ /................ ......... ...............1 .../
„/..//... ,............ /... rill/......
sir/...i......:,.....�:,•..,..:;:�:::.::,.,..
y,s
i
/.
Yr
f'
!�'7i'.t3'�%: is��:%:•;:r'�r:��::::.:::::::::::::.,.IMMM. .;
/
s �y
I
u.
7' L
ii.•. .ifn f4C.fi 1/i.rr
lJ..,.;:r..,.,.:...:::.: l::... ... f
� r
r r willSG'/f. �... illVli
f �
'i
�:• ..irir�� r �
f,
lr
p � W
ff
j!: