COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

 

PLANNING AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT

 
 

DATE:

January 12, 2009

BOARD MEETING DATE:

January 27, 2009

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

 

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

 

FROM:

Lisa Grote, Director of Community Development

 

SUBJECT:

Consideration of a resolution authorizing the San Mateo County Planning and Building Department to use a lottery and waiting list system to allocate available development opportunities for caretaker’s quarters in the Princeton Waterfront District.

 

County File Number: PLN 2008-00397

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

Adopt a resolution authorizing the San Mateo County Planning and Building Department to use a lottery and waiting list system to allocate available development opportunities for caretaker’s quarters in the Princeton Waterfront District.

 

VISION ALIGNMENT

 

Commitment: Redesign our urban environment to increase vitality, expand variety and reduce congestion.

 

Goal: Land use decisions consider transportation and other infrastructure needs, as well as impacts on the environment and on surrounding communities.

 

Existing zoning regulations that restrict residential development in the Princeton Waterfront District to a limited number of caretaker’s quarters help ensure that the unique character of the community, including its distinct mix of waterfront uses, is not adversely impacted by excessive residential development. Adoption of the proposed lottery and waiting list procedures will enable the Planning and Building Department to administer these regulations equitably and efficiently, and in a manner consistent with the County’s Local Coast Program (LCP).

 

Commitment: Responsive, effective and collaborative government.

 

Goal: Government decisions are based on careful consideration of future impact, rather than temporary relief or immediate gain.

 

The limits on development of caretaker’s quarters in the Princeton Waterfront District were established to address the negative impact that residential development could have on coastal-dependent and coastal-related uses and preserve the unique character of this important shoreline area. The proposed procedures will allow for consistent and effective implementation of these LCP provisions.

 

BACKGROUND

 

As defined by Section 6286.0 of the County Zoning Regulations, caretaker’s quarters (or caretaker’s units) are “an area within a building that is intended for residential use by a person(s) to look after the property on which the caretaker’s quarters are located.” The County’s Local Coastal Program (LCP) limits the number of caretaker’s quarters that may be constructed within Princeton’s Waterfront (“W”) District to a number equal to 20% of the total number of developed parcels in the District (i.e., for every ten parcels developed with a building, two caretaker’s units are allowed. If certified by the Coastal Commission, the Midcoast LCP Update would increase this quota to a number equal to 25% of such developed parcels). Once this 20% quota is reached, no additional units are allowed until further parcels have been developed.

 

In 2003, the Planning and Building Department estimated that there were 71 developed parcels in the W District, consequently allowing 14 caretaker’s units (20% of 71). At that time, the Planning and Building Department identified 14 caretaker’s units that had been issued permits, leaving no availability for additional units. Since 2003, new development has been completed on eight vacant parcels within the W District. In addition, one of the permits issued for a caretaker’s unit as of 2003 has since expired without the unit being built. Based on this information, the Planning and Building Department has determined that up to two new caretaker’s units may now be constructed in the W District.

 

To date, allocation of available caretaker’s units has been on a first-come, first-served basis. The Planning and Building Department has traditionally revisited the amount of development in the W District from time to time, to determine if sufficient development has occurred to allow the caretaker’s unit quota to be raised. Once it has been determined that enough development has occurred to allow the quota to be raised, the opportunity to develop a unit has traditionally been available to the first applicant to apply for a caretaker’s unit after that point. There has been no system to track or notify applicants who may have expressed interest in developing a unit prior to the point at which the quota is raised.

 

In order to ensure that available caretaker’s units are allocated in an orderly and equitable manner, the Planning and Building Department proposes to conduct a lottery that will determine who can make use of the currently available unit development potential. The lottery will also be used to establish a waiting list system, which will provide the mechanism to fairly allocate caretaker’s units that become available in the future. This proposal includes a formalized system of tracking development in the Princeton Waterfront District and updating the caretaker’s unit quota, procedures for establishing and maintaining the waiting list, procedures for administering the lottery, procedures for notifying and screening potential applicants included on the list once they reach the top of the list, and other procedures for ensuring that units are distributed fairly and efficiently to eligible applicants. The discussion below provides greater detail on the proposed procedures.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The lottery system will include the following components:

 

1.

Tracking New Development to Maintain the Quota. One of the key requirements for implementing the quota system is keeping an accurate count of the number of developed lots within the W District, and monitoring this development to determine when a new caretaker’s unit allocation becomes available. Accordingly, in January of each year, the Planning and Building Department will review the number of parcels that have been developed within the W District during the preceding year to determine if additional caretaker’s units can be constructed.

   
 

Another important requirement will be to ensure that the construction of caretaker’s units complies with the LCP’s annual limit on new development within the Midcoast Urban Area. The LCP currently limits the number of new residences to 125 units per year, with some increase allowed if certain findings can be made (the proposed Midcoast LCP Update, if certified, would reduce this number to an absolute maximum of 75 residential units per year, and make it clear that caretaker’s units shall be included in this limit). As with all residential development proposed within the Midcoast area, these limits would be enforced during the Planning and Building Department’s review of the necessary permit applications.

   

2.

Lottery to Create an Initial Allocation and Waiting List. In order to distribute the two allocations that are currently available and establish the initial waiting list, the Planning and Building Department will conduct a lottery open to all owners of property within the Waterfront District. The Planning and Building Department will distribute a notice by mail to all property owners in the W District informing them of the purpose and intent of the lottery, and how to participate. The Department will also place at least one advertisement in the Half Moon Bay Review, post notices in conspicuous areas of the W District, and include all relevant information on the Planning and Building Department’s website.

   
 

To be placed in the lottery pool, property owners will need to submit a simple form that identifies the parcel address, verification of property ownership, and contact information. The Department will accept the completed forms during an established two-month window, and would then conduct a random drawing. Property owners who submit valid forms will be listed in the order they are drawn to form an initial allocation and waiting list. The drawing will be open to the public and take place in Princeton.

   
 

The Chair of the Princeton Citizens Advisory Committee has been notified of this proposal, although the Committee has not yet had the opportunity to provide a full response to the proposal. The Planning Department will be meeting with the Committee prior to the scheduled hearing on the proposal, and any response received will be summarized at the hearing. The Planning Department will rely on the Committee’s input and coordinate with the Committee to ensure that the lottery is conducted in a fair and transparent manner.

   

3.

Allocation of Available Units. Within approximately one month of completing the lottery, and annually thereafter, the Planning and Building Department will allocate the number of caretaker’s units available to those property owners that are at the top of the waiting list, and that meet the following eligibility requirements.

   
 

In order to be receive a caretaker’s unit allocation, property owners will be required to:

   
 

a.

Have an existing use that justifies the need for a caretaker’s unit as required by Section 6289.2 of the Zoning Regulations (see attachment B); and

     
 

b.

Apply for all necessary permits to construct the caretaker’s units in a manner that is consistent with Section 6289.2 of the Zoning Regulations (as well as all other relevant development standards) within 90 days of being informed that they are eligible to receive an allocation; or

     
 

c.

Submit the application materials necessary to construct a new project that includes the establishment of a caretaker’s unit and complies with Section 6289.2 of the Zoning Regulations (as well as all other relevant development standards), within 90 days of being informed that they are eligible to receive an allocation.

     
 

Notification and screening of property owners would be administered as follows. The Planning and Building Department would send a letter to the property owner(s) at the top of the list informing them of their eligibility to receive a caretaker’s unit allocation. The letter would explain that in order to make use of the allocation, the property owner must submit the planning and building permit applications necessary to construct the caretaker’s unit (and any development needed to justify the caretaker’s unit) within 90 days. The letter would also explain that if the property owner is not ready to make use of the allocation, he/she can either request to be retained on the list (in which case they will be moved to the bottom of the list), or be removed from the list.

   
 

Property owners who are sent letters indicating their eligibility to receive an allocation will be requested to inform the Planning and Building Department of their intent to use the allocation within 30 days from their receipt of the letter, so that if they do not intend to apply for the necessary permits to construct the unit, the allocation can be offered to the next person on the list. If the property owner indicates an intent to use the allocation and apply for the necessary permits, but then declines to submit the necessary applications within the 90 day timeframe, or submits incomplete applications that remain incomplete for more than six months, the property would be removed from the waiting list, and the next property owner on the list would be contacted and offered the opportunity to use the allocation.

   

4.

List Maintenance. Following the creation of the initial waiting list, any owner of property in the W District will be able to obtain a position on the waiting list, on a first-come, first-served basis, by submitting the same information previously required to sign up for the lottery. Each new applicant would be placed at the bottom of the list. The list would be limited in size to 20% of the total buildout limit for development in the W District. Property owners will be removed from the list once they have constructed a caretaker’s unit, or submit a request to be removed. Positions on the waiting list will run with the land and not be affected by a change in parcel ownership.

   
 

This proposal does not change the allowed amount of development of caretaker’s quarters, or of other kinds of development, in the Princeton Waterfront District. The proposal only creates a formalized allocation system for units already allowed, as well as a formal system for tracking those units. The proposal will not result in additional development in the area.

   

REVIEWING AGENCIES

 

County Counsel

 

FISCAL IMPACT

 

Adoption of the resolution will have no fiscal impact on the County.

 

ATTACHMENTS

 

A.

Resolution authorizing the San Mateo County Planning and Building Department to use a lottery system to allocate available development opportunities for caretaker’s quarters in the Princeton Waterfront District.

   

B.

Zoning Code Section 6289.2, regulations regarding the establishment of caretaker’s quarters in the W District.