CC RES 2009-077 RESOLUTION NO. 2009-77
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
RANCHO PALOS VERDES, UPHOLDING THE APPEAL AND
OVERTURNING THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S DECISION
UPHOLDING THE HEARINGS OFFICER'S CONDITIONAL
APPROVING OF A COASTAL PERMIT AND LOT LINE
ADJUSTMENT (PLANNING CASE NOS. ZON2008-00326 &
SUB2008-00004) FOR A LOT LINE ADJUSTMENT
BETWEEN AND AMONG FOUR(4) EXISTING DEVELOPED
AND UNDEVELOPED PARCELS LOCATED IN THE
APPEALABLE PORTION OF THE CITY'S COASTAL ZONE,
LOCATED AT 3 YACHT HARBOR DRIVE AND 4194
MARITIME ROAD
WHEREAS, on June 20, 2008,the applicants, Eric Johnson and Stephen and Diane
Stewart, submitted an application for a Coastal Permit and Lot Line Adjustment (Planning
Case Nos. ZON2008-00326 & SUB2008-00004)to allow the adjustment of the boundaries
between and among four (4) existing developed and undeveloped parcels located in the
appealable portion of the City's coastal zone; and,
WHEREAS, on March 9, 2009, the application for Planning Case
Nos. ZON2008-00326 & SUB2008-00004 was deemed complete by Staff; and,
WHEREAS, after notice issued pursuant to the requirements of the Rancho Palos
Verdes Development Code, the Rancho Palos Verdes Hearings Officer held a duly-noticed
public hearing on April 6, 2009, and April 21, 2009, at which time all interested parties were
given an opportunity to be heard and present evidence; and,
WHEREAS, on April 21, 2009, the Rancho Palos Verdes Hearings Officer reviewed
the applicants' proposal, the required findings for the Coastal Permit and Lot Line
Adjustment, Staff's responses to numerous questions raised by concerned residents and
Staff's recommendation of conditional approval; and conditionally approved the requested
Coastal Permit and Lot Line Adjustment, via Minute Order; and,
WHEREAS, on May 5, 2009, a timely appeal of the Rancho Palos Verdes Hearings
Officer's action to the Planning Commission was filed by Joe and Mary Lindorfer, Poul
Gamsgaard, Steven and Debbie Hansen, Robert and Marsha Exley, Lori Meistrell, Michael
and Teresa Carman, Lenee Bilski and Edward Stevens; and,
WHEREAS, after notice issued pursuant to the requirements of the Rancho Palos
Verdes Development Code, the Planning Commission held a duly-noticed public hearing to
consider the appeal of the Rancho Palos Verdes Hearings Officer's action on June 23,
2009, July 14, 2009, and July 28, 2009, at which time all interested parties were given an
opportunity to be heard and present evidence; and,
WHEREAS, on July 28, 2009, the Planning Commission adopted P.C. Resolution
No. 2009-31, thereby denying the appeal and upholding the Hearings Officer's decision,
with a modification limiting the maximum size of the proposed Parcel D' to less than
sixteen thousand square feet (<16,000 SF); and,
WHEREAS, on August 10-12, 2009, timely appeals of the Rancho Palos Verdes
Planning Commission's action to the City Council were filed by Joe and Mary Lindorfer,
Steven and Debbie Hansen, Edward Stevens, Elizabeth and Jeffrey Sax, Donna Wong,
Michael and Teresa Carman, Patti and Bruce Carrington, Lenee Bilski and Sunshine; and,
WHEREAS, after notice issued pursuant to the requirements of the Rancho Palos
Verdes Development Code, the City Council held a duly-noticed public hearing to consider
the appeal of the Rancho Palos Verdes Planning Commission's action on October 6, 2009,
and October 20, 2009, at which time all interested parties were given an opportunity to be
heard and present evidence.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL DOES HEREBY FIND, DETERMINE
AND RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1: The City Council makes the following findings of fact with respect to
the appeal letters filed timely on August 10-12, 2009, requesting that the City Council
overturn the Planning Commission's action upholding the Rancho Palos Verdes Hearings
Officer's conditional approval of the requested Coastal Permit and Lot Line Adjustment:
A. The main basis of the appeal is that the requested action is not, in fact, a lot line
adjustment, but instead is a parcel map, which should be subject to the provisions
of the Subdivision Map Act (SMA) and the City's Subdivision Ordinance.
Government Code Section 66412(d) states that the SMA "shall be inapplicable
to...[a] lot line adjustment between four or fewer existing adjoining parcels, where
the land taken from one parcel is added to an adjoining parcel, and where a greater
number of parcels than originally existed is not thereby created, if the lot line
adjustment is approved by the local agency, or advisory agency." In this case,
although there are four(4)existing lots prior to the adjustment and there will be four
(4) resulting lots after the adjustment, Government Code Section 66412(d) states
that land must be taken from one parcel and added to another; thus, that Section
does not allow for the merger of parcels and the creation of new parcels that did not
previously exist. The City Council finds that the appellants raise a valid argument in
this respect, and that the proposed project is not, and should not have been, found
to be exempt from the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act under Government
Code Section 66412(d).
B. Given that the City Council finds that the proposed project does not constitute a Lot
Line Adjustment pursuant to Government Code Section 66412(d), the City Council
rejects the finding for the approval of a Lot Line Adjustment that was made
previously by the Planning Commission and Hearings Officer. Similarly, the City
Council rejects the findings for the approval of the related Coastal Permit that were
made previously by the Planning Commission and Hearings Officer.
Resolution No. 2009-77
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C. In summary and based upon the foregoing findings, the City Council finds that the
appeal has merit and should be upheld. In making said finding, the City Council
effectively denies the requested Coastal Permit and Lot Line Adjustment for the
subject properties, as currently proposed.
Section 2: The time within which the judicial review of the decision reflected in
this Resolution, if available, must be sought, is governed by Section 1094.6 of the
California Code of Civil Procedure and other applicable short periods of limitation.
Section 3: For the foregoing reasons and based on the information and findings
included in the Staff Report, Minutes and other records of proceedings of the Rancho
Palos Verdes Hearings Officer, the Planning Commission and the City Council, the City
Council of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes hereby upholds the appeal and overturns the
Planning Commission's decision upholding the Hearings Officer's conditional approving of
a Coastal Permit and Lot Line Adjustment (Planning Case Nos. ZON2008-00326 &
SUB2008-00004) for a Lot Line Adjustment between and among four (4) existing
developed and undeveloped parcels located in the appealable portion of the City's Coastal
Zone, located at 3 Yacht Harbor Drive and 4194 Maritime Road.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 20th day of October 2009.
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Mayor
Attest:
City Clerk
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) ss
City of Rancho Palos Verdes )
I, Carla Morreale, City Clerk of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, hereby certify that the
above Resolution No. 2009-77 was duly and regularly passed and adopted by the said City
Council at a regular meeting thereof held on October 20, 2009.
1
City Clerk
Resolution No. 2009-77
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