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CITY OF SAN
JOSÉ, CALIFORNIA Department of
Planning, Building and Code Enforcement 801 North First
Street, Room 400 San José,
California 95110-1795 |
Hearing
Date/Agenda Number P.C.
11/14/2001 Item: 4.f. |
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File Number PDC 00-12-127 |
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STAFF REPORT |
Application Type Planned Development Rezoning |
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Council District 6 |
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Planning Area Willow Glen |
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Assessor's
Parcel Number(s) 439-26-066 |
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PROJECT
DESCRIPTION |
Completed by: Anastazia Aziz |
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Location: East side of Coastland Avenue approximately 80 feet
south of Lincoln Court and Ardis Drive |
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Gross Acreage: 1.02 |
Net Acreage: 1.02 |
Net Density: 5.6 DU/AC |
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Existing Zoning A(PD) Planned Development |
Existing Use: Residential |
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Proposed Zoning: A(PD) Planned
Development |
Proposed Use: Single family detached residential |
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GENERAL PLAN |
Completed
by: AA |
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Land
Use/Transportation Diagram Designation Medium Low Density Residential (8DU/AC) |
Project
Conformance: [ ] Yes
[ x ] No [ X ] See
Analysis and Recommendations |
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SURROUNDING LAND
USES AND ZONING |
Completed
by: AA |
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North: Residential R-1-8
Residential |
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East: Guadalupe
River A(PD)
Planned Development |
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South: Residential R-1-8
Residential |
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West: Residential R-1-8
Residential |
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ENVIRONMENTAL
STATUS |
Completed
by: AA |
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[ ] Environmental Impact Report found
complete on [ ] Negative
Declaration [x] Negative
Declaration adopted on October 10, 2001 |
[ ] Exempt [ ] Environmental Review Incomplete |
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FILE HISTORY |
Completed
by: AA |
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Annexation
Title: South Willow Glen No. 5 |
Date: July 15, 1946 |
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PLANNING
DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTION |
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[ ] Approval [ x ] Approval
with Conditions [ ] Denial [ ] Uphold Director's Decision |
Date: _________________________ |
Approved
by: ____________________________ [ ] Action [b ] Recommendation |
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APPLICANT /DEVELOPER/OWNER |
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H. Mike Chen, Coastland Villa LLC John Moniz, HMH,
Inc. 2174 Chuleta Court P.O. Box
61150 Los Altos, CA 94024 San Jose, CA 95161 |
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PUBLIC AGENCY COMMENTS RECEIVED |
Completed by: AA |
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Department of Public Works See attached
memorandum. |
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Other Departments and Agencies See attached
memoranda from Fire Department, Santa Clara Valley Water District dated June
15, 2001, Santa Clara Valley Water District dated February 8, 2001, and Santa
Clara Valley Audubon Society dated January 25, 2001. |
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GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE |
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See attached correspondence including October 5, 2001 letter from
Esther C. Woodward, August 21, 2001 letter from Mary McNeil, August 17, 2001
letter from Randy Thilmany and Walter van Hooff, August 10, 2001 letter from
Mr. Wolff and Walter van Hooff, August 10, 2001 letter from Mr. Morrisey and
Walter van Hooff, August 9, 2001 letter from Joe Pollifrone and Walter van
Hooff, August 9, 2001 letter from San & Sheleen Harris and Walter van
Hooff, letter from Mrs. Tabata, Mike Chen and Walter van Hooff dated May 2,
2001. |
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ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS |
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The
applicant, Mike Chen of Coastland Villa, is requesting a Planned Development
Rezoning from A(PD) Planned Development to A(PD) Planned Development to allow
an infill development of up to 5 single-family attached residential units (5.6
DU/AC) on the subject property.
The
property, located immediately adjacent to the Guadalupe River, is approximately
1.02 acres in size and contains four structures; one single family residence
circa 1925 visible from the street, one cottage with a detached shop and garage
circa 1935-1945 and one cabin circa 1940-1950.
Three of the structures are located deep in the property and are
generally not visible from the street.
The site is densely vegetated with mature trees and shrubs. The property is bounded by single-family
residential uses to the north on Ardis Drive; the Guadalupe Rive to the east;
single-family uses to the south; and single-family uses to the west.
The
Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) operates bus No. 67 on Bird Avenue with
service to nearby Tamien station and bus No.26 along Curtner Avenue. Both bus routes are located within short
walking distance of the project.
A Planned Development Zoning (File No. A(PD)79-09-140) permitting up to eight residential attached units distributed among four buildings was approved for the property in 1980, prior to the 1994 Council adoption of the Riparian Corridor Policy Study. The existing zoning allows the renovation of the existing two-story 1925 home on Coastland Avenue as a duplex with an attached three-car garage. A driveway located at the southern edge of the site extends to the rear of the property to provide access to three additional buildings. The zoning permits one two-unit, one-story building immediately to the east of the existing residence, and two, two-unit, one-story buildings at the rear of the property. The zoning was approved over 20 years ago. Significant residential design and market changes that have occurred over the past two decades appear to have discouraged implementation of this project.
The
project proposes five single-family detached residential units located on a
narrow private driveway that provides both vehicular and pedestrian access to
the units. The 20-foot wide private
driveway, with 16 feet dedicated to vehicular traffic and four feet dedicated
to pedestrian access, extends 215 feet to the rear of the site where the drive
meets the limits of the 75-foot riparian corridor setback identified by a
proposed chain link fence. A 15-foot
easement is proposed benefiting the Santa Clara Valley Water District to access
the Guadalupe River riparian corridor located at the eastern edge of the
property.
Each
proposed unit contains a two-car detached garage and an 18 ft. x 25 ft.
driveway apron that can accommodate up to three parked cars. Four of the five
parking pads are adjacent to one another, which creates an expanse of pavement
that approaches 50 feet in width and includes 900 square feet. One tree and a fence are proposed to soften
and separate the adjacent parking pads.
The three proposed units on the north side of the driveway have attached
garages, while the two units south of the driveway propose detached two-car
garages. The proposed “builder contemporary” architecture lends itself to the
large two-story massing of the homes which approach 2,900 square feet in
size. Building heights reach a maximum
of 27 feet 6 inches.
Two
residences have street frontage on Coastland Avenue and are set back a minimum
of 17’6” from the public-right-of way.
Proposed rear yard setbacks along the northern property boundary
adjacent to the single family homes range from a minimum of 17 feet to a
maximum setback of 20 feet. A 75-foot
riparian corridor setback is proposed along the eastern edge of the site and the
buildings are set back an additional five feet from the riparian corridor
setback. Proposed rear yard setbacks
along the southern edge of the property range from five feet for the detached
two car garages, and range between 17 and 20 feet for the proposed
residences.
Five
off-lot guest-parking spaces are required and proposed on Coastland
Avenue. Off-lot guest spaces are
required by the Residential Design Guidelines (RDG) for single-family detached
residences because off-lot spaces are more public in nature than on-lot spaces
and visitors are more likely to park in an off-lot parking space than on a
driveway apron. In addition, driveway
apron space is more likely to be in “permanent” use by an individual homeowner
than an off-lot parking space. The project’s street frontage, excluding the private
central driveway apron, totals approximately 106 linear feet which can
accommodate approximately four cars, one less than required.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
A
community meeting was held on August 23, 2001, at Almaden Burger & Grill
Restaurant. A number of residents
voiced their opinion regarding acceptable minimum setbacks from the adjacent
residential properties. Provision of
adequate guest parking and the proposed height of the two-story homes were
raised as a concern. Some residents
felt that the proposed architecture should be modified to a single-story ranch
design, which is consistent with the neighborhood architecture.
Notices of the Negative Declaration and the public hearings before the Planning Commission and City Council were distributed to the owners and tenants of all properties located within 1,000 feet of the project site and staff has been available to discuss the project with members of the public.
A
Draft Negative Declaration was circulated for this project based on an Initial
Study, which concluded that the project would not result in a significant
environmental impact. An historic
report prepared by Archaeological Resource Management on March 22, 2000
evaluated the historical significance of the existing on-site buildings and
concluded the buildings were not significant from an architectural standpoint
and were not associated with any notable historic figures or events. The City’s Historic Preservation Officer
reviewed the report and concurs that the buildings are not of historic
significance. Staff will work with the
applicant to ensure that the buildings are offered for salvage prior to
demolition.
Due
to the property’s location in an area of archeological sensitivity, a
monitoring and reporting program by a qualified professional archaeologist is
required to identify and preserve subsurface archaeological resources that may
be encountered during construction.
Seven
ordinance-size trees and ten nonordinance-size trees are proposed for
removal. Three existing ordinance-size
trees are proposed for preservation.
Staff will continue to work with the applicant to retain and/or relocate
as many trees as possible.
GENERAL PLAN CONFORMANCE
The
site is designated Medium Low Density
Residential (8 DU/AC) on the San Jose 2020 General Plan/Land use
Transportation Diagram. The proposed
residential project’s density of 6 DU/AC is in conformance with the General
Plan designation.
The
primary issues associated with this infill proposal include conformance with
the Residential Design Guidelines and the Riparian Corridor Policy.
Character of Existing Neighborhood
Public streets and single family residential lots with public street frontage characterize the existing neighborhood. The existing street pattern is a large-scale grid pattern and neighborhood streets are characterized by landscape strips and on-street parking. The Coastland Avenue public right-of-way is 60 feet in width and surrounding residential streets are narrower, generally 48 feet in width. The neighborhood lot size ranges from between 6,000 to 7,000 square feet with typical lot frontages of 50 feet. The lots in the neighborhood adjacent to the Guadalupe River are significantly larger than the surrounding neighborhood in that they are one-half acre in size or larger and over 300 feet deep. Most homes in the neighborhood, with the exception of the subject property, are circa 1950 and are representative of a single-story ranch architectural style. The neighborhood does have some two-story homes interspersed amongst the single-story homes. A mixture of attached and detached garages with either single-or double-car driveways is mingled in the area. Homes in the neighborhood are generally set back 25 feet from the front lot line and meet Title 20 standards for R-1-8 Residence Zoning District. Neighborhood streets are animated and encourage pedestrian activity because the front entries to the residences face the public street, the front facades of the homes present visual interest, and the front yards are landscaped.
Character of Infill Proposal
In
contrast, the proposed five-unit project does not integrate a public street
with the development, but instead proposes a narrow 16-foot private driveway
with a single attached sidewalk to provide vehicular and pedestrian access to
the residences. Three of the five residences are located at the rear of the
driveway and cannot be viewed from Coastland Avenue. This is problematic for two reasons: 1) the residences do not command a street presence as directed by
the RDG; and 2) police surveillance and emergency response is hindered because
the residences are not clearly visible from the street. Guest parking is not
provided on the 16-foot wide driveway and guest parking on Coastland Avenue is
a long way from the units at the end of the driveway. Landscaping along the
narrow private driveway is limited to the 5-foot landscape strips between the
driveway and the residences.
The
proposed scale of the homes is also out of character with the existing
neighborhood. The two-story homes
approach 2,900 square feet in contrast to the surrounding homes, which are
primarily single‑story ranch style homes less than 1,500 square feet in
size. Additionally, the expansive,
25-foot wide parking pads designed to accommodate up to three cars lack
adequate landscaping, and are not in character with the surrounding
neighborhood. Apparently no attempt has
been made by the applicant to blend the architectural style and form of the
proposed residences with that found in the existing neighborhood.
Two
proposed residences, labeled Lots 1 and 5 on the conceptual site plan, are
located adjacent to Coastland Avenue.
The residences are set six feet closer to the public right-of-way than
most other residences on the street.
The conceptual house elevations for Lot 5 indicate a very narrow side
façade facing the public street with a porch and entrance that orient only to
the private access driveway. The
project’s internal orientation, incongruous setbacks and building massing
create an isolated enclave that is not well-integrated with the existing
neighborhood.
Planning for Future
Neighborhood Infill Development
The collection of large lots on Coastland Avenue adjacent to
the Guadalupe River is largely developed with single-family residences. Because of the size of these lots, and their
relative underutilization, many are likely candidates for redevelopment at some
point in the future. The subject
proposal has the potential to set a pattern for future development in this
area. A replication of the current
project on other narrow sites along Coastland Avenue would result in a series
of poorly connected enclaves and destroy the public character of this
neighborhood. With careful planning,
this result can be avoided. A superior
alternative design explored by the applicant that includes single-family units
on a public cul-de-sac/half-street, provides an acceptable development pattern
in the near term and allows the possibility of completion of the street if and
when the adjacent site (2174 Coastland Avenue) redevelops. This alternative is discussed in greater
detail below.
The
Riparian Corridor Policy recommends project setbacks of 100 feet from the edge
of the riparian corridor. The Policy states
that buildings, other structures, impervious surfaces, outdoor activity areas
and ornamental landscaped areas should be prohibited in the setback area.
The
project proposes a reduced 75-foot riparian corridor setback from the Guadalupe
River for the following reasons:
Although
the proposal does not provide a full 100-foot setback, staff believes that it
provides a reasonable setback given the provisions of the approved rezoning.
A preferred alternative design for this property that is more reflective of the neighborhood than the subject proposal was developed by the applicant at the request of staff (see attached Project Alternative Plan). This design accommodates a public half-street/cul-de-sac along the southern edge of the site, a 75-foot riparian corridor setback, and up to five dwelling units. The plan shows three units fronting onto the public cul-de-sac and two fronting onto Coastland Avenue. The 39-foot public half street could ultimately be constructed as a full 48 foot ROW when the property to the south redevelops. Currently there are no plans for redevelopment of the adjacent property; however, the alternative design would provide for additional single-family residences facing a full public street/cul-de-sac should that become a possibility in the future. The half street could continue to serve the subject site indefinitely if redevelopment of the adjacent parcel does not occur.
Neighborhood
comments on the alternative plan at the community meeting included two concerns
regarding setbacks. The first raised
concern regarding the project alternative’s proposed five-foot side yard
setback for the house adjacent to the corner lot facing Ardis Drive. (Please note that Ardis Drive is incorrectly
labeled Lincoln Court on the plan sets).
The second comment came from the property owner of the adjacent
residence at 2174 Coastland Avenue and raised a concern that the proposed
public street was too close to the property line. In regard to the first concern, the proposed 5‑foot setback
is a standard side setback in the R-1-8 Zoning District, and therefore, staff
believes that it is appropriate for this site.
In regard to the proximity of the street to the residence at 2174, staff
agrees that 3 feet would provide minimal room for landscaping to buffer the
adjacent residence from the street.
This landscaping could be increased to five feet with minor adjustments
to the interior setbacks, which would be sufficient to accommodate trees. Greater setbacks than 5 feet at either of
these locations would probably require a reduction in the number of units from
five to four.
Overall,
staff feels that the alternative design is superior to the proposed
project. The alternative would
contribute to and reinforce the existing neighborhood street pattern, appropriately
blend the new infill development with the existing neighborhood, accommodate
future infill development on the adjacent lot, and set an appropriate
development pattern for future infill proposals in the neighborhood.
Based
on the above analysis, staff concludes that the proposed project does not
conform to the Residential Design Guidelines, is not compatible with the
surrounding development and will set a poor standard for future development
proposals on similar underutilized properties in the immediate neighborhood and
that the alternative design prepared by the applicant is superior.
Planning staff recommends
that the Planning Commission forward a recommendation to the City Council to
approve the subject rezoning with the following revisions:
1. Incorporate a public half-street cul-de-sac in keeping with the established street pattern in the neighborhood along the southern edge of the property;
2. Plan for up to two lots fronting on Coastland Avenue and up to three lots fronting on the new public street; and
3. Incorporate the attached alternative development standards.
Planing staff recommends that the Planning Commission recommend that the City Council approve the revised rezoning for the following reasons:
1. The rezoning, as conditioned, is consistent with the San José 2020 General Plan.
2. The proposed project, as conditioned, conforms to the Residential Design Guidelines.
3. The proposed rezoning, as conditioned, is compatible with existing and proposed uses on the adjacent and neighboring properties.