Loading...
RPVCCA_CC_SR_2013_10_15_01_Code_Amendment_City's_Allowable_Construction_HoursCITY OF MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: REVIEWED: Project Manager: HONORABLE MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS JOEL ROJAS, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTO~f-012-~'(­ OCTOBER 15, 2013 INITIATION REQUEST TO AMEND THE CITY'S ALLOWABLE CONSTRUCTION HOURS CAROLYN LEHR, CITY MANAGER QSl- So Kim, Associate Planner~ RECOMMENDATION Initiate a Development Code amendment to decrease the allowable construction hours and codify Staff's existing practice of prohibiting construction vehicles to idle outside of the allowable construction hours. BACKGROUND At the September 17, 2013 City Council meeting, the Council discussed a proposed ordinance that would set certain permit limitations on prolonged construction projects. The Ordinance was in response to several concerns expressed by neighbors with an ongoing construction project on Sea Ridge Circle. In addition to agreeing to pursue said ordinance, at Councilman Campbell's request, the Council agreed to also consider amending the City's construction hours. According to Councilman Campbell, he has heard concerns from residents about construction beginning too early in the morning. As such, the Council directed Staff to look into this matter and return to the City Council with more information to initiate a code amendment that would decrease the existing hours of construction. Additionally, Councilman Knight requested Staff to include a discussion of Staff's current policy of imposing conditions to address idling construction trucks. In addition, at the October 1st meeting, again during discussion of the prolonged construction ordinance, the Council requested information on dust control and parking control related to residential construction projects. Staff agreed to include a discussion of said issues as part of this construction hours item. 1-1 DISCUSSION Hours of Construction The City's Municipal Code establishes allowable hours for construction in the City. Specifically, RPVMC §17.56.020(B)-Hours of Operation reads as follows: It is unlawful to carry on construction, grading or landscaping activities or to operate heavy equipment except between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. No such activity shall be permitted on Sunday or legal holidays, unless a special construction permit is obtained from the director. Said permit must be requested at least 48 hours before such work is to begin. Emergency work and residential activities, such as lawn mowing, gardening (without the use of weed and debris blowers), and minor home ref)airlmaintenance, shall be exempted from this restriction. The hours of operation for weed and debris blowers are specified in Chapter 8. 16 (Weed and debris Blowers) of this Code. Construction related complaints are handled by the City's Building & Safety Division. According to Building & Safety Staff, construction related complaints are received for about 3% of all permits issued in a year by the Division. For example, in the last2012-2013 fiscal year, approximately 40 complaints related to construction hours, dust, and other construction related issues were received. Typically, more complaints are received for construction occurring on weekends (Saturday) than on weekdays. In general, residents raise concerns with construction starting as early as ?am and ending as late as ?pm on Saturdays. Complaints related to construction activities outside of the allowed construction hours are directed to the Sherriff's Department for enforcement. In response to the Council's request to potentially modify the existing hours of construction so that construction activities start later and/or end earlier, Staff researched the allowable construction hours for some other cities. As shown in the table below, in comparing the City of Rancho Palos Verdes to the other South Bay cities surveyed, it appears that the City's construction hours are generally similar with the exception of weekend hours. CONSTRUCTION HOURS CITY Monday -Thursday I Friday Saturday Hermosa Beach 8am-6pm 9am -5pm Lomita 7am-6pm 9am-5pm Manhattan Beach 7:30am-6pm 9am -6pm Palos Verdes Estates ?am -?pm I ?am -5:30pm 9am -5:30pm Redondo Beach ?am -6pm 9am-5pm Rolling Hills ?am -6pm Rolling Hills Estates ?am -5pm 9am -5pm Rancho Palos Verdes ?am -?pm 1-2 Most cities surveyed have a weekday starting time of 7am and a weekday ending time of 6pm. The City of RPV's weekday ending time of 7pm is the latest allowed time. Additionally, while most other neighboring cities have weekend construction hours of 9am to 5pm, the City of RPV's allowed times start earlier and end later. If the City Council is inclined to shorten the existing construction hours, there may be some unintended consequences that the Council should be aware of. These issues are discussed below. Loitering of Construction Workers and Vehicles at Job Sites In the City of Santa Monica, construction hours begin at Sam on weekdays and 9am on weekends. The City's Building Official reports that when he worked at the City of Santa Monica, the City used to receive complaints of construction workers loitering at the job site and construction vehicles idling at the project site prior to Sam. Since the City of RPV construction hours have been the same for the past 40 years, modifying the construction hours may lead to similar problems in the City. Impacts to City Construction Projects The Public Works Department has contracts for City projects with a specified budget and time frame for completion. If construction hours were to be modified, it would be expected that the City's Public Works projects would also abide by the modified hours. Shortening the construction time frame for public projects may lead to prolonged projects. If projects are delayed based on decreased construction hours, contracts may need to be modified with a change order and possible budget amendment (added costs) in order to finish existing projects. Inconsistency with Approved Construction Projects There may be some private projects with conditions of approval that dictate the existing 7am to 7pm construction hours. Furthermore, there may be City projects that have the current construction hours included as part of their contract. Modifying the construction hours in the Municipal Code would have no effect on existing conditions of approval or Public Works contracts unless the City Council were to direct Staff to amend all the affected planning approvals or contracts. Without said amendments, there will be an inconsistency in construction hours between these projects and future projects that must abide by the amended construction hours. For these reasons, Staff recommends that any code amendment be drafted to expressly state that it will only apply to new City projects where contracts have not already been approved by the City Council and to private projects that have not yet received construction permits from the City. Staff's Recommendation In light of these issues identified by Staff, together with Councilman Campbell's request to see if the construction hours could be modified to provide some additional relief from 1-3 construction projects to residents, Staff is recommending the following slight modifications to the existing construction hours as shown below. Rancho Palos Verdes Existing Proposed Weekday ?am -?pm ?am -6pm Weekend ?am-?pm 9am -5pm Staff believes that said amendment would bring the City's allowable construction hours more in line with the allowable hours of other nearby cities. If the Council agrees with said amendment, Staff will work with the City Attorney to draft the actual code amendment language. This language would then be presented to the Planning Commission for review since the code section that is being amended is part of the City's Development Code. The Commission's recommendation would then be presented to the City Council for its review and ultimate adoption. Dust Control On October 1, 2013, given concerns expressed by neighbors with a prolonged construction project on Sea Ridge Circle project, the City Council had questions with regards to dust control measures that could be employed to minimize dust stemming from construction projects. Currently, RPVMC §17.56.020(A) -Dust Control states that: "all grading, landscaping and construction activities shall exercise effective dust control techniques, either through screening and/or watering. It is unlawful to cause or allow airborne dust or particles to leave a property and settle on, or otherwise impacts in any way, surrounding properties ... " Given this code requirement, the City's Building Official and building inspectors have the authority to direct construction projects to take specific measures to minimize dust. If construction sites do not comply with the dust control measures conditioned by Staff or requested by the City's Building & Safety Staff, the Building Official has the authority to shut down a project. Therefore, Staff does not recommend any changes to the current Code language or practice to address this issue. Construction Vehicles Also as part of the discussion related to the concerns expressed by neighbors to the Sea Ridge Circle project, the Council asked if there are regulations that apply to construction related vehicles. While the City's Municipal Code does not regulate construction related parking or idling of construction vehicles, Staff places the following standard condition as part of all approved projects: Trucks shall not park, queue and/or idle at the project site or in the adjoining public rights-of-way before 7:00 AM, Monday through Saturday, in accordance with the permitted hours of construction stated in this condition. 1-4 Along with the recommended code amendment related to modifying the construction hours as proposed earlier, Staff is also recommending that the above standard condition be codified in RPVMC §17.56.020. CONCLUSION Given concerns expressed by residents and the City Council with temporary construction related impacts, Staff is recommending that the City Council initiate a Development Code amendment to decrease the allowable construction hours and codify Staff's existing practice of prohibiting construction vehicles to idle outside of the allowable construction hours. FISCAL ANALYSIS Since this is a City Council initiated code amendment, the costs associated with its processing would be borne by the City's General Fund. ALTERNATIVES 1. Take no action to modify the Code, thereby maintaining the current allowable construction hours; or 2. Identify additional amendments that the Council wishes to make to the construction regulations; or 3. Identify issues that merit further study and direct Staff to come back with additional information at a future agenda. 1-5