HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC_Minutes_1967_01_09MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION held at the City
of Hermosa Beach, California in the Council Chambers of City Hall at 7:30
p.m., on Monday, January 9, 1967.
ROLL CALL -Present: Comm. Armer, Reeves, Noble, Boice, Hamilton, Hales,
Chairman Viault; Bud M. Trott, Building & Planning Director
Absent: None
Comm. Noble was seated after roll call .
A motion was made by Comm. Noble, seconded by Comm. Hales that the minutes
of the meeting of December 12, 1967 be approved. The motion carried
unanimously.
ZONE VARIANCE -EHINGER AND DUNLAP
Public hearing -application for zone variance by Edward Ehinger and Robert
Dunlap to convert two apartments into one apartment and eliminate one garage
which will be converted to a bedroom for said apartment. Property situated
at 121 8th Street, lot 15 and 16, Tract 1564.
Present to speak for the applicants was Mr. Benjamin Entwistle, manager of the
apartments. Mr. Entwistle explained that the property had existed in its
present condition for a number of years, that he had put a door through an
adjoining apartment and cut down on one apartment; that he 1 ived on the
premises with his wife and three children and that it was necessary that
they have the extra bedroom.
Mr. Bud M. Trott further explained the background of this particular situation.
He told the Commission that the violation had been discovered during the survey
of the downtown area made for the Precise Plan. He said that originally
two six unit, five garage apartments had been built and that in 1955 a garage
was converted into sleeping quarters, The Building Department advised the
owners to convert these quarters back into a garage, and the owners went before
the Planning Commission for a Variance. After denial of their application,
they appealed to the City Council and were again denied.
After discussion, a motion was made by Comm. Noble, seconded by Comm. Reeves,
that the application be granted. Motion failed to carry by the following vote:
AYES: Comm, Noble, Boice, Hamilton
NOES: Comm. Armer, Reeves, Hales ·, Chairman Viault
None ABSENT:
Motion was made by Comm. Armer, seconded by Comm. Hales, to adopt Resolution
P.C. 154-600 denying the application for the following reasons:
l.
2.
3.
' 4.
! '
It is in violation now, and we would be setting a precedent by legalizing
~n existing violation.
The heavily trafficked area is in need of additional parking, rather than
less parking, which this would tend to create.
The original motion failed to carry by a majority affirmative vote.
It would reduce the ratio of apartments to garages.
Planning Commission Page 2 January 9, 1967
DUNLAP AND EHINGER CONT:
5. The initial application came before the Planning Commission more than ten
years ago and was denied by the Planning Commission and denied on appeal
to the City Council, and despite this action was converted anyway.
6.-]t seems to be contrary to the entire spirit of community planning that
we are trying to generate with our new General Plan.
Motion carried as fol lows:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Comm. Armer, Reeves, Noble, Boice, Hales and Chairman Viault
Comm. Ham i 1 ton
None
Comm. Ha I es gave his reason for vat i ng 11 yes 11 for den i a I as fo 11 ows: Because
by granting the application we would be endorsing the use of a garage which has been
converted into a bedroom i ]legally, and it would set a poor example for other
properties having garages used for similar reasons.
Comm, Hamilton stated that his reason for voting 11 no11 was that the apartment
house is now under good management and apparently creating no civic problem
and to reconvert the building as it formerly existed with six apartments to
five garages would possibly create problems for the City with regard to parking.
Comm. Noble said that he had voted 11yes 11 on the original motion to grant
because an apparent hardship was shown, otherwise the applicant would not
have come in to request a variance, and because11 I do not see any advantage
for the City in denying this request, since there will still be an apartment
house lacking one garage for one of the units no matter which way the usage
will be, and I think granting this will not reduce the ratio of garages in
respect to apartments, in as much as one apartment is being eliminated as well
as one garage. Also, I believe we have acted in the best interests of the City,
as the man has lived in and taken excellent care of the property and eliminated
the many problems incurred sometimes by bad tenants.11
ZDNE VARIANCE -WILBUR ANO HELEN JOHNSTON
Public hearing -application for zone variance by Wilbur and Helen Johnston
to redivide lots 23 and 24, block 38, first addition to Hermosa Beach, into
two separate parcels as follows: Parcel l -westerly 36.5 ft. lots 23 and 24.
Parcel 2 -easterly 63,5 ft. of lots 23 and 24. Add on to existing single
family residence, located on westerly portion of said lots, having nonconforming
yards, an addition exceeding 40% of existing floor area. Address 125 4th St.
Mr. Gibson, of Pacific Builders, and the applicants Mr. and Mrs. Johnston were
present to speak. Mr. Gibson advised the Commission that the present dwelling
was approximately 700 sq. ft. in dimensions and the applicants proposed to add
a family room 13 ft. by 20 ft. He said that there was an encroachment of a few
inches into the side yard.
Mr. Bud Trott told the Commissioners that eight units were built on the property,
and then the westerly portion was sold ~ep~tete~y;i ~nts.
Planning Comm is sion Pa ge 3 J anuary 9, 1967
JOH NSTON CONT:
Mrs. J ohnston spoke and told tho se present th at at the time of pur c has e,
she had an engineering sur vey made of th e prop e r ty and t h is was part of
the es c row. She believe d that ev er ything wa s in order a t th at time. It
was explained to Mrs. Johns ton that the slight e nc roach ment of t he garage
was a civil ma tt er.
The Commi ss ion quest i oned th e app li cants, and motion wa s t hen made by Comm.
Re eves, seconde d by Comm. Bo ice, to grant the appli ca ti on . Motion carried as
follows:
AYE S:
ABSTA IN:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Comm. Ree ves, Noble , Boice, Hale s, Hamil to n,
Comm. Armer (because of bu s iness connections)
Chairman Viault
None
Motion was made by Comm. Reeves, sec ond ed by Comm . Boice , to g rant t he
a pplication for zone va rian ce for the following r ea sons, and to adopt Reso l ut ion
P.C . 154-601 gran ting same:
1. An ex t reme ha rdship has bee n sh own to thi s Commis si o n dati ng to the
pu rch ase of this propert y fro m th e previ ou s ow ner, and that the dev e lopmen t of
the en ti re parcel is such that litt l e c an b e done at this da te to rectify th e
situation.
2. That the proposed improvements to sai d prope rty will enhance t he a ppear anc e
a nd uti l ity of sai d prop erty and wi 11 in effect, cr eate no addi ti ona l non
conformi ties to th e existing buildings.
3 , Th e possibilities of having the ex isting st r uctures , bo t h resid enc e and
gar age, brought into c onf orm ity wi th t he cur ren t set back requ i rements do es
not seem to be in the best i nterests of a nyone at thi s time .
Mot ion for amendment was mad e by Comm. Hales that t he garage be altered so that
the e a st wall be brough t into proper three fo ot s ide yadd c on fo r ma nc e a nd
at the same time alig ned up with th e propo se d addi t ion.·
Motion failed to ca rry as fol lows:
AYES:
ABS TA IN:
NOES:
ABS ENT:
Comm. Hal es, Chairman Viaul t
Comm . Arme r (because of busines s conn ecti ons)
Comm. Ree ves, Noble, Boice , Hamilton
None
A vote was cal l e d for on th e motion to adopt Reso luti on P.C. 154-60 1, and
the motion carried by the fol lowing vote:
AYES:
ABS TAIN:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Comm. Reeves, Nobl e, Boice, Ha l es , Hamilton
Comm. Armer (busi ness connection s )
Chairman Viau lt
None
Pla nn ing Commission Page 4 J anua ry 9, 1967
RULING -103 LYNDON ST. PHOTOGRAPHY IN C-1 ZONE
Ruling for new business to be locat ed at 103 Lyndon St.for photographic portraits and
deve lo ping. Bu sin ess loGa te d in a C-1 zon e and this type o f business not set
forth as one of the uses allowed in thi s zone.
The ap p licant, Mr s . McConnell , was present, as well as her associate Mr. Schwartz.
Mrs. McConnell stat e d that she had an esta blis hed cl ientele and that th ere
would be nothing detrime ntal t o the comm unity in her operation of the proposed
business.
Motion was made by Comm. Ar mer, seconded by Comm. Noble, to approve thi s typ e
of business in a C-l Zon e, and th e motion carried un an imou sl y.
* * *
I t em 5 on the agenda, Public hearing to consider amending Ord i nance N.S. 154
relative to Cond iti onal Use pe rmits for certa i n use s, wa s postponed at this poi nt
in t he meetin g, unt il o ther app lic ants wer e heard.
TIME EXTENSION FOR ZONE VARIANCE -Mc MAHON
Request for time extension -Zo ne Va ria nce granted by P.C. 154-570, Feb . 14, 1966,
to Peter and Genevieve McM ah on o n that pr6perty loca ted at 218 Strand, lot
3, block 3, Hermos a Beac h tr act to a dd a garage apar tm ent to an existing s ingle
fa mi ly r es idence, lo t area having 2370 sq. f t . in lieu of requir e d 2400 sq. f t.
nonconformin g s!deyards varyin g from 0 1 to 2.9' in lieu of req uired 3 1 • Granted
provided a ffi davit be fi led t hat prope rty not be used for more than two f amily
dwellings, an d that existing dressing room be _brought Into line with e xisting
s tructure at side line, and t hat exi st in g de cks on second le vel, north and south
property lines, be broug ht Int o line with existing building, an d that portion
of the balcony on th e fr ont of the building t hat enc ro aches over City property
be re moved.
The applicants were present to speak, and Mr. McM a hon adv is ed th e Commission
that the tight money si tuation and his pending transfer to Hawai i fo r eig ht
months, necessitated the request for t ime e xtension., There was discussion
by the Cormiission and the ori gi nal va riance was reviewed.
Motion was made by Comm. Noble, seconded by Comm. Re eves , to give the applican ts
an extension of one year from Feb. 14th, 1966 t o Feb . 14th, 1968 (v ari an ce would
have expired on Feb. 14, 1967). Motion carr i ed by unanimous vot e.
RULING -MUSIC BUSINESS IN R-P ZONE
Ruling requ est ed f rom Planrning Co mm ission re a pplication r e ceived by · Building
Department fo r a business operation at 1256 Art esi a, loc ated in a R-P zone,
t o det e rmin e if business would be similar to other businesses allowed in t his
z one, and not detrimental, obnoxious or hazardous to t he wel far e of the
particular distric t . The business operation would be t he t eachi ng of music
theory and harmony, with no musical instrument s.
Planning Commission Page 5 January 9, 196]
RULING -MUSIC BUSINESS CONT:
Mr. Victor Mio, applicant, was present and explained that his operation
would involve no noise, and ~hat he intended to st~dy quietly at this
location, with perhaps a few students who .would be engaged in the mental
aspects of music study.
Motion was made by Comm. Noble and seconded by Comm. Reeves to direct
a letter to the Building Department limiting the use of this property
to Mr. Mio, and that it was not to be tranferred, and any future use ;(nonconforming)
would have to be determined by the Planning Con-mission.
CORRESPONDENCE FROM CITY CLERK RE LOT SPLIT ORDINANCE AND COUNCIL ACTION
Received and filed
CORRESPONDENCE FROM CITY CLERK RE ADMINISTRATION OF TIDELANDS TRUST BY
LOCAL JURISDICTION
The matter of administration of Tidelands Trust by local jurisdiction
was referred to the Planning Commission, by the City Council at their
regular meeting of January 4, 1967, for Planning Commission discussion and
study, with the request that they review the drilling ordinano:£ and
make suggestions for a substitute ordinance. (Ordinance N.S. 180)
There was discussion by the Commission, and it was decided that as copies
of the proposed legislation, three draft bi] ls intended to be submitted to
the 1967 session of the general legislature by the California Legislature,
Joint Committee on the Tidelands (#8453, #8454, #8455), were not available
for study yet, that the Commission wait for this material. Copies of N.S.
180 were furnished to the Commissioners to be studied until receipt of the
draft bi 1 ls .
Motion was made by Cbatrman Viault, and seconded by Comm. Armer, to receive
and file and delay any action until the drafts of bills #8453, #8454 and #8455
were received, and that this matter be a part of the agenda for the next
regular meeting of the Planning Commission on February 13, 1967. Motion
carried by uoanimous vote.
GOODKIN MEETING -JANUARY 24, 1967
Announcement was made to the Commission regarding a joint meeting with the
City Council, the Planning Commission and the Chamber of Commerce, regarding
the Precise Plan for the downtown area. This meeting will be a work shop
meeting and will be held on January 24, 1967 in the Council Chambers of City
Hall at 7:30 p.m.
PUBLIC HEARING -Amendment of Ord. N.S. 154 -CONDITIONAL USE
Item five on the agenda was now discussed. This was a public hearing to
consider amending Ofdinance N.S. 154, by amending therein subsection 4 to Section 801,
of said ordinance relating to issuance of conditional use permits for dertain
Planning Commission Page 6 January 9, 1967
AMENDMENT ORDINANCE N,S. 154 CONTINUED:
uses in the commercial zones set forth in Article 8 of said ordinance as
amended, providing under certain conditions exemptions of the requirement
of a conditional use permit in a C-3 zone -General and Highway commercial
district, Resolution of Intention P.C. 154-599.
This matter was reviewed by the Commission and a motion was made by Comm.
Armer, seconded by Comm. Noble, to recommend said amendment to the City Council.
The motion carried unanimously.
Motion was then made by Comm. Hamilton, seconded by Comm. Armer, to adopt
Resolution No. P.C. 154-602 recommending said amendment to the City Council,
with the amendments as outlined is said resolution, and for the reasons
stated in the resolution. Motion carried by unan r
ADJOURNMENT 10:20 P.M. ,.__.,r-r
~~=:!---
Reeves