3A Public Hearing 2012 0221 - Laserfiche WebLink

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File Number: 12 -033 building setbacks. Unlike a Conditional Use Permit, the Administrative Exception does not involve a public hearing and can be processed in a more rapid time frame. The process would include noticing to the adjacent neighbors, rather than to those residents living in a 300 -foot radius. The findings for the Administrative Exception are similar to those findings that must be made for a Conditional Use Permit and include "a determination that such exception would not be detrimental to public health, safety or welfare and would not cause undue damage, hardship, nuisance or other detriment to persons or property in the vicinity." Staff believes that the Administrative Exception process is more suited to residential -based Large Family Day Care proposals while continuing to regulate the impacts that may be associated with such a use. In order to accommodate the process for an Administrative Exception, Zoning Code Sections 2 -516 Large Family Day Care Homes and 2 -574 Administrative Exceptions should be modified as shown in the proposed Ordinance. Accessory Structures Zoning Code Section 2 -546 governs the allowable location, size and height of a residential accessory structure. Most common forms of accessory structures are detached garages, but can also include workshops, sheds and secondary dwelling units, among others. The existing language in the Code has been difficult to interpret. Existing text under Subsection D, Maximum Height and Subsection E, Minimum Setbacks and Relation to Property Lines provide contradictory guidance. For example, the Setback section provides that structures within the rear twenty- five feet of the lot may be located between zero and three feet from the property line. However, the Height section provides that structures greater than eight feet in height must be located at least five feet from the property line. This contradiction in height and location parameters has led to inconsistent interpretation of the Code and a lack of clarity for staff and homeowners on their residential accessory structure projects. Staff proposes the elimination of the inconsistent text and addition of a table that clearly sets out the allowable range of heights and corresponding setbacks. The proposed Ordinance would delete this confusing narrative; set out the Height and Setback regulations in a table; add new formatting sections in the regulations for Lot Area and Coverage; and add further clarification that the Board of Zoning Adjustments would be the decision - making body for any Conditional Use Permits. Fences in the View Preservation Overlay District In 2009, Section 4 -1682 of Article 16 of the Zoning Code was amended to require that all fences in the Residential Single - Family View Preservation Overlay District RS -VP (i.e. the Bay -O -Vista neighborhood) be constructed of solid materials only up to three feet in height and of glass for the remaining allowable height of up to seven feet. If a fence could not meet this criteria, the Code requires a Fence Modification permit, which involves a public hearing before the Zoning Enforcement Official. This regulation protects existing views in the hills of the Bay -O -Vista neighborhood. Staff observed that, in practice, many side and rear yards in the RS -VP district are not located within significant viewsheds. For example, many homes on the flat sections of Bay -O -Vista in City of San Leandro Page 3 Printed on 211512012