103 Reed Ranch Road Staff Report

To:	PLANNING COMMISSION
From:	DANIEL M. WATROUS, SENIOR PLANNER
Subject:	103 REED RANCH ROAD CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT #10107 REQUEST TO ESTABLISH A SECONDARY DWELLING UNIT
Report Date: Meeting Date:	JANUARY 4, 2002 JANUARY 9, 2002

A proposal has been made to convert the unfinished ground floor and loft space adjacent to an a two-car garage within an existing accessory building on property located at 103 Reed Ranch Road. The parcel is currently developed with a single-family residence. The accessory building is located on the northern side of the parcel.

The proposed secondary dwelling unit would have an area of 945 square feet, which is less than one-third of the allowable floor area for this property. The lower portion of the proposed unit would contain a living room, kitchen and laundry area. The upper level would be connected by an interior stairway, and would include a bedroom and bathroom.

Section 4.05.05 of the Tiburon Zoning Ordinance requires that the following items be addressed in the review of an application for a secondary dwelling unit:

1. The secondary dwelling unit is located on the same lot or parcel on which the owner of record maintains his or her principal place of residence.

The Assessor= s records confirm that the applicants own the subject property, and this property is currently their principal place of residence. A condition of approval should be adopted for this permit requiring that the owners shall maintain this property as their principal place of residence.

2. The secondary dwelling unit meets all of the development standards of the zoning district in which it is located.

The secondary dwelling unit meets all of the development standards for the RO-2 zone, with the exception of building height. This structure is 20 feet in height, which exceeds the 15 foot maximum height for an accessory building in the RO-2 zone. This building was constructed in the 1970’s at the same time as the house on this parcel, with the appropriate building permits, and is a legal nonconforming structure.

3. The secondary dwelling unit meets the current building codes adopted by the Town.

A building permit will be required for any work to be performed to convert the upstairs portion of the structure into a secondary dwelling unit to insure compliance with all applicable building codes. A preliminary inspection of the property indicates that there would be no practical difficulties anticipated in completing the necessary improvements in compliance with the Town Building Code.

5. The secondary dwelling unit does not cause excessive noise, traffic congestion, parking congestion, or overloading of public facilities.

The existing accessory building within which the proposed secondary dwelling unit would be developed is situated toward the front of the property. The living room window and entry for this unit would be visible primarily from the adjacent property at 105 Reed Ranch Road. The difference in elevation between the two properties should minimize any potential noise or privacy impacts on the neighboring residence. However, the Commission may wish to evaluate whether the proposed living room window would create any visual or privacy intrusion for the adjacent home.

Reed Ranch Road is a relatively wide street serving several subdivisions. The additional traffic generated by the proposed secondary dwelling unit would not result in traffic congestion on this or any other streets in Tiburon.

Adequate space is available on the subject property to park four vehicles. The remaining garage area would contain two covered parking spaces. The existing driveway is wide enough on the left (south) side to provide one additional parking space. Sufficient space is available to widen either side of the driveway to provide one more parking space; this widening would likely be easier to complete on the right (north) side of the driveway, as the south side has a slight grade that would require the construction of a retaining wall above the driveway area. This on-site parking would minimize the potential for parking congestion on the site.

6. Adequate sanitary services for the additional amount of effluent resulting from the secondary dwelling unit are available.

To date, Staff has not received confirmation from the Richardson Bay Sanitary District that they can accommodate the additional discharge from the proposed secondary dwelling unit, although Staff is not aware of capacity problems in this area. Staff recommends that a condition of approval be adopted which requires that written confirmation of A Ability to Serve@ be obtained from the Sanitary District prior to issuance of a building permit.

7. The Secondary Dwelling Unit is a maximum of one-third of the allowable floor area for the property, or 1,000 square feet, whichever is less, and no floor area ratio exception is required.

The proposed secondary dwelling unit has 945 square feet of floor area, which is less than one-third of the 4,278 square foot maximum floor area allowed for a parcel of this size.

8. The secondary dwelling unit is structurally attached to the main single-family dwelling (or is an existing detached structure built prior to January 4, 1984), and is located on a lot not less than 10,000 square feet in area.

The existing accessory building is detached from the primary residence, but was lawfully constructed in the 1970’s. The parcel has a lot area of 22,781 square feet.

9. The secondary dwelling unit is to be occupied by no more than three (3) persons.

The proposed secondary dwelling unit would contain only one bedroom, and is therefore unlikely to be occupied by more than three persons.

10. Principal access to the proposed secondary dwelling unit is through an entrance other than the entrance to the primary unit.

As a detached structure, the entrance to the proposed secondary dwelling unit is separate from that for the primary residence.

11. Two on-site non-tandem parking spaces are provided for the secondary dwelling unit.

As noted above, two garage spaces are currently provided on the site, and the driveway can be easily widened to provide two additional off-street parking spaces. It is recommended that a condition of approval be adopted for this permit requiring the appropriate widening of the driveway prior to issuance of building permits for the secondary dwelling unit.

Staff considers secondary dwelling units to be an excellent means of providing affordable rental housing in Tiburon. Such units also address a need identified in the Housing Element of the Tiburon General Plan. General Plan Policy H-22 states that the Town should A encourage throughout the community the voluntary delivery of rental housing, especially for senior households, singles, single parents, and young households, by allowing secondary dwelling units in locations consistent with ordinance requirements and criteria.@ As noted above, the proposed secondary dwelling unit complies with both the requirements of the RO-2 zone and the standards for secondary dwelling units contained within the Tiburon Zoning Ordinance. Because of the minor exterior change proposed for this project, an application for Site Plan and Architectural Review would be required upon approval of the subject conditional use permit.

The project is categorically exempt from the requirements of CEQA per Section 15303 of the CEQA Guidelines.

Staff recommends that the Planning Commission take public testimony on this item and adopt the draft resolution granting conditional approval of the project.