Council changes expansion process

Deirdre Newman

City leaders walked a tightrope Monday between the rights of property

owners and the concerns of their neighbors as they worked to

streamline the process for home expansions.

After months of groundwork had been laid by staff and the Planning

Commission, the City Council made final changes to the residential

design guidelines and the residential development standards in the

zoning code.

When all was said and done -- about 1:30 Tuesday morning -- the

result was a simpler, faster process that gives property owners the

ability to build the homes they desire, with some safeguards attached

to protect their neighbors.

“As late as it went and as long and drawn out as the process has

been, huge strides have been made,” Mayor Gary Monahan said. “And

while there may be some minor tweaking as we go on ... we got to a

point where everybody got something they wanted.”

One of the most significant changes was simplifying the design

standards so that anyone who wants to add a second-story floor area

that doesn’t exceed 50% of the first-story floor area can obtain an

over-the-counter approval. Also, whereas before property owners

within 500 feet were notified of second-story additions, the new

rules only require that notice be given to homeowners with a common

property line, with one exception.

The exception is in the Aviemore Terrace/Glen Eagles Terrace

neighborhood, which evaded a view protection ordinance. In this area,

notice will also be given to the property owner across the street.

The specter of a view protection ordinance in this neighborhood

had polarized residents, with those desiring protection arguing that

they paid more for their homes because of the view and therefore

deserved protection. Opponents claimed that any restrictions placed

on their ability to build up would be illegal.

“It comes down to the fact that we have, under the constitution,

equal rights to build as anyone else,” said Jeffrey Childs, who lives

on Aviemore Terrace, “And [for] the people above us on Gleneagles,

there’s no right to a view under California law or U.S. law.”

The council rejected a view ordinance for this area 3-2, with

Councilmen Mike Scheafer and Chris Steel dissenting.

“I’m disappointed in the outcome,” Steel said. “It’s a balance and

you try to do the best you can and I felt the [rights of the] people

up above were a little stronger than the ones down below.”

The council also made a concerted effort to placate residents in

an Eastside neighborhood who wanted a special zoning overlay to

protect them from neighbors who built “oppressive” expansions. The

council rejected the overlay, but made it so that any lot with alley

access, in this neighborhood and beyond, would have to go through

minor design review, which the zoning administrator performs.

The council added this criteria on a 4-1 vote with Monahan

dissenting.

The council also opted not to adopt any floor area ratio

standards. A maximum ratio of 65% had been approved by the Planning

Commission but Monahan said that would have been the most restrictive

in Orange County.

“If we would have approved it, it would have taken away up to 40%

of a property owner’s current building ability,” Monahan said.

The vote to reject any floor area ratio standards was 4-1, with

Steel dissenting.

Council members also decided to ease parking requirements on

remodels. Under the new rules, adding a bedroom won’t require the

creation of additional parking spaces.

Overall, the changes made Monday represent a swinging of the

pendulum away from restrictive standards and subjectivity, Monahan

said.

“This was a retraction of some of the reaction to [those

standards],” Monahan said. “At the same time, it wasn’t really a

loosening up of anything. It’s just a correction that a lot of [the

process] isn’t controversial and shouldn’t have to go through this

controversial process.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.