SR-121997-6D
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DEe 1 6 1997
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CouncIl Mtg December 16, 1997 Santa Monica, California
TO Mayor and City Council
FROM CIty Staff
SUBJECT" Certification of Statement of Official ActIon for Appeal of the Planning
Commission Approval of Vesting Tentative Parcel Map 24847 at 502
Georgina Avenue
INTRODUCTION
This report transmits for City Council certification the Statement of Official Action for
Appeal 97-020 of Planning Commission approval of Vesting Tentative Parcel Map 24847
to allow a two lot subdiVISion of an eXisting 5 acre parcel located In the R1 Single Family
Residential Dlstnct at 502 Georgina Avenue On November 25, 1997, the CounCil upheld
the appeal and reversed the Planning Commission approval based on the findings and
conditions contained In the attached Statement of OffiCial Action
BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT
The recommendation presented In thiS report does not have any budget or financial
Impact
RECOMMENDATION
It IS respectfully recommended that the City Council approve the attached Statement of
OffiCial ActIon
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DEe f 6 1997
Prepared by Suzanne Fnck, Director of Planning and Community Development
Karen Ginsberg, Planning Manager
David Martin, Senior Planner
Gina SZIIak, Assistant Planner
City Planning DIVISion
Planning and Commumty Development Department
Attachments A: Statement of Official Action
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CITY OF SANTA MONICA
CITY COUNCIL
STATEMENT OF OFFICIAL
ACTION
PROJECT
CASE NUMBER Vesting Tentative Parcel Map 24847, Tentative Map 97-
003
LOCATION 502 Georgina Avenue
APPLICANT The Pegasus Trust
APPELLANT Sohell Alexander Solelmanl
CASE PLANNER Gina SZllak, Assistant Planner
REQUEST Appeal of the Planning Commission approval for Vesting
Tentative Parcel Map 24847 allowing a two lot subdivIsion
of an eXisting 5 acre parcel located In the R 1 Single
Family Residential Dlstnct at 502 Georgina Avenue
CEQA STATUS The proposed subdivIsion IS Categoncally exempt from the
provisIons of CEQA pursuant to Class 15 of the State
GUidelines In that minor subdivIsions of land creating fewer
than four parcels In an urbanized area, speCIfically the R1
Dlstnct, would result In no Significant environmental effect
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CITY COUNCIL ACTION
11/2o/~7 Date
X Appeal upheld, subdivIsion request demed based on the following
findings and subject to the conditions below
Demed
Other
EFFECTIVE DATE OF ACTION
11/25/97 Vestlng Tentative Parcel Map 24847, Tentative Map 97-003
EXPIRATION DATE OF ANY PERMITS GRANTED:
None Vesting Tentative Parcel Map 24847, Tentative Map 97-003
TENTATIVE PARCEL MAP FINDINGS
1 The proposed map IS not consistent wIth applicable general and specific plans as
specified In Government Code Section 65451 and should be denied pursuant to
Santa Monica MunicIpal Code SectIon 920 14 040(a) and Government Code
Section 66474(a) More specifically, the design or Improvement of the proposed
subdiVIsion IS not consistent with Policy 1 10 1 of the Land Use and Circulation
Element This policy proVides In relevant part ~Encourage the development of new
hOUSing In all eXisting residential districts. while still protecting the character and
scale of neighborhoods" ApproVing this parcel map would not be consIstent With
this policy based on the follOWing findings
(a) The site IS zoned R-1 and IS located Within the Palisades Tract
(b) The Palisades Tract was onglnally subdiVided In 1905 and IS a unique and
distinctive neighborhood Among ItS special charactenstlcs are 1 00 foot
Wide streets, as opposed to the 60 foot to 80 foot Wide streets tYPical for
other R1 zoned areas of the City, parcels With 100 feet of street frontage, as
opposed to the tYPical R 1 parcel street frontage of 50 feet, 200 foot parcel
depths, as opposed to the tYPIcal 1 SO foot deep parcels found throughout
most of the City, 40 foot front yard setbacks, as opposed to the 20 foot to 30
foot front yard setbacks In most of the other R1 areas of the City, and
parkways and Sidewalks which are on average 25 feet In Width Each of
these features have a direct and substantial Impact on the character and
scale of the neighborhood
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(c) The Palisades Tract was designed to accommodate large homes with large
yards and It was developed consistent with this design Consequently, the
Palisades Tract presently contains large, old homes surrounded by
substantial yards and gardens
(d) As a result of ItS broad streets and pathways, large lots, old homes, ample
yards and gardens, and substantial setbacks, the Palisades Tract proVides
more open space than any other reSidential neighborhood In the City
(e) The City Itself IS extremely dense with a land area of Just 8 square miles and
a population of approximately 90,000 people Moreover, the combination of
an ocean Side location, fine climate, vigorous economy and urban facIlities,
services and entertainment venues make the City an extremely deSirable
place to work or viSIt Consequently, on any weekday, approximately
200,000 persons are present In the City, and on weekends, thiS number
frequently climbs to 400,000 or more Population denSity and congestion
both present threats to the quality of life In the City Given the City's denSity,
the Palisades Tract and the open space It prOVides are a unique asset to the
CIty
(f) Between 1947 and the early 1970's, a number of subdiVIsions of the parcels
occurred In the Palisades Tract These lot splits were approved
administratively as a matter of right In 1976, the City Council adopted
Ordinance 1024 whIch repealed the nght to subdIVIde lots as a matter of
fight and required public notice of a vanance application to approve lot splits
under certain conditions In 1984, the City Council adopted Ordinance 1294
to Implement the State SubdiVISion Map Act and require Planning
Commission approval of subdiVIsion requests Since 1976, no lot spilt has
been approved In the Palisades Tract Consequently, more than fifty percent
of the on91nal100 foot parcels In the Palisades Tract are still Intact and the
anginal character and scale of the tract has been maintained However, the
loss of any additional 100 foot parcels would adversely and Irrevocably
serve to change the character and scale of the Palisades Tract RedUCing
lot Width from 100 feet to 50 feet would reduce the required sldeyard setback
by 50%, resulting In less open space between homes and greater
development denSity Additionally, redUCing an eXisting 100 foot Wide
parcel mto two 50 foot WIde parcels would be InconsIstent With the onglnal
deSign and plan for the character and scale of the Palisades Tract and the
resulting development would be out of scale With the majority of the other
properties In the neighborhood
(g) ThIS dIvergence from the scale and character of the neIghborhood would be
even more stnklng given the location of the proposed lot split since the two
50 75 foot Wide parcels which would be created by the proposed map would
be narrower than the vast maJonty of the eXisting parcels on Georgina
Avenue
2 Based upon the findings of fact specified In Paragraph One above, the proposed
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map should also be denied pursuant to Santa Momca Municipal Code Section
920 14 040(d) and Government Code Section 66474(d) Since the site IS not
physically sUitable for the proposed density of development as a two lot subdiVIsion
3 Based on the findIngs of fact specified In Paragraph One above, the proposed map
should further be demed pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code SectIOn
92014 040(h) Since the proposed subdiVIsion IS InconsIstent with Santa Momca
Municipal Code Section 9 04 08 02020 which provides In relevant part that "the R1
District serves to maintain and protect the eXisting character of the residentIal
neighborhood"
VOTE
Ayes Ebner, Feinstein, Genser, Greenberg, Holbrook, Rosenstein
Nays
Abstam'
Absent O'Connor
NOTICE
If thiS IS a final deCISion not subject to further appeal under the City of Santa Monica
Comprehensive Land Use and Zoning Ordinance, the time Within which Judicial review of
thIS deCISIon must be sought IS governed by Code of CIVIl Procedure SectIon 10946,
which prOVIsion has been adopted by the City pursuant to MUniCipal Code Section
1 16 010
I hereby certify that this Statement of Official Action accurately reflects the final
determination of the City Council of the City of Santa Monica.
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Mana Stewart , Date
City Clerk
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