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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTC Res 2013-10-16RESOLUTION NO. 42-2013 A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF TIBURON DENYING AN APPEAL BY MAGDALENA YESIL AND JIM WICKETT OF THE DESIGN REVIEW BOARD'S APPROVAL OF SITE PLAN AND ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW APPROVAL FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF ADDITIONS TO AN EXISTING SINGLE- FAMILY DWELLING, WITH A VARIANCE FOR EXCESS LOT COVERAGE AND A FLOOR AREA EXCEPTION, ON PROPERTY LOCATED AT 2308 MAR EAST STREET (ASSESSOR PARCEL NO. 059- 195 -01) WHEREAS, on March 7, 2013 the Design Review Board held a public hearing on a Site Plan and Architectural Review application (File #21220) filed by Mar East Realty, LLC for the construction of additions to an existing single - family dwelling, with a variance for excess lot coverage and a floor area exception, on property located at 2308 Mar East Street; and WHEREAS, at that meeting, a property owner at 2306 Mar East Street, Jim Wickett, raised concerns about potential acoustic privacy impacts that could be caused by a proposed upper level deck and the Nana Walls proposed at the rear of the house for both levels. The Design Review Board shared some of these concerns, but was unable to form a consensus on the merits of or potential modifications to the application. The Board continued the application to the April 4, 2013 meeting and encouraged the applicant and neighbors to meet to address and possibly resolve these concerns; and WHEREAS, the applicant subsequently met with the owners of 2306 Mar East Street and with Town staff to discuss possible modifications to the project design. The applicant submitted revised project plans that eliminated the previously proposed upper level deck on the right side of the house and proposed Nana Walls to be installed only on two corners of the upper level living room. The lower level deck was modified to no longer be raised to the floor level of the adjacent bedroom; and WHEREAS, on April 18, 2013 the Design Review Board held a public hearing on the revised plans. At that meeting, Magdalena Yesil, the other property owner at 2306 Mar East Street, raised concerns about noise from the proposed improvements that would disrupt their ability to sleep in their bedrooms and requested changes to the window and walkway designs to address these issues. The Design Review Board reviewed the revised project design and determined that the applicants had addressed the concerns of the neighbors as best as possible and that the project would not substantially affect the overall acoustic situation in the vicinity. The Board also noted that glass safety railings that would be installed at the location of the Nana Walls would mitigate noise from the living rooms when the walls were open; and Town Council Resolution No. 42 -2013 11/06/2013 Page 1 of 5 WHEREAS, the Design Review Board made the required findings for the requested variance and floor area exception and voted 4 -0 to conditionally approve the project; and WHEREAS, on April 29, 2013, the property owners at 2306 Mar East Street, Magdalena Yesil and Jim Wickett ( "Appellants "), filed a timely appeal of the Design Review Board's decision; and WHEREAS, the project application consists of File #21220, on file with the Town of Tiburon Corrununity Development Department. The official record for this project application is hereby incorporated and made part of this resolution. The record includes, without limitation, the Staff Report, minutes, application materials, and all conunents and materials received at the public hearing, and WHEREAS, on October 16, 2013, the Town Council held a duly- noticed public hearing on the appeal, during which testimony was heard and considered regarding the proposed project and the Design Review Board's review of the application; and WHEREAS, the Town Council finds that the project is exempt from the requirements of the California Enviromnental Quality Act per Section 15301 of the CEQA Guidelines; and WHEREAS, after hearing all testimony and receiving all documents in the record, the Town Council agreed with the findings and conclusions of the Design Review Board regarding this application. The Town Council determined that the Design Review Board appropriately applied the guiding principles for Site Plan and Architectural Review, the Hillside Design Guidelines, and other relevant provisions of the Zoning Ordinance in its review of this project. The revised project design provided responsive and material changes from both the project design of a previous application for the same property reviewed by the Town Council on appeal in 2012 and the design first presented to the Design Review Board at the March 7, 2013 meeting. The revised project design is consistent with previous Town Council direction to not expand the project outside of the existing building footprint and to work toward a compromise on the project design; and WHEREAS, the Town Council detennined that the revised project design would not result in substantial noise or privacy impacts on neighboring property owners, as the proposed walkway leading to the lower level deck and entry addition would result in only intermittent noise that would not result in substantial privacy impacts on the appellants' home; and WHEREAS, the Town Council determined that the findings can be made for the requested variance for excess lot coverage as required by Section 16- 52.030(E) of the Tiburon Zoning Ordinance and as described below: Town Council Resolution No. 42 -2013 11106/2013 Page 2 of 5 Because of special circumstances applicable to the p7-ope7 -iy, including size, shape, topography, location, 07- SLU- roundings, the strict application of this Ordinance will deprive the applicant ofprivileges enjoyed by other properties in the vicinity and in the sane or substantially the same zone. The subject site slopes steeply downward towards the bay and is extremely narrow (45 feet in width), relative to many of the properties in the immediate vicinity, with a very small amount of land area (2,017 square feet) above the mean high tide line. The existing structure is constructed partially below the mean high tide line and over Raccoon Strait. These are special circumstances applicable to the property that would deprive the applicants of the ability to reasonably expand his home to an extent comparable to his neighbors. 2. The variance will not constitute a grant of special privileges, inconsistent with the limitations upon other properties in the vicinity and in the same or substantially the same zone. Granting the variance would not constitute a grant of special privileges, because the expanded structure will be comparable to most of the existing homes in the vicinity. Many nearby homes have requested and been granted multiple variances in order to build more adequately sized dwellings, than what would nonnally only be permitted, due to the small dry land areas of each parcel and other unusual conditions. Most of the older homes on bayside lots along Mar East Street were constructed in excess of current lot coverage requirements and, due to the small amount of dry land area available for most of these lots, have required and been granted variances for excess lot coverage when requesting to expand the footprint of the existing homes. 3. The strict application of this Zoning Ordinance would result in practical df`iiculty or 117777ecessa7y physical hardship. Self - created hardships may not be considered among the factors that might constitute special circumstances. A self - created hardship results f7 -om. actions taken by present or prior owners of the property that consciously create the ve7y difficulties or hardships claimed as the basis for an application for a Variance. The existing house has a substandard entryway that is well removed from the front property line and provides impractical access to the house. Further, the only current access from the interior of the house to the existing lower level deck through a bedroom does not provide practical access to this deck. Although these aspects of the existing building design were consciously created by previous property owners, the resulting design is impractical by current standards of house design enjoyed by other property owners in Tiburon and, as a result, the strict application of the maximum lot coverage requirement would result in a practical difficulty for the applicants. The Town Council Resolution No. 42 -2013 11/06/2013 Page 3 of 5 practical difficulties are not self created because they are a direct result of strict application of the maximum lot coverage requirement. Continued strict application will perpetuate the property" s poor access to the outside, which is a practical difficulty. 4. The granting of the variance will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other properties in the vicinity. The revised project design would only increase the calculated lot coverage on the site by a small amount (75 square feet) and would not result in substantial noise or privacy impacts on neighboring property owners, as the proposed walkway leading to the lower level deck and entry addition would result in only intermittent noise that would not result in substantial privacy impacts on the appellants' home. The Council also found that any noise impacts would be reasonable in light of the existing density of the neighborhood. In single - family residential neighborhoods in Tiburon, the relatively minor increase in intermittent sound levels that could result from footfall noise on open walkways and decks has not been previously found to be a substantial noise impact that has needed to be addressed through noise mitigations or specific conditions of approval and has not been found to be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other properties in the vicinity. WHEREAS, the Town Council determined that the findings can be made for the requested floor area exception as required by Section 16- 52.020(I[4]) of the Tiburon Zoning Ordinance and as described below: The applicant has demonstrated that the visual size and scale of the proposed structure is compatible with the predominant pattern established by existing structures in the surrounding neighborhood. The predominant pattern of existing structures in the surrounding neighborhood is of multi -story structures that occupy much of the dry land area of the site and often extend beyond the mean high tide line. The proposed additions would not substantially alter the visual size and scale of the existing two -story dwelling that also extends past the mean high tide line. The proposed additions would be minor expansions to existing living areas that are currently located either at the rear of the dwelling and covered by the existing roof of the structure, or at the right side of the property, which would not be visually prominent or substantially alter the visual size and scale of the existing house. Therefore, the visual size and scale of the dwelling with the minor additions as proposed would remain compatible with the predominant pattern established by existing structures in the surrounding neighborhood. Town Council Resolution No. 42 -2013 11/06/2013 Page 4 of 5 2. The applicant has demonstrated that the proposed structure is compatible with the physical characteristics of the site. The characteristics include, but are not limited to, shape and steepness of the lot, ease of access, and the presence of natural features worthy of retention, such as trees, rock outcroppings, stream courses and landfornzs. The subject property is a narrow lot that slopes down to the bayfront. The existing house is similar to other homes in the vicinity that cover much of the dry land area of their lot with a multi -story structure that extends beyond the mean high tide line. The proposed additions would be minor additions that would be generally located within the existing building footprint and would not substantially alter the visual size, scale or appearance of the dwelling. As a result, the proposed additions would not substantially alter the relationship between the existing house and the topography of the site and the dwelling would therefore remain compatible with the physical characteristics of the site. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Council of the Town of Tiburon hereby denies the appeal of Magdalena Yesil and Jim Wickett of the Design Review Board's approval of the application (File #21220) for Site Plan and Architectural Review approval for construction of additions to an existing single - family dwelling, with a variance for excess lot coverage and a floor area exception, on property located at 2308 Mar East Street. PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the Town Council on November 6, 2013, by the following vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Doyle, Fraser, Fredericks, O'Donnell NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Slavitz EMMETT O'DONNELL, MAYOR TOWN OF TIBURON A TT n DIANE CRAN IACOPI, TOWN CLERK Town Council Resolution No. 42 -2013 11/06/2013 Page 5 of 5