Title
Development Plan Application PLN17-0075 - 2001 Versailles Avenue (Mapes Ranch Project) Applicant: Clifford Mapes. A proposed Development Plan application to develop 11 lots on a 1.29-acre property located at 2001 Versailles Avenue at the corner of Fernside Boulevard and Versailles Avenue.
Body
Development Plan Application PLN17-0075 - 2001 Versailles Avenue (Mapes Ranch Project) Applicant: Clifford Mapes. A proposed Development Plan application to develop 11 lots on a 1.29-acre property located at 2001 Versailles Avenue at the corner of Fernside Boulevard and Versailles Avenue.
To: Honorable President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Andrew Thomas
Assistant Community Development Director
Date: March 13, 2017
BACKGROUND
In 2012, the Planning Board and City Council approved an 11-lot subdivision on the vacant 1.29-acre site located on the northwestern corner of Fernside Boulevard and Versailles Avenue. The property backs onto Tilden Way near where the road approaches the Fruitvale Bridge. The project site covers most of the triangular block within the three city streets except for three single-family homes that front onto Fernside Boulevard at the northwestern portion of the block.
The property is zoned to R-2-PD with a General Plan designation of Medium Density Residential to encourage and support development of the property with residential uses consistent with the surrounding neighborhood.
As described in the 2012 staff report, the applicant and property owner, Mr. Clifford Mapes, intends to sell the parcels individually or in small groups for custom home development. Mr. Mapes is currently planning to begin with Lots 1, 2, and 3 on the attached Development Plan (Exhibit 1).
DISCUSSION
To facilitate the design process for the individual lots, the applicant is requesting that the Planning Board approve a development plan for all 11 parcels, which will set the required minimum setbacks and housing type for each lot. The PD zoning overlay allows the Planning Board to customize the setbacks for the project to facilitate the most effective use of the site and create a site plan that is best suited to the location and the surroundings. Section 30-4.13 of the Zoning Code states: “The purpose of the Planned Development District is to provide more flexibility in site design, development standards and types of land uses than would otherwise be allowed in the underlying zoning district; to ensure project compatibility with surrounding uses; and to ensure that adverse environmental effects are reduced or avoided to the maximum extent feasible.”
The applicant’s Development Plan includes customized setbacks to reflect the development patterns in the adjacent residential blocks and address some of the unusual triangular lots that were created by the 2012 subdivision. In addition, the applicant’s Development Plan is designed to establish the agreed upon orientation of each building on each lot, the number of units on each lot, the maximum foot print of each building (lot coverage), and the number of parking spaces to be provided on each lot.
The applicant is requesting that the Planning Board approve these standards through the Development Plan approval process, and then allow the review of each individual home to be conducted by staff through the staff level Design Review process, which is appealable to the Planning Board.
Specifically, the applicant’s Development Plan proposes:
• A maximum lot coverage of 50% on all lots. The R-2 base zoning permits up to 53% lot coverage when garages are located within the main building and 45% coverage when the garage is detached. The applicant is proposing attached garages on all but one lot.
• A minimum rear yard setback of 20 feet, consistent with the R-2 base zoning. Given the unusual triangular shape of Lots 8, 9, and 10, the Development Plan proposes a minimum rear yard area of 1,500 square feet, 1,300 square feet and 1,300 square feet on those three lots, which exceeds the size of the rear yards on the rectangular lots. As shown in Exhibit 1, all of the rear yard areas exceed the base zoning requirement of a minimum of 600 square feet of open space per unit.
• A minimum 17-foot front setback on Lots 1, 2, and 3 facing Fernside Boulevard to match the 17-foot setback on Fernside on the three existing homes that face Fernside.
• A minimum 15-foot front setback and 15-foot side setback for Lots 3 through 8, which face onto Versailles to match the 15-foot setback of the existing homes on the other side of Versailles Avenue.
• A minimum side yard setback of five feet, consistent with the R-2 zoning, with the exception of Lots 1 and 2. Lots 1 and 2 are only 45 feet wide and will have minimum side yard setback of four feet, which ensures a minimum of eight feet between homes. The PD zoning allows the Planning Board to reduce the required side yard setbacks from the minimum required by the base zoning.
• Three of the lots (Lot 4, 5, and 6) are designated for development with duplexes. With the three duplexes, the total number of units on the property is 14 units. The duplex units will be smaller than the single family detached homes. The duplex homes will be approximately 1,400 square feet. The single family detached homes will be approximately 2,500 to 2,800 square feet. All the buildings are envisioned to be two stories in height.
• Every unit has a two-car garage, consistent with the parking ordinance. Each property has a single curb cut, except for Lot 8, which has two. Lot 8 has a long (130 foot +) property line on Versailles, which accommodates two curb cuts to provide for the duplex on that parcel.
Based upon the above analysis, staff is recommending that the Planning Board make the necessary findings for Development Plan approval included in the attached resolution (Exhibit 2).
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This project is a Class 32 Categorical Exemption and no additional environmental review is necessary pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines, Section 15332, Infill Development Projects.
RECOMMENDATION
Hold a public hearing and approve the Draft Resolution approving the Development Plan for the 11-lot subdivision located at 2001 Versailles Avenue.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas
Assistant Community Development Director
Exhibits:
1. Development Plan
2. Draft Planning Board Resolution