COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES AGENCY

Date:

May 23, 2003

Set Time:

10:45 a.m.

Hearing Date:

June 10, 2003

To:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

From:

Marcia Raines, Director of Environmental Services

Subject:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Consideration of an appeal of the Planning Commission's denial of a Use Permit, Coastal Development Permit, and Design Review, to allow the construction of a new 1,975 sq. ft. single-family residence, on a 4,400 sq. ft. non-conforming parcel, located at 198 Coronado Avenue in the unincorporated Miramar area of San Mateo County. This project is appealable to the California Coastal Commission.

County File Number:

PLN 2000-00676 (Hodge)

RECOMMENDATION

Deny the appeal and uphold the decision of the Planning Commission to deny the Use Permit, Coastal Development Permit, and Design Review, County File Number PLN 2000-00676, by making a finding for denial.

PROPOSAL

The applicants are proposing to develop a 4,400 sq. ft. parcel with a new 1,975 sq. ft. single-family residence. Zoning Regulations for this district require a minimum parcel size of 10,000 sq. ft. and a minimum parcel width of 50 feet. The project parcel is less than 5,000 sq. ft. and is 40 feet wide and therefore a use permit is required to develop the property.

PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION

The Planning Commission considered the proposed project on March 12, 2003 and voted 2-1 to grant the appeal of the project and overturn the approval of the proposed development by the Zoning Hearing Officer. Subsequent to the Planning Commission meeting, County Counsel determined that the motion did not carry, as it had not passed by majority vote, which requires three (3) votes either in favor of or against a motion. Therefore, the Planning Commission, on the advice of County Counsel, reconsidered the project on April 9, 2003. The Planning Commission, with a vote of 3-2, upheld the appeal and denied the application, making the finding that: All opportunities to acquire additional contiguous land in order to achieve conformity with the zoning regulations currently in effect have not been investigated and proven to be infeasible, as required by Zoning Ordinance Section 6133.3(b)(3).

SUMMARY

The project parcel is surrounded by development on all sides, except to the east. Although the parcel to the east has yet to be developed, at this time there is a Coastal Development Permit under consideration by the California Coastal Commission to develop this lot with a single-family residence. The applicants maintain that they have tried to reach an agreement with this property owner to purchase this property, but have been unsuccessful. The applicants provided a letter from their real estate agent at the time of the application for the use permit stating that no properties contiguous to the applicants' were available for sale. At that time, staff accepted this letter as evidence that the applicants had tried to purchase contiguous properties. The Planning Commission, however, did not feel that the information provided was substantial enough to make the required finding above. The applicants are requesting that the Board of Supervisors grant their appeal and overturn the decision of the Planning Commission, by finding that all opportunities to purchase contiguous properties have been adequately investigated.