Council approves parking reduction Page 2A
Project located at the southwest corner of Morton Avenue and Kessing Street
The Porterville City Council adopted last Tuesday a draft resolution approving a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for parking reduction for 20 multi-family residential units at the southwest corner of Morton Avenue and Kessing Street.
The Porterville City Council adopted last Tuesday a draft resolution approving a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for parking reduction for 20 multifamily residential units at the southwest corner of Morton Avenue and Kessing Street.
The council also came to an agreement with Terry Schuler, the builder and owner of the subject property, that he provide the city with 20 trees to replace an oak tree that will be removed for the project.
The fact that a large oak tree on the property will need to be removed didn’t sit well with some residents such as Cathy Capone.
Years back, Capone said she conducted an oak tree census in the Porterville area and said the oak tree being removed is one of the largest in the city.
“It also is, as far as I know, and I go by it very frequently, in good health, and it is one of the picturesque oak trees in town,” Capone said.
Porterville resident Ellen Nichols said she loves oak trees so much she once threatened to chain herself to her own oak tree.
“The one I was going to chain myself to is not as big and beautiful as the one that is proposed for removal so I might be prone to chain myself to that one,” Nichols said.
Schuler said he and his partner have given close consideration to the oak tree.
“We would love to have had the tree if it could have stayed, it was in a proper place, but one of the determining factors is the tree is leaning to the west so our decision was made primarily on liability reasoning,” Schuler said.
Mayor Milt Stowe agreed, saying that the oak tree always scared him.
“They just have a tendency to fall sometimes and it is right next to a busy thoroughfare so it does worry me,” Stowe said.
Schuler reiterated that he wish the tree could have stayed as he is a big fan of oak trees.
“My home place that I live on has got about 20 big Valley oak trees on it so I am probably more in tune to Valley oaks and favorable to them than anyone,” Schuler said.
Councilmember Cameron Hamilton said even though an oak tree has to be removed, he is still for the project and believes it is a good one to have in the city.
Councilmember Martha Flores said she agrees the oak tree needs to be removed for liability concerns.
“I did look at the oak tree and as I looked at the plans I looked at it with the fact that with the units that would be built it is a liability more than anything,” Flores said, adding, “Especially if there is going to be children and others around that area.”
Nevertheless, Flores noted that she still loves the oak tree.
“It is a beautiful tree, I don’t deny that,” she said.
As far as the project as a whole, Jenni Byers, the city’s community development director, said the project applicants first met with the city’s Project Review Committee (PRC) on Sept. 20, 2017, proposing an eight-unit apartment complex at 369 N. Kessing St. Byers said the applicant resubmitted a reconfiguration of the project, which she said included the parcel immediately to the north and a total of 20 two-bedroom units.
Byers said the development of 20 two-bedroom units would require 47 parking spaces per the city’s development code.
“This accounts for two spaces per two-bedroom unit and one guest parking space per every three units,” Byers said.
The development as proposed with 36 spaces is under-parked by 11 spaces, Byers said. She said the project site has a General Plan land use designation of High Density Residential and is zoned RM-3 (High Density Residential).
Byers said the project site is outside of any parking districts and is not able to take advantage of the flexibility provided to that district. However, Byers noted that a section of the city’s development code provides for reductions in parking in certain situations. She said specifically section 304.06(c) allows for a reduction of parking with approval of a minor Conditional Use Permit. She said the criteria for approval include consideration of special conditions, which, in this case, she said the subject development includes unique characteristics that could support a parking reduction.
First, Byers said, the site is located immediately west of Bartlett Middle School. She said the entrance to the school is located on North G. Street. Because of this, Byers said Kessing Street has significantly more street frontage than would typically be associated with a multifamily development of similar unit numbers.
While supplanting onsite parking with off-site parking is not recommended by the code, nor one of the proposed criteria for approval, Byers said the site configuration is so significantly different that it merits consideration. Secondly, Byers said the project site is conveniently located adjacent to several Porterville Transit stops on both the north and south side of Morton Avenue, which she said may likely reduce necessary vehicle trips.
Byers said the project site has a General Plan land use designation of High Density Residential and is zoned RM-3 (High Density Residential). She said a table of the city’s development ordinance allows for a maximum density of 30 units per acre with a minimum density requirement of 10 units per net acre. She added that council’s approval of the project will advance the goals and objectives of and is consistent with the policies of the General Plan.
“The General Plan and the Housing Element calls for support of high density residential development, to provide housing options and opportunities for low and moderate income households,” Byers said, adding that the proposed development suits the density requirement of 10 units per acre, with a proposed density of 17 units per acre. “Further, the standard of population density, site area dimensions, site coverage, yard spaces, height of structures, distance between structures, and landscaped areas will produce an environment of stable and desirable character consistent with the objectives of the 2030 General Plan.”
Byers said the project, including the requested entitlement to reduce the required number of parking spaces, is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act.
Nichols said reducing the parking for the project is a “really bad idea.”
“Anytime you have reduced parking you are going to have more parking on the streets,” Nichols said. “The additional parking on the streets, while not really illegal in most cases, causes problems.
Nichols said one problem is that frequently a car will be parked too close to an intersection and visibility will be bad.
“I get that a lot at the intersection of Hawaii and Belleview streets where people park too close to the southwest corner and I can’t see any folks coming from my left,” Nichols said.