Administrative
Report
N.1., File # 22-4696 Meeting Date: 12/13/2022
To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: BRANDY FORBES, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
TITLE
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON ENFORCEMENT CAPABILITIES AND THE
FINALIZATION OF PROPOSED ORDINANCES AMENDING REDONDO BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE TITLE 10 CHAPTER 2 ZONING AND LAND USE AND THE TITLE 10 CHAPTER 5 COASTAL LAND
USE PLAN IMPLEMENTING ORDINANCE PERTAINING TO SETBACKS FOR ACCESSORY
STRUCTURES IN RESIDENTIAL ZONES, INCLUDING ACCESSORY BUILDINGS AND DWELLING
UNITS, AND STANDARDS FOR BUILDING AND OTHER PROJECTIONS IN ALL ZONES
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Certain actions triggered a review of the setback and encroachment sections of the Redondo Beach Municipal Code (RBMC). Specifically, Sections 10-2.1500 and 10-5.1500 entitled “Accessory structures in residential zones” and Sections 10-2.1522 and 10-5-1522 entitled “Building and other projections in all zones” need to be revised to align with City rules and recent Council decisions.
As a result of a referral from City Council, on January 20, 2022 the Planning Commission reviewed possible revisions to the above sections of the Zoning Code and made recommendations to the City Council. On March 1, 2022, the City Council considered those recommendations and provided direction to staff on the content and scope of the proposed Municipal Code revisions and the preparation of ordinances needed to formally amend the identified sections of the Code.
The draft ordinances were revised to incorporate the direction provided by City Council at the March 1, 2022 meeting. A public hearing was held on June 14, 2022 for City Council to consider the ordinances and was continued to July 5, 2022 to incorporate further revisions based on the public testimony and City Council discussion at the June 14, 2022 meeting. At the July 5, 2022 public hearing, City Council closed the public hearing and directed staff to review the current noise ordinance and consider options for enforcing City noise regulations, including resources required to properly enforce the decibel standards. City Council expressed interest in considering noise enforcement capabilities before deciding whether to permit mechanical and plumbing equipment in required setbacks.
Staff have researched noise enforcement options and included the information and related follow up recommendations in the Background Section below. This item provides an opportunity for the City Council to discuss the research and recommendations and provide direction on the ordinances pertaining to accessory structure setbacks.
N.1., File # 22-4696 Meeting Date: 12/13/2022
BACKGROUND
Below is the background information on the two Municipal Code sections to be revised and the recommended revisions from the Planning Commission and City Council.
Revisions to “Accessory Structures in Residential Zones” Sections In 2021 an Administrative Decision of the Community Development Director regarding setbacks between buildings and structures was appealed to the Planning Commission. The property owners of 2015 Speyer Lane Unit B submitted an Administrative Design Review application to allow an accessory structure that is attached to the rear elevation of the main home, which encroaches into the rear setback. The application was denied by the Community Development Director, citing the section of the Zoning Code which requires a minimum separation of 5-feet between a dwelling unit and an accessory structure.
The property owner appealed the denial of the Administrative Design Review to the Planning Commission. On March 18, 2021, the Planning Commission held a public hearing, and adopted Resolution No. 2021-03-PR-01 approving the accessory structure’s roof to be attached to the rear elevation of the main home.
An appeal of the Planning Commission’s decision to the City Council was filed on March 19, 2021 by the neighbor directly to the rear of the subject property. The appeal was made on the grounds that the Planning Commission’s decision was attempting to conform with a structure that was already built, and the Planning Commission’s approval does not comply with Redondo Beach Municipal Code (RBMC) Section 10-2.1500(a) regarding the setback between buildings. The City Council considered and denied the appeal at a public hearing on June 1, 2021, thus upholding the Planning Commission decision. The Council did, however, make some distinctions that were not addressed as part of the Planning Commission’s decision.
In their discussions at the June 1, 2021 public hearing, the City Council made distinctions between structures and buildings and determined that per Redondo Beach Municipal Code 10-2.1500 as it reads now, an accessory structure does not need a 5-foot setback from the dwelling unit. The specific discussion at the Council meeting was that Accessory Building is defined as a detached building which is subordinate to the main building or structure on the same lot, whereas the definition of Accessory Structure does not have a stipulation regarding being attached or detached. Thus, City Council found that the attached accessory structure complies with RBMC 10-2.1500.
To clarify further, an accessory building is a subset of accessory structures. The broader category of accessory structure does not specify or define the structure as detached. However, by definition what distinguishes the accessory building subset is 1) the fact that it is a building rather than a structure (a building is designed and or used for the shelter and enclosure of persons, animals, or property, where a structure does not have that purpose), and 2) that it must be detached.
The terms “structures” and “buildings” are used interchangeably in RBMC 10-2-1500, leading to ambiguity on whether the subsection is intended to apply only to buildings, or intended to include setbacks for accessory structures. Per the two distinct definitions where accessory building is the only one defined to be detached, the City Council determined that the accessory structure’s roof complies with the provisions set forth in RBMC 10-2.1500 regarding accessory structures in residential zones. With that determination, the language in Section 10-2.1500 needs to be revised to
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residential zones. With that determination, the language in Section 10-2.1500 needs to be revised to clarify the intent for future interpretation.
The Planning Commission considered multiple options on revising this section of Code and made a recommendation to meet the intent of the City Council’s interpretation. At their March 1, 2022 meeting, the City Council reviewed the Planning Commission recommendations and determined there was still ambiguity to what was or wasn’t allowed to be attached. Council requested that staff clarify the language based on the City Council discussion. Those revisions are represented in the ordinances considered at the June 14 and July 5, 2022 public hearing and are provided in the revisions attachment for this agenda item that tracks the changes, showing additions highlighted as underlined and deletions are highlighted in strikeout.
Revisions to “Building and Other Projections in All Zones” Sections Concurrent with the appeal hearing determination noted above, the City Council directed staff to revisit the projections into required setbacks under RBMC 10-2.1522 for inland properties and RBMC 10-5.1522 for coastal properties. Under these sections, air conditioners and other mechanical and plumbing equipment aren’t currently addressed.
Since March 2020, when the COVID-19 emergency orders went into place, the Planning Division has experienced a significant increase in requests for air conditioning permits. Unfortunately, to retrofit an already developed site for air conditioning, the only constructible areas available are oftentimes inside required setbacks. Per the current regulations, air conditioners are not permitted in the required setbacks and setbacks between buildings. City Council requested that staff consider how this can be addressed in the zoning code.
As well, while revising this section of the code, there is a need to define and clarify allowances for decks, porches, and patios in required setbacks. Also, during the discussions at the appeal hearings noted above, there was interest in increasing the approved height of architectural features (RBMC 10 - 2.1522(f)(1)) from 9 feet to 10 feet, because entry doorways to dwelling units that may be in proximity to such architectural features or structures may not have clearance. These more minor changes have been incorporated into the proposed revisions.
Ultimately, the Planning Commission recommended to allow the following mechanical and plumbing projections in setbacks:
· Remove “water heaters” from architectural features and place it in a new subsection regarding mechanical and plumbing equipment.
· Allow plumbing and mechanical equipment to project into a required rear setback or required setback between buildings, other than new construction. · Allow plumbing equipment to project up to one half of the required rear yard setback, or thirty (30) inches, whichever is less.
· Allow “mini-split” air conditioners (wall units) to project up to one half of the required side yard setback, or thirty (30) inches, whichever is less, other than new construction. This does not allow other mechanical equipment to be located in the side setback. · Require all mechanical and plumbing equipment within the required setbacks to be screened from public view.
· Require all mechanical equipment and plumbing equipment within the required setbacks to comply with and have manufacturer ratings to meet the RBMC 4-24 Noise Regulations.
At the March 1, 2022 meeting, the City Council agreed with the Planning Commission
N.1., File # 22-4696 Meeting Date: 12/13/2022
At the March 1, 2022 meeting, the City Council agreed with the Planning Commission recommendations, but requested that the ordinances be finalized by specifying the decibel level permitted for mechanical and plumbing equipment, rather than referencing the noise ordinance.
A public hearing was held on June 14, 2022 for City Council to consider the ordinances. City Council opened the public hearing and took public testimony. The public hearing was continued to July 5, 2022 to incorporate revisions based on the public testimony and City Council discussion at the June 14, 2022 meeting. Specifically, the City Council directed the following revisions:
· When allowing plumbing equipment in side setbacks, make an exception of water softeners. · Allow all air conditioners in side setbacks, make the limit of 55 decibels extremely clear.
After hearing additional public testimony at the July 5, 2022 public hearing, City Council closed the public hearing and directed staff to review the current noise ordinance and consider options for enforcing our noise regulations, including resources required to properly enforce the decibel standards. Specifically, City Council expressed interest in reviewing this information before deciding whether to permit mechanical and plumbing equipment in required setbacks, especially side setbacks that are in closer proximity to neighboring residential structures.
Research on Noise Enforcement Capabilities
The Police Department (PD) has reached out to other municipalities to see what devices and training they use to enforce noise concerns. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has an established noise enforcement unit and provided a sound monitoring device demonstration for Redondo Beach Police Department representatives in early November. The devices used by LAPD cost approximately $6,000 each with $1,000 of yearly maintenance. As well, training would be a minimum of $10,000 annually to effectively operate the devices. Although this provides an option to conduct enforcement in Redondo Beach, there are constraints to the enforcement of the current Redondo Beach Municipal Code noise regulations. Although the proposed ordinances for location and decibel levels of mechanical and plumbing equipment establish certain requirements, the City’s noise ordinance would be the enforcement measure for any complaints.
LAPD has a far more robust Sound Enforcement Unit that exceeds the current capabilities of Redondo Beach PD. For instance, the LAPD has a multi-person full-time team which responds solely to noise disturbances such as loud night clubs, restaurants, and concert venues at all hours of the day and night. Some sound complaints in Redondo Beach are made during the overnight hours and are responded to by Police Officers assigned to Patrol Division who measure the sound in what they believe to be either reasonable or unreasonable without the use of a sound monitoring device.
Ensuring 24/7 coverage of Police Department personnel who could measure sound decibels for enforcement would require a significant training commitment and the purchase of additional equipment.
The investigation of loud sound involves first measuring the ambient sound in an area and then conducting a comparison when the complaint noise is introduced. The current Redondo Beach Municipal Code lists ambient sound decibel benchmarks relative to the environment when the ordinance was drafted in 1976. The ambient sound in the City today likely differs from 1976 as the current environment, growth, traffic and nature of development in the City has largely changed. In order to update the 1976 Code standards, the Police Department would recommend a third-party vendor with expertise in sound monitoring to determine what the reasonable ambient sound level is
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vendor with expertise in sound monitoring to determine what the reasonable ambient sound level is currently in the City for the various categories identified in the ordinance. Incorporating those findings into a modification of the ordinance would then allow for anything five decibels over the updated ambient levels to be considered a potential noise violation, and enforcement taken as reasonably appropriate based on the availability of properly trained staff and authorized equipment.
Recommendations
Staff recommends that the City Council direct staff to return with an item describing an approach to update the ambient levels contained in the 1976 noise ordinance and to proceed with appropriate modifications to the Municipal Code that will allow for sustained noise regulation enforcement.
While the noise ordinance update is underway, it is recommended that the ordinances pertaining to accessory structure setbacks be modified to only allow mechanical and electrical equipment within the rear yard setback or, for multi-family structures, the setback between buildings and that the equipment be located no closer than 10 feet from the property line. This action would provide an immediate interim solution that would allow the Community Development Department to process current air conditioner applications, while also further considering a long-term equipment ordinance solution that aligns with the planned noise ordinance update.
COORDINATION
The preparation of the ordinances was done in coordination with the City Attorney’s Office. The research on enforcement capabilities was conducted by the Police Department.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funding for the preparation of this report and the ordinances is available in the participating Departments’ annual operating budgets.
APPROVED BY:
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
· Draft Ordinance - Setbacks and Encroachments Inland 1st reading, July 5, 2022 · Draft Ordinance - Setbacks and Encroachments Coastal 1st reading, July 5, 2022 · Draft Resolution - Accessory Structure Coastal Resolution for Certification, July 5, 2022 · Draft Revisions in Tracked Changes for Ordinances Setbacks and Encroachments · City Council Administrative Report Setbacks and Encroachments, July 5, 2022 · Receive and File Documents, July 5, 2022
· City Council Administrative Report Setbacks and Encroachments, June 14, 2022 · City Council Presentation Setbacks and Encroachments, June 14, 2022 · City Council Administrative Report Setbacks and Encroachments, March 1, 2022 · City Council Presentation Setbacks and Encroachments, March 1, 2022 · Planning Commission Resolution, January 20, 2022
· Planning Commission Administrative Report, January 20, 2022 · Planning Commission Minutes, January 20, 2022
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· Planning Commission Presentation, January 20, 2022