HomeMy WebLinkAboutZA ACTION 05-014
ZONING ADMINISTRATOR ACTION 05-014
DESIGN REVIEW 05-008
140 CENTENNIAL WAY
The Zoning Administrator of the City of Tustin does hereby resolve as follows:
I. The Zoning Administrator finds and determines as follows:
A. A proper application, Design Review 05-008, was filed by Gene Sullivan,
requesting authorization to construct a 988 square foot building containing
two (3) employee parking spaces in the parking lot at the rear of 140
Centennial Way which is located within the Retail Commercial (C-1) zoning
district and Community Commercial General Plan land use designation.
B. That the establishment, maintenance, and operation of the proposed use
could, under the circumstances of this case, be detrimental to the general
welfare of the persons residing or working in the neighborhood of such
proposed use, and could be detrimental to the property and improvements
in the neighborhood of the subject property, or to the general welfare of the
City of Tustin in that:
1. The project plans do not demonstrate compliance with development
guidelines and criteria as adopted by the City Council in that plans do
not demonstrate that adequate on-site vehicle accessibility and
maneuvering would be provided in association with the project parking.
Tustin City Code Section 9271 bb(2) requires the driveway to be a
minimum of 24 feet wide and the Parking Lot Design Guidelines require
the drive aisle to be a minimum of 25 feet wide. The site plan shows
that access to the employee parking is only 20 feet wide.
2. The substandard drive aisle combined with the proposed parking
configuration could present a traffic hazard in that the employee
parking spaces are proposed in a parking lot that would not facilitate
easy on-site vehicular turn around to enable vehicles to exit the
property in a forward direction. As a result, vehicles would likely need
to back into the alley.
3. The proposed use is not consistent with the policies of the General
Plan Community Commercial land use designation in that:
a) Policy 1.2 of the General Plan Land Use Element promotes
neighborhood-serving commercial uses in underserved areas and
the integration of retail or service commercial uses on the street
level of office projects. The construction of a three (3) space
employee parking structure on the subject property is not a
neighborhood serving use, is an underutilization of the property,
and is not consistent with General Plan guidance. Allowing the
proposed structure would provide a site constraint for future
expansion of the commercial building, elimination of non-
Exhibit A
Zoning Administrator Action 05-014
Page 2
conforming parking spaces, widening of a non-conforming drive
aisle, addition of landscaping, and addition of conforming parking
spaces. Whereby, the site currently has sufficient area to support
the aforementioned potential improvements.
b) Policy 4.4 of the General Plan Land Use Element promotes the
elimination of non-conforming uses. A significant portion of the
property is non-conforming with regard to parking space layout
(backing into the alley), drive aisle width (20 feet existing vs. 25
feet required), and probably non-conforming with regard to
landscaping (unable to determine with the plans provided). The
project does not correct any of the site's existing non-conformities
and encourages the continued use of four non-conforming parking
spaces and a substandard drive aisle which could constitute a
traffic safety hazard. A small amount of landscaping would also
be removed to accommodate the building.
c) Policy 6.2 of the General Plan Land Use Element and Tustin City
Code Section 9299c(3) promotes high quality design and physical
appearance in all development projects. The proposed structure
is a concrete block rectangular building with a flat roof, exterior
downspouts, and three (3) garage doors that are visible from
Centennial Way. There are no architectural embellishments,
unique design characteristics, or indentations in plane that reflect
a high quality design. The building maintains more of a
residential appearance than a commercial appearance.
d) The Community Commercial General Plan Land Use Element
Designation for the project is to be characterized by "a variety of
miscellaneous retail, professional office, and service-oriented
business activities." The proposed use of the detached parking
garage does not directly correlate to the stated character of the
Community Commercial Land Use designation.
C. The project has been determined to be consistent with the Air Quality sub-
element of the City of Tustin General Plan in that the project has no "Daily
Thresholds of Potential Significance for Air Quality" as indicated in Table 6-2
of the South Coast Air Quality Management District's CEQA Air Quality
Handbook.
D. The application was reviewed by the Zoning Administrator on August 8,
2005.
E. This project is Categorically Exempt pursuant to Section 15303 (Class 3) of
Title 14, Chapter 3 of the California Code of Regulations (Guidelines for the
California Environmental Quality Act).
Exhibit A
Zoning Administrator Action 05-014
Page 3
II. The Zoning Administrator hereby denies Design Review 05-008 which is a request
to construct a 988 square foot building containing three (3) employee parking
spaces in the parking lot at the rear of 140 Centennial Way.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Zoning Administrator of the City of Tustin at a regular
meeting held on the 8th day of August, 2005.
~~
Eloise Harris
RECORDING SECRETARY
b
Dana Ogdon
ACTING ZONING
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE )
CITY OF TUSTIN )
I, ELOISE HARRIS, the undersigned, hereby certify that I am the Recording Secretary of
the Zoning Administrator of the City of Tustin, California; that Zoning Administrator Action
No. 05-014 was passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Tustin Zoning
Administrator, held on the 8th day of August, 2005.
~cJ~
Eloise Harris
RECORDING SECRETARY