DS 24089 & LM 24151 (Britton): Consideration of a Concept Design Study for the demolition of an existing single-family residence and the construction of a new 3,178-square-foot, one-story single-family residence, inclusive of a 462-square-foot attached garage, which will require a lot merger, located at Santa Fe Street 2 southwest of Mountain View Avenue in the Single-Family Residential (R-1) District. APN: 010-082-002-000.

The project site is an 8,000 square-foot building site developed with an existing 1,587-square-foot one-story, single-family residence with a 387-square-foot detached accessory structure.

The applicant is proposing to demolish all improvements on the site, and construct a new one-story 3,178 square foot single family residence inclusive of a 462 square foot attached garage. 

The applicant is also proposing a 484 square foot detached accessory dwelling unit (ADU).  The square footage of the ADU was not included in the square footage for the new residence, as described above, or the proposed total square footage of the new residence, however, has been described herein as reference as the ADU is shown on the project plans (Attachment 3). The resulting square footage of the site, including the ADU, is 3,662 square feet.  

In accordance with Gov. Code, § 65852.2 (emphasis added in bold), “A permit application for an accessory dwelling unit or a junior accessory dwelling unit shall be considered and approved ministerially without discretionary review or a hearing…. If the permit application to create an accessory dwelling unit or a junior accessory dwelling unit is submitted with a permit application to create a new single-family dwelling on the lot, the permitting agency may delay acting on the permit application for the accessory dwelling unit or the junior accessory dwelling unit until the permitting agency acts on the permit application to create the new single-family dwelling, but the application to create the accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit shall be considered without discretionary review or hearing.” As such, the ADU shall not be discussed at this hearing and is only described above for reference.  Questions regarding the ADU can be directed to the Community Planning and Building Department staff outside of the public hearing. 

The primary purpose of this conceptual review meeting is to review and consider the site planning, privacy and views, and mass and scale related to the project. However, the Commission may provide input on other aspects of the design. Staff will use direction from this concept review to work with the applicant on a final design that will ultimately be brought back to the Planning Commission for consideration and decision which will include the consideration of a Coastal Development Permit.

Forest Character: Residential Design Guidelines 1.1 through 1.4 encourages preserving significant trees and minimizing impacts on established trees; protecting the root systems of all trees to be preserved; and, maintaining a forested image on the site. Residential Design Guidelines 1.5 through 1.7  discuss the characteristics of the Right-of-Way. 

The site contains fifteen (15) trees with three (3) additional trees in the immediate adjacent right-of-way.  Six (6) of the trees located on the site are rated significant and the remaining are rated either moderately significant or not significant.

The applicant is proposing to remove a total of six (6) trees.  A previous tree removal proposal has been reviewed by the Forest and Beach Commission (FBC) on September 13, 2022 and received tentative approval pending issuance of a building permit.  The subject tree removal permit, TR 22-143, was amended by the city forester to omit four (4) trees on an adjacent property and a tree in the right-of-way in front of the adjacent property (the project was sold and subject to the terms of TR 23-250). The permit was further amended to include two (2) small non-significant ornamental fruit trees and one (1) non-significant oak. None of the trees approved for removal, by the FBC or City Forester, are significant. 

The tree removal permit is contingent on the Planning Commission approving the project, meaning no trees may be removed until a building permit is issued. The subject tree removal permit also requires the planting of three (3) upper canopy trees on the project site.  The tree planting requirement has been required to be shown on the plans submitted to the Community Planning and Building Department ahead of the final details review (refer to Attachment 1, Condition of Approval #2).  

Additionally, in respect to Forest Character, the proposed driveway does not comply with the standards outline in CMC 12.24, Driveways.  As stated in CMC 12.24.020: 

• The maximum width of any driveway shall not exceed 14 feet as measured at the front property line or at any point between the front property line and its connection with the street pavement edge; and

• Not more than one driveway shall be constructed upon any lot of record (excepts granted to corner lots and lots with frontages greater than 80-feet); and

• The minimum distance between driveways serving the same lot or parcel of land shall be not less than 18 feet.

As proposed, the driveway conflicts, wholly or in-part, with the standards identified above. 

Based on the provisions in CMC 12.24, Condition of Approval for Concept Acceptance #3 has been drafted requiring the applicant work with Planning Staff and the Public Works Division to revise the driveway to meet the driveway standards for the portions of the driveway located in the right-of-way. 

As conditioned, the project is consistent with the Design Guidelines pertaining to the forest character and complies with the Residential Design Guidelines for Forest Character and meets Concept Phase Approval Findings #2, and #7 pertaining to the protection and enhancement of the urbanized forest (CMC 17.64.080).

Privacy and Views: Residential Design Guidelines 5.1 through 5.3 encourage designs that preserve reasonable privacy for adjacent properties and maintain view opportunities to natural features.

Staff has not identified any adverse privacy or view impacts associated with the project. The one-story form minimizes the potential for privacy and view impacts and the site is proposed to be bound by a 6 foot tall fence along the side and rear property lines. At the time of writing this report, staff has not received any correspondence from neighbors stating privacy or view impacts. 

As proposed, the project complies with the Residential Design Guidelines pertaining to privacy and views and meets Concept Phase Approval Findings #5 pertaining to maintaining a reasonable amount of solar access and reasonable privacy to adjoining sites (CMC 17.64.080).

Mass/Bulk and Building/Roof Form: Residential Design Guidelines 7.1 through 7.7 encourages a building’s mass to relate to the context of other homes nearby; minimize the mass of a building as seen from the public way or adjacent properties; and, relate to a human scale in its basic forms.  Residential Design Guidelines 8.1 through 8.5 encourages traditional building forms; using restraint with variations in building planes; using simple roof forms that are in proportion to the scale of the building; and, roof eave lines that are low in scale. Guideline 8.3 states to “limit the number of subordinate attachments, such as dormers, to avoid cluttered design.”

The building is generally proposed to be re-constructed on the same footprint while being rotated to be more street facing and expanded and enlarged to accommodate the new construction. The heights comply with the height limits throughout and is proposed to a maximum height of 17 feet 9 inches whereas 18 feet is allowed with a maximum plate height of 12 feet where 12 feet is allowed.  The primary dwelling and garage are proposed to be 3,178 square feet total where 3,200 square feet are permitted (with lot merger incentive granted). The roof is comprised of a combination of hipped and gabled roof forms pitched at 6:12 throughout with a dormer above the main ridge pitched at 2:12. 

Considerations for Final Details Review: While the primary purpose of this concept review is to review and consider the site planning, privacy and views, and mass and scale related to the project, the Commission may provide input on other aspects of the project as well to allow the applicant an opportunity to address identified issues ahead of the final details hearing. The items below are not an all inclusive list of potential items to be discusses at the final details hearing, and the Commission may provide input on other aspects or components of the project as well. 

Roof Material: The Planning Commission has provided recent direction that metal roofs should be avoided and applicants should explore alternatives to metal roofs. The applicant has proposed a “Musket Gray” standing seam metal roof. The Commission should consider whether this material is acceptable or an alternative material should be explored. Staff has included a Condition of Approval requiring an alternative material based on recent Commission direction and the Residential Design Guideline identified below:

Application completeness for Final Details Review: While the project application includes sufficient information to be deemed complete for Concept Review, the project is deficient in respect to the required materials needed for review and scheduling for a final details hearings. As such, staff has included Condition of Approval for Concept acceptance #5 stating, prior to scheduling for Final Details review, the applicant shall work with staff to revise the plan set to include the requisite information necessary for scheduling for final details review, as determined by the Community Planning and Building Department. 

The Track 2 Submittal Checklist lists a number of specific items that may be deferred upon request until after concept review.

Lot Merger: The applicant has requested to merge lots 7 & 9 of block 87 in accordance with CMC 17.10.040.B.2, Other Owner-Initiated Mergers. Per CMC, 17.10.040.B.2, The City encourages the merger of small lots into larger lots to promote diversity in design and housing size and to preserve open space. Two or more contiguous lots of record, each of which would individually meet the standards for development as a building site, may be merged through the filing of a voluntary merger request by the owner(s).

By merging the two lots, an increase in base floor area and exterior volume of 3% becomes available, an incentive which the applicant has chosen to utilize for the proposed development. By merging the two lots, the project site becomes a single 8,000 square foot lot. Typically, an 8,000 square foot building site is permitted 2,960 square feet of base floor area, however, with the lot merger incentive, the base floor area allowed is increased by 3% to 3,200 square feet of base floor area. An additional amount of site coverage becomes available for the site (an addition 2.5%, up to 1,024 square feet total) provided the site complies with the recommended tree density standards (discussed below). 

The merger application could have been procced administratively ahead of the public hearing, however, the property owner has requested the merger be recorded an approval of the project. As the lot merger is directly associated with this project, the Lot Merger will be required to be recorded with the Monterey County Recorder prior to issuance of a building permit as a Condition of Approval of the final project approval.  No action or consideration by the Planning Commission is required respect to the lot merger aside from the adoption of a Condition of Approval at the Final Details hearing that a merger shall be required prior to issuance of a Building Permit. 

Environmental Review: Staff recommends that acceptance of a Concept Design Study be found to be “not a project” pursuant to section 15378 of the CEQA Guidelines.  Acceptance of a Concept Design Study does not grant any permits or entitlements approving a project which would result in a direct or indirect physical change in the environment.   CEQA analysis and determination of exemption status will be done as part of the Final Design Study hearing.