PC RES 2019-023 P.C. RESOLUTION NO. 2019-23
A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES DENYING THE
APPEAL AND UPHOLDING THE DIRECTOR'S
APPROVAL OF A SITE PLAN REVIEW REQUIRING THE
PROPERTY OWNER (APPELLANT) TO TRIM AND
MAINTAIN, IN PERPETUITY, HEDGES/FOLIAGE AT A
HEIGHT OF 6' WITHIN THE FRONT AND STREET SIDE
SETBACK AREAS AND 30" IN HEIGHT WITHIN THE
INTERSECTION VISIBILITY TRIANGLE AT 29624
GRANDPOINT LANE (PLSR2OI9-0115).
WHEREAS, in July 2017, the City's Code Enforcement Division received a traffic
safety and view impairment complaint regarding overgrown vegetation at the
intersection of Highpoint Road and Grandpoint Lane. In response, the City's Code
Enforcement Officers inspected the property and found that the hedges/foliage along
the front and street side property lines exceeded the 30" height limit within the
Intersection Visibility Triangle (IVT) and created a significant view impairment to an
adjacent property's residence at 29605 Grandpoint Lane; and,
WHEREAS, on August 14, 2017, Masood Youssofi ("Property Owner"), was
notified in writing of the violation and given options to remedy the matter including
removing or trimming the hedges/foliage to the heights prescribed in the Rancho Palos
Verdes Municipal Code (RPVMC) or submitting a Site Plan Review application to
possibly allow the hedges/foliage to exceed 42" in the front setback, including the IVT;
and,
WHEREAS, on October 30, 2017, the Property Owner submitted an after-the-fact
Site Plan Review application, requesting to trim and maintain existing hedges/foliage to
6' in height located within the IVT, front and street side setback in order to address the
open Code Enforcement case related to traffic safety and view impairment concerns;
and,
WHEREAS, on March 29, 2018, the Director of Community Development
("Director") conditionally approved a Site Plan Review to allow a 30" tall hedges/foliage
within the IVT, and a 6' tall hedges/foliage, outside of the IVT, within the front and street
side setback areas. The approved heights were based on the Planning Division's view
analysis and Public Works' IVT line-of-sight assessment from a vehicular-safety
standpoint. As part of the approval, trimming of the hedges was to occur no later than
May 28, 2018; and,
WHEREAS, on March 29, 2018, a written notice of the Director's decision was
provided to the Property Owner and interested parties and a 15-day appeal period from
the date the application was approved was given, and Staff did not receive a request to
appeal the Director's decision; and,
P.C. Resolution No. 2019-23
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WHEREAS, the trimming did not occur by the May 28, 2018 deadline nor did the
Property Owner express his willingness to comply with the Conditions of Approval of the
Director's Notice of Decision. Thus, the Director's approval expired and became null
and void, and the matter returned to the Code Enforcement Division as a new code
case; and,
WHEREAS, on March 25, 2019, Code Enforcement issued a Notice and Order to
Abate A Public Nuisance letter to the Property Owner requiring immediate action to trim
the vegetation to the RPVMC standards or submit a new Site Plan Review application to
the Planning Division requesting to maintain the hedges/foliage to a maximum height of
6'; and,
WHEREAS, on April 22, 2019, the Property Owner submitted a new after-the-fact
Site Plan Review application requesting the City's consideration to reduce the length of
the IVT and allow the existing hedges/foliage within the reduced IVT to be trimmed and
maintained at a height of 4', and the existing hedges/foliage located within the 20' front
yard setback along Highpoint Lane and the 10' street side setback along Grandpoint
Lane to be trimmed and maintained at 6' in height; and,
WHEREAS, after initial review of the new application and material, Staff deemed
the application incomplete on May 21, 2019, due to insufficient information and
corrections from the Public Works Department; and,
WHEREAS, On June 11, 2019, a revised plan was submitted to the Planning
Division requesting to consider allowing the hedges/foliage to be trimmed to 6' in height
within the City required IVT, as well as the front and street side setback areas; and,
WHEREAS, on July 11, 2019, the Director conditionally approved the Site Plan
Review requiring the Property Owner to trim and maintain, in perpetuity, hedges/foliage
at a height of 6' within the front and street side setbacks and 30" in height within the IVT
or at 30" in height within the initial 30' of the IVT, as measured from the City's stop sign
at the southeast corner of Highpoint Road and Grandpoint Lane, with potential
additional trimming within the remaining 30' of the IVT as deemed necessary by the City
after the initial trimming occurred; and,
WHEREAS, on July 11, 2019, the Notice of Decision was provided to the
Property Owner and interested parties; and,
WHEREAS, on July 26, 2019, the Property Owner filed a timely appeal
requesting that the Planning Commission overturn the Director's decision in order to
allow the hedges/foliage to remain at a height of 6' within the front and street side
setbacks and within the IVT; and,
WHEREAS, the appeal listed the following issues with the Director's decision: 1)
the hedges are more than 30 years old and were approved by City Staff to remain at a
height of 10 to 12 feet per City Tree Review Permit No. 129; 2) City Tree Review Permit
P.C. Resolution No. 2019-23
Page 2
No. 129 contradicts City Staff's actions towards the current request; 3) the hedges
protect the backyard and backyard privacy; 4) the hedges are not impairing the view
from any viewing area across the street; 5) the hedges were recently trimmed at the
Appellant's expense to 6' in height and the corner is safer than most intersections in the
City; and,
WHEREAS, on August 8, 2019, pursuant to §17.80.090 of the RPVMC, a 15-day
public notice announcing the appeal and the Planning Commission's public hearing was
provided to adjacent property owners and published in the Peninsula News; and,
WHEREAS, on August 27, 2019, the Planning Commission held a duly-noticed
public hearing to consider the merits of the appeal opposing the Director's conditional
approval of a Site Plan Review application. The Planning Commission opened the
public hearing, and after considering public testimony, including from Staff and the
Appellant, continued the public hearing to October 8, 2019 to allow Staff additional time
to reassess the line-of-sight issues related to the hedge within the IVT and to meet with
the Appellant to address his privacy concerns; and,
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission held a continued duly noticed public
hearing on October 8, 2019, at which time all interested parties were given an
opportunity to be heard and present evidence.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF RANCHO
PALOS VERDES DOES HEREBY FIND, DETERMINE AND RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1: The Property Owner's request is to allow the hedges/foliage to
remain at a height of 6' within the front and street side setback areas and within the IVT.
Section 2: The Planning Commission finds that the Director's approval of the
Site Plan Review to trim and maintain, in perpetuity, hedges/foliage at a height of 6'
within the front and street side setback areas, outside of the IVT, and hedges/foliage at
a height of 30" within the IVT at the corner of Highpoint Road and Grandpoint Lane is
warranted because:
A. The City's Public Works Department determined hedges/foliage located outside
of the IVT, within the front yard and street side setback areas exceeding 30" up
to 6' provides for a safe view of oncoming vehicular traffic and pedestrians by a
driver exiting the driveway and will not cause a visual impairment that would
adversely affect the public health.
B. The height of the hedges/foliage within the front yard and street side setback
areas, outside of the IVT, at a height of 6' will not significantly impair a view from
the viewing area of the neighboring residences.
C. The City's Public Works Department determined that the existing hedges/foliage
above 30" in height at the corner of Highpoint Road and Grandpoint Lane
obstructs the visibility of vehicles and pedestrians approaching the intersection
within the IVT.
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Section 3: The Planning Commission finds that the merits of the appeal are
not warranted as described below.
A. The 1998 City Tree Review Permit (CTRP) No. 129 is no longer valid due to an
Independent Maintenance Agreement ("Agreement") established in 2002,
between previous property owners (Mr. Brady) at 29615 Highpoint Road and (Mr.
and Mrs. Roy Rawlings) at 29624 Grandpoint Lane, the current property owners
at 29615 Highpoint Road and 29624 Grandpoint Lane are not the original
Agreement holders. The Agreement is void an unenforceable due to the adoption
of City Ordinance No. 575, rescinding §17.76.100 (City Tree Review Permit),
deleting references to the City Tree Review Permit procedures contained in
§17.02.040(C)(2)(e) and §17.76.86.050(A)(2), and also adding language to
§17.80.030 (Appellate Authority) in order to clarify the appeal process for City
decisions involving the trimming/removal of City trees. The Conditions of
Approval for the Site Plan Review addresses vehicular traffic and pedestrian line-
of-sight concerns at the corner of Highpoint Road and Grandpoint Lane and view
impairment from an adjacent property' viewing area.
B. CTRP No. 129 was "closed out" due to an Agreement between previous property
owners of 29615 Highpoint Road and 29624 Grandpoint Lane. The Planning
Commission finds that the safety of vehicular traffic and pedestrians approaching
the intersection overrides past private Agreements, and the requirement to trim
the hedges/foliage is consistent with the height requirements of the RPVMC. The
Planning Commission finds that the current significant view impairment is now
assessed from a different neighboring property at 29605 Grandpoint Lane, and
not a party of the past Agreement.
C. A 30" tall hedge/foliage within the IVT continues to provide a buffer between
pedestrians walking along the public right-of-way and the subject property's
boundary, and continues to provide a privacy barrier from passing vehicles with
the additional 6' tall hedges/foliage outside of the IVT. An existing 5'-6' tall block
wall immediately adjacent to the existing spa screens the spa from street view
along Grandpoint Lane and the intersection. Planting trees at the backyard grade
level can provide privacy with the canopy.
D. The existing height of the hedges/foliage creates a view impairment from the
primary viewing areas of adjacent properties and that trimming the
hedges/foliage to 30" in height within the IVT and 6' in height within the front and
street side setback areas eliminates the significant view impairment.
E. The existing hedges/foliage exceeding 30" in height located in the IVT obstructs
the visibility of vehicles approaching the intersection after conducting a
reassessment of the IVT on September 13, 2019. More specifically, it is of the
opinion of the City's Engineer that the hedge may have caused the non-typical
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placement of the existing stop bar and stop sign, which is located approximately
20' away from the stop bar.
F. City records indicate that no car accidents at the intersection of Grandpoint Lane
and Highpoint Road have been reported, but that does not conclude that the
intersection is safe.
G. The two trimming options stated under Conditions of Approval in Exhibit 'A'
provides a balance, addressing both safety concerns and the Property Owner's
concerns.
Section 4: For the foregoing reasons and based on the information and
findings included in the Staff Report, Minutes and other records of proceedings, the
Planning Commission of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes hereby adopts P.C.
Resolution No 2019-23, denying the appeal and upholding the Director's approval of a
Site Plan Review requiring the Property Owner to trim and maintain, in perpetuity,
hedges/foliage at a height of 6' within the front and street side setback areas and 30" in
height within the IVT at 29624 Grandpoint Lane, subject to the conditions set forth in the
attached Exhibit 'A'.
Section 5: Any interested person aggrieved by this decision or any portion of
this decision may appeal to the City Council. The appeal shall set forth in writing, the
grounds for appeal and any specific action being requested by the appellant. Any
appeal letter must be filed within fifteen (15) calendar days of the date of this decision,
or by 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 23, 2019. A $2,275.00 appeal fee must
accompany any appeal letter. If no appeal is filed timely, the Planning Commission's
decision will be final at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 23, 2019.
P.C. Resolution No. 2019-23
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PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 8th day of October 2019, by the following
vote:
AYES: COMMISSIONERS JAMES, NELSON, SANTAROSA, PERESTAM, VICE-
CHAIRMAN LEON, AND CHAIRMAN BRADLEY
NOES: COMMISSIONER SAADATNEJADI
ABSTENTIONS: NONE
RECUSALS: NONE
ABSENT: NONE
IP '
i ,. igir( 4/allr. __
'avid Bradley
Chairman
Ara I non,
Director of Community Development; and,
Secretary of the Planning Commission
P.C. Resolution No. 2019-23
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EXHIBIT 'A'
CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
PLANNING CASE NO. PLSR2019-0115
SITE PLAN REVIEW
29624 GRANDPOINT LANE
General Conditions:
1. Prior to the foliage trimming, the Applicant/Property Owner shall submit to the
City a statement, in writing, that they have read, understand, and agree to all
conditions of approval contained in this Exhibit "A". Failure to provide said written
statement by October 23, 2019, shall render this approval null and void.
2. The Applicant shall indemnify, protect, defend, and hold harmless, the City,
and/or any of its officials, officers, employees, agents, departments, agencies,
and instrumentalities thereof, from any and all claims, demands, lawsuits, writs of
mandamus, and other actions and proceedings (whether legal, equitable,
declaratory, administrative or adjudicatory in nature), and alternative dispute
resolutions procedures (including, but not limited to arbitrations, mediations, and
other such procedures) (collectively "Actions"), brought against the City, and/or
any of its officials, officers, employees, agents, departments, agencies, and
instrumentalities thereof, that challenge, attack, or seek to modify, set aside,
void, or annul, the action of, or any permit or approval issued by, the City and/or
any of its officials, officers, employees, agents, departments, agencies, and
instrumentalities thereof (including actions approved by the voters of the City), for
or concerning the project.
3. Prior to conducting any work in the public right-of-way, such as dumpsters,
temporary improvements and/or permanent improvements, the applicant shall
obtain an encroachment permit from the Director of Public Works.
4. Approval of this permit shall not be construed as a waiver of applicable and
appropriate zoning regulations, or any Federal, State, County and/or City laws
and regulations. Unless otherwise expressly specified, all other requirements of
the City of Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code shall apply.
5. Pursuant to Section 17.78.040 of the RPVMC, the Director of Community
Development is authorized to make minor modifications to the approved plans
and any of the conditions of approval if such modifications will achieve
substantially the same results as would strict compliance with the approved plans
and conditions. Substantial changes to the project shall be considered a revision
and require approval by the final body that approved the original project, which
may require new and separate environmental review and public notification.
6. The project development on the site shall conform to the specific standards
contained in these conditions of approval or, if not addressed herein, shall
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conform to the residential development standards of the RPVMC, including but
not limited to height, setback and lot coverage standards.
7. Failure to comply with and adhere to all of these conditions of approval may be
cause to revoke the approval of the project pursuant to the revocation
procedures contained in Section 17.86.060 of the RPVMC or administrative
citations as described in Section 1.16 of the RPVMC. Furthermore, if these
conditions of approval are not adhered to, this matter shall be forwarded to the
City Attorney to pursue all legal remedies available to the City including, but not
limited to, abatement measures at the cost of the property owners.
8. In the event that any of these conditions conflict with the recommendations
and/or requirements of another permitting agency or City department, the stricter
standard shall apply.
9. This approval is only for the items described within these conditions and
identified on the stamped approved plans and is not an approval of any existing
illegal or legal non-conforming structures on the property, unless the approval of
such illegal or legal non-conforming structure is specifically identified within these
conditions or on the stamped approved plans.
10. Permitted hours and days for landscaping activities are 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM,
Monday through Friday, 9:00AM to 5:00PM on Saturday, with no construction
activity permitted on Sundays or on the legal holidays specified in Section
17.96.920 of the Rancho Palos Verdes Development Code. Emergency work
and typical residential activities, such as lawn mowing, gardening (without the
use of weed and debris blowers), and minor home repair/maintenance, shall be
exempted from these time and day restrictions.
11. For all grading, landscaping and construction activities, the Applicant shall
employ effective dust control techniques, either through screening and/or
watering.
Project Specific Conditions:
12. The Applicant shall trim and maintain the existing hedge/foliage located within
the IVT to one of the following options:
• Option 'A' - Trim and maintain the hedge/foliage within the entire IVT at a
height not to exceed 30", as measured from adjacent street curb elevation
by December 9, 2019; or
• Option `B' — Trim and maintain the hedge/foliage located within the initial
30' of the IVT, as measured from the City's stop sign at the southeast
corner of Highpoint Road and Grandpoint Lane, at a height not to exceed
30", as measured from adjacent street curb elevation by December 9,
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2019. Within 48 hours of completing the initial trimming, the property
owners shall notify the City in order for Staff to assess the visibility
impacts, and if it is determined that the visibility is not adequate, additional
trimming will be required within the remaining 30' of the IVT as deemed
necessary by the City. The additional trimming must occur within 15 days
of the City's notice. If Option B' is selected, a security deposit of $5,000
must be paid to the City to ensure the trimming of the hedge/foliage
occurs to the City's satisfaction. The $5,000 security deposit is fully
refundable provided that the trimming occurs to the City's satisfaction
within time frames specified in this Condition of Approval.
The property owners shall notify the City in writing which option they intend to
pursue by October 23, 2019.
13. Trim and maintain the existing hedge/foliage in the front and street side setbacks
in perpetuity, at a height that does not exceed 6' as measured from adjacent
street curb elevation by December 9, 2019.
14. Trimming and maintenance of planting within the parkway as defined by RPVMC
§12.08.080 shall be performed by and at the expense of the adjacent property
owner.
15. As conditioned, all required trimming shall be completed no later than December
9, 2019. Failure to comply with these conditions of approval shall result in
enforcement action including, but not limited to, legal remedies.
16. A 6-month review shall be conducted by the City to determine if the hedge/foliage
within the intersection visibility triangle can be approved at an increased height
by the Director of Community Development with a Minor Modification application
pursuant to RPVMC §17.48.040.
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