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CC RES 2013-048 RESOLUTION NO. 2013-48 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES CERTIFYING ADDENDUM NO.5 TO THE NEGATIVE DECLARATION FOR ORDINANCE NO. 510, FOR A CODE AMENDMENT TO REVISE RPVMC CHPATER 17.76.030 (FENCES, WALLS AND HEDGES). WHEREAS, on June 1, 2010, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2010-43, thereby adopting a Negative Declaration for miscellaneous amendments to Title 17 of the City's Municipal Code to enact the Residential Development Steering Committee Code Amendment and Zone Change (Ordinance No. 510) and, WHEREAS, on September 21, 2010, the City Council adopted Addendum No. 1 to the certified Negative Declaration for Ordinance No. 510 and adopted Ordinance No. 513U, approving minor changes to Chapter 17.38 of the Development Code to correct the omission of Specific Plan District VII, and to change the designation of specific plan districts from numbered to descriptive titles; and, WHEREAS, on November 15, 2011, the City Council adopted Addendum No. 2 to the certified Negative Declaration for Ordinance No. 510 and adopted Ordinance No. 529, approving miscellaneous "clean-up" code amendments to Title 17 (Zoning) of the City's Development Code which clarified code language, removed code language discrepancies, and codified existing policy procedures and/or application requirements; and, WHEREAS, on February 7, 2012, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 532, thereby approved Addendum No. 3 to the certified ND and approving a change in the allowable movement of an open space hazard boundary line from thirty feet to one hundred feet through an interpretation procedure; and, WHEREAS, on April 3, 2012, the City Council approved adopted Ordinance No. 535, thereby approving Addendum No. 4 to the Certified ND for a code amendment to revise Chapters 17.02, 17.04, and 17.98 of the Municipal Code to regulate the number of residential garage sales WHEREAS, Municipal Code Section 17.76.030 (Fences, Walls and Hedges) provides standards for the construction of fences, walls and hedges as required for privacy and for protection against hazardous conditions, dangerous visual obstruction at street intersections and unnecessary impairment of views; and, WHEREAS, while the Municipal Code addresses the permit process for fences, walls or hedges proposed to be constructed along either rear property line abutting other rear property lines, or side property lines abutting other side property line, the Code does not address other property line configurations outside of rear to rear or side to side property lines; and, WHEREAS, on October 16, 2012, Councilman Knight presented a request to the City Council to move forward with a code amendment to correct this loophole in the Municipal Code's existing language; and, WHEREAS, on November 20, 2013, the City Council initiated a Code Amendment to revise Municipal Code Section 17.76.030 (Fences, Walls and Hedges) to require any new fence, wall or hedge within specified setbacks be subject to a Fence, Wall and Hedge permit, thereby affording view protection from said new fences, walls and hedges to more property owners, and also to make minor clean-up amendments to Municipal Code Section 17.76.030 to clarify hedge heights and applicability of Minor Exception Permit for fences; and, WHEREAS, after notice was issued pursuant to the requirements of the Rancho Palos Verdes Development Code, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing on May 14, 2013, at which time Staff presented proposed language to revise Municipal Code Section 17.76.030 (Fences, Walls and Hedges). Based on public testimony and discussion, the Planning Commission moved to continue the public hearing to May 28, 2013, with direction to Staff to: draft a resolution for adopting which would recommend that the City Council adopt the code amendment to RPVMC Section 17.76.030, as recommended by Staff, and include a recommendation to the Council that the $2,192 Fence, Wall and Hedge Permit application fee be partially subsidized by the City; and, WHEREAS, on May 28, 2013, the Planning Commission adopted P.C. Resolution No. 2013-10, thereby recommending that the City Council adopt an ordinance revising Section 17.76.030 of the City's Municipal Code, as recommended by Staff; and, WHEREAS, on June 26, 2013, a notice was sent to 65 homeowners associations within the City of Rancho Palos Verdes informing them of this proposed code amendment; and, WHEREAS, on June 27, 2013, notice of the public hearing on the proposed amendments to RPVMC Section 17.76.030 of the Municipal Code was published in the Palos Verdes Peninsula News; and, WHEREAS, pursuant to the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act, Public Resources Code Sections 2100 et seq. ("CEQA"), the State's CEQA Guidelines, California Code Regulations, Title 14, Section 1500 et seq., the City's Local CEQA Guidelines, and Government Code Section 65962.5(f)(Hazardous Waste and Substances Statement), the City determined that there is no substantial evidence that the code amendment would result in a significant adverse effect on the environment. Accordingly, Addendum No. 5 to the Negative Declaration for Ordinance No. 510, has been prepared; and, WHEREAS, on July 16, 2013, the City Council held a public hearing, at which time all interested parties were given an opportunity to be heard and present evidence. Resolution No. 2013-48 Page 2 of 4 NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES DOES HEREBY FIND, DETERMINE, AND RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: Section 1:Addendum No. 5 is for an environmental assessment in conjunction with a code amendment to revise the Fences, Walls and Hedges Section of the Development Code (RPVMC Section 17.76.030) that would: 1) revise RPVMC Section 17.76.030(B)(1) to require the approval of a Fence, Wall and Hedge Permit for any new fence, wall or hedge within any side yard setback; 2) revise RPVMC Section 17.76.030(C)(1)(b)(iv) to clarify the existing height limitations Section 2: In approving Addendum No. 5 to the Negative Declaration for Ordinance No. 510, the City Council has reviewed and considered the Addendum No. 3 document, attached hereto and made a part thereof as Exhibit "A". Section 3: The Addendum No. 5 identifies no new significant adverse environmental impacts to the areas listed below: 1. Landform, Geology, and Soils 2. Hydrology and Drainage 3. Biological Resources 4. Cultural and Scientific Resources 5. Aesthetics 6. Land Use and Relevant Planning 7. Circulation and Traffic 8. Air Resources 9. Noise 10. Public Services and Utilities 11. Population, Employment and Housing 12. Fiscal Impacts Section 4: The Addendum No. 5 identifies that the proposed revisions will not result in any significant environmental impacts, and the circumstances under which to code amendment is being undertaken have not substantially changed since the CEQA determination was made for the Negative Declaration adopted through Resolution No. 2010-43 for Ordinance No. 510. Section 5: No new information of substantial importance,which was not known and could not have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence at the time the prior Negative Declaration for Ordinance No. 510 was adopted, identifies a significant environmental effect. Also, because the changes to the Code result in more view protection, the proposed Code amendment does not result in an environmental impact that was not evaluated previously in the Mitigated Negative Declaration. Section 6: All findings and attachments contained in Resolution No. 2010-43, as adopted by the City Council on June 1, 2010 are hereby incorporated by reference. Resolution No. 2013-48 Page 3 of 4 Section 7: 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 or any other applicable short period of limitations. Section 8: For the foregoing reasons and based on the information and findings contained in the staff reports, minutes, and evidence presented at the public hearings, the City Council of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes hereby approves Addeldum No. 5 to the Negative Declaration for Ordinance No. 510, based on the City Council's iJetermination that the document was completed in compliance with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act and State and local guidelines with respect thereto. PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED this 16t" day of July 2013. c5i2„.„ - Mayor Attest: 7.? 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. 2013-48 was duly and regularly passed and adopted by the said City Council at a regular meeting held on July 16, 2013. C_, City Clerk Resolution No. 2013-48 Page 4 of 4 EXHIBIT "A" (Addendum No. 5 to Negative Declaration) Project Background: On June 1,2010,the City Council adopted Resolution No.2010-43,thereby adopting a Negative Declaration for miscellaneous amendments to Title 17 of the City's Municipal Code to enact the Residential Development Standards Steering Committee Code Amendment and Zone Change(Ordinance No. 510). Prior to its adoption,the Negative Declaration was circulated for public comment from April 1, 2010,through May 1, 2010. In adopting the Negative Declaration,the City Council found that: 1)the Negative Declaration was prepared in the manner required by law and that there was no substantial evidence that, with appropriate mitigation measures, the approval of the Residential Development Standards Steering Committee Code Amendment and Zone Change (Case No. ZON2007-00377)would result in a significant adverse effect upon the environment; and 2) that the Residential Development Standards Steering Committee Code Amendment and Zone Change were consistent with the Rancho Palos Verdes General Plan and with the Coastal Specific Plan. On September 21, 2010, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 513U, thereby approving Addendum No. 1 to the certified ND, to make minor changes to Chapter 17.38 of the Development Code to correct the omission of Specific Plan District VII, and to change the designation of specific plan districts from numbered to descriptive titles. On November 15, 2011,the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 529, thereby approving Addendum No. 2 to the certified ND and approving miscellaneous "clean-up" code amendments to Title 17 (Zoning) of the City's Development Code which clarified code language, removed code language discrepancies, and codified existing policy procedures and/or application requirements. On February 7, 2012, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 532,thereby approved Addendum No. 3 to the certified ND and approving a change in the allowable movement of an open space hazard boundary line from thirty feet to one hundred feet through an interpretation procedure. Lastly, on April 3, 2012, the City Council approved adopted Ordinance No. 535, thereby approving Addendum No. 4 to the Certified ND for a code amendment to revise Chapters 17.02, 17.04, and 17.98 of the Municipal Code to regulate the number of residential garage sales. Proposed Amendments: The City Council is currently reviewing a code amendment to revise Chapter 17.76.030 of the Development Code (Fences, Walls and Hedges)that would revise code language, remove code language and codify existing policy procedures and/or applications. The proposed amendments are to require the approval of a Fence,Wall and Hedge Permit for any new fence, wall or hedge located within any rear yard or side yard setback (with exceptions), clarify the existing height limitations applicable to combination walls/hedges,and clarify that a Minor Exception Permit is not required for any fence higher than 42 inches up to 6 feet within the street-side setback. Purpose: This Addendum to the previously-certified Negative Declaration is being prepared pursuant to Section 15164 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines which allows for the lead agency to prepare an addendum to an adopted Negative Declaration if only minor technical changes or additions are necessary or none of the conditions described in Section 15162 calling for the preparation of a subsequent EIR or Negative Declaration have occurred. Pursuant to CEQA Section 15162, no subsequent Negative Declaration shall be prepared for the project unless the lead agency determines,on the basis of substantial evidence in light of the whole record,one or more of the following: 1. Substantial changes are proposed in the project that will required major revisions of the previous Negative Declaration due to the involvement of new, significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; 2. Substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken which will required major revisions of the previous Negative Declaration due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity or previously identified significant effects; or, 3. New information of substantial importance identifies one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous Negative Declaration, significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous Negative Declaration, mitigation measures or alternative previously found not to be feasible or not analyzed in the Negative Declaration would be feasible and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects but the project proponents decline to adopt a measure or alternative. Findings Regarding the Proposed Project Revisions: Staff analyzed the proposed code amendment revisions to Section 17.76.030 to determine if any impacts would result. The Planning Commission has independently reviewed this item and has determined that, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15162, a new Negative Declaration is not required for this revision because the proposed amendments will not result in any new significant environmental effects: 1. The proposed revisions do not result in any new significant environmental effects and, like Ordinance No. 510, 513U, 529, 532, and 535, no significant impacts have been identified. The revisions to Title 17 (Zoning) do not present new significant environmental impacts because they merely modify or clarify certain requirements, or codify policy procedures and/or application requirements. Therefore, the proposed revisions do not represent a substantial change in the code, and will not result in new significant environmental impacts or a substantial increase in the severity of any impacts. 2. The proposed revisions will not result in any significant environmental impacts, and the circumstances under which the project is being undertaken have not substantially changed since the CEQA determination was made for Ordinance No. 510.The scope of the proposed revisions relate to minor modifications that clarify code language discrepancies and/or codify policies and procedures that are currently in place. There are no changes with respect to the circumstances under which the revisions are undertaken that will require major revisions of the previous Negative Declaration. 3. No new information of substantial importance, which was not known and could not have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence at the time the prior Negative Declaration was adopted, identifies a significant environmental effect. Because the proposed revisions would not result in any new or more severe environmental impacts than those associated with Ordinance No. 510, there is no need for new or substantially modified mitigation measures. Therefore, pursuant to CEQA,the Planning Commission finds that no further environmental review is necessary other than the City Council's adoption of this Addendum No. 5. Resolution No. 2013-48 Exhibit A Page 2 of 2