This project was reviewed pursuant to the guidelines of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and determined to be Categorically Exempt pursuant to Section 15332, Class 32: "Infill Development Projects" of the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines because the project is consistent with the General Plan designation and all applicable General Plan policies and with applicable zoning designation and regulations; is less than five acres; located within an urbanized area; the project site has no value as habitat for endangered, rare or threatened species; approval of the project would not result in any significant effects relating to traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality; and, the site can be adequately served by all utilities and public services. The project is not subject to any of the exceptions for exemption under Section 15300.2 of the CEQA Guidelines.

That the Planning Commission APPROVE A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LA HABRA, CALIFORNIA, MAKING THE REQUIRED FINDINGS AND APPROVING LOT LINE ADJUSTMENT 23-01 TO MERGE TWO PARCELS INTO ONE PARCEL AND DESIGN REVIEW 23-02 TO CONSTRUCT A NINE-UNIT, THREE-STORY, APARTMENT COMPLEX KNOWN AS “MAGNOLIA VILLAS” ON THE PROPERTIES CURRENTLY ADDRESSED AS 828 EAST LA HABRA BOULEVARD AND 110 SOUTH COLLEGE STREET, AS PER THE APPROVED PLANS AND SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS AND MAKING THE DETERMINATION THAT THE PROJECT IS EXEMPT FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT PURSUANT TO SECTION 15332, CLASS 32: “INFILL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS” OF THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT GUIDELINES

The Applicant, Steven Ybarra from SA Design Concepts, is requesting Lot Line Adjustment (LLA) 23-01 and Design Review (DR) 23-02 to develop a nine-unit, three-story apartment complex known as "Magnolia Villas" on vacant property located at the southeast corner of East La Habra Boulevard and South College Street (see Vicinity Map, Exhibit 1), approximately 175-feet to the east of Washington Middle School.  The General Plan land use designation for the project site is Transitional, which was intended to provide for the redevelopment of existing low-density residential uses along La Habra Boulevard to allow either commercial development, mixed-use development or medium density residential development. The project site is within the La Habra Boulevard Specific Plan, which implements the project site's General Plan land use designation. Surrounding land uses include small commercial retail/service businesses to the north, on properties designated by the General Plan for Corridor Mixed Use 2 land use. There are additional commercial retail/service businesses adjacent to the project site to the east, across College Street, and directly adjacent to the project site to the west, on properties that are also designated by the General Plan for Transitional land use. Finally, there are existing single-family residential homes to the south, on properties designated by the General Plan for Low Density Residential land use.

The Applicant intends to lease the proposed nine-units at market rate rents. Because the property is less than ten units, the Applicant is not required to provide affordable housing units in compliance with Section 18.82 (Inclusionary Housing Units) of the La Habra Municipal Code (LHMC). Since the Applicant is not proposing affordable housing, the Applicant cannot take advantage of LHMC Chapter 18.80 (Density Bonus and Other Affordable Housing Incentives).

EXHIBIT 1 - Vicinity Map



The project site was formerly occupied by single family residences. These residences were damaged in a fire and eventually demolished, which has resulted in the site becoming vacant. The project site currently consists of two separate parcels (APN: 298-132-02 & 298-132-01) addressed as 828 East La Habra Boulevard and 110 South College Street.  As part of this application, the Applicant is requesting approval of Lot Line Adjustment 23-01 to merge these parcels in order to form one legal lot.  Lot 1 is 9,280 square feet and Lot 2 is 9,300 square feet; once combined, these parcels will yield an 18,580 square-foot lot (0.43 acres).  The property's General Plan land use designation permits 23 dwelling units per acre (du/ac) on the subject property. Based on this density, the 0.43-acre site is permitted to be developed with the proposed nine dwelling units.
 

The project site includes vehicular access from both East La Habra Boulevard and College Street as shown in Exhibit 2 - Site Plan. The building situated closest to La Habra Boulevard will be three stories in height. The first floor/ground level will be developed for parking and one dwelling unit, which will be designed to be handicapped-accessible. Five units will be located on the second floor and three units will be located on the third floor. A separate detached garage is proposed at the southeast of the property.

The project complies with the required development standards of the La Habra Boulevard Specific Plan as summarized in the table below.

Per Section 18.14.060 (Number of Parking Spaces Required) of the LHMC, the number required parking spaces for multi-unit dwellings is one parking space for each studio, two parking spaces for each one-bedroom, and two and a half parking spaces for each two-bedroom.  Guest parking is calculated at 0.5 parking spaces per unit.  Therefore, the Applicant is required to provide a minimum of 21 parking spaces; as indicated in the table below, the Applicant will be providing 22 parking spaces. The LHMC does not require covered parking spaces for studio units or guest parking spaces. The Applicant has proposed seven uncovered spaces; the remaining required parking spaces will be located within enclosed garages. 

The La Habra Boulevard Specific Plan requires 250 square feet of usable open space for each dwelling unit (9 units x 250 square feet = 2,250 square feet required). This open space may be provided as private open space (i.e. balcony) or common open space; however, the Specific Plan also requires that 30% of the units have private open space. The Applicant is proposing a total of 2,324 square feet of open space, provided through balconies and a larger communal area.  The five second-floor units will all have usable balconies.  The larger communal area will be landscaped, have seating, in the form of portable and permanent patio furniture, and two gas barbecues. 

Additional Landscaping
In addition to the above requirement for open space, as well as the required front and side building setback areas, LHMC Section 18.16.060 requires an additional landscaped area that is equal to 7% of the parking lot. For this project, 407 square feet of additional landscaping is required and 2,620 square feet is being provided. The 10-foot wide, interior side setback as well as the 11'-2" rear setback will also be fully landscaped. These setback areas will be utilized to retain storm water on-site.  

To approve Lot Line Adjustment 23-01, the Planning Commission must be able to make the findings below pursuant to 17.20.030 (Approval). Each finding is followed by Staff's recommended justification to make the subject finding.

A. The Lot Line Adjustment does not create an additional lot.
The proposed LLA 23-01 combines two parcels, resulting in consolidation into one parcel. Therefore, the lot line adjustment does not create an additional lot.

B. The Lot Line Adjustment does not reduce the area or width of any lot in any zone below the minimum area or width required in such zone.
Combining two parcels (Lot 1 consisting of 9,280 square feet and Lot 2 consisting of 9,300 square feet) into one parcel (combined total of 18,580 square feet) will result in a larger lot that is more conducive to medium-density residential development. LLA 23-01 will not result in a smaller lot area or restrict the width of the lot.  In this case, it will enable the applicant to construct a nine-unit, three-story, apartment complex that meets the development standards of the LHMC.
 
C. The Lot Line Adjustment does not cut off any lot from any frontage on a public street or alley access to a public utility easement, or create a need for utility easements.
The proposed LLA 23-01 will not cut off any lot from any frontage on either La Habra Boulevard or College Street. The Applicant will provide adjustments to the driveway locations on both La Habra Boulevard and College Street to ensure safe access to the lot. LLA 23-01 will not cut off or create the need for any new easements, but rather, existing easements for sewer and utility purposes will continue to be available.

D. The Lot Line Adjustment does not cut off any lot from any utility service available immediately prior to the Lot Line Adjustment.
The proposed LLA 23-01 will not cut off the proposed lot from any utility service available. The Applicant will work with the City’s Public Works Department to connect with all required utility services needed for the proposed development.

E. The Lot Line Adjustment does not cause an existing building to be in violation of the zoning regulations of Title 18 of the La Habra Municipal Code, the Building Code, or State Housing law by reason of its proximity to, or encroachment on a proposed new lot line.
The subject lots are currently vacant with no structures on-site. Therefore, the proposed LLA 23-01 does not cause any existing buildings to be in violation of the LHMC, the Building Code, or State Housing law.

F. The Lot Line Adjustment does not create a new key lot in any zone.
LHMC Section 18.04.030 defines a key lot as the first interior lot to the rear of a reversed corner lot. The proposed LLA 23-01 involves the merging of two lots whereby the existing lot line will be removed and no new key lot is created.

G. The Lot Line Adjustment does require a new public street or easement, or the extension of any existing public street or easement, and does not require any public improvements.
The proposed LLA 23-01 will enable two parcels to merge into one parcel, whereby easements may remain for sewer line purposes as well as Southern California Edison public utility purposes. Additionally, the Applicant will dedicate five feet along the project's College Street frontage to the City of La Habra for future public improvements.  No new public streets or easements or extensions of existing public streets or easements are required. The proposed LLA also does not require any public improvements. DESIGN REVIEW 23-02

To approve Design Review 23-02, the Planning Commission must be able to make the findings below pursuant to LHMC Section 18.68.050 (Findings). Each finding is followed by Staff's recommended justification to make the subject finding.

The property is designated for Transitional land use by the General Plan. This designation provides for the redevelopment of existing low-density residential uses along La Habra Boulevard to allow either commercial development, mixed-use development or medium-density residential development. The Applicant is proposing a medium-density nine-unit apartment complex. The Transitional designation allows for the development of up to 23 units to the acre. The proposed nine-unit project does not exceed the maximum allowed density for the combined lot size of 18,580 square feet.  
 

This proposed project implements the following policies of the La Habra General Plan 2035 LU 1.2 (Development Capacity) by accommodating the type and density of land use depicted in the Land Use Diagram, LU 2.1 (Places to Live) by adding rental housing in La Habra, LU 4.1 (Development Compatibility) by requiring that development is located and designed to assure compatibility among land uses, addressing such elements as building orientation and setbacks, buffering, visibility and privacy, access, and impacts of noise and lighting, LU 4.4 (Design Review) by requiring design review that focuses on achieving appropriate form and function to assure compatibility with community character, while promoting creativity, innovation, and design quality, LU 5.5 (Revitalization of Obsolete and Underused Properties) by facilitating the revitalization of underused properties, LU 6.4 (Housing Type Distribution) by allowing the establishment of market-rate apartments, LU 7.2 (New Residential Development) by establishing new residential development, LU 9.2 (Amenities) by the Applicant providing a communal landscaped area and barbecues, H 1.3 (Support Private Sector Housing Production) by facilitating the production of new housing for the community, H 1.5 (Market and Non-Market Housing Production Needs) by allowing the establishment of market-rate apartments for the community.

The subject property is zoned La Habra Boulevard Specific Plan (SP-1). The proposed project complies with the SP-1 standards identified in Chapter 18.44 of the Zoning Ordinance including building setbacks, building height limits, design guidelines, on-site parking, landscaping and open space/usable yard area requirements. Therefore, the proposed project is consistent with the Zoning Ordinance.

The Zoning Ordinance and General Plan are tools that are available to ensure that all projects achieve goals that promote the public health, safety and welfare of the community. The proposed project is in harmony with both the Zoning Ordinance and the policies of the General Plan. In addition, an Environmental Assessment was prepared for the proposed project, and it was determined that the project’s design provides sufficient access for public safety personnel such as Fire and Police and will be serviced by sanitary sewers and storm drains. By complying with the Zoning Ordinance and various policies of the General Plan, the proposed project is in the best interests of the public health, safety, and welfare of the community.

The proposed project complies with the General Plan and Zoning designations. The design of the proposed project takes into consideration the property’s location and size to accommodate the nine units in a thought-out manner. The proposed project provides adequate on-site access, circulation and on-site parking to minimize impacts to the surrounding area. Also, the proposed buildings have been designed in compliance with the required setbacks and building height limit. Therefore, the nature of the proposed land use and the design is appropriate for the proposed location and is compatible with surrounding uses and improvements.

The proposed project was reviewed pursuant to the guidelines of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and determined to be Categorically Exempt pursuant to Section 15332, Class 32: “Infill Development Projects” of the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines because the proposed project is consistent with the General Plan designation and all applicable General Plan policies and with applicable zoning designation and regulations; is less than five acres within an urbanized area; the project site has no value as habitat for endangered, rare or threatened species; approval of the proposed project would not result in any significant effects relating to traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality; and the site can be adequately served by all utilities and public services.
 

The proposed project is not subject to any of the exceptions for exemption under Section 15300.2 of the CEQA Guidelines. The cumulative impact of the proposed project, and the approval of other projects like it in the vicinity, is not expected to have any significant environmental impact. The proposed project is not located along any state designated scenic highway nor within any designated hazardous waste site. Staff does not expect any significant impacts or unusual circumstances related to the approval and construction of the proposed project. Therefore, the proposed project is categorically exempt from CEQA.

The Applicant has paid for the processing costs associated with the Lot Line Adjustment and Design Review, which total $12,440.00.

The Applicant's proposal has been reviewed pursuant to the requirements of the City's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Municipal Permit, the Local Implementation Plan (LIP) and the Model Water Quality Management Plan (WQMP), Section 7.2. Since the proposal will constitute the disturbance of more than 5,000 square feet of soil, a Priority WQMP is required. A Preliminary Priority WQMP has been prepared and approved.

The project implements policies LU 1.2 Development Capacity, LU 2.1 Places to Live, LU 4.1 Development Compatibility, LU 4.4 Design Review, LU 5.5 Revitalization of Obsolete and Underused Properties, LU 6.4 Housing Type Distribution, LU 7.2 New Residential Development, LU 7.3 Housing Character and Design, LU 9.2 Amenities, LU 9.3 Development Transitions, H 1.3 Support Private Sector Housing Production, H 1.5 Market and Non-Market Housing Production Needs, and H 2.5 Adequate Housing Sites through Land Use and Zoning of the La Habra General Plan.