3A Public Hearing 2008 0303 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Woodside Apartments Conversion; PLN2006-00059 2 7anuary 22, 2008 Recommendation: The Planning Commission and staff recommend that the City Council approve the following: 1. The Use Permit to convert the rental units at the Woodside Apartments into condominium units for individual ownership subject to recommended findings and conditions of approval by motion. 2. The Vesting Tentative Map Tract 7767 and Condominium Plan to subdivide the subject property for condominium ownership by adopting the attached Resolution. BACKGROUND • The existing off-street parking consists of 167 parking spaces which is equivalent to 1.74 spaces per unit. The applicant proposes to redesign the parking area in front of the property by reducing the landscaped setback along Haas Avenue and the landscaped planter in front of apartment Building A and by restriping the parking under apartment Building A. The proposed redesign and restriping would result in a total of 180 parking spaces that would be provided on the site where a total of 179 pazking spaces are required. A total of 179 parking spaces were derived, using the current off-street parking requirements for multi-family uses of 1.5 spaces per one-bedroom units and 2.25 spaces per two-bedroom units (Zoning Code Article 17). This requirement is equivalent to 1.86 parking spaces per unit. • To mitigate the reduction of the landscaped area to accommodate an increase in pazking spaces, the proposed landscape plan includes various improvements within the reduced landscape setback along the Haas Avenue street frontage. The improvements include a composition of azchitectural enhancements such as low screen walls and arbors/trellises supplemented with new trees, shrubs, ground covers and vine plantings. A new center island within the parking area would be landscaped with a similar palette of trees, shrubs and ground cover. • Although the applicant wanted to comply with the City Council Business Development Sub- committee's recommendation from November 2006 and the Commission's and staff's recommendation from the January 2007 work session to retain all of the redwood trees (eight of them) in front of Building A, an azborist (HortScience) conducted an evaluation of the redwoods that recommended the removal of three of the trees. The redwood trees aesthetically soften and buffer the four-story mass of Building A from the front on Haas Avenue. However, as indicated by the azborist in the tree report there are other factors to consider that make it necessary to remove three of the redwoods in front of Building A. First, the row of five redwoods in front of Building A have grown so large that that their close spacing to one another and close spacing to the building have led to their overcrowded growing condition and restricted growth due to the building. The tree report recommends that the first, third and fifth tree be retained and the second and fourth trees be removed (identified as 342 and 344 in the tree survey map) to give the remaining trees more space for a healthier living environment. The report also explains that the trees are so dense and overcrowded that the living units adjacent to the trees have limited natural light and air. The removal of the second and fourth tree and the selective pruning of the retained trees would