01-15-18 Ordinance Amending OMC 17.08 Noticing Requirements- Old Towne Historic District
TO: Chair Glasgow and
Members of the Planning Commission
THRU: Anna Pehoushek, AICP
Assistant Community Development Director
FROM: Marissa Moshier
Historic Preservation Planner
SUBJECT
PUBLIC HEARING: An Ordinance amending Chapter 17.08 of the Orange Municipal Code to
establish notification requirements for Design Review projects involving construction of second
stories or additional units on properties in residential zones within the boundaries of an establishe d
historic district.
SUMMARY
At the December 12, 2017 City Council meeting, the Council directed staff to prepare an
amendment to the Orange Municipal Code (OMC) to establish notification requirements for certain
types of Design Review projects in the Old Towne Historic Districts. This request resulted from the
Council’s consideration of the update to the Historic Preservation Design Standards for Old Towne
(Design Standards), which included eliminating Planning Commission review of construction of
second stories and additional units in the Old Towne Historic Districts in order to streamline project
review. Under the update, these types of projects will receive a final determination from the Design
Review Committee.
The Council adopted the update to the Design Standards and requested that staff return promptly
with an Ordinance Amendment to establish notification requirements for Design Review projects
involving construction of second stories or additional units to ensure that members of public have
adequate time and opportunity to comment on these projects prior to their approval. The proposed
Ordinance Amendment of OMC Section 17.08.040 requires that notice of the public meeting of the
Design Review Committee to consider projects involving construction of second stories or
additional units shall be posted at the subject property and mailed to property owners and residents
within 300 feet of the subject property.
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. PC 01-18 entitled:
Planning Commission
Agenda Item
January 15, 2018
Planning Commission Staff Report
January 15, 2018
Page 2
A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION
RECOMMENDING CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL OF AN
ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 17 OF THE ORANGE
MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH NOTIFICATION
REQUIREMENTS FOR DESIGN REVIEW PROJECTS
INVOLVING CONSTRUCTION OF SECOND STORIES OR
ADDITIONAL UNITS ON PROPERTIES IN RESIDENTIAL
ZONES WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF AN
ESTABLISHED HISTORIC DISTRICT
AUTHORIZATION/GUIDELINES
Orange Municipal Code Section 17.10.020 establishes procedures by which the Planning
Commission reviews ordinance amendments and makes recommendations to the City Council.
PUBLIC NOTICE
Public notice of the proposed Ordinance Amendment was published in the Orange City News
newspaper on January 3, 2018. Because of the applicability of the proposed Municipal Code change
to all properties within the boundaries of established historic districts, no single property was
posted. Hearing notices were posted at Civic Center and Library posting locations.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Per California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guideline 15378, the draft Zoning Ordinance
Amendment is not a project, because project noticing is an administrative activity of a local
government that does not have the potential to result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect
physical change to the environment. Because the amendment is not a project, it is not subject to the
provisions of CEQA and no public environmental review is required.
BACKGROUND
The Historic Preservation Design Standards for Old Towne (Design Standards) were adopted by
City Council in December 2017, following extensive community input and recommendations by the
Design Review Committee and the Planning Commission. At the City Council meeting on adoption
of the Design Standards update, the Council expressed concern that the elimination of the Planning
Commission review for construction of second stories and additional units proposed in the update
would limit the ability of adjacent property owners and residents to comment on proposed projects
prior to their approval. The Council directed staff to prepare an Ordinance Amendment to establish
notification requirements for these types of Design Review projects on properties in residential
zones in the Historic Districts.
Planning Commission Staff Report
January 15, 2018
Page 3
AMENDMENT DESCRIPTION
The proposed Draft Ordinance (Attachments 1a to this report) modifies Orange Municipal Code
(OMC) Section 17.08.040 – Notice of Hearings to create the notification requirements for the
following Design Review projects in established historic districts:
New second stories
Additions to existing second stories
Construction of additional units
Notification of the Design Review Committee meeting to consider the project is required in the
following manner:
Posting at the subject property
Mailing to property owners and occupants within 300 feet of the subject property
No other changes are proposed to the notification requirements in OMC 17.08.040. Design Review
projects inside the Historic Districts that do not involve construction of second stories or additional
units and Design Review projects outside of the Historic Districts will not require notification. Any
projects in the Historic Districts that require Variances, Conditional Use Permits, Major Site Plan
Reviews, or environmental review under the CEQA will continue to require notification as
described in OMC 17.08.040.
APPLICATION(S) REQUESTED/ REQUIRED FINDINGS
Ordinance Amendment: The City is proposing an Ordinance Amendment to establish the
notification requirements contained in Chapter 17.08 of the OMC.
Required Findings: Although there are no required findings for an Ordinance Amendment
as it is considered a legislative action, per OMC Section 17.10.020 the Planning
Commission shall address the following in its Resolution recommending approval of an
Ordinance Amendment to the City Council:
Reasons for the recommendation;
The relationship of the proposed amendment to the General Plan; and
Environmental determination.
These items are addressed in the attached Resolution.
ANALYSIS/STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES
Issue: Notification Requirements for Design Review Projects in Historic Districts
Under the existing Zoning Ordinance, Design Review projects with final determination by the
Design Review Committee do not require posting of a notice at the subject property or mailed
notices to surrounding properties. This Ordinance Amendment will create notification requirements
only for projects involving construction of second stories or additional units in residential zones in
Planning Commission Staff Report
January 15, 2018
Page 4
established historic districts. The currently established historic districts are the National Register of
Historic Places designated Plaza Historic District, the National Register designated Old Towne
Historic District, and the local Old Towne Historic District. The Ordinance Amendment will apply
to projects in the boundaries of these historic districts and any future historic districts.
The types of projects requiring notification correspond to those that required Planning Commission
review under the prior Historic Preservation Design Standards for Old Towne. As directed by City
Council during their discussion on the adoption of the Design Standards update, the proposed
notification requirements for Design Review Committee meetings will allow property owners and
residents the opportunity to comment on projects in the Historic Districts that may affect the
aesthetics, privacy, and enjoyment of their properties.
As part of the Design Review application for these projects, applicants will be required to provide
notification maps, mailings lists, and labels from a Title Company or Ownership Listing Service as
described in the Land Use Project Application. In 2017, staff received and processed three
applications that would require notification under the proposed Ordinance Amendment.
The new notification requirements will necessitate an increase in administrative staff time and costs
in preparing for Design Review Committee meetings and processing the mailings. In some cases,
the notification requirement may result in longer timelines for project processing due to the staff
time required to coordinate the mailings approximately two weeks prior to the Design Review
Committee meeting.
Alternative Notification Requirement
Staff also considered an alternative approach to mailed notices. A 300 foot radius around a standard
residential lot in Old Towne typically includes properties mor e than a block away from the subject
property (See Attachment 3 – Sample Notification Maps). In some cases, the 300 foot radius will
require mailed notices to property owners who will not be directly affected by potential effects to
privacy or aesthetics from these projects.
As an alternative, staff considered a mailed notification requirement for adjacent properties only.
This would include any parcels sharing property lines with the subject property and those directly
across any streets. This would typically result in under 10 adjacent properties requiring notification,
compared with 50 to 70 properties typical of a 300 foot radius in Old Towne. Under either option, a
notice would be posted at the subject property to inform the neighborhood at large of the proposed
project.
The benefits of noticing adjacent properties only include:
Staff would be able to generate the notification maps and mailing labels given the small
number of properties, rather than requiring the applicant to pay a Title Company or
Ownership Listing Service
Reduced amount of staff time and mailing costs for the smaller number of mailed notices
In order to be consistent with the existing notification requirements for other project types in the
City, staff is presenting a Resolution recommending City Council approval of the 300 foot radius.
However, the Planning Commission could include a recommendation to the City Council on the
alternative option of noticing adjacent properties.
Planning Commission Staff Report
January 15, 2018
Page 5
ADVISORY BOARD RECOMMENDATION
The Planning Commission is advisory to the City Council for Zoning Ordinance Amendments.
Ordinances are not reviewed by advisory bodies such as the S treamlined Multi-Disciplined
Accelerated Review Team (SMART) or the Design Review Committee (DRC).
ATTACHMENTS/EXHIBITS
Attachments to Report:
1. Planning Commission Resolution No. PC 01-18
a. Draft Ordinance Amendment (clean)
2. Draft Ordinance Amendment (redlined)
3. Draft City Council Minutes from December 12, 2017
4. Sample Notification Maps for 300 Foot Radius and Adjacent Properties
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