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12-20-2011 - Consideration of a Moratorium on the Development o - Item 15 (2).doc City of West Covina Memorandum A G E N D A TO: Andrew G. Pasmant, City Manager ITEM NO. 15 DATE December 20, 2011 and City Council FROM: Jeff Anderson, Planning Director SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF A MORATORIUM ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF 74 VACANT PROPERTIES IN THE SOUTH HILLS SUBDIVISION TO STUDY DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that City Council direct staff to schedule the consideration of a moratorium at the meeting of January 17, 2012 on the development of vacant lots in the South Hills area. BACKGROUND: Recently staff was contacted by a perspective developer soliciting information on the possible development of a number of vacant lots in the South Hills area. The properties were part of a larger subdivision that was originally subdivided in the 1980’s. There are 74 vacant lots remaining on Skyview Lane, Rolling Hills Road, Inspiration Point, Horizon Hills Drive, Majestic Street, and Mountain Ridge Road. City staff is concerned over the potential impacts that the development of the vacant single-family residentially zoned properties in that area can have on adjacent properties. The lots are single-family legal lots of record, and the rough grading has been completed to create building pads. DISCUSSION: Since the subdivision was created thirty years ago, City staff is concerned that some issues were not originally covered by the conditions of approval in the original tract maps. Staff would like to evaluate current development standards prior to the formal submittal of a proposal by the developer, which will help avoid issues that could arise if the houses are developed under current zoning regulations. The lots are located in an area of varied topography that can create view and privacy impacts and many of the properties are adjacent to existing houses. Based on the background issues, City staff is requesting that Council consider adopting a temporary moratorium on these 74 remaining vacant properties within Tract No. 32324 and Tract No. 47809. The purpose of the moratorium would be to assess the following issues. Whether current standards for required enclosed parking (garage/carport) are appropriate. (Currently, the Code only requires two enclosed parking spaces, no matter how large the house is. The perspective developer has discussed the concept of houses of 4,000 square feet and larger. Houses of this magnitude may have a large number of bedrooms and result in a greater number of cars being parked on residential streets if the developer constructs a two-car garage.) Whether there should be some type of requirement for common area maintenance of drainage and/or landscape improvements on the slopes. (Currently some of the lots have cross lot drainage which requires each individual property owner to maintain the drainage swales. Swales that are not well maintained could cause drainage issues and erosion. Many of the lots also include large sections of hillside. If the landscaping in these areas is not maintained by the property owner, there can be issues with erosion as well as the negative aesthetic issues. This has occurred in other neighborhoods in the City and has become a code enforcement matter.) Whether there should be a zoning standard that requires a ratio between the pad size and the floor area of the house. (Currently, there is a zoning standard that establishes a ratio between the lot size and the floor area of the house, however, the pad size can be substantially smaller than the lot size in an area of varied topography. This could be an issue if the size of the footprint of the house is so large that it uses all the level part of the property. Sometimes this concern is called “Mansionization”.) Whether the pad sizes on the lots are appropriate in size or should be larger to allow for level open space areas around the houses. (The pad sizes have already been created, so the concern is that some of the pads may be too small to allow for large houses and level yard area.) Whether the current Municipal Code standards for measuring building height and number of stories are appropriate in hillside lots. (This is more of a technical Planning issue, but the concern is that the current definition, while limiting the house to two stories, may allow what appear to be three-story structures on the downhill portion of the house.) Whether the current zoning standards and review process for decks (also called “elevated structures” in the Municipal Code) are appropriate. (Given that many of the vacant lots are adjacent to or above existing houses, there may be privacy and view impacts under the current development standards.) The goal of a moratorium is to allow staff time to conduct research of alternative code standards and seek input on potential code standards by residents, the Planning Commission and City Council. The recommended moratorium would prohibit grading or construction of single-family houses on the vacant lots while the moratorium is in place. The adoption of a moratorium can last no longer than two years and allows for full review of the current regulations for the lots and provides for new development standards to be adopted for these vacant lots. The moratorium can be adopted for a period of 45 days. It can thereafter be extended by 10 months and 15 days and could subsequently be extended for an additional year. Staff is recommending that the City Council direct staff to schedule the consideration of a moratorium ordinance at the meeting of January 17, 2012. A moratorium requires a 4/5’s vote of the City Council to adopt. The initial moratorium is for a period of 45 days. The moratorium would allow adjacent and nearby property owners an opportunity to provide input on how the remaining lots can be developed. ALTERNATIVES: The following alternatives are available to the City Council. Direct staff to place a code amendment initiation on the January 17, 2012 agenda to consider amending the West Covina Municipal Code on the issues described above on the 74 vacant properties located in the South Hills Subdivision. No moratorium would be established and the code amendment would be processed as a code amendment. Take No Action. Receive and File the report. FISCAL IMPACT: There is not direct fiscal impact to the City. _______________________ ____________________ Prepared by: Ron Garcia Reviewed/Approved by: Planning Associate Jeff Anderson Planning Director Attachments Attachment 1 – List of Recommended Tract and Lots Numbers