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Project Title: |
Gloria Terrace Two-lot Minor Subdivision |
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County File(s): |
CDMS24-00009 |
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Applicant/Owner: |
Gloria Knoll, LLC, Grant Carone |
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Zoning/General Plan: |
Single-Family Residential District R-20 / Single-Family Residential-Low Density, SL |
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Site Address/Location: |
Directly North of 3275 Gloria Terrace, Lafayette, CA (APN: 166-240-039) |
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California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Status: |
Categorical Exemption, CEQA Guidelines Section 15315 - Minor Land Divisions |
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Project Planner: |
Everett Louie, Planner II (925) 655-2873 Everett.Louie@dcd.cccounty.us |
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Staff Recommendation: |
Approve (See Section II for Full Recommendation) |
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I. PROJECT SUMMARY
The applicant requests approval of a tentative map for a minor subdivision application to subdivide an approximately 45,502-square-foot vacant lot into two lots. Parcel A will be approximately 21,054 square feet and Parcel B will be approximately 24,229 square feet. The subject parcel is currently vacant. No residential development is proposed with the project. The project proposes future improvements such as grading of approximately 4,633 cubic yards of cut and 683 cubic yards of fill, proposing a new private access, utility and landscape easement on Parcel A, a bio-retention area on Parcel A and Parcel B, and new sanitary and water lines to the proposed parcels. Access to the parcels would be provided by a private road that connects to Gloria Terrace.
II. RECOMMENDATION
The Department of Conservation and Development, Community Development Division (CDD) staff recommends that the County Zoning Administrator:
A. OPEN the public hearing on the two-lot Minor Subdivision, RECEIVE testimony, and CLOSE the public hearing.
B. APPROVE the Tentative Parcel Map for the Gloria Terrace Two-Lot Minor Subdivision (County File #CDMS24-00009), based on the attached findings and subject to the attached conditions of approval.
C. DETERMINE that the proposed project is categorically exempt from CEQA under Section 15315 of the CEQA Guidelines.
D. DIRECT staff to file a Notice of Exemption with the County Clerk.
III. GENERAL INFORMATION
A. General Plan: The subject property is located within a Single-Family Residential Low-Density District (SL). The SL designation has a density range of 1.0 to 2.9 units per net acre.
B. Zoning District: The subject property is located within the R-20 Single-Family Residential District (R-20).
C. California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): The project is categorically exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15315, “which consists of the division of property in urbanized areas zoned for residential use into four or fewer parcels when the division is in conformance with the General Plan and zoning, no variances or exceptions are required, all services and access to the proposed parcels to local standards are available, the parcel was not involved in a division of a larger parcel within the previous two years, and the parcel does not have an average slope greater than 20 percent.”
The project proposes a minor subdivision of two lots in a residential zoned district (R-20) and is in an area considered urbanized as Pleasant Hill and Lafayette are the two closest cities who both exceed the population density threshold to qualify an area as urbanized. This project does not exceed the four maximum allowed parcels under this exemption and is also zoned for residential which is a requirement to use this exemption. The project does not require any variances, exceptions, and is in conformance with the General Plan and Zoning as described in the Staff Report below. The parcel was not subject to a division of land within the previous two years, the last division of land this parcel was in was under CDMS15-00008 which was recorded on April 28, 2021, over three years ago. The site is serviced readily serviced by both a water district (East Bay Municipal District) and a sanitary district (Central Sanitary District) and the site has access. Lastly, the parcel does not have an average slope greater than 20 percent. A slope analysis was provided with this application which indicates that the average slope of the parcel is 16.5 percent which is below the threshold of 20 percent. The proposed project does not pose significant impacts to any of the six exceptions to the categorical exemptions pursuant to CEQA Guidelines, Section 15300.2, and CA Public Resources Code, Section 21084.
D. Lot Creation: The Parcel is Parcel C that was created under CDMS15-00008 which was recorded with the County Clerk on April 28, 2021.
E. Previous Applications:
CDMS15-00008: This was a vesting tentative map for a minor subdivision that subdivided a 3-acre site into four residential parcels. This was approved by the Zoning Administrator on March 8, 2017.
IV. SITE/AREA DESCRIPTION
The subject property is approximately 1.045-acre vacant parcel that was created as Parcel C under CDMS15-00008. The project site is located on the north side of Gloria Terrace approximately, 185 feet north of the road and approximately 400 feet east of the intersection of Gloria Terrace and Reliez Valley Road. The subject property is accessed via a private access easement through Parcels A and D of CDMS15-00008 and connects to Gloria Terrace to the south. The parcels in the immediate vicinity consist of single-family residential uses. Approximately 450 to the west are parcels within the City of Lafayette jurisdiction. All parcels to the north, south and east are zoned R-20 while parcels immediately to the west are zoned R-10. The General Plan of parcels to the north of Gloria Terrica is Single-Family Residential-Low and parcels south of Gloria Terrice are Single-Family Residential-Medium.
The subject parcel slopes gently away from the center, rising in elevation from 330 feet above mean sea level to 340 feet above mean sea level to the south and slopes downward in elevation from 330 feet above mean sea level to 325 feet above mean sea level to the north. There are no existing trees on the subject property as they have all been removed under CDMS15-00008. The vacant parcel has a gravel area on the southwestern side and existing rock rip rap along a small portion of the western side.
V. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The applicant requests approval of a tentative map for a minor subdivision to subdivide an approximately 45,529-square-foot vacant lot into two lots. Parcel A will be 21,054 square feet and Parcel B will be 24,449 square feet. No residential development is proposed with the project. The project is proposing grading of approximately 4,633 cubic yards of cut and approximately 683 cubic yards of fill for future development. The project also includes proposed access, utility and landscape easement along the southern property line of proposed Parcel A. This access easement will allow Parcel B of this minor subdivision access to Gloria Terrace. The project also proposes residential improvements including one bio-retention area for each parcel, 12” storm drain lines to serve the bio-retention areas, and a new concrete driveway to provide access to the two proposed lots.
VI. AGENCY COMMENTS
A. East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD): In a letter dated June 5, 2024, EBMUD stated that the project sponsor shall work with EBMUD to request a water service estimate. The water district comments indicated that water service will be available for the subdivision.
B. Contra Costa County Fire Protection District: In a letter dated June 5, 2024, the fire district stated that any proposed homes shall meet the California Building Code and that a land development permit is required for access and supply review which shall be submitted by the applicant.
C. Contra Costa County, Department of Conservation and Development, Housing Division: In a letter dated May 17, 2024, the housing division stated that the project is exempt from the County’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. The site is listed as an inventory site only, however, the Housing division provided comments stating that the proposed project does not appear to result in a net loss in sites inventory capacity.
D. Northwest Information Center: In a letter dated June 5, 2024, the Northwest Information Center stated that the project area has a low possibility of containing unrecorded archaeological sites and therefore, no further study for archaeological resources is recommended.
E. Contra Costa County Public Works Department: In a letter dated July 17, 2024, the Public Works Department Staff deemed the application incomplete pending submittal of a revised plan showing drainage, hydrology and hydraulics calculations and any exception requests. The applicant submitted the necessary information to Public Works and in a letter dated December 11, 2024, Public Works deemed the application complete and provided their conditions of approval which are included in the findings and conditions of approval for this project.
F. Contra Costa County, Transportation Planning Division: In an email dated June 20, 2024, the Transportation Planning Section stated that there are no comments.
G. Contra Costa County, Advanced Planning Division: In an email dated July 30, 2024, the Advanced Planning division stated that there are no issues with the subdivision.
No comments were received from the following agencies, Building Inspection Division, Grading Inspection Division, County Geologist, Contra Costa Environmental Health Department, Public Works Traffic, Central Sanitary District, City of Pleasant Hill, Lafayette School District, Acalanes High School District and Contra Costa County Mosquito & Vector Control District. Agency comments received by staff are included in Attachment 3.
VIII. STAFF ANALYSIS
A. General Plan Consistency: The proposed two-lot Minor Subdivision is consistent with the General Plan, as discussed below.
1. Land Use Element: The project site has a General Plan designation of Single-Family Residential-Low Density (SL), which has a density range of 1.0 to 2.9 units per net acre. According to section 3.7 of the 2005-2020 County General Plan, “Net acreage includes all land area used exclusively for residential purposes, and excludes streets, highways, and all other public rights-of-way.” The table below demonstrates the project’s compliance with the SL General Plan designation .
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Category: GP Analysis |
Project Totals |
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Total area (Gross)= |
1.04 acres |
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Private Easements= Total Area (Net) 1.04-0.13 # of units allowed, 0.91 Net Acres X 2.9 Units Per Net Acre = |
0.13 acres 0.91 acres 0.91 to 2.61 Units Allowed |
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Total Allowable units = |
3 Units Allowed (2 units proposed) and 1.9 units/acre |
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No other uses other than residential are proposed with this application. Therefore, the proposal is in accord with the SL General Plan designation.
• Policy 3-21: The predominantly single-family character of substantially-developed portions of the county shall be retained.
Staff Response: The project is located in an area where single-family character is dominant. The project proposes a net of one additional residential lot that is proposed to be developed with one single-family residence. Therefore, the project retains the single-family character of the neighborhood.
2. Safety Element: The General Plan Safety Element includes the following policies that are applicable to the proposed project:
• Goal 10-as: Development of areas identified by the criteria of the State Division of Forestry as having an Extreme Fire Hazard will be avoided where possible. Homes located in extreme or high fire hazard areas will be constructed with fire-resistant materials and the surroundings should be irrigated or landscaped with fire resistant plants.
• Goal 10-at: To Require projects which encroach into areas which are determined to have a high or extreme fire hazard, or which incorporate wildfire hazard areas, to be reviewed by the appropriate Fire Bureau to determine if special fire prevention measures are advisable.
• Goal 10-au: . Major developments will not be approved if fire fighting services are not available or are not adequate for the area.
Staff Response: The project is located within a State Responsibility Area High Fire Zone. During the building permit stages for any future residences, Building Inspection Staff will verify that any future residences are built to the California Building Code standards. As mentioned in the agency comment section, the project was referred to the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District. The fire district provided comments stating that any future homes are required to meet requirements of the California Building Code 7A and that the applicant/owner will be required to submit for a land development permit prior to the submittal of a building permit. Therefore, the project was reviewed by the fire district and does not proposed a major development in an area that does not have fire fighting services available.
B. Zoning Compliance: The proposed tentative map identifies two new residential lots. Each lot meets or exceed the minimum lot area, depth and average width requirements as required by the R-20 Zoning District. Below is a table demonstrative each lot’s compliance with the R-20 standards.
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Lot |
Area (20,000 Sq. Ft. Min) |
Depth (120 Ft. Min.) |
Average Width (120 Ft. Min) |
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Parcel A |
21,054 SF |
177.9’ |
137.4’ |
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Parcel B |
24,449 SF |
150.8’ |
139.6’ |
No specific residential plans have been submitted as part of this application. Sheet 4 of the tentative map provides a preliminary layout of where potential houses may be located. Staff has reviewed Sheet 4 and has determined that the preliminary layout of potential houses meets the R-20 front, side and rear setback requirements. If/when the applicant or project sponsor comes in for a building permit for a new residence on the proposed parcels, the building permit will be required to be reviewed by the Community Development Division to determine if the proposed single-family residence conforms with the R-20 zoning standards. A building permit will not be issued unless Planning staff determines that the proposed single-family residence complies with the R-20 zoning standards for each new lot.
C. Tree Protection and Preservation Ordinance: The application includes an updated arborist letter from Maija Wigoda-Mikkila, certified arborist #WE-12986A. The arborist letter indicates that any improvements from the proposed subdivision are outside the designated tree protection zones and there will not be any anticipated impacts to trees. Therefore, the project is in compliance with the tree protection and preservation ordinance.
D. Inclusionary Housing Ordinance: The project is proposing to subdivide an existing lot into two lots, creating a net one new parcel. The inclusionary housing ordinance requires that all residential development of five or more units to be subject to the County’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. Pursuant to section 822-4.408 of the County Ordinance Code, the proposed project is exempt from the requirements of the County’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, Chapter 822-4 because it does not propose five or more units.
E. Housing Inventory Site: The subject property’s APN listed along with APNs 166-240-037 and 166-240-038 associated with County File #CDMS15-00008 is including in the housing inventory site. California Government Code section 65863 mandates that no local government action shall reduce, require or permit the reduction of, the residential density or allow development at a lower residential density for any parcel identified in the sites inventory for the adopted Housing Element unless the local government makes written findings that the reduction is consistent with the General Plan, and the remaining sites identified in the Housing Element’s site inventory are adequate to meet the jurisdiction’s share of the regional housing needs. Housing Staff of the Department of Conservation and Development reviewed the project and determined that the proposed project will not result in the reduction in the total number of units or income category in the Housing Element sites inventory and thus is not required to make the mandatory findings for all discretionary projects where a housing development does not propose the maximum density on the property or does not propose the number of units at the income levels indicated in the sites inventory. Housing Staff also stated that “the proposed project does not appear to result in an net loss in sites inventory capacity and will not be required by state law to provide findings as part of an entitlement approval.
F. Appropriateness of Use: The proposed project is a two-lot Minor Subdivision that will create two (net one) residential lots. This use is consistent with surrounding uses in that all parcels within the immediate vicinity are residential uses in nature. The project does not require any variances or exceptions and the project layout and access will provide for a quality development with no significant or adverse effects to the surrounding community or environment. A residential subdivision is a use that is compatible with the residential nature of the area and the development standards of each lot do not exceed the R-20 zoning district. Therefore, the project is appropriate for the area and provides a place to develop an additional unit of housing to the County.
G. Traffic and Circulation: The project site does not directly front any public roads. Both parcels are proposed to gain access from Gloria Terrace by expansion of a private road to the south. The current road width of Gloria Terrace at its intersection with the private road is 22 feet within a 60-foot right of way. The applicant will be required as a condition of approval to provide evidence that there is legal access to the property from Gloria Terrace. No right-of-way dedication or road widening of a public road will be required for this development. The private road is marked on the site plan as a 28-foot-wide private access and utility easement. Since this easement serves more than one lot, it is considered a private road and must be built to private road standards. This would require a minimum of 16 feet of pavement within a 25-foot easement. Additionally, the fire marshal will need to review and approve access onto this parcel before plans get approved by the Public Works Department. This is included as a condition of approval for the project.
H. Drainage: Division 914 of the County Ordinance Code requires that all storm water entering and/or originating on this property to be collected and conveyed, without diversion and within an adequate storm drainage system, to an adequate natural watercourse having a definable bed and banks or to an existing adequate public storm drainage system which conveys the storm water to an adequate natural watercourse.
The Preliminary Grading, Drainage & Utility Plan shows that following construction, runoff will drain in a northeasterly direction into two bio-retention areas. This bioretention then conveys water to an existing catch basin and 24” stormwater pipe within an onsite private storm drain easement. This stormwater infrastructure then outfalls into existing rock rip rap located onsite. According to the improvement plan for MS15-0008, the riprap connects to an overland ditch that flows in a southward direction into stormwater infrastructure along Gloria Terrace. The applicant will need to verify with Public Works that the County’s collect and convey requirements are being met by this development considering the additional impervious surface area being created. This is included as a condition of approval for the project.
I. Stormwater Management and Discharge Control: A Stormwater Control Plan (SWCP) is required for applications that will create and/or redevelop impervious surface area exceeding 5,000 square feet in compliance with the County’s Stormwater Management and Discharge Control Ordinance (§1014) and the County’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit. Based on the typical lot coverage for two parcel of this size, as well as the private road and frontage improvements, this threshold will be exceeded. The applicant has provide a Preliminary Stormwater Control Plan with this application, which is adequate for this phase of the project.
J. Floodplain Management: The property does not lie within the Special Flood Hazard (100-year flood boundary) as designated on the Federal Emergency Management Agency Flood Insurance Rate Map.
K. Countywide Street Light Financing: The subject property is already annexed into Community Facilities District 2010-1 and will require no further annexation.
L. Area of Benefit Fee: The applicant will need to comply with the requirements of the Bridge/Thoroughfare Fee Ordinance for the Central County Area of Benefit, as adopted by the Board of Supervisors. The fee shall be paid prior to issuance of building permits.
M. Drainage Area Fee and Creek Mitigation: The applicant will be required to comply with the drainage fee requirements for Drainage Area 62 as adopted by the Board of Supervisors. A condition of approval is included requiring the fee to be paid prior to the filing of a parcel map.
IX. CONCLUSION
The proposed CDMS24-00009 Minor Subdivision is consistent with the County General Plan and zoning code. The project will conform to all applicable development standards for the R-20 Zoning District, and will add additional housing options to an area that is primarily developed with similar uses. Staff is recommending approval of the Tentative Parcel Map for the two-lot Minor Subdivision CDMS24-00009, based on the attached findings and subject to the attached conditions of approval.
Attachments:
A. CDMS24-00009 Findings and Conditions of Approval
B. CDMS24-00009 Maps
C. CDMS24-00009 Agency Comments
D. CDMS24-00009 Tentative Map Plans