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We haven't been denied yet - we've been taking the friendly approach - meeting with board members, neighbors and attempting to address concerns before our heari

by jread 9y ago

We haven't been denied yet - we've been taking the friendly approach - meeting with board members, neighbors and attempting to address concerns before our hearing. CaRLA looks like a great resource if we were denied after all of this effort. We're attempting to build a small home and accessory apartment which will contribute in a small way to the supply of lower cost rentals which are scarce.

tdfischer 9y ago
hello, victoria fierce here. CaRLA is collecting data on small projects like this so we know what parts of the state are friendlier to small homebuilders and not. If you've got a few minutes, can you submit your project here? http://www.carlaef.org/submit/ http://www.carlaef.org/submit/ we'd be happy to look over it and track your city council's actions on this as it moves along. in particular, it sounds like your project is zoning compliant and follows all the objective standards. at this point there is pretty much no legal reason for the city to hold up your project in design review or even deny it for arbitrary things like "too much glazing" unless they've already sent you a letter explaining--with quantifiable numbers--how much glazing is "too much".
- jread 9y ago
  Thanks for responding here. I'll submit our project soon. We're hoping to have plans submitted and scheduled for the first hearing soon. We met 1:1 with 2 board members last year to solicit feedback, and we've made extensive changes already based on their input. One point of contention has been ADU parking. SB1069 65852.2 states that ADU parking should be waived if the unit resides within 1/2 mile of public transit which our unit will. However, city staff made the decision that because the city's public transit is subject to seasonal schedule and occasional route changes, they will not allow it to be considered for ADU parking waivers. Instead, only the county (OCTA) route will be considered which services PCH only and is well outside of the 1/2 mile range for most of the city. I find this to be a very convenient way to get around this requirement, which effectively eliminates many potential ADUs due to the unfeasibility of onsite parking - e.g. https://www.lagunabeachindy.com/lawmaker-presses-laguna-move-ahead-granny-flats/ https://www.lagunabeachindy.com/lawmaker-presses-laguna-move...
  - tdfischer 9y ago
    Oh dang, yeah, ADUs! We're actually launching a new ADU department this year dedicated to ADU law. This is extremely relevant to our interests! :] Thats an odd determination for staff to make. I've not heard of that trick before but I'll certainly look into it!
  - toomuchtodo 9y ago
    If local public transit is seasonal, should it not be considered then? That seems reasonable to me.

by jread 9y ago

tdfischer 9y ago

hello, victoria fierce here. CaRLA is collecting data on small projects like this so we know what parts of the state are friendlier to small homebuilders and not. If you've got a few minutes, can you submit your project here? http://www.carlaef.org/submit/ http://www.carlaef.org/submit/ we'd be happy to look over it and track your city council's actions on this as it moves along. in particular, it sounds like your project is zoning compliant and follows all the objective standards. at this point there is pretty much no legal reason for the city to hold up your project in design review or even deny it for arbitrary things like "too much glazing" unless they've already sent you a letter explaining--with quantifiable numbers--how much glazing is "too much".

jread 9y ago
Thanks for responding here. I'll submit our project soon. We're hoping to have plans submitted and scheduled for the first hearing soon. We met 1:1 with 2 board members last year to solicit feedback, and we've made extensive changes already based on their input. One point of contention has been ADU parking. SB1069 65852.2 states that ADU parking should be waived if the unit resides within 1/2 mile of public transit which our unit will. However, city staff made the decision that because the city's public transit is subject to seasonal schedule and occasional route changes, they will not allow it to be considered for ADU parking waivers. Instead, only the county (OCTA) route will be considered which services PCH only and is well outside of the 1/2 mile range for most of the city. I find this to be a very convenient way to get around this requirement, which effectively eliminates many potential ADUs due to the unfeasibility of onsite parking - e.g. https://www.lagunabeachindy.com/lawmaker-presses-laguna-move-ahead-granny-flats/ https://www.lagunabeachindy.com/lawmaker-presses-laguna-move...
- tdfischer 9y ago
  Oh dang, yeah, ADUs! We're actually launching a new ADU department this year dedicated to ADU law. This is extremely relevant to our interests! :] Thats an odd determination for staff to make. I've not heard of that trick before but I'll certainly look into it!
- toomuchtodo 9y ago
  If local public transit is seasonal, should it not be considered then? That seems reasonable to me.