 Good evening everyone. We usually start on time, but the commission has been given some correspondence late So as we were a chance to take in all the public comment some of it delivered to us just now as we arrived Good evening everyone, thank you for your patience welcome to the May 16th 2019 regular regular meeting of the City of Santa Cruz planning Commission We'll call the meeting to order and ask for a roll call, please President and Commissioner Greenberg is on her way. She shared with us Are there any statements of disqualification for any of the agenda items tonight? Yes, I don't know if I'm disqualified, but I'm gonna abstain on item number three the 29 and 29 mission street I'm on the board of the Santa Cruz housing authority, which is the owner of the property and While I have no financial interest In order to avoid any perception of bias I'm going to abstain on that item You'll join us for the conversation, but now vote or you will you step out? Conversation, but I will not participate Any others next on our agenda item is next on our agenda is oral communications So we will invite you members of the public. Thank you for coming to Share your comments on anything that is on the agenda and this section is to share your comments with the Commission for Anything that is not on the agenda tonight. So welcome and come up And address the Commission for any anything that falls into that category Seeing none, we'll move to the approval of the minutes and Entertain a motion for approval of the May 2nd meeting I I'm happy to move the minutes, but I did remember I wanted to ask the Commission I As I remember it my motion included dropping the quote generally 15 minutes Language from oral communications to other people remember that I thought that was part it is not reflected in minutes, but I think that was part of my motion So if there's no objection, I'd move the minutes and with that change Second okay all in favor. Hi. Hi. Okay passes unanimously the minutes are approved the next agenda item is consent agenda items two and three But anyone like to pull these items for discussion I just have a question on item number two, which is the DNA Comedy Club of the Steph report mentions that they're going to be security cameras as part of the operation But it doesn't say how many Hours they'll be operating as the intention that they're going to be 24 hour security cameras there or just while it's The club is open. Okay Yeah, we have the applicant and the planner here what I recommend is also seen if there's anybody from the public that wants to Pull any of these and then it'll be up to you as to where you want to put them in the public hearing Schedule and I can certainly address your question if that's all you need to pull it I don't have any problem with the recommendation. I just had that question. So items two and three we will vote as a on consent unless Members of the Commission or members of the public you can pull this if you'd like us to discuss it Otherwise, we'll vote anyone want to pull either of these items 155 River Street South the Comedy Club and 2929 mission the total fitness expansion Come on up to the mic. Come on up to the mic. So everyone can hear you Good evening on Mike Papas and the co-owner of DNA's comedy lab We have eight cameras throughout the lab right now You can see the outside throughout the doors one in each of the theaters that show all the way through into the exits and so there's a total of eight cameras the cameras are on 24-7 and then we are also putting floodlights all around the building. Thank you very much And ours operation On the Genesis 12 to 12, but will be closed before midnight and usually show start around 7th They're about 90 minute shows Okay, all in the consent agenda Okay, all in favor I But I abstain on item number three Opposed so those passed unanimously with Commissioner Schiffer in the staining for the portion Item number three that clean enough When you break it out you can I might have a separate motion on comedy club versus Any of times people make motions and then vote no one Assume that we could make a motion and staying on it as well. You advise us to do otherwise. Okay. That's all right. Sure Okay, okay the next Agenda item is under general business and we have a staff report I believe for the capital improvement program and its consistency with the 2030 general plan Great. Good evening chair commission members. Thank you for having me My name is Sarah Fleming and I am principal planner overseeing the long-range planning and policy team where this topic falls and So I am here today to present to you staff's findings on the 2020 through 2024 capital improvement program and its consistency with our general plan 2030 and recommend recommendation for planning So the reason that we're here is that state law requires that there is a conformance review between the general plan and the capital improvement program each year and What we need to determine is that a project is consistent with this general plan if it will further the objectives and policies of the plan And not obstruct their attainment So the general plan is really the city's blueprint It is the overarching policy document of the city that all of the implementation tools fall under so the policy is set at the general plan level and then the implementation tools such as Specific plans area plans zoning ordinances things of that nature all then enact the policies in this plan So the state mandates I believe now it's eight elements that must be in general plans Jurisdictions can decide if they so choose to add additional elements The city of Santa Cruz has decided to do that. We do have a couple that aren't required here But you can see here We have policies related to topics of housing historic preservation arts and culture Community design land use mobility economic development Civic and community facilities hazards safety and noise parks recreation and open space and natural resources and conservation So when we look at each of these CIP items, we want to look at the conformance with and the consistency with those topics in the general plan so the 2020 to 2024 capital improvement plan or CIP for the Purposes of this analysis we break it into three categories So we have new projects. These are projects that have not yet been analyzed for any sort of consistency So those are the ones we'll be looking at today. We have three that we'll be looking at There's ongoing and carryover projects So as you can see this is a multi-year CIP and so usually these are very large projects that don't get completed in one year And so there are our funding implications over multiple years For these ongoing and carryover projects or in the CIP, you'll see they're referenced as existing projects They've undergone review in a prior year. So we won't be talking about those today and Then any maintenance or improvements to those existing facilities as those maintenance and improvement efforts are ancillary to the original Facility those have been considered to have been reviewed under a previous CIP What do I do? There we go. Okay So now I put together this consistency matrix to try to make it as easy as possible to see what the project is what department It falls under where you can find it in your capital improvement plan document or the draft one that you have now the Selection of related general plan 2030 goals policies and actions related to those projects that would Make them consistent and then whether staff has found and recommends them to be consistent or not So the first one we have here is a Mission Street improvement plan This falls under the Public Works Department umbrella and you can find this on page 67 Although that might be a mis-type. I think it's actually page 66 of your CIP if you have that in front of you and are looking at it and The two main elements that this is covered by would be our mobility element and our Natural resources and conservation element so in mobility we talk about having land use patterned street design and access solutions that facilitate multiple transportation alternatives and we talk about safe sustainable efficient adaptive and accessible transportation system so the Mission Street improvement plan is in our environmental impact report for the general plan itself there are mitigation measures that help mitigate the impacts of the general plan and one of those mitigation measures in the EIR is this Certain intersections to be improved to facilitate on Mission Street to facilitate the the plan general plan growth And so what this plan would do is it would create a coordinated improvement and implementation plan that would then be the overarching document that would guide those improvements and So with that and it looks like here based on the CIP and I'm not the expert on this project But it looks like the improvements are going to be required at Chestnut and King Laurel Bay and Swift and so you can see here in the mobility element We're talking about the land use patterns and sustainable efficient adaptive accessible transportation system Really this type of improvement would allow better navigation of bike and ped activity would allow for better facilitation of Public transit such as buses and so really we are providing and accommodating for multiple transportation modes Implementing ped bike mass transit road system improvements through the CIP so you can see a direct correlation there in terms of the natural resources and conservation goal in our C7 talks about a reduction in energy use and One of the policy or the goals underneath that or the policies underneath that would be to Promote the implementation of a circulation system improvements that can reduce local consumption of fossil fuels And if we're improving our bike ped facilities and improving ways for buses and other transit Alternative transit needs to get through our street navigation our roadways navigate a roadway system. We are Really helping to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels because people are able to use those are alternative modes of transportation much easier So for that reason staff believes that this one is consistent and would recommend That one being found as such by the Commission The next one is the Soquel pine storm drain And this project is to alleviate flooding on Soquel Avenue between Pine and Doyle Street by conducting a 30-inch Constructing a 30-inch pipeline on Pine Street from Soquel Avenue to Broadway and the approximate linear length would be about 1,800 feet and So for this one again, it's public works. You'll find it on page actually 87. Sorry about that of your document and This falls primarily under our civic and community facilities element so our goal CC2 is to have a comprehensive community facilities and services and We want to make sure we're providing those and keeping with the needs of a growing and diverse population and We're seeing that in this area here. There is not a storm drain currently There is flooding and so we need to make that improvement So that's consistent with that goal and then goal CC5 a sustainable and efficient storm water system So we want to maintain clear flows. We want to strive to contain drainage You want to just design the storm drainage system who not cause problems in other basins and reduce storm water pollution? And so staff believes that these two goals and the CIP project are in conformance So the next one is the downtown makes use project This is sits in the economic development department and can be found on believe it or not. It's right page 149 That one's right and so this one hits a few of our Of our general plan elements it falls under housing economic and civic and community facilities And I realized that at the last council meeting I'm sure most of the commissioners know there was a basically a deferral of the starting of this project because council decided to form a Subcommittee of the council that will be looking at some of the previous findings and and determinations made on this garage project And library project and maybe reanalyzing some of those things So this project is not slated to start right away However, it is still in the CIP so we do want to make the consistency findings even though it might not start right away if at all So okay, so the first one we have the housing element The downtown makes use project. I guess I can read to you what this says It's early early phase design and development of the downtown makes use project to include library Parking housing and commercial uses on the city owned parking lot for so that's the one at Cathcart And so housing and adequate diversity and housing types and affordability levels to accommodate present and future housing needs of Santa Cruz residence And one of the policies under that goal is to concentrate new housing in the central core As well as along major commercial corridors and on major opportunity sites consistent with the land use element Goal number two is increased and protected supply of housing affordable to extremely low very low and moderate income households and This project as currently proposed would provide affordable housing and so for that reason Staff feels that it is in compliance with that goal and then goal six fulfill the city's housing needs while promoting an environmentally sustainable compact community with clearly defined urban boundaries and One of the policies under there is to promote transit oriented mixed-use residential developments that are close to services so developing on that site is infill development and that would Allow us to And instead of building out in our green belts or in other areas kind of concentrate that development in the in the urban core and allow a better use of Of the site that then currently the parking lots that's there now and it's close to services And will help people be able to walk more as opposed to use their cars So that's the housing items economic development a vibrant and regional economic center That could be determined to be our downtown and so really there you're talking about encouraging the development of year-round businesses and visitor activities that can attract and engage local residents as well as tourists Implement transportation parking an alternative transportation improvements consistent with circulation planning and providing a variety of parking resources to support a diverse retail base and so The other the next one in ED is diverse and dynamic business districts so we wanted to have a downtown as a Welcome and inviting destination for residents and create distinctive and active pedestrian environments downtown so based on the plans as Kind of currently discussed for the downtown mixed-use project staff It feels that these are in compliance with general plan and then finally civic and community facilities We want to have excellent educational opportunities and resources for our residents and visitors and one of the key points of that is to make all library buildings accessible to the physically disadvantaged and the elderly and Any new improvements that would be made on that site related to the library would be top of the line in terms of ADA access and resources for the community So with that staff is evaluated the new projects in the current draft CIP and we've determined that they're consistent with a general plan and We recommend that the planning commission by motion make the following finding That the planning commission finds that the city of Santa Cruz 2020 through 2024 capital improvement plan is consistent with the city's 2030 general plan and I think actually that's to say capital improvement program is consistent with the general plan And I'm here for any questions you have related to consistency Happy to answer if I can thank you. Thank you Questions for staff Decides what projects are in the CIP That's a great question. So there is a it's a pretty iterative process At the beginning of the fiscal or the development of the new CIP I think a lot of projects get thrown into the bucket and for requests not everything gets funded and It depends on which fund did the money with the project is slated to come out of how much money's in that fund What's already in the queue and I know that public works especially has a host of other kind of Prioritization procedures that they put in for their specific projects, but really at the end of the day It's it's based on a number of factors. What is the role of the city council in the approval of projects in the CIP? So this has to happen before the city council adopts the CIP and that's done as a part of their budget adoption process So it will go forward along with the budget, which is being discussed now. There was a meeting Couple of weeks ago, and there will be several more budget meetings and this is part of that process Does the city council have the legal authority to change projects in the CIP? It's probably within their purview I'm not the expert, but I would assume that that is and I would expect that that's within their purview so essentially the CIP represents the city city council's decision on what projects they'd like to do over the next Three years or future years based on recommendations coming from the staff I would say that can repeat that because I I had a thought but then I lost it with the last part of what you said so staff recommends a CIP and ultimately it's approved by the city council and the city council as The elected decision makers for the city has the ability to amend the CIP if it wishes to Yeah, sure sure. I mean the the council is the The decision-making body for the city So if they adopt it so say in previous years, there's previously adopted CIP's that staff is currently working on That that is direction to staff to work on those projects if they want to change that that is absolutely their prerogative so if they change They're a decision about a project that has been in the CIP would it follow that it might make sense to amend the CIP To reflect the council decision I'm not sure that I understand your question. Can you provide an example? Yes, I'll provide the example That's before us the mixtree's project sure as you said on Tuesday the council Decided to put that project on hold. That's correct. Yeah, look at alternatives. Yep as I think the commission knows and Your staff knows the project that's in the CIP has been quite controversial Absolutely, so one of the reasons I think the council decided to put it on hold was to give a chance to look at a Range of alternatives the mixtree project may show up at the end. It may not that's correct But it seems to me that that for that process to have integrity the process of looking at alternatives the city shouldn't be adopting a document that Proposes that the the project that's been put on hold so I I guess that's where I'm heading That it might make more sense given the council's decision to Maybe reword the project description at this time What we know is going to happen is it going to be a library project What's going to go along with it will come after the council makes its Decisions sure and so I just I'm concerned that a process that's starting has integrity and The the city isn't sending a mixed message That on the one hand they're going to take a fresh look at the alternatives But at the other hand the CRP is proposing a project that the council has put on okay I hear what you're saying. I appreciate your viewpoint at this point when we bring this forward This is the current most current CIP that we have and so when we when I bring this forward to you I am basing this on the CIP that is in place currently right now the draft That's why you're seeing it on here if council when they move to finally adopt this want to make changes to it That's absolutely their prerogative that is not Under our purview Being staff or the planning commissions purview And so the reason that we have it before you now is because it is currently in the draft CIP that will be going to council And so it's the responsibility of the planning commission to take a look at that and determine if they feel like it's in conformance With the general plan if they don't they can recommend that it's not but at the end of the day It's the council's responsibility to decide if they want that to move forward or not So am I understanding you correctly that the count the commission's purview is not to follow the directions of the city council That is not what I said The commission's purview is to take a look at the draft CIP that is the current draft that the city has now the city has Not changed that draft the finance that there's been no changes to the CIP draft And so your responsibility is to look at that CIP draft and say this version that is in place now is either in conformance Or not in conformance for the general plan You're welcome Christian Iter assistant director of public works and to clarify it's a process They're starting so they haven't changed the project description yet at the end of the process they may The CIP is a five-year Living document it'll change when they adopt the CIP. They really only adopt the first year and That's shown as you know with the budget the following four years or more Concept in a way, and it is your responsibility to see if all those concepts are within You know the city's general plan So are you saying that the council didn't decide to put the mixed-use project on hold? Well, they may but they haven't Work on the project staff won't be working on the project if they put it on hold, but they haven't changed the project yet No, they haven't right decide to go forward with the project exactly Aware of what the council how they're acting on different projects and if the project Is on hold staff's gonna put resources towards that project until a decision is made on what the ultimate project is gonna be Other than providing information the council as needed. Thank you, Chris Any other questions for staff before we hear from the public? So we invite the public to address the Commission on this we'll just be receiving the update from staff That's about all we'll do is receive the staff report and discuss it We welcome you to address the Commission on this anyone like to address the Commission Commissioner Schifrin we're doing more than receiving it we're the recommendation is that the Planning Commission find that the 20 to 20 2024 20 20 24 proposed CIP is consistent with the general plan. So thank you. Thank you for that correction Thank you for that correction with that correction with any member of the public like to address the Commission So it's back to us for a discussion or a motion Sure Greenberg. So my sense is that this the Proposed project that's in question that has been put on hold It could be that It's ultimately adopted or it could be that it's completely transformed into something else but the draft of the Proposal for it Is that consistent with the general plan or not is the question before us whether or not it's ultimately Changed, right? So I don't know what the concern is exactly Mr. Schifrin Be in a CIP For a project to be in the CIP. It's a city commitment to do the project That's why it's in the CIP if the city wasn't committed to do the project that wouldn't be in the CIP CIP tries to schedule projects that the city is determined to do over a period of time and Certainly things can change in future years But it represents that in the particular year what the city's commitments are and what projects the city would like to do and so my concern is in a In a That's in a context where there's strong feelings on All sides and the council has decided in response to those feelings that it wants to Take a fresh look at what the options are and put the Project that staff in good faith that's it is I'm not denying it is the project that the that the council had this had Decided to go forward with but they're now Gonna put it on hold and take a fresh look and I'm just concerned that by including it in the CIP It's going to look like This means that the council is intent that the city is intending to do this project And I think at this point given the council's action on Tuesday. That's not an appropriate An appropriate project to as defined an appropriate project to be in the CIP So from my perspective if the project was defined as a downtown library project That certainly represents where the council is at this time where the city is at this time I think that's what should be in the CIP Mr. Conway I Was just gonna say that I I Don't feel that a consistency finding a recommendation for it from us We don't have authority to decide whether the project goes or not and I think we are We have a role in the process right now. The CIP is a very large document It is a living document and it changes from Within every year It's constantly being reassessed I have no doubt that the way that this ends up. This is not a funding recommendation It's not a go or no go recommendation in any way that isn't in our it's not our job So I I feel fine moving the staff recommendation to For the consistency findings, it's your motion. Is there a second second? Commissioner Conway's move the staff recommendation and Commissioner Nielsen second is there any discussion? I would like to Move to amend the motion on the floor to change your description of the project on the downtown mixed use project project to state early phase design development of a downtown library Through the chair if I may Respectfully Commissioner Schifrin that is not within the role or the purview of the planning Commission to make those changes So you're saying that Commission either can decide that it's consistent with the CIP has written is consistent But it can make no recommendation no recommended changes You could make a recommendation of changes But if I heard your motion correctly, it sounded like you were recommend You were making a motion to make the change and that is not within the authority of the planning Commission If you'd like to make a motion to make a recommendation not clear that would probably be more appropriate I'd make my motion to amend would be to Recommend that this project description for the mixed use project be changed to Early phase design and development of the downtown library So there is a motion on the floor I'm making a motion to amend the motion on the floor Not a friendly amendment, but a motion to amend well, it could be friendly if she'd accept it, but I don't think she will what are you offering What are you are you offering? Are you asking offering a friendly amendment? Are you making a motion to amend? I'm making a motion to amend the motion on the floor if I get a second Then that gets voted on first if it passes the motion on the floor change it if it fails the motion Doesn't Is there a second see if I understand correctly so Commissioners different so you Feel that if this amendment were if this were to be added it would your concern is about the appearance of our Decision that this is consistent with the general plan that that might appear that we were as a commission endorsing a Final product as opposed to an early design stage of the product of the project Well in a way, yes what What's being proposed here is a project that from my perspective is currently inconsistent with council action and also Sends a message that the city is still committed to a very controversial project that the council has put on hold So my recommendation in this amended motion, and I thank staff for correcting me is that that be Change to be clear that at this in this CIP this year that there would not be a Project to have a mixed-juice development as defined in the CIP before us because it doesn't represent where the council is and I think it does send An inappropriate message to the public about what the city's position is on this project Is there a second to the motion to amend That fails without a second is there any discussion of the original motion All in favor hi hi hi hi all opposed no So the met motion passes six one with commissioner Schifrin voting against other commissioners voting for and That moves us on to the public hearing Next is a general item five nine one four and nine one six Seabright Avenue. We have a staff presentation Yeah, Mike ferry will be giving the staff presentation this evening He's a product on this application and they'll need a minute here to get set up evening commissioners chair So this project was one of the Might have been the first project where we had a community meeting Unity outreach meeting we had it at the Pacific Cultural Center. It was last fall. We had about 35 people show up We start those meetings off kind of describing the city's role. So, you know, I explain the Entitlement process and when the public would be able to attend public hearings and express their views We also had some design changes that we announced at that meeting that we wanted to see one was that we thought that the Unit closest to Seabright should face Seabright we also thought that the Guest parking spaces could be put in the back of the development instead of right in front, which the original plan had We did discuss with the applicant about pedestrian access from Sumner Street through the development on to Seabright So all of those concerns were addressed by the applicant's letter I attached that to your staff report The other item that was pretty consistent with the neighborhood at that meeting was that the building was too tall It didn't fit into the neighborhood and there was fear that the Folks on Sumner Street would inherit people from this new development parking on their street and then walking into the development So that letter from the applicant in response to those is attached to your staff report So the project sites a little over 21,000 square feet. It's outside of the Seabright Area plan just north of it about a block north It's in what's called the I think it's called the north Seabright area The site was mapped as an archaeology archaeological sensitive Area and we had an archaeologist go out and take a look and the report came back negative There was also some comments at the community meeting that perhaps the houses were historic and they could be maintained and somehow built into this development. We had a historic report done and Result of that report was neither of them were historic or notable in architecture and for sequel purposes. They could be removed So the general plan designation for the property is low medium residential that looks for Something between 10 and 20 dwelling units per acre and this proposal is coming in at eight point 18.4 per acre The higher end of the density is what we have been aiming at for the last seven or eight or nine years and I've got for the general plan policies noted in the staff report that Direct us to go for the higher end of the density and that's if there's not Environmental resources at stake on the property and that's the case and in this development Based on seven seven general plan policies that I listed in the staff report and for additional Policies from the active transportation plan. We've included a condition that does allow public access Through that sidewalk area from Sumner to Seabright and back and I've got some slides where I'll go over all of this The frontage improvements that will be required is a 24 foot recessed parking bay on the Seabright side will be a New driveway entrance on both Seabright and Sumner that meet ADA requirements will be a streetlight out there on Seabright This project requires 1.3 units to be designated as Affordable at 80% of the area median income and that the applicant pay the point three five percent of that as an in-loop fee So the homes are three stories they range in size from about 2,000 to 2200 square feet. They've each got a two-car garage Small backyard area. They've got A balcony area it meets all the RL zone district standards. They're not asking for exceptions or variances We did have an issue with the massing of the building from the original Set of plans that came into today So we've put a condition of approval in there that tries to break up the massing of the building by the use of different materials Maybe paint colors that sort of thing So I'll take you through the pictures So this is the area it's You know right in the middle of the Seabright the actual little Seabright area plan ends right here on Clinton Street So they're outside of that with those really specific guidelines The general plan is a low-medium residential and you can see this whole area Around here is the same. These are r1 5 zone districts But this is our RL, which is the multiple residential low density So you can see that from the aerial that there's looks like there's three units on this Property it looks like there's two here There's two units two units two units surrounded by multiple residential developments This is the front of the house that's going to be demolished from Seabright Avenue House just to the north is about two and a half stories. I don't know what the height is And then going over to Sumner. This is the Deedit access or the legal access that this property has on Sumner You can see the house Right to the right single story House to the north is single story a pretty good distance away from where this developmental be And then Kind of looking around to the east in that cul-de-sac we can see two stories in the neighborhood two stories right on the street But then on the rest of the street going north those were all single families So this is the site plan all the traffic will enter and exit off of this driveway onto Seabright There's going to be a locked Gate at this side and they'll include a knockbox type of a device so that fire and the trash truck Can get through there, but no other private vehicles will be able to enter and exit on that site that's the pedestrian walkway that we've been talking about Since since the original plans came in there's some ADA ramping and guardrails that doesn't show up on Some of the elevations that I'll show you in a minute. So I think maybe the Archicatec can talk about that you can see the the rear backyard areas They're 10 feet deep there's second floor balconies that provide the private Open space so they exceed the required 400 square feet of open space by about 90 feet per unit They meet all the RL zone district standards the front yard setback The rear yard setback is the requirement is 10 feet looks like they're about 18 feet from the rear property line We did ask for some enhanced landscaping When we first got this so They're putting as much as they can up in the front again that ramping is going to take away a lot of opportunity they've got a Landscape strip that's I think it's three feet if I remember They've got a lot of shrubs. They've got climbing vines. They'll be a new six-foot tall redwood fence And then this is a planting area that is now In an area where the guest parking is required So these folks are required to have two parking spaces per unit and then two guest parking spaces for each of the four units So one one one for four. Sorry sorry So the ground floor on all of the units except the front one is pretty much the same. There's an entry There's a bathroom a bedroom stairs up to the first floor. They reoriented this unit one so that the front door is facing out on seabright The second floor is the living area with a kitchen family room that sort of thing half bath And then the third floor contains two bedrooms. They each have a bath. They each have closets. There's a laundry area built into that And the elevations So this is the seabright unit one is on the seabright elevation and you can it used to have a Front porch kind of a setup over here. So that's been rotated around in the front doors been rotate it to meet seabright This would be the unit that was on the east side the farthest on the east side Rear elevations pretty much the same thing Except you've got these balcony areas that break that look up a little bit. And then this is the Sumner side unit nine So they've got cement plaster walls on the ground floor that got this hardy shingle siting On the second and third and then comp roof material on the top So so the I Spelled it out in the staff report the way we measure height. So the city has always done that they use average heights and average grades and When you come in at a 30 foot height The peak of the roof is higher than that quite often. So in this instance we The 30 feet average height the peak of the roof here is 36 feet So this is facing seabright and this is facing Sumner same thing 30 and 36 so I asked Because one of the planning commissioners has consistently asked for These perspectives and it didn't come out quite the way. I was expecting it. So I kind of what can walk you through it This is the proposed house the adjacent lot to the south has one of those three units is a Looks like a garage from the front. I didn't walk around in there But that's the closest unit and then the two-story that that's to the north. I showed you the picture of That's the distance that it's located Away from this house and then on the Sumner side, that's even trickier because it's cul-de-sac So this is a garage in the back of a unit on Clinton Street And this is the adjacent single story that I showed you that was kind of that green color house And then this is the house to the north. So there's a bit of a separation between those I Don't know off the top of my head. I'm gonna invite the public to address the commission in a moment. So please let staff make their presentation so We got a shadow study today You can see that the shadow doesn't leave the site on the longest day of the year on the shortest day of the year at 2 p.m The shadow does go to the adjacent site That's December 21st, and on December 21st at 10 a.m. It's going over to the side a little bit So that's going to be the extreme Day of the year so I drove up and down the street today and I Took the pictures in the staff report. I talked about some of the other developments that have been approved that are newer maybe in the last 15 years along Sebride Avenue, and I Kind of described to where they were, but these are the pictures. So this particular Developments the average height is 28 feet and the peak of the roof is 35 feet One right next to it Is 28 feet for an average height the peak of that roof is 30 feet It's a shot of those two together. I forget the exact dates that those were built probably 2010-ish I guess So the recent development is called the breakers The average roof height there is 29.5 feet 29 and a half feet and the peak of the roof in this Development is 33 feet and then this development I don't know when When that was constructed was it ten years ago, maybe it was completed about 2009 So the average height here is 26 and a half feet and the peak of the roof is 30 feet This lot slopes down off of Sebride So this is a rendition of what the development will look like you've got the front porch in the front door So the ADA ramp and guardrails doesn't show up in here and another thing that's not Really clear is that the elevation at the sidewalk and the difference between the elevation at the sidewalk and the finished first floor Is about four feet so the finished first floor is four feet higher higher than the sidewalk so We had some pointed questions about the demolition permit We do regulate demolition The purpose is to maintain affordable housing opportunities to protect low and moderate income tenants Both of these we've got two different demolition permit processes and both require income verification if you can't do that which is often the case because The folks just don't want to go through the paperwork that they have to pay to go through to verify their income Then we assume that it's low or moderate tenants so the two demo categories that we have are the easy one which is for a single family or a duplex that was the Findings that I gave you in your staff report was for a single family in a duplex So we started to get some questions about that and then I turned to the page from the single family duplex to multi unit demolition and this is Considered multi demolition even though it's a single family and a duplex the multi demolition is talks about three or more units so when that happens you have to Not only do relocation assessment assistance, but replacing the housing requirements kick in so what I handed out to you today that set of of Findings is a revised set of findings That has the correct demolition Findings attached to it all the other findings are exactly the same. So it's just the demo findings that have changed 20 20 onward Sorry conditions 20 for 20 20 21 22 their findings numbers and Ironically, I don't have it in front of me Yeah, so it begins with finding number 20. So basically We've rewritten the findings so that this application will be consistent with not only 1350 but 1390 and that is what covers the replacement Housing and I'm going to walk you through like a worst-case scenario on what this means With this project So replacement housing requirements in this zone district 50% of the units have to be replaced and that can be done as a bedroom count So we haven't walked through the existing units yet, but we're told that there's four bedrooms a Total of four bedrooms, which means they're going to have to replace two of these Bedrooms 50% of those All the units that are being proposed are three bedroom units One of them is going to be an affordable unit and the stimulation Allows you to use the affordable unit for the bedroom replacement unit as long as it's being rented So we did speak briefly with the applicant tonight and the intention is to rent the units and he says that the property owners may rent it Always if they sell one of the units that affordable unit becomes the affordable unit and two replacement bedrooms have to be provided They can't pay an in lieu fee for more than 50% of them So somewhere on the site or off-site the bedroom replacement will have to occur according to our regulations According to the revised findings that we have So I understand this is a complicated Last minute thing I'm apologize for throwing that in that was just all all my fault The plan maximizes infill density or surrounded by green builds we've got Recommended conditions of approval that require that pedestrian easement We've got conditions to further break up the massing with color and different materials We've got a condition in there to enlarge some of the little landscape planners so that we can get more specimen type trees in front of the garage So I think with those findings and Some of those conditions We can make a findings to support the design permit. So we're recommending that the Commission recommend to the city council Acknowledgement of the environmental determination and approval of the tentative map design permit and the residential demo authorization. I Did get I'm pretty sure I got 17 letters in opposition Be off one or two 17 and what was the last 17 letters in opposition of the project primarily based on the design No other Comments from the public other than all the letters and I'm assuming that you got them all So that concludes the presentation. Okay, at this time, I'd like to invite the applicant to address the Commission Commissioner I'm Derek Van Allstein. I represent Derek Van Allstein residential design is the staff architect Did you make sure that you're leaning into the mic sir? Is that better? I Think I'll reserve at least some of my comments to responding to public comments We've been through this has been a long process for us It's been after we had the initial meeting with public We went through a major revision Reduce the size of the building Move the parking to the rear So that we've been through a number of major revisions Which is why some of these pieces aren't exactly accurate and I apologize for that but Each one of these representations is represents quite a bit of work We're happy to work with the neighborhood We actually had a good time at the meeting And it was good to meet all of the neighbors. We're a neighbor. We our offices right up the street I've been in Santa Cruz since 1968. So I feel a Resonance with with the neighbors I and I and I understand Their positions and I understand that See bright is a is it is a tight neighborhood and the and the street is not large It's not there's not a lot of width and in the street. So I Understand all those comments. We're trying to try to respond in the best way possible to Work with the neighborhood and work with with staff staffs been terrific But we've been through a number of iterations to get to where we are today There there are no asks for this project We designed it to to conform to all the regulations to conform with the general plan and to conform totally with the zoning regulations and We're still glad to work with with the city and work with Neighbors to make us the best project that it can be and be good neighbors So with that, I'd like to read just reserve some time at the end and I'd be glad to respond to Whatever comments arise. Thank you Are there questions for staff before we go to public comment? You have a question on the replacement housing. So just to clarify it is two Bedroom rental bedroom units that have to be provided essentially if it's sold at some point Right, they would still be on the hook to provide two rental units Is that gonna be on that would be within the project, how does that work exactly? Yeah, it would be it would be a second unit So while the while the developments being rented the Inclusionary unit can serve as the replacement housing unit If and when they go to sell the condominiums or townhouses We can no longer double dip so there's a for sale inclusionary unit and then the rental Replacement housing unit so it would go to two units essentially if they sell and again their only option is on-site it would be a Yeah, there's the code does allow for off-site housing. We you know, we've done it before For a development this small, I don't know that it's feasible, but the code would allow something like that Mr. Conway, yeah, I'm just confused I'm sorry. No So this is this is why I hate these mapped rentals. I just think it should be around Never mind that's beside the point totally get to do it But I don't understand this because if a project so it's mapped But it's serving as a rental project once you sell the first unit you file with the state You're often going then it's a for sale project You so are you suggesting that the deed restricted inclusionary unit is sold as an affordable unit and that somehow the Owner retains one unit and and that serves as a rental Right, right now. They've they're providing the deed restricted for sale unit. They've paid their their fractional fee and They retain ownership of one unit and rented at an affordable rate Perpetuity suppose they could in theory sell it to somebody else, but it cannot be owner occupied it needs to be rented as As an affordable unit and also keep in mind. This is this is a worst-case scenario. I mean we're This scenario operates under the assumption that all of those units are occupied by lower moderate income families I mean there could be a scenario where we go through the income verification process and it turns out that They aren't lower moderate income Households and then these replacement housings Requirements would not apply. So we're just we're just sort of giving you what a worst case Would look like worst case for the applicant didn't you because you didn't get those tenants to go through the Income verification process you're defaulting to assume. They are lower income. So that yeah Throw it out there. I mean we have a sort of a blanket condition that would cover that scenario So you will go through and come you know and this does need to go to council and We would like to get this issue wrapped up before it does go to council so that we're firm on On you know exactly what we're talking about But you're asking us to consider worst case and whether we were we were giving you the worst You know the you know the assumption that all the units are occupied and what what that would look like in terms of affordability Okay I'm sorry. I didn't make clear. We'll invite you up after you can have a seat and we'll invite you up after the Public comment. Thank you. Are there questions for staff commissioner singleton and then commissioner neilson Yeah, I have a couple questions related to traffic so in the staff report it says The nine units is going to generate approximately 57 net new daily trips and i'm assuming that's along sea bright avenue Or just car trips out of Yeah, they're all going to come in and out of sea bright. Okay, and do you happen to know what the current daily car account is on sea bright avenue? No idea Chris is here You have the public works directors or assistant director Schneider assistant director public works. It's approximately 15,000 vehicles a day 15,000. Yes, so it's in our city arterial street. Okay So this is Significantly less than 1% increase in daily car traffic Even during peak hours, I imagine that's correct. That's a 24-hour period Yes, 24-hour period Yeah, thank you Mr. Nielsen in terms of the The the pedestrian path that goes from I believe that's Sumner Sumner to um See bright was that a was that requested by the community or was that I mean in the beginning process? Just curious. Well, it was the way the plans were drawn is there was a gate over that It allowed It was an emergency access gate and it covered the walkway. So there wouldn't have been pedestrian access Our condition requires that they provide it, but there but that's what's being proposed is pedestrian access through there Is it is a public? Pedestrian access going through the site. No, it's going to be a private property and what we're doing is Trying to allow public access through the site That was when you say public access you just mean for emergency emergency vehicle access pedestrians From the public there will be emergency vehicle access If needed, but the the the condition that we're suggesting is for pedestrian access through the site And that came from city staff We looked at that's a pretty big block And we felt there's a number of general plan policies It would support something like that since it it's a lot that goes through two streets and there's A lot of neighborhood commercial serving uses to the south So the the recommendation based on those general plan policies was for that public access um and So it's open it's it will it's open to the public so anybody can can cross through there is what okay, and um One of the drawings I saw it didn't it looked like there was an auto gate that's there that will be locked But it didn't appear that there was a Like a gate for the public to get through and and that path looked like it was actually stopped at that Auto gate, so that's how the plans are drawn How do I mean how how is that access happening then? They're gonna have to revise the gate so that it allows pedestrian access right here So we don't want we don't want it to be a vehicle shortcut But we do want pedestrians to be able to use it. Okay, it says about a thousand feet. I think If you live on Sumner here instead of walking all the way up the block and down I think I measured that and it was about a thousand feet So that could be the difference between jumping in a car and just walking down to the commercial areas okay And then the other question I have is Was it required by the city or by by staff to um To provide this material articulation and changes the material on on the project Because it doesn't appear that that's really has happened In the drawing so i'm just curious it seemed like it was a requirement within It was a request possibly from the public During that initial Meeting but that also looked like it was a requirement from staff, but I haven't seen that On these drawings so either of I that's that's why we added that condition of approval okay So then the So then it will be It's going to be up to what point do you review that when are you going to get that information and when do you expect to Be reviewing that depends on what happens tonight if you approve it with that condition then it would be up to us I suppose you could continue it and ask to see the changes We've also done as you recall on a couple of the larger downtown projects We've also had planning commission subcommittees to look at some of the details I think at that moment. Thank you. Are there questions before we go to commissioner shifrin? I want to clarify the commission's action We're essentially making a recommendation to the council. This will automatically go to the council because there's a tentative map Is that yes, is my understanding correct? Okay, um, were there any heritage trees on the site? No, there were trees in the back Area, I couldn't determine whether they were heritage trees or not, but there seem to be some Feeds back there. Yeah, that would that's a required That's required as part of the tentative map so I didn't see any on the tentative map Any other questions So we'll now invite the members of the public to address the commission on this Could you raise your hand if you'd like to address us? I can get a sense of how many okay Based on that We'll let everyone speak for three minutes each and we invite you to Line up on the right side of the room if everyone would line up It helps facilitate the the meeting flow and sign your name on the on the sign in please and address the commission with your name if you're willing Everyone will have three minutes to speak and the lights in front of you will go from green and then yellow when you're near the end and then It'll be it'll turn red when you're done and it'll beep so I will invite you to please stop then I hate to be rude, but we try to keep things going and balance receiving your input with also keeping the meeting going We'll ask everyone to be quiet while you are speaking and then we'll ask you To please be quiet when others are speaking Including even if you agree with folks don't cheer because imagine if you're the dissenting Voice amongst a bunch of folks who don't agree with you you might feel stifled Then you won't share your opinion and we want I hope you agree. We want all opinions to be heard tonight So please be silent while others are speaking And they'll be silent when you're speaking You ready to us So we'll open the public hearing welcome. Thank you Good evening commissioners. My name is scott haremann. I am a local resident. I live on windom just around the corner I wanted to take a few moments and I'll be daring and be the first person to speak So to start with I will tell you that I am not against development I'm a retired city planner and I've seen lots of development throughout my 30 year career What i'm here to do is suggest some possible design modifications to better integrate with the neighbor In addition, I'm really quite familiar with the work of the van allstein group and they have done some incredibly wonderful projects in our neighborhood So I'm not I'm not against the development team too because they're local and they do a great job What I am here to do is to tell you about our neighborhood Here's an area of it. It's a predominantly context the smaller building masses individual building footprints There's some unique architecture and the characteristics of the community There are trees of scale throughout the neighborhood. There are larger buildings have room for larger trees We've also seen some new buildings with increased heights and density So we're familiar with the development occurring in our yard in our neighborhood What I'm here to do is I have six suggestions and these are in the order that I believe are of importance The first one is breaking the building into two smaller pieces or two pieces I'm not suggesting they lose density. We understand that density is very important these days But you can break the buildings up without losing density. So with or without density loss Provide additional large scale trees reduce the building heights improve access to the rear yards for the units Improve the driveway surface material and eliminate planter strips in the driveway This is the the elevation as it currently shows it's it's one long unbroken elevation The building spans from the front to the rear with uninterrupted Building building mass there are minimal opportunities for trees of scale and there are two guest parking stalls This is not a development pattern that that really transfers Well the other sites because if you fill the entirety of your site within the building envelope with building It doesn't provide much room to do much else with it. So we would say that this is not a good building pattern to transfer Here's what we're suggesting for the building mass I've taken the elevations that they the applicant has shown And I've broken it up into two pieces. So there are there are eight These are the same width buildings and so we've got a more this is more consistent with the neighborhood It adds room in the middle of the building for larger scale trees It adds more end units which have greater Light and visit light and air and it may provide areas for additional guest parking as you can see in between there This is a photo montage that they've provided they have left out the trees in the front However, they didn't include the ramping as as Mike talked about She's I'm sorry. Thank you for your comments. Thank you. I have provided you all of my comments On this and we recommend that any recommendation you make to city council include those recommendations. Thank you for your time. Thank you welcome Guys it's a back to follow So sorry, I had a little outburst earlier and I just want to apologize for that So I am the person on clinton that the garage you speak of is there So I I'm just interested in what the easement is going to be there As far as I've actually talked to the surveyor that did that That did it the survey and he did a survey on my property And that garage is actually only two feet set back from my property to the property line where this is going to come to so I'm just wondering how far back this is going to be and then The only thing I really want to add and I'm sure everyone else is going to add is this parking situation is going to be absurd Because there's no room to park In front of the garage and this is santicors and people don't park in the garage So you're going to have 20 cars out on Sumner And I know people that live on Sumner and they're really worried about it And then when you get to windham I've lived on Glenview street, which is right down the road windham If there's two cars coming together One of them has to pull over just so the other one can pass and that's going to be the access point from Sumner And then see bright. I know that block as well. There's never any parking right there So it's so parking is a real real worry for this place So I just want to put that out there for you guys And I'm going to give up the rest of my minute in 30 seconds Thank you For your benefit and for everyone else. I should have shared It doesn't it's not going to feel like a dialogue because we won't have a conversation with you But I offer your questions however you would and then in our discussion. We'll aim to address them. Okay Just one other thing is as far as I know So I had it I got a flight that said they were going to make it 36 feet tall And as far as I knew with a residential you can't go that high in santicruze county I always thought uh, I'm I'm a building contractor and as far as I know you can only go 29 feet so um That's going to be I'm not sure how that works But and once again, you know, I'm all for development and I'm for them developing this and for you guys developing this It just seems like it's a real high impact with absolutely no room for open space zero Thank you welcome My name is sage and I live on five two seven summoner street with the Rainbow colored chicken coop that you saw on the slide Um, I'm I'm pretty devastated by this plan. It feels like motel six is moving right next door to me Uh, it is a huge block 36 feet tall We were told 30 feet tall and I think there was some assumption that we would know At that public meeting that 30 feet tall didn't actually mean 30 feet tall And that was upsetting to me because I didn't know three stories at that time So I just found out this past week. No, we're going to be looking at 36 feet of building because my house Isn't it doesn't face summoner street. It is actually turned to the side. So my living room window my bedroom Double doors are all going to be looking at this building That's just my personal problem. I am kind of offended by this project This is in no way meeting the housing plans Request for affordable housing these units are very large each bedroom has its own bathroom There is no way these are going to be affordable These are going to be my guess is rented for $5,000 a month at least maybe more The units that he was showing you the examples of rent for $4,600 a month They are smaller and and so you do the math. Okay two bedroom garage I mean two car garage for three bedrooms in a unit in units that Either very well to do college students will be renting which means they'll have six seven kids per unit Or silicon valley vacationers, right? If it's them, okay, they won't need more parking But if it's six seven college students, where are they going to put their cars? It seems like a stupid thing to care about but I have to park on wind them fairly regularly with uh summer street is completely packed at night So this is actually a living problem for us and what the other guy said about wind them I come out of summer every day and I have to like try to make sure that I can get out You can't it's a very narrow street. Okay. I don't even want to focus on that. I am also pro development I think we have a terrible housing problem here and I was I've always known that this lot would eventually be developed It's just the way this is happening is not in keeping with All the outcry and Santa Cruz and all the need that we have We've I've lost three good friends families who've had to leave the area because they can't afford to be here and these units are Going to be out of most people's reach. Okay. Um, I am there's been For me, there's been some misinformation. I was told that uh, we would not be shaded I think my partner's going to talk about that more It looks to me like not just December 21st or 30 whatever that date was the solstice or something But for many months of the year, my property is going to be in some deep shade a good amount of my property I don't understand that Disconnect there. Anyway, I would last thing I want to say is There's a lot of things you don't understand if you don't go and see our neighborhood So I really would ask all of you To drive over and walk around and take a look at what is there and what this is going to do to us Thank you for your comments Welcome Hey, my name is Catherine Norton. I live on james street, which is just um across from this development So i'm opposed with this development at seabright avenue because it would detract from the neighborhood feeling of seabright and want to impose upon the numerous small bungalows that currently reside there I live in a 1500 sorry 1400 square foot house. So this is significantly bigger The addition of this many units would add to the congestion of seabright And as a resident of james street, I am well aware of the amount of cars that back up onto seabright on a daily basis I also commute from san jose. So I understand at the end of the day people are very frustrated and they just want to get home The addition of a nine unit development would bring exponentially more traffic Not only to seabright, but to the surrounding streets as well Oftentimes cars race down my small wind block street trying to avoid traffic making it a dangerous for my students my children to play outside Seabright avenue is not safe for bicyclists and the sidewalks are not safe for pedestrians There's limited parking almost no crosswalks and the sidewalks are in poor condition The proposed development would compound parking problems and congestion To echo some of the other comments parking for this development is a big concern as people don't typically park in their garages And guest parking is very limited. I understand the need for more housing and sander cruise However, packing in a nine unit development on this property seems careless and unnecessary. Thank you Thank you for your comments Welcome My name is fred erin. I live at five two seven summer with sage there. We're facing this new development And uh during the public Meeting we had previously it was discussed about the shading. Um, we were told that it wasn't going to shade our property We went ahead and designed a Additional dwelling unit. We're going to have solar panels that are five feet and the set back from that fence and Given the shading that it looked like I couldn't really tell us from there It looks like it would be covering up now the solar panels that we were going to install On that side. So, um, we were told it was 30 feet and I always thought oh 30 feet is going to be okay We're the sun's not going to bother it. But now we're near 36 and we see the shading results. It looks like Uh, we're not going to be able to put in solar panels On our additional dwelling unit. I just also wanted to say about the public meeting we had there was a lot of Pushback against the pedestrian access mostly for the same reason that everyone's been talking about is that We're worried that it's going to lead to more parking on people parking their cars in the summer and just walking into their houses or guests doing that and Just like everybody else here I have to park a block away from my own house and often because we don't have any on-site parking So, um, I'm definitely concerned about that as well and uh It's uh, just like everyone else has said too. It's it is a very large. It's just a single just Big building that doesn't fit in with the neighborhood at all Those trip for that reason as well Thank you. Thank you for your comments welcome Good evening. My name is gail jack and I'm with the affordable housing now Task force in the city of santa cruz Um, I I think uh, I hear what the neighbors are saying. I don't live that close to this site But I think the project is just overwhelmingly large for this neighborhood But our concern is more about it's not affordable housing and that's what we need in the city We've just had a report on our where we are on in the housing element We are way way behind in the number of low and very low income units. We have to build by 2023 And we are far above the number of units Have that have been built for market rate moderate rate housing So this is just a bad use. I believe Of this property You could build much smaller units You could build a two-story building that maybe wouldn't overwhelm the neighborhood so badly Uh, I'm not a builder. I can't I won't even go into that But I just want to remind the commission about our need For very low and low income housing in the city. Thank you very much. Thank you for your comments Welcome Oh, I'm ebb and surrogate so I got two mathematical ideas I'd like to Share with you all so first off One is greater than zero today. There are zero affordable Units on this property There's no I asked Mike fairy. He said there's no deed restricted affordable units on the property There will be one deed restricted affordable on the property after the project second thing nine is greater than three this is six more families or households that'll be able to live in our community this is an opportunity for more neighbors and you know I understand concerns about traffic solar panels shade not really shade. I like shade um but like Where's the priority here for having housing for people in a housing crisis In a housing shortage you need to build more housing To get out of a housing shortage. This does it and it's already At like close to the maximum density. That's possible. So like Sure, you could build more units if you change the zoning or something that'd be great Go ahead go ahead and like get a zoning exemption and build 40 units there with like You know make you like each story like have like one unit. That's cool. But that's not what the zoning allows So this is a zoning compliant project. It has an affordable unit where there's no that exists today and You gotta approve it like this is there's like state law. This is like if there's a housing project that meets your zoning laws You gotta approve it Otherwise, you could face penalties for not approving it so Prove it. Thank you for your comments Please be quiet while others I guess uh other people are addressing the commission Most folks were quiet quiet when everyone else has addressed the commission. Welcome. Thank you My name is Ruth Miller and I live at 9 11 Seabright, which is directly across from the proposed development So when I look out my front window, that's what I'm going to see That's part of my investment, but I'm also invested in the neighborhood I'm not going to reiterate the things that I've said. I think it is of scale for the neighborhood It doesn't fit in. Yes, you can go down to big condos Locks down much closer to the beach I think you have to decide as a commission is that what you want to see on seabright Because are you this at the intent going forward if you approve this then what will happen with the next one? Because right now it's pretty much single family homes in that block and some of the previous blocks There are some apartments that are a little bit larger for the most part they blend in You were asking about the percent one percent more trips in terms of traffic It isn't I don't think the trips and traffic as much as it's the parking Because I when I open my car door if there are I can't open my car door. Let's put it that way When I park on the street and if there's traffic across if there's parking across the street Neither one of us can open our doors and you can't fit two cars going down seabright In the middle lanes When cars are parked on either side I have witnessed slowdowns with response for emergency vehicles by both Looking out my front window. I can see the big fire trucks coming down And if there's traffic backed up, which there often is particularly in the popular hours for the beach They can't get through and so they're slowing down their response time now The answer isn't to go on to summer, but it's certainly not to go on to seabright And when I ask about a call and I said, so what's the plan? I don't get a plan For how you can mitigate the parking and these units if you look at the design Bottom floor on bedroom two on the top floor. It's not going to be a family Little kids are going to be separated from their moms and be away Those units are designed to have At least four to six adults living in them. You're not talking about two cars and two car garages You have to be realistic about what the design is and what the both the need for housing But it's also the need for parking for the people who live there And they're going to need that so it's like where do those go? I've got to go somewhere and I can tell you see right hugely impacted in a really I think unsafe way around the parking situations Um, especially with I have experienced it And you don't even have but sites cycle is going down the road You have them using the sidewalk because they can't it's too narrow there So we have a lot of issues around that that haven't been addressed and I keep hearing all the concerns have been addressed It's like, uh, no Not this one. So and I don't know who to turn to anymore Talking to you talking to the plan Or you know, it's like do you go to public works? No, you go to the city council. Okay. So, you know, it's I'd love an answer to that or at least some ideas around that Thank you for your comments Welcome Welcome. My name is Jane meal and I live since 72 in the sea bright area um I would like to talk about the spirit of the sea bright area It has been documented that it's unique because of its small neighborhood It's community oriented And I quite frankly am greatly disturbed to see how slowly The sea bright area is being Literally barricaded and choked Slowly the house levels are growing up First it was like, oh, it's just 28 feet We turned we opposed that we turned around to find it's up to 30 feet 33 And one of the things is that these Units that are being built Are ghettos the people that live in these big buildings that are like their own unit They don't really come out and mix with our with the rest of the community the neighborhood It's starting to get really segregated and get out and the barricading look is imprisoning us And you can't allow that So new development is fine within a concept But it cannot destroy what historically always has been celebrated As a good neighborhood So That is my say Thank you Thank you for your comments Welcome My name is david hill and I live in the 900 block of sea bright will be directly next to the proposed development And I I know that 57 trips doesn't sound like a lot But we have a situation in sea bright where it's nine units here Six units there four units here 10 units there the cumulative effect of all this development Is radically changing the the traffic patterns If you look at the pictures that were shown to us During the day of the number of cars parked That's a fraction of the number of cars that are parked in the evenings and at night and And then to go one last point Is they said that they wanted to break up the mass Well, I'm all for breaking up the mass, but you don't bring up the mass by changing the paint color You break up the mass by not having as much mass Thank you Thank you for your comments Welcome Oh, good evening. Uh, greg bankson. I um I did live in the ross camp. Um, however, I've also lived in 22 000 a month flat in london Um affordable housing. Yeah, it's essential But I can see both sides were the The sense of a neighborhood is essential and trying to force something That doesn't belong just for development or for Meeting certain abstract points The main thing is is is almost something intangible the feeling of a neighborhood And that's what's so cool about when you walk through parts of santa cruz And that's probably while I'll probably go back to being Back in venture capital and and not just hanging out with the with the wild bunch um I used to go to lots of planning commission meetings down in Monterey county, but um, this is my first one here Uh, I just love the city and um, I'm not gonna live in ross camp anymore I'm gonna start moving back up, but it's because it's a cool place and uh, thank you everybody Thank you for your comments Welcome It's good evening You know, I lived in the the area for three years when I was a poor student So I'm very familiar with it. It's in a lovely neighborhood And it's always been very endearing to me. Um, it's part of the roots of my living in santa cruz and staying here Um, it hasn't been mentioned tonight that this is a 277.5 feet building Um continuous um It's a massive building. It's Over 1.0 far the um downtown update plan was Allowing only 200 feet until the last Rendition when it was deleted because they wanted to put a hotel At the corner of soquel in front. So that was removed But otherwise there was a 200 feet restriction and here it's 277.5 feet in the neighborhood um When people think of two and a half stories, they think it's two and a half stories And so people are always surprised when something is three stories And this whole idea of the you know, the midline roof and it's actually higher than that I always joke everything will be der Wiener statistical roofs in the future for that reason, but Um, these are all very deceptive ways of getting around different issues with with the neighborhood and their understanding of what this project really is And so ultimately the general plan Can allow you pretty much to build anything as long as within the number of units And the density um, and you can ignore many of the other amenities that are there for the Neighborhood and until there is some kind of design review board Which there even was my understanding in the 70s um, I just Came across it and was kind of surprised to find that there was a design review board With three community members Architect landscaper, and then they also added a building contractor for technical expertise and um Derek is a very well-known architect. Um, he's built fine homes, but when it comes to infill developments a very different type of A project and so he's in a learning curve basically and he's trying and so yes He's having to go through this iteration because he's having to think through things that he may not have ever thought before And as far as affordable housing Um, the ones down the street, they're still open for rent. Um, they've been available for a while They've never been fully rented at $4,600 Um, I figured these will probably be about 5,500 because it's about 900 square feet bigger We haven't included the hoa fees If you look at it 30 percent, it's probably 220,000 with the a oa hoa fees It would probably be about 236,000 And that would be what would be accommodate for that kind of unit Um, as far as affordable when you say 80 percent, it's actually 80 to 120 percent So that's what they call moderate, but essentially it's not really affordable because it's at over $3,000 And for most people that's not affordable at all um, so basically Everybody here has made really great recommendations. I think allison russell's recommendations were great. They're in there I would certainly hope that you would look at that and um decline this project. Thank you Thank you for your comments. Does anyone else like to address the commission as last chance right now? Okay, um, thank you for Coming tonight and for sharing your views with us I'd like to invite the applicant back up to address the commission with any rebuttal or responses to public comment or other Other things you want to share with us. Do we usually limit? applicant testimony Rebuttal time Okay, it's a chair's discretion. Okay. How about 10 minutes? I'll probably take less. Okay Welcome. Um, hardly nowhere to start I think that if you look at the big picture We need all types of housing not just low or affordable housing. We need affordable housing for all income brackets um And it may be that we're uh, you know, we're ahead of the game for high the higher income brackets now I can understand that there are and I forget the name of it, but there are enterprise zones that that make allowances and and Set aside and have set asides For development That helps you do those types of units this this property doesn't happen to be one of those properties that enjoys Set asides and it's very hard to do Low income or low to moderate income units More of them without having some gives And and some asks as it as you go through the process um the I understand the the comments regarding Getting more definition in in in the buildings Um, I think we can work towards that There's not a whole lot of room to work with it But there's some certainly and we can certainly change materials and we can change colors and Maybe we can find places to put more trees Um, I think that we can we can soften The exterior of the buildings there is is quite a bit of definition actually in the building now It doesn't show up in 2d plans But when you see the building in 3d, there there are a lot of offsets and so they'll Will they'll create those offsets will create shadow lines that'll help break up the building some Yes, that's a very large a very long building It is I think well articulated as as much as it can be Maybe we can find some other ways to to help Mitigate those concerns Um We made a we made a conscious effort early on in this project to Not only provide parking but provide all the parking except for the two spaces as covered parking so that we didn't have cars Out out in the public view should That's been successfully done. There's the library I think it's called library lane Which was a little project Around the corner from my office that did just that and it's it works just fine It's it's about the same number of units about eight units. I mean it has two parking spaces for for guests and There are you never see cars parked there because everybody uses that garage We provided More than the required amount of space so that people had space to put Surfboards and bicycles and the accoutrements of daily life in Santa Cruz So, you know, there's there's a place to to hang your wetsuits. There's a place to to You know store your bikes and your surfboards. This doesn't involve the garage space The There was a suggestion made to increase access to the backyards. I think we could work with that I think we could play with that so that that it is more and invite in is more inviting One of the things we did was we provided space for the trash cans because we didn't want trash cans outside We want this to be a real clean and neighborly friendly project there was There there's been quite a bit of discussion about the The pedestrian access through Through the property. Um, it's not something that we particularly support Some of the neighbors do and some don't There was quite a bit of sentiment at at the public meeting with the neighbors are regarding having access through and and My feeling from that meeting was that the neighbors were not supporting that even though The under the regulations that you've cited They are encouraged Um It might be a good thing to look at not having that cut through So that the people that are on the cul-de-sac cul-de-sac feel like they're still on the cul-de-sac Or it might be good to open it up and and have pedestrian access But it's a it's a discussion that we still need to have I think I'd encourage you to um To approve this project as it complies with all the regulations And applies and it complies with the general plan and we were very careful to To design it that way so that um, we would minimize the amount of Herbulance that we have to go through to get to get approved. So, um, with that all Relinquish my time and Thank you. And if you have any questions, I'd be glad to answer I've got a couple questions. My turn Nielsen Did uh, just uh, I have a question. We have a couple questions. Um, Did you explore breaking the building into two masses? Actually early on, uh, there were more than two Divisions in the buildings. Uh, what happened was Fire absolute than absolutely demanded That they have 20 feet of clear access all the way through the property Um, that That put the kibosh on on on that space that we had To be able to work the buildings back and forth Um, that was a that was a bitter pill to swallow at the time Um, but we completely revised the the plans for this project Based on fires requirements um in and based and i'm in Specifically scott haremans, um presentation showed and That wasn't sure if it actually made it up on the screen or not Yes, um, yes, um And he also gave me one of his uh, uh handout. So that was really great Um, I get my question is do you find would that be feasible to do that? I don't think it's feasible The reason is that we you know, we're uh, we're really using the rear yard set back or the We're using the set back off of summoner Uh for the for the guest parking if we, um We've already reduced the buildings The building widths to such an extent that they just encapsulate the garages And the entries on the first floor We had to go through the after this last meeting after the public meeting we went through and we took a foot out of each Uh each unit on all three floors. So we basically redesigned the building in order to Pull the building further back off of seabright Do the entry on seabright and put the parking in the rear, which was in in response to the public comments I'm what i'm getting to here is that if you push the building apart you really have to use that for the parking For the guest parking It might be possible. Uh, I mean i'm happy to look at it. It might be possible to have the parking ahead of In the middle, uh, the two parking spaces with the with, uh Tree and planting ahead of the parking spaces. There might be room to do that possible Um, okay. Thank you and um Uh in terms of the um The accessibility at the at the front of the lot and then with the ramps are yes, um, so that's That's taken care of your requirement for accessibility from public right away. Yes, and um, you have two there are potential of two access points For that for your entry. I would assume that you could you could have Access from Sumner if you if this public if there's a public way that comes in from Sumner and then and I guess I'm bringing up just because You're there's a lot of space used in the front for this ramp And to get up to that grade and so i'm curious if you looked at using access from the back from Sumner I'd love to do away with the ramp in the front. I don't like it. I you know they they, uh When you have to zigzag a ramp like that it eats up so much territory that That it tends to be ugly unless you can disguise it in some way So I'd be happy to look at doing it from the back That may be That may have to be included in the in this pedestrian access All right, I mean you would you would need to have access through I mean from from From Sumner exactly and you'd have to have a clear path of travel Which is what we're doing to the to the front to see bright Right understood I get okay another question since you're here, um, I didn't see any sections of the building In the in the set and the plans that we have Can you explain what the ceiling height is on the upper floor? How that works I'm Mike tensley how we're in Derek's office So Perfect. So as you look at this elevate at the sea bright elevation see the Looking at the top floor where it says top of subfloor the top of plate where it says three six And it slopes up from there There are those are typically within either closets or in the in the stairway area and then Where it's over bedrooms. There are dormers That would give a full eight eight foot ceiling um So it might be best to look at the long Long elevation where you can see the the Roof's coming down. What's the? Okay, go ahead go ahead. So the plate line the plate line generally Is for the main roof is that is at three foot six The then the the bedrooms and and the bathrooms are dormered In order to get them to fit under the roof line. Yeah, I understand. I I understand how that works. I'm just curious what the what your ceiling It would be great if I had a section. I mean and I feel like sections should be a requirement that the city asked for along with the site sections that we've asked for as well, but It's really hard to understand What that ceiling ceiling height is especially when we're when we're hearing comment about the height of the building and trying to get an understanding for How much height really is in that space and is it Is it um, is that something that can be addressed and adjusted in some way? Sure. We can we can look at and we can On the roof or something like that, but generally where There are Dormers there are dormers at the bedrooms bedrooms and bathrooms and then where the roof slopes down to the three six is over stairways In my just generally my basically my question is are we are we ending up with ceiling heights in the in the upper floor bedrooms that are exceeding You know exceeding kind of a standard height There it's set at an eight foot ceiling You have a flat ceiling in there or is it vaulted? Um, I think that that's it for my questions at the moment Thank you Thank you so Mr. Spelling where you'd like to start the general discussion amongst the commission. Thank you Yeah, I'm gonna start this like I start most of my design permit responses unfortunately the drawing standards that are The city requirements are woefully insufficient to analyze this project What's missing from that? There's there's not a site plan that shows Buildings either side of this project. I mean that is that is Incredible that that's even allowed to be presented without that information quite frankly at a minimum any adjacent parcel that touches this property should have its structures Designated on it with heights, etc. There should be site sections North south east west so we can understand the relationship of this building to the surrounding buildings To the street edge Those are just the basics I'm glad you produced a rendering but it turns out that that building is four foot short apparently right There's a four foot grade difference In that rendering right the build the front door is four feet Higher than the sidewalk and it's not that way in that rendering Which leads me to question So what is the height and what is the context? What is the relationship? It leads me to question the solar study What is the basis of performing that study? Can we rely on the accuracy of the information? That's just not okay in my opinion that we stand here and analyze this within sufficient information Um, that's not meant to be just a direct Accusation of you. This is an ongoing issue that the city needs to address But this is this is an important project. It's a big project being Proposed in a neighborhood and we don't get the chance to fully analyze the context around it That being said I do want to also acknowledge The public correspondence on this project and engagement has been very involved and I think Very engaging and forthright with What they dislike about the project and coming forward with ideas that could potentially Make it more amenable to the neighborhood. So I want to I want to thank everyone for that It doesn't always go that way and I think everyone's done a great job of Trying to contribute constructive criticism to this project On the face of it, the figure ground drawing on page one your vicinity map shows You know the size of this building in comparison to buildings around it not even in the short vicinity But in the much larger vicinity this building is substantially larger than anything else The figure ground of the 276 foot building Continuous with no break is just unprecedented anywhere close to this Um You know, so I think there's that's a problem. Um, I don't think Articulating facades or changing materials is going to come anywhere close to to resolving that I think There's got to be If not one two major breaks in this building. I also questioned the The 36 foot height Resolution, I think this project Is an evolution of our 30 foot to the midpoint Requirement, I think we've come up against this issue several times Where projects are higher than the 30 people don't understand it Does it meet the intent of the code? Yes by manipulating those roof forms and getting an average roof Height of 30 feet it meets the intent of that code. I think it shows us that that code Is not doing us any favors at this point and it needs to be re-looked at Other municipalities have come up against that same issue The code and and people playing by the rules design projects that Are substantially different than I think the intent of what that code is saying Um You know, so I I don't want to even get into the minutiae of of the design of this because I think it's Not close to an approval design in my opinion There are a lot of ways to create nine knots or nine units on this property and not have the massing that this project has Um, you could design nine individual buildings with proper setbacks between those buildings And have nine units three stories About 1800 square feet per unit That was the quick math that I did but that's that's real So I you know Let me find out So I do appreciate two comments about You know, we've met the full intent of the code. We're not asking for any permissions here We've just we've designed to the code and I think the design permit and the relationship to the general plan Is one where we've fallen a little bit short as well. It's not enough to meet the zoning Codes for this building. There are other relationship And character issues that have to also be addressed and assume are compatible with with existing contexts Um, that doesn't mean we're building single story single family homes on this property But we are respecting a character In this neighborhood that unfortunately this project doesn't do There's no articulation of the front facade or back facade that's going to you know, make this building smaller It's going to create some more shadow lines and do different things, but it's not going to reduce the massing of this building I also question the Kind of imposition of all of the balconies that face south and the properties, you know off of clinton You've now put, you know, every single balcony which Um, it doesn't show accurately on the site plan the site plan shows the garage and I guess the bump outs for a bath the bathrooms but it doesn't show the outline of the the balconies which are at least Eventually five feet from that property line If the property line were drawn on on the drawing we're looking at on the screen now So we now have, you know, all the residents that are in that building all hanging out Where you would want them if that's your your building facing south and enjoying the sun But also just imposing on those those neighbors. I would think there's a way to articulate the imposition of that open space on the jillion properties Yeah, I think that's Enough at the moment. I'd like to hear what other people are are hearing Mr. Schifrin Yes, I have a number of comments and I agree with a lot of what was a lot was a lot of what was just said I would like to read a couple of statements from the general plan because I think what was in the staff report provided one perspective And I think the general plan has other policies as well that that we should be thinking about In terms of the the guiding principles one of the guiding principles is neighborhood integrity and housing We will maintain the identity and vitality of our neighborhoods Actively pursuing affordable housing for diversity of households and promoting compatible Livability and high-quality design and new buildings major additions and redevelopment Policy cd 2.1 protect and enhance the distinctive physical and design characteristics of neighborhoods and districts throughout the city. I think I have two Follow-up concerns about this project really related to that. It seems to me it is so out of scale with what's around it That it really does Fundamentally change the characteristic of that neighborhood Having gone out there looked at the site Saw that the two unit the three units are in front of the site. There's a big Open area at the back of the site Um I don't I don't think it's I don't think it's necessary to have this This kind of impact on the site I do want to ask a question to follow up on one of the statements which I didn't think I don't think is correct Where a speaker said that we have to approve this project because it's uh within the general plan density my understanding is The city would have to approve a Project that is somewhere within that general plan density, but not at the highest end necessarily Am I understanding that correctly in terms of what the state law requires if it requires anything? I'm not sure exactly Which bill he's talking about. I mean there are some that are currently active that speak to building within the density I don't know the exact wording. I know there is some pending legislation That might make certain multifamily developments allowable by right. I think that was defeated today, but uh, It's their bills that we're tracking I guess my concern is that there seems to be a tendency to really over densify sites I think this is that doesn't mean that there can't be additional density on the site I'm not sure that it really makes sense to feel that it has to the site has to hold the maximum density Especially when it means losing three existing housing units And while they may not be restricted to in an affordable way There's certainly going to be they're going to be available at a much lower price than the new units are going to be as proposed by this project so to Provide a diversity of housing. I think um, it seems to me a real shame to lose these housing the uh, The existing housing that's there they fit into the neighborhood really well And that that whole block really has a certain Quality to it that I think it would be a shame to lose By over densifying the site with this what what seems to me to be a very Massive structure I kind of hate saying all these things in a way because uh, i'm a friend of derrick van olstein I've known them for years. I really like them. Um, and I appreciate the work that was done, but I think the the basic Assumption is an assumption. I don't think is a necessary one, which is we must have As much density as possible because we have a housing crisis Nothing else matters except getting as many housing units As we can if it means destroying the quality of the neighborhood So be it and I think that this project really represents that attitude and I think Um, it really undermines the integrity of the general plan that understands the need To try to protect the quality of life in the community by having A respect for the density for the for the neighborhoods that are there And I think that it is Like my colleague said possible to redesign A project for this site that would increase the density and not over densify the site not Be detrimental to to the neighborhood. So my my recommendation is that we Send the the project back for redesign within the density range but at a lower end and at a And in a way that preserves the existing housing on the site mr. Conway So I um First of all, I also want to thank everybody who came out and everyone's been really articulate. I also love this neighborhood I've done james street lived on bronson lived on owen street. My brother lived on somner pretty much next door um One of the things I'd like to say and have spent a lot of time in this neighborhood is um the connectivity within the neighborhood Is something that is really lacking on on the east side And I think it was a fashionable Planning trend to require everyone to be in cars for a long time And there are certain neighborhoods And I think especially on the east side the ones that I know where you just have these long stretches that really I mean someone said it People take a car When it wouldn't be very hard to um go over to from somner over to Thank for pizza works If you could walk, you know on a pedestrian walkway through there And I think it would be a real enhancement for the neighborhood So I am very strongly in support of that feature I also can appreciate how much The design makes would make neighbors concerned about spillover parking And um and that that makes it seem like it would be worse Um, I do believe that connectivity in the end can reduce car trips Um, and and so I think that's important I wanted to thank the architect for how hard they've worked to make this building interesting looking um The articulation the variation in the windows. I'm not an architect But I'm just looking at it and I see that there's a there's a real attempt to make it do that But I agree it is a big long building It It feels like it imposes um, I wonder about um, kind of you know A little I both agree and disagreeing with you. I think Andy is Um, I for one I do think the existing houses are going to go You know, I I I think that's Going to happen and We should demand that we get the best possible project I wonder if you considered um Rather than having such big units having more smaller units Um, you could apply for a density bonus You could get in in that way I I think make a less of a Just that physical impact of bigness and Meet some housing goals. It would also allow for It's also a tool for getting some greater deed restricted affordability Which a lot of people have said we need to do in a project of this size We don't have a lot of tools That allow us to do to do that Um, this is these are projects that are are privately built And we need to make them pencil. We don't want to condition A project to the point where it's impossible to build it And I I can see That all of the departments the designers they're they're they're trying to um Serve a lot of a lot of um rules and coming from a lot of different sources So, um I think we need housing projects that add Units and I think the changes in neighborhoods Are Going to be happening incrementally Um, but we need to make them done, you know, be careful this the massing of this building Um, really feels hard Hard to take Um, despite the benefits that that um have gone along with it um So I guess I I feel like it's um It's a good project. It's going to be a good project. Um, and It doesn't feel like it's quite there for our lovely neighborhood Mr. Spellman. Yeah, I I want to echo some of that too. I also, you know I know Derek's uh office and his work and I know he will do a stellar job With this project as it moves forward I just think, you know, I'm all for the density. I'm not suggesting that we take units out But I think the building needs more than just a little work It needs some substantial work to to get a massing that's going to be compatible and that may mean Losing a few bedrooms potentially on on some of the buildings. So then maybe there are not three stories or You know, I'm there's a lot of ways to do it I think but it's it's going to take something fairly substantial. I think Mr. Singleton Yeah, um I uh just to preface my comments. I'm definitely more Aligned kind of with commissioner um conways remarks and and overarching need big picture stuffs I won't comment on the size of the building more than what's already been said. It's not A small building. It's a big big structure. I do think it's out of character with the neighborhood I think we're probably going to see a lot more Developments like this given the zoning constraints we have. Um, I 100% agree I'd like to see a lot more units that are smaller and denser that would definitely be better And that would perhaps aid in the breaking up of the facade and the architectural elements that we've all spoken at length about Um, I was really dismayed Just hear a lot of assumptions from the audience about who their neighbors might end up being regardless of what It's built here. Um making assumptions about small things like habits with the garage and who's going to use them You know, that's whatever Saying that they're not going to hang out or engage with the neighbors I think it's a kind of a really pessimistic assumption of your fellow people that might live in Santa Cruz and here How they're going to get around or use the street? I mean, I know so many people who don't use cars Or are really trying to get out of the way of of being dependent on the automobile and I think um You know It's one thing we we have the parking requirements and the developers gone through painstaking means to meet all of them But just the assumption that everyone's going to drive all the time is how he got into this mess So of urban design. So we got to make some concession somewhere about that moving forward Um, and again, they're going they're meeting all the parking requirements. So Um, the other thing, you know making assumptions that who's going to live there It's going to be just in the silicon valley people or college students Well, you know, there are 19 000 ucsc students in the city of 65 000 people That's roughly one third of the people that live in this city You know, roughly one third of the people in the city commute over the hill into silicon valley every single day So if you add those two together because they are pretty much exclusive You have two thirds of the city that are either college students or silicon valley tech workers It's these aren't like foreign people. They're your neighbors right now and they have been Um, actually our commuter trends. I just heard from the chair of the rtc or not the chair The executive director guy pressed in this morning in a meeting Are we were on 29 000 car trips a day that come out of sanikers county that go over the hill into san jose san mateo counties um That's actually down from our peak In 2001 and actually in 1999 when we had more so not only these folks not new the silicon valley tech workers But they've been here for 30 years. I've been here longer than I've been here in sanikers um So just the assumptions that we're making about people I think just leave a really sour taste in my mouth and I had to make a comment about it Getting on the affordability elements of it. Um, you know, it's conforming with the inclusionary ordinance There's not a whole lot more you can do in terms of the number of units that we're allowing the densities we're allowing the general plan Um, frankly to get more affordable units. You either have to significantly increase the density lower the size of the units Uh, or provide public subsidy in some way And you know, we have 3.2 million dollar deficit in the city right now I don't think we're be providing a lot of public subsidy for affordable housing Which means it's the developer to balance the cost to meet that inclusionary ordinance Probably by pricing of the units a little bit higher than they otherwise would be Um, also if we were to tell the developer to go back to the drawing board and do something less dense That's certainly going to make the end product way more expensive So if you're talking about the general plan elements that are referring to affordability reducing the density of the overall project Is certainly not going to get you more affordable units um In general, I just say yeah, the building's big I don't necessarily like the look of the building But in terms of the need for housing in terms of the restrictions the developer's working with I can understand how we got here and ultimately I'd be willing to support the project and the staff recommendation Um, but I can understand if if there are other requirements that we want to make in terms of Helping to break up the facade other things that we can work to develop or to lessen the impact on the community and And fit more in line with the neighborhood character So just my comments Sure. Neilson you were next. Commissioner Greenberg. Do you want after that? um Yeah, I was just going to speak probably more to uh More to the scale and the size and the mass of this it is I mean, it's been said it's a big building. I I think um I think if there was a way to break it, you know as um commissioner spellman suggested Once or twice or even you know, there's a way to get multiple buildings on the site to make it work. I think that would be um I think that would come more into More of the neighborhood context that we've been talking about with general plan and get that more in line The I think um also One of the ways to do that is to provide a Um a diversity to the housing type or to the unit type that's being presented here. These are all the same units. They're they're all Uh three bedroom units and um if there's you know looking at um Looking at reducing down some of those units to two bedroom or one bedroom um Or studio or something like that. I think we can Maybe there's a way to increase density even on the site, but also but also kind of reduce the Reduce the overall mass and size of the building or buildings that would end up on the site. Um, I would so I would suggest that as a as a as a potential redesign option um I think uh discussions around density um Well, first of all, I'll just say I I do live in this neighborhood. So um Uh, so and I and you know, I do walk by this site You know quite regularly and um, so I understand I do understand the the traffic impacts that that do happen and um and also the um you know some of the impacts that have happened with past development and and ones that have met the zoning code specifically and um and You know how they're They may meet it, but they don't that's not a it's not a benefit to the to the neighborhood necessarily and so um, so I see the so I understand kind of the um The message coming back from the community about that and um And so what I was going to say about density is you know density density makes sense in appropriate locations and um And based on kind of where we are where we're at with this density I I think I think I think it could potentially work if we're if we're able to get this uh the building uh size down um But you know when we talk about you know increasing density, uh and um I think you know going back to our past conversations around the corridors. I mean this is um, that's where that's where we Really need to be focusing those efforts. So, you know, just that's just looking forward to having those discussions um in the future. Um I also would like to um Thank the public as well because um In this for this particular project we what I noticed was there was a lot of um public feedback That included suggestions and it wasn't just I hate this project and you know This can't happen, you know, just you know, don't don't allow it. Um, there we we got a lot of um correspondence with a lot of um A lot of ideas about how the project could be modified and things to do that could change and I I really do appreciate that because um It's far more um Or or just to help Kind of guide us to to hear suggestions from the public around how things could be different It's not just about how you don't want it and um, so I that was that was something that struck me Um with the correspondence on this so I I did appreciate that quite a bit um I think that's it for me Commissioner Greenberg Thanks. Yeah, I really appreciated everyone's comments from the audience and my fellow commissioners um, and um, it does sound like if there's interestingly kind of interrelated issues in terms of the size and massing of the building And you know affordability issues and the diversity of types of units and so forth. Um One thing I would say so, you know It's a question to me. I'm I'm somebody who's Very, you know pro generally speaking density when done, right? um Why it needs to be at this kind of maximum level to to a degree that all of the units are also going to be kind of, you know um very high-end and very expensive units um, and That if there was more of a diversity in the in the type of units um, that could also affect some of these affordability questions um And you know the the questions that are raised by the general plan and some of our goals as a city or goals as a commission is to really encourage that And I guess I would say my thinking on that is that, you know, and it's been invoked numerous times that we're in a housing crisis I would say we're not so much in a housing crisis as we're in an affordable housing crisis There's a lot of unaffordable housing in Santa Cruz that's being built that exists And that we have a responsibility I think to be as intentional as possible in promoting diversity of housing types and and and supporting diversity of of homeowners and renters entering into that housing and so if we're kind of Encouraging housing that's only going to be for the upper end. It's going to also not only affect those nine units or eight units But have gentrifying effects beyond this development as well potentially And so I'm mindful of that. So there's there's environmental impacts There's socioeconomic impacts of things that are built at this kind of this kind of high end And I think that the notion That simply building more is going to affect is going to bring down costs Is something that The scholarship is really is really challenged and there's even a new study out by Michael Storper This past week about the note who's a urban sociologist about, you know, this idea that you simply build more A unit and that's going to the greater supply is going to bring down the cost has not been proven And then often if you just build more supply at the highest end It actually worsens the affordability crisis So when I say being intentional I mean not only, you know, not Under developing affordable units but not building Units that are going to potentially exacerbate the affordability crisis. So, um I guess I would say that I'm I'm mindful of that in thinking about this relationship of the Scale of the units and the degree to which those may kind of um those might force a certain kind of Cost per unit as well for those entering into this into this market And to say that that relates to questions about The contextual zoning and the questions of how this relates to the surrounding neighborhood the surrounding community I think those are kind of interrelated issues. Um So in so far as people are concerned about how this is going to be You relate, you know, be Consistent with the types of building and community and the concern about segregation and the concern about gated communities and so For that are being created sort of within the sea bright neighborhood So, uh, I also am happy that people have been so kind of you know proactive and trying to suggest New kinds of designs and and to work with the developer And I think that there's potential to really In moving forward to come up with something that's more consistent with these with these simultaneous goals that we all have So I'll leave it there. Thank you I have a question for One quick question for the applicant with regard to the design With the bedrooms being first and third floor is that Would you expect the families to be drawn to that or Living there was an assertion and public comment that families wouldn't live in a design like that because I want to be separated from the kids I don't know that I I don't know that you need to look at it that way. Um the certainly we have a you know, a large continuum of people in the market that are working out of their houses So that lower bedroom could be used by somebody who's working from home Ie um, so that's That's diversity within the unit itself That provides different options for different types of living Thank you I had a question for staff. Um, how will the how would the public know to to use this? Pedestrian access to this you just kind of get used to it and then Yeah, the the way the plans are now the the Locked gate goes across the sidewalk. So that would have to be remodeled for you know That plan would be revised so that I wouldn't block the the sidewalk access And then it says come through here and says nothing or what's What's that? How would if I'm walking by and you know, I'm trying to respect private property So I don't want to go in your driveway, but I can if it's Public access. So how would I know that and you just people just figured out? I would imagine. Yeah, you just figure out. I mean near the little alleyway by library is an example of it and People figured out a lot of people don't figure it out, but it's also not signed. So I guess it could work like that I also had a question about the public meeting. Was that part of the outreach? Was it a requirement? It wasn't just choice for the applicant. No, no, that was a requirement Okay, and then could you bring up the zoning map from your staff presentation? so rl This is our this is zoned rl. So the density range is 10 to 20 units right 10.1 to 20 Uh-huh. You can actually go up to I think it's 30 27 and a half. Yeah, the studio or one Smaller units, okay So how do we reconcile that map and all of that rl And the density of this project the massing of this project By that by that language could be everywhere where the orange is. Is that true? I'm not sure about the massing but the density Why couldn't the massing be? I mean if similar to this if the massing is allowed happens to be that messing Um, if the lot allows it With this density it could be everywhere in that orange area, right? I'm not sure. I don't understand your question Well, rl is everywhere. So all of that rl could have the same density as this project The density Took words right off the density though, right not the massing, right? But the massing could be there as well Right nothing proposed here. It could be proposed on every other site that wants to reach the maximum density the reason I bring it up is because That density range and the character of this neighborhood are totally out of sync and Um, that's just the observation I have that looking at that map that is a really large section of rl that Allows us for that 10.1 to 20 or 27.5. So it's just it's I think is a challenge to then The carefully pick where we're going to put any given project where we're going to slot them in that range. That's my own And that this one's quite high Maybe not the density but the the resulting massing to me. So that was which has been reflected Which has been shared by some other commissioners I don't have other questions for staff other than Because I don't want to repeat other commissioners Commissioner shifrin and then commissioner conway are you going to suggest a path forward? I have I just have another comment to make. I'm not, you know, um, really That doesn't really change where it goes. But, um, as we've been referring to I think it is really important not to confuse density and massing um I understand why these units came in looking like they did. This is an it is just expensive to build and um in in our community in our whole area and so to Design a product that maximizes Um, the possibility that you'll be able to get the financing it takes to build it That that drives a lot of it. And I think that's a a lot of our frustration. I mean, I recognize that That's got to be part of the driver here But it's also I think what we're hearing is that nine units you could get 13 units if you used a density bonus And it could be a much smaller building I know that then you're right up against. Well, are you going to be able to get it financed? Are you going to be able to You know render the the um What it takes And I know that that's the balancing point and that's what's going to make it really tricky to make this a project that works We need this project um My preference would be to see a 13 unit project of smaller units Much smaller units if if if possible Um, I know that there's a there's a lot of things that we're we're juggling in there as well It's just not a simple path But I do think it's important to acknowledge that of all of the things that are driving here one of them is just How much it's going to cost to build Mr. Chifrin Yes, a couple of things one I think that there have been many people in the neighborhood would that would be very happy if the density Determinations of rl was changed I think they have been requested the city council to reconsider that and reduce the density because Of how the fear of how the neighborhood is going to change around it on the other hand I think one of the ways that increasing the density certainly on this parcel makes sense is that it's a pretty large parcel and You know, it's possible to add density to it and I think um Make it work. I think what the commissioner Conway is saying is it's a balancing act How do you protective? You know the integrity the quality of the neighborhood provide additional housing? Units that uh that provide some diversity And make it all work economically. It is a challenge But that's I think our As I see my responsibility on the commission It's relating to trying to find a balance between those and I think it's The point about You know to get affordability Need more units because that's how we can get the the Restricted unit this truth to that but on the other hand As commissioner Greenberg was saying what are we doing in terms of the impact of the market rate units on the neighborhood on gentrification? And to be able to have a mix of units. I really thought that commissioners neilsons comment about They're all the same size. It's all going to be of one Going to appeal to one segment of the market is it was a really insightful for me way of seeing that having some kind of diversity some mixture of Size and types and having them work on the site is maybe a challenge, but I think it's an important Goal for us to try to support Because it is desirable to while we're increasing density to also preserve what's valuable in terms of the quality of life in our neighborhoods So I what I'm hearing and I'll try a motion and it can be ripped to shreds as it usually is that we Send this project back for redesign To reduce the massing To stay within the density range if possible to provide diversity of housing types within that range and return to us when it's Ready to go when there's a project that is that We're ready to review a second I'll second that And before we discuss it is staff Um Like does that give you enough direction to work with the applicant? I would unless you got it to us. I'd like you to repeat it Did you get it? I was distracted for a second continue for Commissioner shifrin could you continue for redesign? with to reduce the massing to Provide stay within the density range Provide a variety of housing Hypes so you're saying stay within the density range or maintain the nine unit density that they've got No, I was saying stay with the range of the general plan. I would Like to add to if I thought it would pass to try to see if there was some way to retain the existing housing Because I think that's going to be the most affordable housing in the project But I have a feeling I would uh, certainly not have that pass. So I'm not making that I hope that the applicant will consider it but because I think really in terms of range of costs having existing housing that's out there is going to be much less expensive than Um, what any new market rate how any new market rate unit is going to cost and so having that density range is desirable And having been out there. I think the site allows um for using the existing Providing some Development around the existing unit that could let them work, but I'm not putting that in the motion because So you have a motion and do you retain just one second? Do you point of order? Actually, I it's a question about the motion Which is just I didn't understand you said you're you're proposing that we continue The public hearing rather than just deny the project I just was curious about that I'm not uh, the motion is not to deny the project but to continue the project for redesign So that it's You know, I'm new on the commission. Uh, I haven't been here for a long time I know at the county when I listened to the county commission, you know continuing for redesign is not revolutionary So I would imagine that the commission has done that before and Given the concerns that most of the commission does that answer your question commissioner conway I was it is it is an unusual action And so I just was that that's what I was asking about is that I understand that That we're not recommending this what was proposed. So we're not recommending the staff recommendation Nor are we recommending that we tweak the staff recommendation And I think in the past in my experience when we've when we've asked a project just to When we've just said nope You know come back at it in another time It didn't have to have a string or a word like continuance, but I'm not meaning to cut that to finally whatever you think This is clear to me. It is clear. I understand the clear to reason or to the continue to redesign Does that resolve your question and then with the motion? refined or reaffirmed you You still second it So any discussion motion No, I I don't need a minute. I Okay I'd have a little discussion, but Let me just say one. Mr. Conway do you Wait, commissioner conway you want to go with first with discussion then and then commissioner shifrin And and I often need a little clarification because we had a we we had a a little bit of piling on So I think I know what you mean. I wanted to be clear um One of the points of within the density range allowed in the general plan And one of the goals of the general plan is to be towards the top of the density because we have so little developable land and I wanted to make sure that it wouldn't preclude consideration Of applying the density bonus That's not direction or anything. It's just I just want to make sure that The motion doesn't preclude that because I think that might be a tool that could help meet some balances of A variety of housing types and make it pencil potential Mr. Shifrin, that's consistent with what my What the motion says and the reason why rather than just continue it for redesign is I know that the You know the applicant would like some guidance and if the commission agrees that with the sort of Conditions of the motion then that provides some guidance. I'm open to other suggestions. I'm just I wanted to get a motion on the floor that reflected what I was hearing the Regarding the concerns of other commissioners if I didn't do a good job or if there are other concerns that Should be added. I think it is useful Rather than just say go back and try to do a better job to give some direction as to What might make sense for the commission and that's what the motion tries to do Their discussion sir. Nielsen. Well, this is actually I have I know these conditions are not gonna Since we're not proving this that the conditions are you know don't really matter right now But there was just some house cleaning things that I just want to point to your attention so that you can take care of it Next time so that it gets taken care of for condition 48 It it says accept as provided in condition number 48 above but that is condition number 48 that That's something you may want to look at Condition 55 turf is not permitted in new non-residential landscape projects But this is a residential project So I'm not sure why that condition is there You could look at condition 56 as well and there's a typo in there so you could you could find that one And then 67 That that says handicap access shall be provided in accordance with california billing code. I would suggest Just that stating accessibility shall be provided in accordance with california billing code Um Rather than having the word handicap in there. That was just my suggestion accessible And that that was it Like are you getting a useful direction? Would you like No, no, this the conversation's been good. I think it's a good outcome. Yeah Okay Yeah, one other thing I just wanted to mention while you were delivering was looking up Some of the laws in reference to what the city's obligated to approve Um, and and the reference may have been to the housing accountability act That's um av 31 94 which requires, you know for project meets objective standards in the city's Obligated to approve it When we bring this back, we'll take a closer look at this project in relation to that senate bill And and provide you an analysis with that as well idea Thank you. Any other discussion so all in favor of the motion could could we just hear the motion? I pretty much haven't I'd like you to share it because if it's if it's not right then commissioner To continue the project for redesign That would include reducing the massing staying within the density range And providing for diversity of the building slash unit on the project site And there was a reference to density bonus being able to be considered Um, it was just a part of the discussion With the motion. Yeah, I wanted to clarify that it was and I think we agreed that it is Happy to add it as a friendly amendment. If that's acceptable to First all first of all was that reading consistent with your motion. Yes. Okay. And are you adding a friendly amendment? Sure, I mean, I don't I don't need it I don't um think that it necessarily will make it affordable that I didn't want it to be precluded And I think we're all on the same page. Yeah, the way that the state law is written about density bonuses It doesn't need saying That's my point. My colleague would like it said I'm happy to include it in the motion Are you including it? Okay. Thank you. Oh, yeah, I agree. Okay. Commissioner Nielsen. I did have one one more thing for mike What's it gonna take? I mean just in line with um commissioner spellman's comments earlier about Requirements for like drawing requirements graphic requirements What does it take or what needs to happen in order for that to get As part of what the application process is Like is there is there some sort of formal process that has to be gone through to to get those requirements? You know in writing and to the applicants we have most of Well, some of what uh, commissioner spellman is asking for our application form We've been learning in the last year or so to play harder ball with our applicants So that I think where we've been more proactive is with the larger developments like the one you just heard downtown In getting those sections drawings Um You know, but we can it's it's an item on our checklist and it's it's really at the planner's discretion and and I you know You know with this experience of you know, sort of a smaller project relative those downtown projects that we can And we'll ask for them moving forward. Yeah Okay, it's it's it's just super helpful I mean to to analyze a project into um to understand the the potential impact it's going to have In the surrounding area it it yeah, it's critical to to have that information commissioner Spelman did He mentioned some stuff that I'd never seen before the site plan that had the neighboring houses that called out that The height of those houses and the and the use of those houses Certainly the figure ground, you know footprint of the structures. Yeah, I've seen the footprint Can I make a uh, sort of point of procedure shouldn't we vote on the motion on the floor and then It may make sense to have another motion having to do with you know, sort of application requirements Well, I'm not going to do that tonight. We're gonna we're going to move on once so I'm allowing you can always make a motion Not on a not agendized matter so That's why I'm allowing the Allowing the discussion to see if it's useful for this This project as it comes back that Your comments being Yeah, there have been certain things added recently I think maybe we should set up something where we could just check in with staff and see If we could add a few more seems reasonable. Okay That can happen. So all in favor of the motion. Hi. Hi. Hi. I'll opposed So the motion passes six one with commissioner singleton voting against and um, I also want to Say again Share my thank you to all the members of the public who attended the community meeting and attended tonight And shared your comments and shaped them in a constructive way to guide a better project for the community And for benefit of the neighbors since this is not continued to a date certain We will provide additional noticing. Um, once the project's ready for hearing again Thank you all for coming. We do have more work on our agenda. So if you're going to chat, please Do so outside so we can continue our work and our next agenda item is Agenda item agenda number six six zero one branch of 40 drive and we have a Staff presentation as claire stanger as the project planner should be given a staff presentation this evening You guys ready? Okay Okay, this is a little bit of a smaller project. This is for a single family home at six zero one branch of 40 drive It requires a lot line adjustment design permit slope variance and a watercourse development permit so This project consists of four vacant lots on the west side of branch of 40 drive just south of its intersection with glenn canyon road To the east we have day la viega park The area is zoned r1 seven which is single family zoning typically with a seven thousand square foot lot size You lots To the west is a carbonara neighborhood. That's also r1 seven zoning adjacent properties to the north and the south of this property interestingly Are in the unincorporated county area. So it's a little bit weird with our jurisdictional boundaries So the site is accessed off of a shared driveway that is to the west of and a little bit Down slope from branch of 40 drive The site itself slopes from the east down to the west Towards branch of 40 creek The channel branch of 40 creek is actually on the adjacent properties to the west So here's the site plan. The site plan is focused on the two southern lots of the four lots that are going to be combined Um, so there's two lots down there with the five five two in the one right below it That's what we see right here Um, the reason for that is that these two lots actually have The least steep of slope and therefore is the is the buildable area north of that the slope gets too steep Um, the proposal is to build a three thousand two hundred sixty four square foot two story three bedroom house The house exceeds all the setbacks required for the r17 zone district In fact, it's 47 feet On the side yard setback to the south where the minimum setback is seven feet. So there's plenty of space Between the proposed house and a small House on the neighboring property to the south It's about 275 feet from the side property line to the north 40 I'm sorry 55 to the rear and 24 feet from the front um In in addition to the house the project is also proposing some upgrades to an existing drainage pipe that actually drains Rainwater runoff from brand supporty drive onto the property. So they're going to extend that drainage downslope and below the house The proposal also includes a septic system Which will be located southeast That's the the green area there Southeast of the house at the top of the slope and just below the shared driveway This is one of the few properties in the city That the public works department would support to have a septic system. The reason is because it's over 200 feet from the closest city sewer connection Brand supporty drive is actually maintained by the county and they don't have a sewer line on that street The santa cougs county environmental health department has approved the septic system With a condition that the lots are first combined um Our municipal code section 6 point 20 point 010 Section 2 requires that the septic system obtain approval from city council So a condition of approval requires that This septic system be approved by city council prior to issuance of a building permit for the house And again the public works department has reviewed and is supported of that system Okay, so Like I said earlier brand supporty creek is just to the west of the site The top of the bank of brand supporty creek is shown approximately by that brown line And that is an important line because that Marks the jurisdiction boundary of the regional water quality control board and the california department of fish and wildlife The regional water quality control board has confirmed that they Do not require a permit and this is specifically for the work below the top of bank, which is the Basically that drainage outfall Like dissipation area that they're going to build below the top of bank there California department of fish and wildlife is requiring a streambed alteration agreement and a draft agreement has been Written up that will be finalized upon approval of this project and the CEQA determination Work that requires a permit from another permitting agency that has a similar or more rigorous rigorous level of environmental review As our city's watercourse development permit is actually exempt from requiring a watercourse development permit So the work below the top of bank Does not require a watercourse development permit from us However, some other parts of the project will require that permit Brand supporty creek is considered a type a creek in the city white creeks and wetlands management plan type a basically means that it's a larger creek with kind of a more Intact riparian area Um, so there's a 40 foot riparian setback that's shown by the blue line A 70 foot development setback is shown in red and then the 95 foot management setback is shown in green As you can see the western edge of the house along with two cantilever balconies Are located within the management setback of the creek And that is allowed with approval of a watercourse development permit For a type a creek The way the proposed house is built as you'll see in the next few slides It's built up on piers and really doesn't have any extra paving around the house And the Plan is also to retain the existing Natural landscaping on the site in those ways the proposal is compatible with the goals of the city white creeks and wetlands management plan And the findings for the watercourse development permit Some additional conditions of approval Will help to ensure that the project is compatible with that plan and with the findings for the watercourse development permit These conditions include implementing stormwater bmps during the building permit Re-planting areas that are disturbed during site preparation and construction with native ground cover species Um And um Having any exterior lighting That's within the management setback To be cast downward and away from the creek Also because of the property's proximity to branch of 40 creek Part of the site is mapped as potentially having sensitive riparian habitat under general plan 2030 So biotic report was completed for the project by biotic resources group and dana land and associates The report found that the entire Project area where there's where there's going to be work is actually outside the riparian habitat But it also found that there was some redwood forest habitat on the site The report recommended to have native and non-invasive landscaping species Um Which the project isn't planning any new landscaping but that that is going to be required for any revegetation um For from the site disturbance during construction um And then the report also recommended erosion control control measures For the drainage work to be completed within the creek setbacks These recommendations are both included as conditions of approval And then finally, um, we do have the planning department's new ish bird safe building design standard Which has glazing and lighting standards to help prevent Building related bird mortality near natural areas So a condition of approval requires the glazing or lighting on the east elevation of the house facing branch of 40 creek To be designed to meet this standard Okay, there are also a number of trees on the site. It's a wooded site Eight of the trees in the project area are considered heritage trees And this was determined by the arborist report prepared for the project The report recommended removal of three trees, which I've circled in red Tree number three is a 15.9 inch Diameter bay tree that is within the building envelope and will need to be removed for that reason Tree number 27 is a 26 inch bay tree that is dead um, and then tree number 10 is a two trunk um Bay tree one trunk is 24.8 inches and the other is 21 inches That tree has significant decay and is at risk of failure. So the recommendation is to remove that tree All other heritage trees will be protected Um, the city urban forester has reviewed the arborist report and agrees with the recommendations for removal and for protection of the other trees um, and is requiring payment of tree replacement in lieu fees For two of the three trees to be removed. Um, she's not requiring payment of the fee for the dead tree because it's already dead um The biotic report for the project also recommended. Um, had some tree related recommendations um, one of the recommendations um Was for the timing of tree removal during the year and limbing I'm sorry tree removal or limbing of the tree. Um during certain parts of the year to avoid bird nesting season As well as completing pre-removal bird surveys in order to comply with federal and state Requirements for migratory birds or raptors The biotic report also recommended removal of heritage trees in accordance with the heritage tree ordinance, which We do anyways But these recommendations are included as conditions of approval Oh, there we go. Okay, so moving on to slope This might be the most exciting part of the site here As previously mentioned the project is The site is steeply sloped. Um, the screen shows a slope density map. So the white areas Are where the slope is less than 30 percent The solid gray is where the slope is between 30 and 50 percent And then the more kind of hatched gray area Is where the slope actually exceeds 50 percent So you can see The outline of the house on this plan as well as the little little circles, which are the foundation piers most It's located mostly over the solid gray area with slopes between 30 and 50 percent But the western most part of the house is over an area That's less than 30 percent while the eastern part of the house is partially over areas That exceed 50 percent slope So the slope regulations in the zoning ordinance Prohibit construction on slopes that exceed 50 percent However, the ordinance also exempts minor sculpted landforms From slope ordinance requirements In this case the geotechnical engineer That has been working with the applicant has Determined that the the area of slope here that exceeds 50 percent is actually caused by the By the drainage pipe from Branson 40 creek that has caused some additional erosion of the top soil basically And so What they determine is that that Part of the slope that exceeds 50 percent does so because of this kind of man-made thing If it wasn't there then the whole slope would be less than 50 percent So in that case Because this is considered like a man-made Excessive slope it's not It's exempt from the slope ordinance restriction pertaining to 50 percent slopes Um I'd also like to note that the project is rerouting that drainage down slope And below the house so it will no longer exacerbate The erosion of that area So a slope variance is required for construction on a slope greater than 30 percent In order to qualify for a slope variance, there must be a hardship peculiar to the property And the slope variance should be needed in order for the property to exercise normal property rights In this case because of the locations of significant trees on the property Including We got a really big redwood tree right down here So we have that Also because the East side of the property is very steeply sloped That's right next to the shared driveway And because much of the sloped area under 30 percent Is actually within the development setback of Bransa 40 creek and cannot be developed It's not really possible to build the house Unless it is on a slope that exceeds 30 percent Lots in the r17 zone district are developed with single family homes. It's single family Zoning so in this case construction of the house on this site would not be a privilege Above what would be allowed on other lots in the same zone district And the proposed project has been evaluated by a geotechnical engineer With pacific crest engineering Their evaluation found that The slope on the site consists of several feet of silty sand over schist bedrock And so They recommended basically that the foundation can consist of piers drilled into the bedrock And they also provided recommendations for site preparation drainage erosion control The house is designed to have a pure foundation as you'll see in the next few slides And all the recommendations of the geotechnical report are included as conditions of approval The septic system plan which we saw earlier has also been Reviewed and stamped by a geologist ensuring that it has been designed with consideration of the slope on the site Okay, so I'll have a quick look at the design This is the view from the shared driveway that runs parallel and a little bit downslope of Bransa 40 drive The garage appears to be a one-story structure from this view and then the rest of the house kind of drops down the hill So you have an unobstructed view of the forested area Here's a drawing of the south elevation So this is the side view of the house The house is going to have court and steel panel siding aluminum windows And steel and cable balcony railings. So it's a pretty consistent architectural theme around the house The house design meets slope modification permit findings Since it steps the house down in three segments Thus following the natural slope landform on the site By using pure foundations it minimizes the modification of the slope. So it's not cutting into the slope basically And then finally the rooftop decks and the cantilever decks provide A significant amount of usable open space for the residents that the site otherwise Would not be able to provide due to the steep slope So here's our rendering of the west elevation This is basically the back of the house. So it's not really something the public would view but You can see again how the house steps down And that the same design theme is continued around the house Then there's the view from the north side of the house Um So overall the proposed house meets all development standards for a substandard lot in the r1 seven zone district Including for lot coverage The size of the second story setbacks number of parking spaces and building height Because uh, there is a slight discrepancy in the noted building height of the top segment on the plans I have included a precautionary condition of approval to make sure the building permit plans show That height of the top story or i'm sorry the top section. There is no more than 30 feet To make sure it meets the r1 seven zone district standard So in conclusion the project meets all of the zoning ordinance site standards And all findings for the lot line adjustment design permit slope variance and water course development permit The project is exempt from cqa pursuant to public resources code section 2108 3.3 and cqa guidelines section 1583 these code sections exempt projects from requiring a cqa review That would repeat an analysis from a certified general plan eir And where the project is consistent with the general plan and local zoning regulations A cqa exemption checklist has been developed to confirm this finding Staff therefore recommends approval of the project As well as acknowledgement of the environmental determination This concludes my presentation. Um, I would like to note that I have not received any Comments from the public. Um, but I am available to answer any questions This time I'd like to invite the ask some questions, please. I'm going to invite the applicant up and then Staff questions from commissioners welcome Um Usually limit uh applicant Applications to 20 minutes. Okay presentations. Um, yeah, my name is Courtney Hughes. I'm with William Fisher architecture I'm a senior designer there. Um, I designed this house and been working closely with the client um along with clara and to Kind of address all of the concerns. Um Those are really challenging site to design on as you can see there are a lot of restrictions with setbacks Existing trees and really steep slopes. So we also worked really closely With pacific crest engineering and the geotechnical engineer specific crest and then also ifland civil engineers um, and we've actually although We're not at the stage yet until we have design approval to begin Getting into the details with structural engineer We've been consulting with the structural engineer that the client will be working with closely to make sure that Any concerns about the steepness of the slope And the soils on the site and the drainage and everything are all kind of well coordinated and thought through And so yeah, if you have any questions for me, I would love to answer them. Okay. Thank you We'll call you back up if we if we do. Thank you very much any questions for staff before we Go to public comment commissioner shifrin I have a number of questions As I remember the staff report the current four lots are Substandard and the one lot is Substandard in terms of the developable area that My understanding correct That's correct. Uh, the four the four lots when combined Are still substandard although it is less non conforming than when they started out Does the general plan and zoning ordinance allow the creation of substandard lots? I would assume that one of the purposes of the general plan is not to allow the creation of substandard lots My understanding is when when you're if you're going to subdivide a parcel You need to create substandard lots if you're doing a lot line adjustment And you're starting out with a non conforming situation If you're if you're not making that any worse and in this case, it's making it closer to The conforming situation and that's something that we would encourage So you're saying that the general that the zoning ordinance does allow for the creation of a new sub Subdivision ordinance discourages creation of substandard lots through subdivision This is not a subdivision. This is a boundary line adjustment And there's there's our hands are really tied with respect to what we can and cannot regulate with boundary line adjustments um, and um, and as clara said, I mean, we're We wouldn't otherwise recommend consolidations of lots in a residential zone except for the fact that it is making a situation um less non conforming I'm just asking whether it's consistent with the code and whether the code allows for a lot line adjustment when the lot line adjustment Leads to the creation of a substandard lot. I think the code is silent with respect to that It's it's very clear with respect to creation of lots through subdivision, but that's not what this is Well, it's a creation of a lot through a lot line adjustment That's consolidation of lots um Was a tree permit Acquired for I went out to the site So there is a large tree that had like six or seven trunks that had been cut down, right Was a did the city issuer I can't believe that wasn't a heritage tree that did the city or To a for the Going down to that tree Okay, I'm sure different. Would you like to invite the applicant back up to answer that? Yeah It's my understanding the clients explained to me that some of the trees um that arborist had actually found we're going to fail have Fallen down or there have been some of the trees have Failed and I don't believe that any Permits were ever pulled to remove any trees. He's cleared trees that fell of natural causes on the site. Well, it sure looked like they were shaved off I I mean I I wasn't there but my understanding is that it could have been that parts of the limbs Fell down and he okay, so there was no tree removal permit that was not that I'm aware of um why didn't Since there's no secret document here except for the initial study that's supposed to As an exemption, which usually doesn't have an initial study. Why didn't the um staff Or why wasn't the biotic report included so that the commission could review the biotics? There's no The only information is in the staff report itself secret document to really With an include the draft agreement with uh fishing wildlife isn't including I'm just wondering why those support of documents weren't provided to the commission as part of the This is I mean, I don't know if other commissioners have been out there This isn't a slope. It's a cliff. I mean If I fell off the driveway, that'd be the end of me. I wouldn't slide down a slope So The slope regulations to say that the slope regulations can give exceptions Makes me wonder What couldn't they give exceptions to I it's hard to believe that'd be a site in the city that they couldn't figure out a way And and I understand the staff Presentation that the the the building on the slope above 50 percent was man-made It sure looked like it was all part of a hole that went on for quite a while and Down down the hill But I guess I'll wait till it comes back to you know talk about my sequel concerns because my feeling is that the approach that staff is used to justify Not providing a secret document Essentially sets a precedent that I don't see how we'd ever need a secret document for any development in the city of Santa Cruz The combination of The general plan covering everything and then what isn't covered is covered by uniformly applied standards which is the watercourse requirements and slope requirements that Can allow development on this site without any meaningful sequel review as far as I'm concerned So that's a concern that I have with this project. Any other staff questions? No, any other not this time questions for staff. So one commissioner spell. Um, yeah, so the septic is unusual. You mentioned 200 feet to actually hook up to a sewer. Which direction is that? Um, I I believe it's I don't think the code talks about the direction. Um, it's under I think chapter Sick or title title chapter six. I mean, so there is no physical sewer to hook up to in 200 feet That's a way there is not there's there is a sewer connection in the carbonara neighborhood It's about the house that's about 230 feet to the west But that that's still over 200 feet and it's that they wouldn't connect a sewer line going across bands of 40 greek Okay, yeah, no, I don't think that's a reason that I think the city sewers at a half a mile Or I think it's a half a mile down the road to the south. Yeah, great. Thank you So we'll invite any members of the public to address the commission on this Welcome Please sign in if you would and you can sign in after if you like and share your name if you're willing I live two doors down from where this will be placed And I've lived there for over 30 years and during that time this lot has been essentially abandoned So over those years we've seen illegal dumping We have seen trees falling across the road that Have blocked access to our homes And we have seen the thickets of poison oak and so on developing in that lot And when tyler has come in the applicant He has taken responsibility for that lot Cleared out the thickets cleared out the trash Taken and really made this A piece of property that is being taken care of that someone is responsible for So this has made an enormous difference For all of us living on the small dirt road That runs past it So from the standpoint of seeing This become a property that is taken care of that is somebody's home That has someone that is responsible for it. It makes an enormous difference to all of us And from what I've seen here tonight With the application and the way that this is being developed It seems like a continuance of what I have seen from his behavior responsible well thought out Putting out on pylons so that minimizes the disturbance Just everything I've seen about it. I'm very impressed. I'm very happy to see the possibility of this Going in there and so I really want to say The degree to which I support this application Joining the lots Taking care of the situation For example the trees that you're mentioning They fell across our road and blocked all access We called Tyler up the next day He had people out in the morning Cutting those up clearing them from the road and this was trunks 24 to 28 inches in diameter each Three or four of them completely blocking our access to our homes He took care of it. He just made that happen immediately. So I have to say that whereas I might be very cautious About anyone else going in I am very happy to see this happening. I'm really pleased with the plans that I've seen Completely in support of it and as I said I live Basically Probably a hundred feet from where this home will be So it will be directly affecting me. I want to see it there Thank you. Thank you for your comments So I we usually invite the applicant back to Offer rebuttal if you have any of public comment. It's just one favorable comment, but Well, I will just say I really appreciate the support um, also just I was reminded and listening to his comments about Tyler how impressed I've been also this is You know, this is a person who's building a home for his You know, he just got married. He and his wife are wanting to move into a home He's put a lot of time into designing this to meet their needs and Um, it's been a really like I said a challenge as we were trying to create something on this steep slope but also really Really enjoyable process and I think that we've come up with something that's really unassuming from the road Which was important to us to not have this big massive structure there That also met his needs of a three bedroom home for him and his family And I yeah again happy to answer any questions But just wanted to comment on kind of the person that is behind a lot of this design as the client Thank you back to the commission for discussion Mr. Singleton I'm prepared to make a motion, but I'll Do so and see if it's second and then we'll have a discussion on the motion Great, um, I'd like to move that the planning commission acknowledged the environmental determination and improve the lot line adjustment design permit Slope variance and water course development based upon the findings listed below and the conditions of approval listed in exhibit eight Second Motion and a second Discussion commissioner shifrin. Yes, I'm not going to support the motion. I have a question for staff regarding the Comment that the city council must approve the septic system What is their authority about this project? What if they deny the septic system? They deny a septic system. They're going to need to find a way to hook up to the sewer system And you know the question before them uh, is a Does the environmental health department is are they supportive of this which which we know is true? The other provision I think and you can correct me if I'm wrong Is that there has to be some kind of a hardship 200 feet is sort of said as the base? You know if you're if you're less than 200 feet The expectation is that you connect if it's more you can apply to the city council for the septic system Well, having been out there, I think the You know the staff Determination on the Sequa review Makes a mockery of our Regulations. I don't see how any project can't be approved that has potentially significant environmental effects that aren't really even analyzed sufficiently under the under the You know the a normal sequel document, so I just I don't I'm concerned about you know creating a substandard lot I'm concerned about having a septic tank so close to the Brands of 40 creek. There's no information on the 100 year floodplain or in the current years the 500 year floodplain I'm frankly surprised that the county is agreed to this septic tank Right above the creek I I understand that there's a planning That there's a draft agreement with state fish and wildlife, but it hasn't been approved one of the findings is that all the All the other agreements have been approved I know that state fish and wildlife for streambed all the operation permits usually Uses the sequel analysis that The locals local government provides and in this case it's It's not a I don't consider it a meaningful sequel analysis since it's a it's an exception That's really not an exception. It's not even an exception It's essentially the determination is that it doesn't need to be any sequel analysis whatsoever Because of the general plan and because of these various ordinances that supposedly Take care of all the problems which instead of having mitigation measures are really just conditions that without any public review And I just think that this is it just is not the way the sequel process should should operate Other discussion commissioner conway Yeah Appreciate your thoughtful view on that. I don't see it that way. There is a sequel document The reason it's in draft forms. I understand it is that this needs to be adopted The This exemption needs to be adopted. Was that right? That's correct part part of your emotion would be to acknowledge the determination which went at that point the agreement that's been Negotiated because can become final. That's correct, right I actually thought it was a fascinating building and I mean like I was When I first looked at it, I was Actually really interested to do it what you guys are gonna say about it But the more I read about it. I mean, I think there is it it does look like it's been really thoughtful I really appreciate hearing that This is an opportunity to really make the neighborhood work better And I kind of want to see the building so I support it Mr. Spellman Yeah, I support that that thought too. May I it's it's obviously been sensitively designed to the conditions that are there? I mean it floats lightly on that slope there will be peers going down but The house itself sort of floats in the in the landscape, which is I think very sensitively done and obvious attention to street views which they didn't have to comply with but then the fact that it Sort of disappears and falls down the hill is kind of an interesting idea Yeah, encourage more unconventional looking housing third discussion I have a couple of questions With regard I've not I've not since I've been on the commission. We haven't had this We haven't had a a level a bar course development issue and so I'm not familiar with the process for The water course development management plan you're you're saying we kind of punt on that because the regional board and FW get involved or so the There is an exception to the water course development permit for projects that require a permit from like a state or federal agency that have their own environmental review So it's the part of this project that's below the top of bank that part Is getting a permit from California Department of Fish and Wildlife So that part is was not reviewed as part of this water course development permit This permit reviewed everything between the management setback and the top of bank Which is a little piece of the house and then the The top part of that extended drainage and then do you Do you task yourself with Looking at the stream bed alteration agreement that DFW has drafted To make sure that that is at least as rigorous as this city Yeah, I look through it and they they had a number of conditions Which I think actually goes beyond what we would have required probably Is there anything that the city can do or will do to So how about how about then after this is approved? What what would what I'm worried about is the creek I'm not actually worried about the slope because I I think engineers can dig into that bedrock and Make it all safe based on seismic studies and all that. I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about the steelhead Not very often. Does the city actually have development along a level a water course so Level b stuff is you know Not as valuable there is there special status species in this creek and There's not one big problem for those. It's a bunch of problems And it's little by little we nick one dime their habitat. So that's what I'm really concerned with this So my question is what after we approve this if the city does that then There's no mechanism to go back and you don't go back and check to see if the The lot is managed in any certain way, right? Inappropriate landscaping or clearing or well, I mean we have a condition of approval for Oh, I'm not sure exactly how it's written. We I mean we have a condition of approval for when they When they revegetate the site for erosion control that needs to have native landscaping Um I saw that condition. I'm just I mean you don't go and You don't go back into people's backyard a year or five years later. I realize so I think I know the answer I'm just trying to think beyond that. There are water course development standards and There's a pretty specific list of things that would need a water course development permit in the setbacks of a type A creek We're not going to go and make sure they're meeting all of those but if And this happens sometimes if they're doing something they shouldn't and somebody files a complaint that would go through our code enforcement process And then they would Just clean it up and it's happened Before where we've dealt with it through the code enforcement You know through the complaint process and then you know when we go out there and look at it We're you know looking at the conditions of approval on this and if they're not being met We can use our code enforcement tools to deal with Okay, I'd also like to respond to the comment regarding sequa Um, just just briefly. I mean you I know some of you who have been on the commission longer have seen these these documents Uh prepared but sequa does include provisions to streamline review when it's appropriate Um, we think this is one of those situations. Um, you know, we're really not avoiding sequa. I mean the I think commissioner shifrin said it itself He said himself, you know, we did the analysis through the initial study I mean some agencies it's it's it's done so out of an abundance caution. It's above and beyond. I think what other agencies do Um, the the mitigations the idea here is the mitigations are built in not only with our general plan eir, but through uniformly Development standards uniformly applied development standards Um, you know, if there is something peculiar to the site, then we do we can look at it through either a negative declaration or maybe an eir That didn't apply here. Um, we're very careful in our analysis. So, um This is something that's that's allowed in the in the law We've uh, we've sort of templated it with our sequa consultant and our sequa attorneys They've reviewed many of these. Um, we feel like we're on on very firm legal ground using them And and I will say they're they're less susceptible to challenge in court than a negative declaration Again, if it's appropriate any other comment I would I will say that if um If we were to see this this type of thing again, I would like to see the the draft stream bed alteration agreement Um, I'm again being really concerned about the habitat. I can't As the city and this body we can't tell the state to do so differently, but I would have some more comfort level with knowing exactly what's in there We can certainly keep that in mind and and also for you keep in mind If there's something that you see in the reporter reference to something that we haven't included Don't hesitate to contact us and we'll make it available right away. But that that's a good comment We can certainly attach those Okay, so, um Discussion seems to have stalled and we have a motion in a second. So I will call for a vote all in favor Hi. Hi. Hi all opposed. No Okay, so the motion passes sixth one with commissioner shifrin voting against and Thank you staff for that. Thank you to the applicant and That's the end of our agenda other than information items. Are there any Eric just um coming up At our next meeting um june 6th. We have The right-of-way abandonment for 5 17 high you heard that a month or two ago. So um, that'll be coming through There's also an appeal of A decision I made a zoning administrator regarding A medical facility in the cooper house That's that's scheduled for next meeting Um So that's what we have and then out on june 20th. We tentatively have a community care facility on mission street What's the schedule in july the commission meeting in july? Yeah, there's only one meeting in july because the other one falls on the fourth and and i'm definitely not gonna be here I think we changed that so it's just did we I think we have it on the third We had to discuss that I think I don't have I mean we don't have anything right now for that meeting. Um, so So So that's what's scheduled here. It's scheduled for the third and we may have no business. Is that yeah, we may not need it Doesn't look like we need it right now. Okay, that's the commission doesn't take any break I see where you're getting that we do cancel more meetings than the council does though So for what it's worth We did have that one long gap for any other any other information items. Eric. No, okay any subcommittee advisory We're we're not just quite wrapped up any Subcommittee or advisory body oral reports. I'm on this west cliff tack and there are really two aspects to it One is adaptation We've had the first meeting for the adaptation and we're having a virtual first meeting of the beach lcp amendment process At some point in the next couple of months. Next couple of months. Okay. Thank you Thanks for serving on that And with that we're adjourned