STAFF REPORT
DATE: December 5, 2023
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Patrick Prescott, Community Development Director
VIA: Fred Ramirez, Assistant Community Development Director – Planning Scott Plambaeck, Planning Manager
BY: Shipra Rajesh, Senior Planner
SUBJECT: Update on the Implementation of Changes to R -1 and R-1- H Zone Standards and Identification of Future Considerations
RECOMMENDATION
Note and file.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On March 2022, the City Council adopted a Zone Text Amendment (ZTA) that eliminated the Single-Family Special Development Permit (SFSDP) planning entitlement process and established objective design related standards for all additions, remodels, and construction of single-family dwellings. The ZTA was intended to streamline the planning review process for single-family residential development, while addressing the concerns related to mass and bulk of new and remodeled single-family homes.
Furthermore, after the adoption of the ZTA, Council directed staff to bring back an eighteen-month progress report detailing the impact of the objective design and development standards on planning review time to verify if the adopted standards were in fact streamlining the planning review process as well as to consider any future actions to amend the established development standards.
This report analyzes three factors , including: planning review time for initial round of review, planning review time for final planning approval , and total number of planning reviews conducted prior to planning approval of development projects in single family residential zones that were submitted under the updated code. Included as part of this analysis, the report provides an overview of changes to the planning review time. As this reports analysis will show , the updated single- family regulations have established objective development standards that have facilitated a one-step review process during plan check, reducing the overall planning approval time for single- family development projects to between 4.2 and 6.7 months or by 71%.
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
2 DISCUSSION
Background
In 2017, the City made comprehensive updates to the Burbank Municipal Code (BMC) with the intent to limit the mass and bulk of new and remodeled single- family residential dwellings (City Council Ordinance No. 17- 3,890). The 2017 update amended various development standards, including, but not limited to: standards pertaining to Floor Area Ratio (FAR), front setback calculation, fences, walls and retaining walls. Additionally, the update created design guidelines to establish neighborhood compatibility standards and created a discretionary review process (SFSDP) for most new dwellings and large-scale additions. This was done under the premise that it would address the concerns of bulk and mass while at the same time allow for streamlining of the review of single -family residential development projects. However, while most of the regulations met the intent of reducing the overall mass and bulk of single-family dwellings, these regulations did not result in a streamlined planning review as was originally anticipated. Both the standards and the SFSDP review process increased the average planning review time to an average of 12 to 16 months.
On March 15, 2022, the Council adopted Ordinance No. 22 -3,970, to amend the development standards in the single family residential (R -1 and R-1-H ) zones that became effective on April 15, 2022. The purpose of the ordinance was to maintain those single-family development standards that worked well towards limiting mass and bulk of single-family dwellings in R-1 and R -1-H zones , while facilitating more streamlined planning review by eliminating the SFSDP process. The elimination of the SFSDP review process has reduced the planning review time by six to nine months. Additionally, the ordinance was intended to facilitate better design and remove redundant and unclear information that hinders consistent application of the code.
Furthermore, during the March
15, 2022 hearing, the Council directed staff to bring back a report detail ing the effectiveness of implementation of the updated single family residential zoning regulations including its impact on planning review times. The following section provides an overview of planning review time under the updated single family residential regulations.
Analysis
Staff gathered data on single family residential development plan check s that were submitted on or after April 15, 2022, under the updated single family residential regulations. To assess the effectiveness of the updated objective standards in streamlining the planning review time, data was gathered on the time taken by the planning staff to complete the initial round of review, time taken for final planning approval, as well as total number of planning reviews conducted prior to final approval of a plan check project.
A total of 521 single-family residential plan check projects were submitted between April 15, 2022 and August 11, 2023. Out of the total plan check projects submitted, staff analyzed 389 single family residential plan check projects to study the planning review time for initial round of review and the final planning approval, as well as the total number of planning reviews conducted prior to planning approval. The outcome of the analysis is discussed in the following sections.
3 • Reduction in prolonged processing timelines for projects proposing minor additions and/or remodeling work that do not impact the existing scale of a neighborhood:
Previously, Ordinance No. 17- 3,890 established SFSDP discretionary review approval and the associated design review process that applied to single family projects proposing single-story or minor two-story additions, which did not adversely impact the mass, bulk , and scale of an existing home, causing unnecessary delay in processing timelines that ranged from 12 to 16 months. Ordinance No. 22-3,970 eliminated the SFSDP process and established a one-step review process during plan check that ha s resulted in reduced processing times for all single-family residential development projects including additions, remodels, and construction of new homes.
Staff analyzed initial planning review time for all single-family residential development plan check projects, which captures the time taken by a planner to complete first round of planning review once a plan check project is assigned to the planner, to get an estimate of the initial turnaround time for planning review. It should be noted that initial planning review time is bet ter reflective of effectiveness of the updated single- family regulations , since in addition to time taken by a planner, subsequent rounds of planning review time is also governed by the time taken by an applicant to re-submit a revised set of plans, which is not predictable. The average initial planning review time for single family development projects ranges from 1.4 to
2.1 months depending on the complexity of the projects as indicated in Table 1, wherein the projects are categorized depending on scope o f work and related complexity.
Additionally, Attachment 3 provides a graph that shows the initial planning review time for different types of single-family residential development plan check projects as it relates to the state mandated review time for ho using projects pursuant to AB 2234 (California Government Code Section 65913.3). AB 2234 amends the Permit Streamlining Act to establish review timelines for post entitlement phase permits for housing development projects. “Post entitlement phase permit” includes all nondiscretionary permits and reviews filed after the discretionary entitle ment process has been completed that are required or issued by the local agency to begin construction of a housing development, including but not limited to building permits, demolition permits, and permits for minor or standard excavation and grading. AB 2234 requires all local jurisdictions to complete initial review of housing development projects with 25 or fewer units within 30 business days that translates approximately to 42 calendar days. Staff anticipates that review times will continue to improve as the city works toward meeting the state mandated plan check review times under Assembly Bill (AB) 2234: Post Entitlement Phase Permits, which has been effective since January 1, 2023.
In addition, staff analyzed the average time for planning approval for all single-family residential development plan check projects submitted under the updated regulations to assess the impact of updated regulations on reducing planning review 4 time. Previously, the review period for single- family development projects that underwent a SFSDP discretionary review process ranged from 12 to 16 months, after which the project would undergo an additional review as a part of the City’s required plan check review process to obtain a building permit, which would take an additional four to six months. As a result, the total average review period for a single- family development project subject to SFSDP and plan check was taking between 16 to 22 months to complete. As noted in Table 1 below, the updated single-family regulations have established objective development standards that has facilitated a one-step review process during plan check, reducing the overall planning approval time for single-family development projects to between 4.2 and 6.7 months or by 71 %. The graph in Attachment 2 details the average number of days to review a single- family project by type compared to the overall average review time of a single-family project that had previously required a SFSDP. It should be noted that in addition to planning approval, plan check projects are required to get approval from other City departments including Building & Safety Division, Public Works, and Fire Department to obtain final building permit. Since the focus of the report was to analyze changes to planning review time under the updated regulations, t his analysis does not include plan review times for other City Departments.
Table 1 below provides the average planning review time for single family residential development projects that have been submitted under the updated regulations.
Table 1: Average time taken for initial planning review and final planning approval for single family residential projects
Single-family residential
development project
Initial review time
(months)
Final planning
approval time
(months)
Addition: 500 SF or Less 2.0 4.2
Addition: Greater than 500 SF 2.1 5.6
Remodel work 1.4 2.2
New Construction: One-Story 3.3 6.7
New Construction: Two-Story 1.9 6.6
As noted in the graphs in Attachments 2 and 3, single-family residential development projects that include additions to an existing home take between 2 to 2.1 months to go through initial plan check review by planning staff with final planning approval time ranging from 4.2 to 5.6 months. Single-family development projects that include remodel work have a shorter review period with initial average planning review time of 1.4 months and final average planning review time of 2.2 months, as most of this work includes little to no exterior work . Finally, the time for first planning review for new one-story or two-story single-family homes range from 1.9 to 3.3 months and final approval times are at 6.7 and 6.6 months for one-story and two-story projects, respectively.
• Objective design standards that provide greater clarity and are easily understood by property owners, architects/designers, and City staff:
5 In the past , design guidelines established under neighborhood compatibility standards and the associated SFSDP discretionary review process pursuant to Ordinance No. 17- 3,890, were subjective and created ambiguity leading to inconsistent application of the code and prolonged planning review time. Ordinance No. 22-3,970, that became effective on April 15, 2022, established objective design and development standards that were based on the prior design guidelines but were updated to create regulations that are clear, unambiguous, and consi stently implemented by applicants and City staff. To assess the clarity and consistency in implementation of the updated single- family regulation s, staff analyzed the total rounds of planning review for plan check projects prior to issuance of planning approval. Table 2 and the bar graph in Attachment 4 analyze the average rounds of planning review under the updated regulations. The table and bar graph note that the average rounds of planning review prior to issuance of planning approval for single family plan check projects ranges from 1.4 to 2.4 rounds of review, indicating the revised standards have streamlined the review of single-family projects that has resulted in a decrease in the overall planning review time for such projects.
Table 2: Average rounds of planning review prior to planning approval Single-family residential development project Average rounds of planning review
Addition: 500 SF or Less 1.8
Addition: Greater than 500 SF 1.9
Remodel work 1.4
New Construction: One-Story 2.0
New Construction: Two-Story 2.4
• Establishment of objective design standards that are applied consistently to all additions, remodels, and new single-family dwellings:
Prior to adoption of Ordinance No. 22-3,970, a number of new two-story homes with floor area less than 3,000 sq. ft. and FAR of less than 0.35 were exempt from SFSDP discretionary review and the associated design review process, resulting in new dwellings with “boxy” architecture that are not compatible with the scale and character of existing single- family neighborhoods. The updated single- family regulations codified neighborhood compatibility guidelines from the prior regulations into objective development standards that now apply to all single-family residential development projects including additions, remodel work, and construction of new single-family residential dwelling s. Furthermore, the updated single -family regulations mandate all additions and new construction of single-family dwellings to comply with upper-story stepback requirements along the front & side elevations in addition to minimum required setbacks, limit the floor area of the second story to 85 percent of first story gross floor area, and limit top of the roof height of front porches to 12 feet, ensuring regulation of mass and bulk across all single- family residential development projects.
Future Considerations
The updated single -family regulations that have been in effect since April 2022, have enabled streamlining of planning review process for single family residential development 6 by reducing the planning review time to between 4.2 to 6.7 months as well as by facilitating consistent application of the regulations. During implementation of the single- family residential regulations including the updated standards , staff has received public input and observed that certain sections of the regulations may warrant future consideration to determine if additional code updates are necessary to further streamline the planning review process and bring more clarity to the plan check review process. The identified code regulations include the following:
• Non-Conforming walls
BMC Section 10-1-1810 utilizes replacement cost in reference to demolition of non- conforming features or portions of a structure to establish criteria to allow rebuilding of non-conforming portions of a structure. Since there is not an established process for computation of replacement cost for single family residential structures as well as the inconsistencies involved in the estimation of re placement cost, it is staff’ s assessment that future consideration may be necessary to evaluate the proper definition of replacement cost including potential substitution of “replacement cost of non-conforming features” with “linear length of non-conforming wall”.
• Top of the Plate Height measurement for sloped lots
Top of the plate1 height for properties in a single-family residential zone is measured from either existing ground surface of the lot, prior to any grading, cut, or fill activity or the finished ground surface of the lot, after any grading, cut, or fill activity, whichever is lower (BMC Section 10-1- 603(C)). In addition, BMC Sect ion10-1- 603(C), permits measurement of top of the plate height of residential dwellings from average grade of the lot with an approval of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP).
Average Grade represents the average of the highest and lowest finished ground surface elevations at the perimeter of the structure, whether or not the finished ground surface is higher than the existing ground surface. Future consideration may be warranted to determine potential thresholds for by-right approval of top of the plate height measurement from average grade of a lot.
• Minor Setback Exception (MSE)
BMC Section 10-1- 1810.5 provides for Minor Setback Exception (MSE) to allow minor variations to side yard setbacks for single family residential structures based on staff’s ability to make the findings contained in the section. Currently , MSE applications undergo a staff level discretionary review process and the code does not require public noticing for MSE applications. Further more, the code allows an applicant to appeal staff’s determination in case of denial of a MSE application.
Future consideration should be given for establishing more objective standards , including potential thresholds that trigger a MSE application and potential by -right approval of such applications.
1 Top of the plate is the horizontal framing member that sits on top of wall studs to support the structure above, either a second floor or roof structure. It is meant to provide additional support in carrying the vertical forces from these upper members down to the foundation.
7 • Basements
BMC Section 10-1-603(D) allows Floor Area Ratio (FAR) exemption for basements built in conjunction with a single family dwelling if t he finished floor level of the first story is no more than 24 inches above the adjoining ground surface for at least 50 percent of the perimeter of the basement and the basement space is located directly beneath an enclosed space that is included in the FAR calculation, which allows for construction of large basements that are not accounted for in the FAR. Future consideration may be warranted to evaluate any potential limits to basement FAR exemption.
• Fences in R-1 Hillside Lots
BMC Section 10-1-606(F) allows by-right approval of fences/walls that comply with the maximum height requirement specified in BMC Section 10-1- 603(A), i.e., 4’-0” within the front yard, 4’-0” to 6’-0” within street facing side yard, and 8’-0” outside of the front yard and street facing side yard. Future consideration may be warranted to establish objective development standards to address potential view impacts and overall heights in the hillside areas.
• Minor and Major Fence Exception
BMC Section 10-1-19200 and Section 10-1-19201 allow fences/walls to exceed the maximum permitted height for residential properties subject to approval of a Minor or a Major Fence Exception ( MFE) discretionary review process. Additionally, the code sections provide findings for approval of a MFE that are subjective in nature.
Future consideration may be warranted to establish objective development standards to replace the subjective language of MFE findings.
• Entry Porches
BMC Section 10-1-603(M) requires entry porches, when provided, to be at least five- foot wide and four -foot deep. However, the code does not provide language specifying dimensions of a recessed entry porch or when a porch is located within the roof of the main dwelling. Future consideration may be warranted to establish objective standards that clarify dimensions of an entry porch for different design scenarios.
• Average Front Yard setback
Future consideration may be warranted to conduct a survey of single-family neighborhoods to establish the prevailing average front setback dimensions for all single-family neighborhoods as denoted in BMC Section 10-1-603(G). A survey and resulting establishment of front setbacks per residential block rather than it being done project by project would help determine the prevailing front setback for the applicant and the city reviewer, and further streamline the review of single-family residential development projects.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
The report to the City Council providing an update on implementation of changes to development standards for single- family residential (R -1 & R -1-H) zone is categorically 8 exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15306, because the Project is for informational purposes only and includes basic data collection and research activity that does not result in a serious or major disturbance to an environmental resource. Additionally, the report is statutorily exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), because it is a planning study for possible future actions that have not yet been adopted or approved by the Council (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15262).
FISCAL IMPACT
This staff report is for informational purposes only and will not have any financial impact on the City’s General Fund.
CONCLUSION
Updates to the single-family residential regulations for development in R-1, R-1-H (Horse keeping), and R-1 hillside zones that were adopted on March 15, 2022 (Ordinance No. 22-3,970), have provided a way to achieve neighborhood compatibility while streamlining the planning review process by reducing the planning review and approval time by up to 71%. The objective design and development standards have increased the clarity and understanding of the code as evident from the average rounds of planning review prior to planning approval that ranges from 1.4 to 2.4 rounds of review.
The update to single-family residential regulations has enabled streamlining of planning review time and elimination of redundant information that hinder consistent application of the code, while maintaining those development standards that have worked well towards limiting mass and bulk of single-family dwellings in R-1 and R-1-H zones.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Ordinance No. 22-3,970
Attachment 2 – Graph Depicting Average Days for Final Planning Approval Attachment 3 – Graph Depicting Average Days for First Round of Planning Review Attachment 4 – Graph Depicting Average Number of Rounds of Planning Review Prior to Planning Approval