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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRPT 3 ZONING STUDY 02-18-86REPORTS 2-18-86 - Inter- Com DATE: February 18, 1986 TO: FROM: SUBJECT: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL COMMUNITY DEVELOPHENT DEPARTNENT MAIN STREET ZONING STUDY RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends Council consider pursuing one of the following alternatives: Receive and File: This alternative would leave Main Street zoned R-1 and not allow any change in land usage. e Initiate Zone Change to Allow Professional Office with Existin9 Residential Homes: This alternative would allow both occupancy of existing homes andf~F allow operation of a single tenant professional office in the same home. The office use would be subject to a Conditional Use Permit. e Initiate Zone Change to Allow Professional Office and Bed and Breakfast Inns with Existin9 Residential Homes: This alternative would allow both occupancy of existing homes and/or allow operation of a single tenant professional office in the same home, or total conversion of the home to a Bed and Breakfast Inn. Both the Office and Bed Breakfast Inn would be subject to a Conditional Use Permit. To initiate either alternative 2 or 3, direct staff to prepare the necessary overlay zone regulations and forward to the Planning Commission for public hearing. BACKGROUND: In May 1985 eight property owners along Main Street submitted a petition to City Council requesting that properties along Main Street be rezoned to a Professional Office designation {PR). The reasons for this request include: the arterial highway status of Main Street and level of existing and future traffic; Main Street is now commercial to "B" Street at one end and condominiums at the other, with only three blocks of R-1 zoned properties; and, a way for Tustin to preserve and protect the historic residential units along Main through zoning restrictions. Council policy in this area evolved from the approval of the Stevens Square office complex located on Main Street between "C" and "B" Street. At the time this project was seeking approval, the Council directed that the professional office use should end at "B" Street with areas west of "B" Street remaining residentially zoned. From a planning standpoint, this was an appropriate policy since Stevens Square {a two-story garden office project) provided a suitable transition from the downtown area to the residential areas of Main Street. ~City Council Report Main Street page two Additionally, land uses on the north side of Main Street between "C" and "B" Street include a church, school district building and park; all appropriate transition uses between the downtown and residential areas. As such, "B" Street formed a natural boundary. At that time though, the traffic levels along Main Street were not a main issue. ISSUE ANALYSIS: The initial step in this study was to prepare a base map of affected properties along Main Street. Since "B" Street forms the boundary of residential zoned property, this was chosen as the eastern boundary with the SR 55 Freeway overcrossing chosen as the western boundary. Properties on both the north and southside of Main are included and represent the sites that will be. directly affected by a zone change in the area. Although not all of these properties would be recommended for a zone change, they would all be affected by a more intense use of the land by properties that would be rezoned. There is a total of thirty nine {39) sites in the study area {for zoning purposes, Tustin Acres is considered one site) with the church and Stevens Square sites shown for reference purposes, but not included 'in the study area. Of the thirty nine {39) sites, thirty one (31) or 79.5% are zoned R-1 (Single Family Residential) and have one residence on site. A total of seven (7) sites are zoned multiple family, or 18% of the total. One site is zoned Public and Institutional {P&I) with a church on the northeast corner of Pacific and Main. Lots on the south side of Main are relatively long and narrow, with the lot widths averaging 60 to 100 feet and lot depths from 150 to 330 feet. Lot sizes range dramatically from a low of 7,200 square feet to 35,000 square feet. Generally, the lots are larger than 10,000 square feet. Lots on the north side of Main are generally more reflective of a conventional subdivision of thirty years ago with narrow lots (50-65 ft. average) and depths of approximately 150 feet. The average lot size ranges from 7,200 square feet to 9,700 square feet. There are two lots between "B" and "A" Street that deviate from this norm, averaging 150 by 150 for lot dimension with a square footage of 22,500. The study area has approximately 217 property owners which includes all the R-1 properties, multiple family properties, and the Tustin Acres condominium project. The petition was signed by eight property owners in the study area or a total of 3.7% of the area's property owners. Main Street: Main Street is identified on the County of Orange Master Plan of Arterial Highways as a primary arterial. This type of highway is a 100 foot right-of-way {ROW) four lane divided highway with eight foot sidewalks and 84 feet of ~vement Community Development Department area. ~City Council Report Main Street page three Currently, Main has dedications on both sides of the road for a 40' center line or a total of 80' ROW. An additional ten feet of dedication on each side is required to bring the road to the required 100' ROW standard. The current roadway improvements have two lanes in each direction with parking on both sides. Most of the street has curb~ gutter and sidewalk improvements, although small sections do not have any of these improvements. The average width of the highway from curb to curb ranges from 54.3 feet to 60.3 feet at its widest point. The 1984 traffic count for Main Street is expressed in Average Daily Traffic (ADT) and shows that for study area, a total of volume of 13,100 ADT used this street. The recently reviewed city-wide traffic study shows that the post 2000 traffic on Main Street will total approximately 13,000 ADT. Realistically, this is not a valid assumption since the area traffic will not remain that stagnant and the area has experienced increases over the years. In preparing his studies, the consultant did assume that the current uses along Main would remain the same. Areas to the east of the study are projected to receive significant increases with most of this traffic projected to utilize either Prospect or E1Camtno to reach First Street which has a direct access to the I-5 and 1-55 Freeway. The consultant's computer projections undoubtedly downplayed the importance of Main Street because it lacks direct connection to a freeway. The two conditions that contribute to a small increase in the post 2000 traffic is the lack of direct freeway access while maintaining the current residential uses. The traffic study goes on to note the general guidelines for road capacity indicates that a two lane primary highway has a volume capacity of approximately 16,000 ADT. Since Main Street is currently at 13,100 ADT, it would be realistic to assume that the street would reach this capacity by the year 2000 without land use changes in the study area. If the land use is changed to a more intense use in the study area, this maximum capacity would be reached in a much shorter period of time. Historical Significance: The study area is located in the old residential area of Tustin and can be considered a significant part of the history of Tustin. With homes dating back to the 1880's, the area is a view to an era when Tustin was a sleepy agricultural community. Two recent publications include the Tustin Heritage Walk and the Main Street walking tour. The Heritage Walk was put together by the Tustin Area U.S. Bicentennial Foundation and includes background on structures and heritage trees. Under the section "dovecotes and domiciles", no fewer than sixteen homes or trees are identified in the study area including the Snow House (1887), the Case House (1890), and the Hewes home (1881). Architectural styles in the area include excellent examples of the Craftsman Bungalow {1905-1925), Single Sotry Italiante (1860's-1880's), Queen Anne Cottage {1883-1890's), California Monterey  (1920's) and Mediterranean Revival (1915-1935). ~ Community Development Department -~City Council Report Main Street page four The. Main Street walking tour is a more recent publication, put together by the Tustin Area Historical Society. It contains most of the same information as the Heritage Walk, although it concentrates on structures alone, and has no information on heritage trees. ALTERNATIVE PROPERTY ZONXNG: Staff believes the area under study is of historical significance to our community. However, there are few incentives presently available to Main Street property owners to encourage structural preservation or restoration. The real issue is that of whether City government should provide incentives through either zoning or otherwise to maintain the present quality of life on Main Street. In staff's opinion, there are several options available for Council consideration but only three of four are of value to consider. Contrary to the petition for rezoning, the vast majority of properties in the study area {79.5%) are zoned R-1 and the majority of the affected property owners live on one site, Tustin Acres (180 property owners). It is therefore quite evident that the Main Street area should remain residentially zoned to protect the underlying interest of so many property owners. To provide an incentive to preserve and restore the most significant historic homes on Main Street, additional land uses could be added to the R-1 zone via a new overlay zone. The concept of overlay zoning is not new to Tustin but is si~ply not widely utilized. By creating an entirely new zone {Main Street Historic Overlay Zone), additional land uses such as single tenant professional offices or a Bed and Breakfast Inn could be permitted subject to strict regulations and Planning Commission approval of a Conditional Use Permit. The overlay zoning would not make existing homes non-conforming as would a total zone change to (PR) Professional Office. Should Council wish to pursue the overaly zone concept, 'staff would propose strict regulations for office usage limiting the business to a single tenant professional use, restricted wood monument non-illuminated signing, and parking spaces on-site while preserving front lawns, trees, etc. Concerning the concept of Bed and Breakfast Inns, while there is a limited market for such uses, they would appear to meet the objective of restoration and promoting our historic homes. Staff spent considerable hours researching such uses and determined the following: Cities Surveyed: Calistoga Monterey tOrange · Helena Redlands San Clemente Santa Barbara Pacific Grove Santa Cruz Sonoma Community Development Department City Council Report Main Street page fi ve General Information: All cities require a Use Permit prior to operation of any Bed and Breakfast Inn (B&B). All cities require the B&B to refer to itself as an "inn" not a hotel or motel. PARKING: One space for each guest room, two spaces for the owner/manager, and one space for each employee. Should a B&B have more than ten rooms then additional parking for visitors is required. ***Note: This is for on-site parking only, Pacific Grove will allow for some transfer or trade-off for on-street parking. BUILDING CONVERSION: OCCUPANCY: SIGNS: All cities require that the home must be upgraded to conform with current historic/building code. The B&B must obtain a transient occupancy permit. No more than ten rooms are allowed in most cities. At least one bathroom for every two guest rooms. Maximum stay varies from seven to fourteen days in any thirty day period. No rooms shall be allowed to contain cooking facilities. All B&Bs may have a sign, however they must contain the word "inn" and can be externally lighted only. Size two to six square feet. HOURS OF OPERATION: All signs and outdoor lighting must be turned off from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. Not all cities require historic significance prior to conversion, however Redlands and Pacific Grove allow the following: Home must be at least 75 years old. Home must be listed on a local, state or national list of historic significance. Architectural or aesthetic significance can also be used to determine "significance" of the structure. CONCLUSION: Alternatives for Council consideration are basically to leave the street as is or initiate an overlay zone to allow additional uses such as a single tenant professional office or Bed and Breakfast Inn in conjunction with the existing home. Should Council not wish to allow the intrusion of non-residential uses Community Development Department C-ity Council Report Main Street page si x within the study area, zoning should remain R-1. If this option is chosen, creation of a Historic Preservation Element in the City General Plan might be in order to protect sites and structures of architectural, historical or cultural significance with specific policies prohibiting demolition or alteration without consent of the City Planning Commission. Director of Community Development DDL:do attach: Main Street Zoning Map Main Street Lot Size Map Copy of petition to rezone street Community Development Department 'J.s B Z Z ~'z 'AY YN~OYSYd 1 :ET1TION FO~ ZON1N(; Cli~NG Due to the fact that Main Street, Tustin, a State Arterial Highway, has greatly increased in pass-t, hrough traffic of commuters and commercial tr~cks, and no longer desirable for residential use, the following residents 8gree that Main Street be re-~oned professional with preservation of historic houses to be controlled by the City of Tustfn, and maintained in a fashion similar to Stephens Square. We believe tSts to be necessary for the following re~sons: 1. Tusttn will be able to protect and assure that our heritage houses will be maintained as they are, or restored to their original archectural style. 2. Other cities, Laguna, Orange, Santa Aha, have found that they succeeded in preserving more of their few remainfng homes by allowing professional use by owners agreeable %o this preservation and restoration in keeping with Old To~ Tustin before they are torn down or moved away. 3. Main Street is classified as an arterial highway wit~ heavy traffic, and the probability of traffic increasing when area east of Bro~ing is developed. A forty mile per ~.our speed limit is too fast for a residential area. i. Main Street is now commercial to B Street at one end of our block, and condominium apartments at the other. Only three short blocks in the middle remain zoned B-1. ADDRESS ...... ' '