CITY COUNCIL: Findings for the Denial of an Appeal of the Construction of a New Single Family Residence

Meeting Date: 5 March 2013

Prepared by: Marc Wiener, Associate Planner

City Council

Agenda Item Summary

Name: Consideration of findings for the denial of an appeal of the construction of a new single family residence. The property owner is Dennis Levett. The appellant is Jacqueline Simonelli.

Description: On 5 February 2013 the City Council heard an appeal requesting that the Planning Commission's approval of Design Study and Coastal Development Permit applications for the construction of a new residence be overturned. The City Council denied the appeal by appeal by a unanimous 3-0 vote. Staff has prepared findings to support the decision.

Staff Recommendation: Adopt the findings as presented to the City Council on 5 March 2013.

Important Considerations: 1) The design is in compliance with the zoning requirements. 2) With regards to building mass and solar access the design is considerate of neighboring properties, including the adjacent property to the west that is owned by the appellant. 3) The design is considerate of neighboring privacy as conditioned by the Planning Commission.

Decision Record: On 5 February 2013 the City Council unanimously denied by the appeal with a 3-0 vote.
Attachments:

• Findings for decision.

Reviewed by:

Jason Stilwell, City Adminitrator Date

CITY OF CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY PLANNING AND BUILDING
FINDINGS FOR DECISION
DS 12-122 (Levett)
5th Ave 2 NW of Lincoln
Block 53, Lots 17 & 19 APN: 010-211-005

CONSIDERATION:
Consideration of findings for the denial of an appeal of the construction of a new singlefamily
residence. The property owner is Dennis Levett. The appellant is Jacqueline Simonelli.

FINDINGS OF FACT:
1. The subject property is located on Lincoln Street two northwest of Fifth Avenue.
The property owner/applicant is Dennis Levett.
2. The applicant submitted a Design Study application on 29 November 2012 for the
construction of a new single-family residence.
3. The application was approved by the Planning Commission with conditions and
findings on 9 January 2013.
4. The adjacent neighbor to the west, Jacqueline Simonelli, submitted an application
appealing the project on 22 January 2013.
5. The appeal was heard by the City Council on 5 February 2013. The City Council
denied the appeal by a unanimous 3-0 vote.
6. Findings for the decision have been prepared for the City Council to adopt on 5
March 2013.
FINDINGS SUPPORTING DECISION:
1. Finding: The design is in compliance with the zoning requirements.
Evidence:
Residence is at the maximum floor area of 1,800 square feet.
Residence is 2.5 feet below the maximum height of 24 feet.
Residence is in compliance with all setback requirements.
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2. Finding: With regards to building mass and solar access the design is considerate
of neighboring properties, including the adjacent property to the west that is
owned by the appellant.
Evidence:
The project site is a 50 foot wide lot with a minimum side-yard setback of 3 feet.
The second-story has a side-yard setback of 22.5 feet from the western property
line and exceeds the minimum setback by 19.5 feet. The setback minimizes
building mass and preserves solar access to the western neighbor that is appealing
the project.
The second-story is 450 square feet and accounts for only 25% of the total floor
area. The remaining floor area is on the first-story. The second-story is 2.5 feet
below the maximum height of 24 feet. The size of the second-story is appropriate
and the residence does not present excessive building mass to neighboring
properties.
3. Finding: The design is considerate of neighboring privacy as conditioned by the
Planning Commission.
Evidence:
The City Council upheld the Planning Commission’s approval with the special
conditions to mitigate the potential privacy impact to the appellant’s property that
could be created by the second-story balcony. The special conditions are as
follows:
-The applicant shall submit a landscape plan to include plantings on the west side
of the property to provide privacy for the western neighbor.
-The balcony railing shall be solid to mitigate the privacy impact to the western
neighbor.
-The applicant shall install an eight foot tall fence on the western property line.
Portions of the fence located in the front 10’ setback may only be 4’ in height.
-The applicant shall provide details and dimensions for fence construction prior to
submitting the building permit application.