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105-D. Planning Commission Staff Report for Appeal of DIR-2010-30 dated 12/14/10.pdfAttachment D CUP'ERTI-NO OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CITY HALL 10300 TORRE AVENUE • CUPERTINO, CA 95014-3255 (408) 777-3308 • FAX (408) 777-3333 a planning@cupertino.ozg PLANNING COMMISSION STAFF REPORT Agenda Item No. i Application: DIR-2010-30 Appeal Applicant: Linda Shen -Jung, GLSAA, LLC Appellant: Erwin Wolf Agenda Date: December 14, 2010 APPLICATION SUMMARY Appeal of a Director's Minor Modification decision to allow paving in the front yard of an existing duplex for the purpose of a parking stall at 967 Miller Avenue. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Commission uphold the Director's decision per the attached resolution (see Attachment 1). BACKGROUND On September 23, 2010, the Director of Community Development approved a Director's Minor Modification to allow the replacement of an 11 foot by 17 foot turf area with pervious stone pavers in the front setback of an existing duplex for parking purposes (see Attachment 2). The Planning Commissioners, Council Members and adjacent property owners were mailed notices of the Director's action. An appeal was filed on October 5, 2010 by Mr. Erwin Wolf (see Attachment 3). Mr. Wolf owns the adjacent duplex to the north (957, 959 Miller Avenue), which shares a common driveway with the applicant's duplex. The duplexes were developed in San Jose before they were later annexed to the City of Cupertino in 1979. At the time, San Jose required four parking spaces per duplex; Cupertino's parking code requires six parking spaces per duplex. There is a wide swath of landscaping in the front yard. The project was approved since the proposed parking area was consistent with other sites in the neighborhood and served as an added vehicle maneuvering area to improve the vehicular circulation and safety when entering or exiting the driveway. DISCUSSION The appeicant's appeal is based on the following points (staff responses to each of the points are in italics): DIR-2010-30 appeal 965, 967 Miller Avenue December 14, 2010 Pane 2 1) Safety - at present it is difficult to exit driveway into busy Miller Ave. With proposed changes and a car or SUV parked therein, it is impossible to see the sidewalk foot and bicycle traffic, accidents will happen. Staff does not believe that vehicle parking in the front setback poses a significant safety risk. If anything, the newly created stone paver area provides more vehicle maneuvering area that would enhance circulation. While this pair of duplexes and several others in the area have their parking sited toward the middle of their lots, many more duplexes in the Miller Avenue area have garages and driveway aprons (in the front setback) that front directly on Miller Avenue. There are no reports of vehicular/pedestrian/bicyclist accidents in this area because of vehicle parking in the front setback. 2) Proposed parking area does not belong on the setback area without direct access to it. It also degrades the appearance of the properties. This particular duplex has been designed with rear parking (one garage space and one driveway apron space per residential unit) and a shared driveway with the adjacent duplex. The design arrangement creates a larger than normal landscaped front setback. Certainly, parking is not prohibited in the front setback as evidenced by the numerous duplexes in the area with garages that front on Miller Avenue. The proposed parking stall will take up 22 of the front landscape area and has direct access to the main driveway. Further, the use of pervious stone pavers complements the existing front landscaping scheme and also retains onsite storm water runoff. Prepared by: Colin Jung, AICP, Senior Planner Reviewed by: a City Planner Approved by: ,ea/ 4 Aarti Shrivastava Community Development Director ATTACHMENTS Attachment 1: Model Resolution Attachment 2: Director's Minor Modification Memorandum dated September 23, 2010 Attachment 3: Appellent's Appeal Form dated October 5, 2010 G:planning/pdreport/Appeals/ 2010/DIR-2010-30 appeal pc.doc