This project was reviewed pursuant to the guidelines of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and determined to be Categorically Exempt pursuant to Section 15303, Class 3 (a) New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures of the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines.

RECOMMENDATION:

A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LA HABRA APPROVING ZONE VARIANCE 20-01 TO REDUCE THE REAR YARD SETBACK REQUIREMENT FROM 25 FEET TO 6 FEET, FOR A SINGLE-FAMILY HOME AT 161 WEST HIDDEN LANE, AS PER THE APPROVED PLANS, MAKING THE APPROPRIATE FINDINGS, AND SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS.

A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LA HABRA APPROVING ZONE VARIANCE 21-01 TO REDUCE THE MINIMUM LOT SIZE FROM 7,200 SQUARE FEET TO 6,192 SQUARE FEET FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A SINGLE-FAMILY HOME AT 161 WEST HIDDEN LANE, AS PER THE APPROVED PLANS, MAKING THE APPROPRIATE FINDINGS, AND SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS.

The Applicant, Blash Momeny, is requesting to construct a two-story, single-family home on a substandard lot. The property is located along a gated private roadway (Hidden Lane) accessible via North Euclid Street. The General Plan Land Use Designation for the property is Low Density Residential. The property is zoned One Family Dwelling (R-1b) which is consistent with the General Plan.
 

The properties along Hidden Lane were annexed into the City in 1980 (Annexation 79-04). Hidden Lane contains 13 lots improved with single story, single-family homes. The subject parcel (APN 017-271-21) is triangular in shape and is the only parcel within the neighborhood which remains vacant. It is also the smallest lot in the neighborhood with a total lot area of 6,192 square feet.  Upon review of a title report, the property contains three easements along the front property line (southerly) and two easements along the rear property line (northerly) for road and public utility purposes.  The front property line extends into the middle of the 20-foot wide private roadway (Hidden Lane). Based on public records, the subject property was acquired by the Applicant in 2013.

The Applicant is proposing to construct a two-story, single-family home on the vacant lot. The dwelling unit will be improved with four bedrooms and an attached two-car garage with a total floor area of 2,555 square feet. The two-story home will be improved with a combination of wood siding along the front building elevation and stucco along the rear building exterior. The dwelling unit will have a hip roof design. Based on the subject property's size, shape and configuration, the Applicant is requesting a variance to reduce the minium lot area from 7,200 square feet to 6,192 square feet and a variance to reduce the rear yard setback requirement from 25 feet to 6 feet.

Pursuant to La Habra Municipal Code (LHMC) Section 18.76.010, when practical difficulties, unnecessary hardships or results inconsistent with the general purpose of the Zoning Code occur by reason of a strict interpretation of any of the provisions of the Code, the Planning Commission upon the verified application of any interested person shall, in specific cases, initiate proceedings for the granting of a variance from the provisions of the Zoning Code under such conditions as may be deemed necessary to assure that the spirit and purposes of the Code will be observed, public safety and welfare secured, and substantial justice done. In order to grant a variance, the following findings must be made in accordance with LHMC Section 18.76.030: 

There are extraordinary circumstances as they relate to the subject property and the requested two Zone Variance applications. Based on the title report records, the subject lot was created in 1955 while under the jurisdiction of the County of Orange. Once Hidden Lane was annexed into the City in 1980, the properties became subject to the City's Zoning Code requirements, specifically the development standards for the R-1b zone. The R-1b zone requires a minimum lot area of 7,200 square feet.  However, the subject 6,192 square foot parcel cannot be enlarged due to existing improvements surrounding the property. In addition, the property is unique as the entire lot frontage is located along a private roadway.  Hidden Lane is 20 feet wide and is not City owned or maintained by the City, rather it is a private roadway utilized for ingress and egress and maintained by the property owners. It should be noted that upon Staff's research of the neighborhood, Hidden Lane does not have a sanctioned Homeowners Association or recorded Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions.

Within LHMC Section 18.24.040.E Area Requirements, the Zoning Code provides additional guidance related to the minimum lot area requirements for single family zoned properties: “Except any lot with less area than herein required and was recorded prior to the passage of this section may be developed with a single-family dwelling unit and any accessory use permitted by this title.” The Zoning Code's intent is to permit the development of single-family homes located within R-1a, R-1b and R-1c zoned parcels, where said parcels are substandard, by right or without a discretionary action. In order to qualify, a parcel or lot needs to have been created prior to 1954, as the City of La Habra's first Land Use Ordinance was adopted in February 1954 via Ordinance 195, which established the minimum lot area requirements. Since the subject parcel was created in 1955 while under the County's jurisdiction, the subject parcel does not qualify for the exemption and thus, a Zone Variance is required to address the development of a single-family home on a substandard 6,192 square foot lot. The subject lot is the smallest in terms of lot size/area when compared to the other properties along Hidden Lane.
 

APN	Lot Width	Lot Size
017-271-28	110 feet	20,020 SF
017-271-27	113 feet	20,114 SF
017-271-26	113 feet	19,662 SF
017-271-25	131 feet	22,794 SF
017-271-24	135 feet	20,250 SF
017-271-23	118 feet	17,700 SF
017-271-22	113 feet	17,063 SF
017-271-21 (Subject Lot)	109 feet	6,192 SF
017-271-20	145 feet	21,750 SF
017-271-19	154 feet	19,865 SF
017-271-18	149 feet	23,155 SF
017-271-16	85 feet	12,155 SF
017-271-15	85 feet	12,070 SF

The subject lot was created while under the County's jurisdiction. The lot size is pre-existing and cannot be modified which creates an exceptional circumstance that does not generally apply to other properties in the same zone. 

In addition to compliance with the minimum lot area requirement, the development of a single-family home on a vacant lot, must also comply with all the applicable R-1b development standards including building setbacks, open space requirements and off-street parking requirements. The LHMC Section 18.24.040.B.1 requires a front building setback of 25 feet or 25 percent of the depth of the lot, whichever is less. For this case, the subject property's depth measures 43 feet along the westerly property line and 69 feet along the easterly property line. Utilizing the strictest approach, the property's depth of 69 feet, and applying the 25 percent requirement, yields a 17-foot front yard setback. The proposed single-family home is setback 20 feet from the front property line (measured from the middle of Hidden Lane) and setback 10-13 feet from the northerly edge of Hidden Lane. The attached two-car garage is setback 30 feet from the front property line (measured from the middle of Hidden Lane) and setback 20 feet from the northerly edge of Hidden Lane.

The R-1b zone requires a 25-foot rear yard setback for a new single-family dwelling. However, based on the subject property's lot configuration and irregular shape, the proposed two-story, single-family home will only be setback 6 feet (measured from the rear property line to roof eave) and 7 feet, 6 inches from the rear property line to the new structure. A Zone Variance is requested to reduce the rear yard setback from 25 feet to 6 feet. As previously mentioned, there are two recorded easements located along the northerly property line that affect the rear yard setback (3-foot wide telephone/utility easement and a 6-foot wide Edison easement). The proposed two-story structure including the roof eaves will not overhang into the two easements.

The combination of the subject property's depth which varies between 43 feet along the westerly property line and 69 feet wide along the easterly property line and the property's triangular shape along with the location of the recorded easements cause a unique situation. There are two recorded easements along the southerly property line, that include the 20-foot wide private roadway easement and a 10-foot wide road and utility easement that eliminates 28 to 46 percent of the property's depth causing a hardship. The proposed single-family home must also be constructed beyond the easements and along the widest area of the triangular shaped lot. The subject property's topography has also been taken into consideration as the properties located to the north of the subject lot, which have street frontage and access along Olinda Avenue, are constructed at a much higher grade/elevation than the properties along Hidden Lane. In addition, the nearest residential structure is located approximately 69 to 91 feet away from the subject lot's northerly property line. 

The La Habra General Plan 2035 encourages housing maintenance and conservation. Policy H 2.1 Maintain Residential Character, requires the City to "maintain single family residential areas in order to maintain the City's existing residential character by fostering improvements of homes and neighborhoods through implementation or maintenance, rehabilitation, and replacement actions." The project meets that policy and will therefore not adversely affect the comprehensive general plan. 

The Applicant has designed the proposed two-story, single-family home to comply with the required side yard setbacks, it also provides the required open space and will have a two-car garage with sufficient area along the front of the garage to maintain a vehicle onsite and not obstruct the main private roadway. The structure while two-stories (21 feet high) is within acceptable limits as the Zoning Code imposes a height limit of 35 feet. The Applicant will be responsible to comply with all current construction codes and obtain all the necessary permits and approvals from all applicable agencies. This includes the California Regional Water Quality Control Board (CRWQCB) Santa Ana Region for the installation of a Wastewater Treatment System. It does not appear that the property is located within 200 feet of an existing public sewer, therefore, the Applicant will need to coordinate with the CRWQCB to access and approve a Wastewater Treatment System or septic system on the property.

The Applicant has also contacted the Los Angeles County Fire Department and has obtained an approved site plan for fire hydrant location and access. The Applicant will still be required to comply with the required fire flow.  It should be noted that the project plans do identify that the new two-story home will have fire sprinklers. 

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 project involves a single family detached residential development with a footprint less than 3,900 square feet, no NPDES action is required.

The property is designated Low Density Residential which is characterized by single family residential development in a semi-rural setting. The development of a single-family dwelling unit on a vacant lot is compatible. The General Plan also encourages housing maintenance and conservation. Policy H 2.1 Maintain Residential Character requires that the City "maintain single-family residential areas in order to maintain the City's existing residential character by fostering improvements of homes and neighborhoods through implementation of maintenance, rehabilitation, and replacement actions." The project meets that policy. The project implements Policies LU 2.1 Places to Live, and LU 4.1 Development Compatibility, of the General Plan 2035.