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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 07201993 - H.5 Contra TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ••— �`' Costa FROM: HARVEY E. BRAGDON .s County DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DATE: July 9, 1993 s'a' COUPI'f't SUBJECT: Appeal by Dr. Lawrence Thal of an Administrative Decision Concerning Denial of Building Permit Request for an Office Addition at #291 Arlington Avenue, Kensington area. SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATIONS) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS Deny appeal because the proposed addition would be taller than permitted by a 1989 agreement between Dr. Thal , the developer, and Mr. Sidney Rastegar, the owner of a residential lot immediately uphill of the site. FISCAL IMPACT None. BACKGROUND/REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS In 1983 , Dr. Thal filed a development plan application (File #3014- 83) with the Community Development Department to provide for a three-story addition to a single-story office building at #29.1 Arlington Avenue in the Kensington area. Public notices of the application were issued and a hearing held before the Zoning Administrator. After concluding the hearing, the Zoning Adminis- trator approved the project. No appeals of the decision were issued so the approval stood as rendered. Subsequently, Dr. Thal obtained a building permit for the project and commenced the project. At that time, the uphill property owner, Mr. Sydney Rastegar, called to the attention of the county a defective 20-foot tall retaining wall which is located on the Rastegar property, but only two feet from the proposed construction on the Thal site. Mr. Rastegar also expressed concern with the impairment of his view by the project. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMM D ION O OARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S) : ACTION OF BOARD ON July 20, 1993 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHERAA SEE ADDENDUM FOR BOARD ACTION. VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A UNANIMOUS (ABSENT 1V TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE ABSENT: ABSTAIN: MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF I. SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. Contact:Robert Drake - 646-2091 Orig: Community Development Department ATTESTED July 20, 1993 cc: Dr. Lawrence Thal PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF Sydney Rastegar THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Building Inspection Dept. , Fred Fung AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR County Counsel BY , DEPUTY Due to safety concerns with the possible failure of the wall, the Building Inspection Department issued a stop-work order on the project so that the wall could be studied and necessary wall repair measures provided for. Further, in 1989 staff reported to the Board on an informal agreement between Thal and Rastegar allowing for a reduced-scale project. Among other provisions, the agreement allowed the two- story addition to proceed if the height does not exceed the uppermost peak of the existing single-story building. Staff reported on this agreement to the Board of Supervisors on January 31, 1989 . Since 1989 , the two parties have been involved in litigation concerning who would be responsible for repairing the retaining wall. It is staff's understanding that a draft settlement agreement was being considered by the two parties. RECENT ACTIVITY Recently, Dr. Thal submitted revised construction plans providing for a smaller-scale building than was approved in 1983 . Still , the height of the building ranges from 42. to 13 feet taller than the existing building. On May 17, 1993 staff forwarded a copy of the revised plans to Mr. Rastegar. He responded by indicating that he still objected to the plans because they failed to comply with, the design limitations of the 1989 agreement. In a letter dated May 27 , 1993 staff advised Dr. Thal that the request for a building permit could not be approved because the plans are inconsistent with the 1989 agreement. THAL APPEAL In a letter dated June 23 , 1993 Dr. Thal has appealed the County administrative decision to deny his request for the proposed office. He feels that Mr. Rastegar could be more cooperative in resolving this issue. DISCUSSION The issue is the same that staff considered prior to the Thal appeal. Even though the scale of the addition has been reduced, it is still taller than the limit contained in the 1989 agreement on which staff reported to the Board. Further, Mr. Rastegar has indicated that the addition is unacceptable to him. In view of these circumstances, the appeal of Dr. Thal should be denied. Should the Board take this action, the applicant could reapply for development plan approval of an office addition either as presently proposed (2 - 3 stories) or as originally proposed (3 stories. The application would be subject to a noticed public hearing for which Mr. Rastegar and other nearby property owners would receive notice. RHD/aa BDVII/3014-83 .RD 7/9/93 1 U, i 1W-� H •U lr� I W S H 1 Y 107 r 1 O 1U s W J W N C u, l•1 I � oA`.�� :f ADDENDUM TO ITEM NO. H.5 JULY 20, 1993 The Chair convened the hearing on the appeal of Dr. Lawrence Thal of an administrative decision concerning denial of a building permit request for an office addition at 291 Arlington Avenue, Kensington area. . Dennis Barry of the Community Department provided the Board with a history of the site and advised that staff is recommending that the Board deny the appeal because the proposed addition would be taller than that permitted by the 1989 agreement between Dr. Thal and Mr. Rastegar, the owner of the residential lot immediately up hill from the site. The Chair opened the hearing. Dr. Lawrence Thal, (the appellant) 291 Arlington Avenue, Kensington, advised that the proposed addition shown on the right side of the drawing displayed by staff is necessitated in order to have a secondary egress from that building--a safety requirement that was identified by the Kensington Fire Department. Dr. Thal referred to a Court ordered settlement that allows the construction to proceed in accordance with the original plans approved by the County for which the permit was originally issued. In the event that the Board is unable to grant his appeal, he requested that this matter be referred back to staff for further review. S. Rastegar, 272 Amherst Avenue, Kensington, advised of his agreement to allow Dr. Thal to continue with his project with a two story height limit no higher than the existing plan with the exception that the third story stairwell structure that goes 13 feet higher be eliminated from the plans altogether. Robert M. Miller, 270 Amherst Avenue, Kensington, spoke on the impact of the third story addition. Greg Mulligan, 277 Amherst Avenue, Kensington, also spoke in support of the position expressed by Mr. Rastegar. All persons desiring to speak were heard. In response to comments of County Counsel, Mr. Barry advised that in reviewing the files on the original plan, it appears that the proposed addition that is before the County at this point is not entirely consistent with the plans that were previously approved (although the applicant has indicated that he has expended funds on the foundation), the building permit that he's seeking approval of does not specifically correspond to the development plans that were approved. In its discussion, there was agreement among Board members to continue the hearing and to refer this matter back to staff for further review. Therefore, IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that the hearing is CONTINUED to September 21, 1993, 2 p.m. , in the Board Chambers. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Community Development Department staff is REQUESTED to further review the plan as well as the third story access and report to the Board on September 21, 1993. 2 . 12 THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Adopted this Order on _January 17 , 1989 , by the following vote: AYES: Supervisors Powers , Fanden, Schroder, McPeak, Torlakson NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None SUBJECT: Construction at 291 .Arlington Avenue, Kensington The Board on December 13 , 1988 continued to this day its consideration of the request of S. Rastegar, Kensington, for investigation of a construction project that adds square footage to a commercial building at 291 Arlington Street, Kensington. The Board received a status report, dated January 13 , 1989 , from Fred Fung, Senior Structural Engineer of the Building Inspection Department, noting that the Building Inspection Department is continuing a stop work order on the construction site because on safety concerns . Harvey Bragdon, Director of Community Development, advised that his Department has received additional information on the project which needs to be evaluated. He requested continuing this matter to January 31 , 1989 . The Chair noted that he had several requests to speak on this matter. It was agreed that the Director of Community Development would try to get in contact with the speakers as to the findings of his investigation. Board members being in agreement, IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that this matter is CONTINUED to January 31 , 1989 . 1 her^by cnrtify that this Is a true and co-r-c ^c^• of an action taken and entered on the mir..ute:: cf :ne Board of'Supervlsors on the date shorn. ATT ES i r-D: J ;?' �! PHIL B CHELOR, ierk of the Board of Supervisors and County Adminlstratcr cc: Mr. Rastegar 272 Amherst Avenue gr Q �'� , Deputy Kensington Director, CDD Director, BI County Counsel y. CONTRA COSTA COUNTY BUILDING INSPECTION DEPARTMENT Inter - Office Memo TO: Board of Supervisors Date : 1/13/89 FROM: Fred Fung, Senior Structural Engineer �J SUBJECT: Status report on proposed construction at 291 Arlington Avenue , Kensington Building permit #146859 was issued on August 24, 1988 for the proposed construction. The foundation is partially done . There is currently a stop work order placed on the remainder of the construction by the Community Development Department and the Building Inspection Department. We have informed Dr. Thal, owner of the proposed construction, that the Building Inspection Department's portion of the stop work order will remain in effect until a proper engineering investigation and possible repair on a retaining wall are done . The retaining wall in question is located between Dr . Th.al ' s lot (291 Arlington Avenue) on the downhill side and Mr . & Mrs . Rastegar's lot (272 Amherst Avenue) on the uphill side . The retaining wall is approximately 20 feet high and is approximately 2 feet away from the proposed construction on Dr. Thal 's lot . On December 5 , 1988 , Mr. William Nelson, Supervisor Inspection Services, and I visited the construction site . The retaining wall appeared to consist of 3 distinct portions . The bottom portion, roughly 14 feet in height, appeared to be the original concrete retaining wall . The middle portion, roughly 4 feet in height, appeared to be an extension constructed at a later date . The top portion , roughly 2 feet in height, appeared to be an even later extension . There was a moderate crack on the right side of the retaining wall (looking uphill) . The crack appeared to be a fairly old crack . We could not find any evidence to indicate that the constructions of the 2 extensions were preceded by any strengthening of the retaining wall then in place . Consequently, the retaining wall may be grossly overstressed because of the 2 extensions . According to Dr. Thal , his surveyor has determined that the retaining wall is entirely located in Mr. Rastegar's lot at the ground level , but the wall is only partially in Mr. Rastegar's lot at the top of the wall . This indicates a leaning and possibly overstressed retaining wall . The stop work order by this Department is based on consideration that if the retaining wall should fail , lives and properties in its vicinity will be in jeopardy . 2 5 THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Adopted this Order on _ January 31 , 1989 by the following vote: AYES: Supervisors Powers, Fanden, McPeak, Torlakson and Schroder NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None SUBJECT: Construction at 291 Arlington Avenue, Kensington The Board on January 17 , 1989 , on the recommendation of the Director of Community Development, continued to this date and time its consideration of the request of S. Rastegar, Kensington, for investigation of a construction project that adds square footage to a commercial building at 291 Arlington Street, Kensington, to allow time to evaluate additional information staff had received. Mr. Karl Wandry, Assistant Director, Community Development Department, reported that staff had met with Mr. Rastegar as well as Dr. Thal to try to resolve the issue between them relative to the concerns, stating that Mr.. Rastegar' s property is immediately behind Dr. Thal' s and is separated by a wall that is approximately 25 feet high. Mr. Wandry noted that there was a question as to the approval process, and staff had suggested that there might be a middle ground that everyone could reach. Mr. Wandry advised that the two principals had reached an agreement, which is spelled out in his memo report to the Board dated January 27 , 1989, a copy of which is attached hereto and by reference incorporated herein. Mr. Wandry noted that staff had tried to contact other persons involved; and that after the Board' s December 13 , 1988 meeting, that he did have a meeting with members of the surrounding community and their primary concern, aside from Mr. Rastegar' s immediate concerns, was that the parking be resolved, and they were, in general, in agreement to a two-story addition to the back of that building. He noted that the two-story question is resolved through this agreement and also the parking is resolved. He noted that his report recommended that the Board discontinue its proceedings on this matter, however, he suggested that the Board may wish to keep open the question of the resolution of the wall and have Building Inspection report back to the Board as to what that resolution is when it finally does take place. Mr. Sidney Rastegar, 272 Amherst, Kensington advised that he has met with Mr. Bragdon' s office and they have resolved the issues as far as he is concerned. He asked "that the issue be kept open at least for 90 days and have the issue brought up again May 2, 1989 and at that time if the applicant has complied with all the requirements, then the process could go ahead, and if the issues have not been resolved, then the Board of Supervisors appeal the whole process altogether. " Mr. George Mulligan, 277 Amherst Avenue, Kensington, advised that he lived in close proximity to the development, and that he was very concerned about the parking and requested that the number of doctors occupying the proposed building be limited and the permit be held up until the applicant provides additional parking spaces. Mr. Lawrence Schmelzer, 267 Amherst, Kensington, indicated that he agreed with the previous speakers. Dr. Lawrence Thal, 291 Arlington Avenue, Kensington, owner of the building in question, indicated that he generally accepted the • - . compromise that Mr. Wandry has worked out between all the interested parties , however he felt it unfair at this point to require a builder to obtain additional public hearings, especially since he had had those hearings, approvals were granted, there were no appeals to those approvals and he has already constructed the foundation under the permit that was originally issued. He stated that he agreed to the compromise agreement with the anticipation that Mr. Rastegar would cooperate with him in resolving any concerns that might exist if later he elects to come back and request public hearings on a third story, and he also would assume that Mr. Rastegar would cooperate in resolving the issue of repairs to his retaining wall. He noted that it would not be satisfactory to him to get the Board' s concurrence to continue with the two-story structure if Mr. Rastegar never does anything about repairing that wall or allowing those repairs to be made. He stated that he thought keeping this open until May 2, 1989 as suggested by Mr. Rastegar, except with respect to repairs to the wall, would be unfair. He stated that if the Board agrees that he can begin with the two stories, then he needs to have the architect revise the plans for the two rather than the three-story structure, commenting that he would not be anxious to again redesign the project knowing it is still open to some future determination. Dr. Thal noted that the project had been redesigned six times since the original development plan was approved due to various requirements of the County and the loss of the application, changes in seismic requirements, and fire codes. He declared that the request for additional parking is an impossible request in that there is no place for additional parking, noting that the project was redesigned to eliminate the necessity for additional parking by reducing the number of additional feet of retail space. Mr. Robert M. Hansen, 24 Kerr Avenue, Kensington, Chairman of the Zoning Committee of the Kensington Improvement Club, appeared in favor of Dr. Thal' s application, stating that through no fault of his own, but because of fire code and seismic code changes, Dr. Thal had to revise his plans several times at a fairly substantial cost to him, and that it appeared to be unfair for Dr. Thal to be faced with the possibility of reopening the hearing. The Chair noted for the record that he had received cards with written comments regarding various aspects of parking and building permit conditions from: Robert Miller, 270 Amherst Avenue, Kensington, Catherine Creighton, 257 Amherst Avenue, Kensington, Ruth Toussig, 193 Highland Boulevard, Kensington, Shirley Todd, 261 Amherst Avenue, Kensington, Barbara Adair, 251 Amherst Avenue, Kensington Supervisor Powers explained that the area was very old, had narrow streets, and was very built out, and that people in that community are very sensitive because of the effects on traffic, parking and height of structures in the community. Supervisor Powers noted that the parties appear to have come to a conclusion that seems to be appropriate. He declared that he believed the wall to be a mutual issue and that it is an issue of community safety and needs to be dealt with early. He stated that he did not think the process should be held up very long and that he did agree with 90 days to keep the wall issue alive to be sure that it is resolved. He advised that he believed that Dr. Thal should be allowed to to proceed and that staff should come back in 90 days with a status report on the wall issue. Mr. Wandry recommended that at the time the wall issue is resolved, that a report from Building Inspection be brought back to the Board for its information, and that no construction take place until it is resolved. Supervisor Powers moved the staff report and added that there be a 90-day review and report on the wall issue. IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that the January 27 , 1989 report from the Community Development Department is ACCEPTED, and the Director of Building Inspection and the Community Development staff are DIRECTED to report back to the Board in 90 days relative to the status of the retaining wall issue. I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action !a`;rn ..^n-i cr.i-r:4 ui t`..e rl nute: of the Board cl cr.tier datc st:o::�. ATTESTED*_- Pi•liL.LAT i:<4:the�lCa7i! of Superv! ors d ccu:ty;.dministrator By ,Deputy cc: Community Development Building Inspection County Counsel County Administrator Dr. Lawrence Thal Mr. Sidney Rastegar CONTRA COSTA COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT TO: Board of Supervisors DATE: January 27, 1989 FROM: Harvey E. Bragdon, Director SUBJECT: 291 Arlington Avenue, Kensington Staff has met with Dr. Thal and Mr. Rastigar on several occasions in an attempt to resolve the question of the construction of a three-story addition at 291 Arlington Avenue, Kensington. The most recent meetings were held on January 25th and January 26th respectively. Agreement between the two parties has been reached in order for the development to proceed at this time. The agreement provides that: 1. Dr. Thal would be allowed to proceed with construction of a two-story building addition at a height not to exceed the uppermost peak of the roof of the existing building. 2. Access to the rear of Dr. Thal 's property will be allowed for Dr. Thal 's use and emergency access only. This will be accomplished through the placement of a secured gate at Dr. Thal 's property line consistent with the requirements of the Kensington Fire District. 3. The number of doctors occupying 291 Kensington will be the same as of the date of the hearing on June 6, 1983. 4. Dr. Thal has the option to make application for Development Plan approval for a third floor addition. 5. No construction will take place nor will the stop work order placed by the Building Inspection Department be removed until the Building Inspection Department is satisfied as to the adequacy of the retaining wall located between the two principal 's properties. This agreement is satisfactory to the two principal parties therefore we recommend the Board of Supervisors accept this report and discontinue proceedings relative to it's December 13, 1988 action. KLW/df 291arl .mem E. Community Contra Harvey of Bragdon Director of Community Develonmant -Development Costa Department C•�)� �nty County Administration Building 651 Pine Street 4th Floor, North Wing Martinez, California 94553-0095 Phone: (510) 646-2091 P sr'� COt1Kr May 17, 1993 Scott and Natalie Rastegar P.O. Box 9918 Berkeley, CA 94709 Dear Mr. and Ms. Rastegar: RE: PROPOSED OFFICE ADDITION (THAL) 292 Arlington Avenue, Kensington It is my understanding that you have been involved in litigation concerning an office addition project at 291 Arlington Avenue by Dr. Lawrence Thal which abuts your property at 272 Amherst Avenue. It is also my understanding that you may be considering a settlement with Dr. Thal that would void any objections you might have with his project. Recently, Dr. Thal has submitted revised construction plans for a smaller profile office project than had previously -been approved by the County. Before clearing a building permit, we wished to share with you a copy of the building elevations of the revised plans to provide you an opportunity to comment on the plans. Attached are copies of the proposed east and west elevations for the project. A complete set of construction plans is also available at our office for your review_. The purpose of this letter is to notify you that we will consider any written comments on the project from you, provided they are delivered to this office by no later than 5:00 p.m. , Monday, May 24th, 1993. Any objections should be made specific. You may forward your response to us via our FAX number, 646-2254 . Should you have any questions, please call me at 646-2091 . Sincerely iW, ROBERT H. DRAKE Senior Planner i Att. cc: Fred Fung, Building Inspection Dept. Dr. Lawrence Thal File #3014-83 BG:UvIJtr RD t -2- AN qA • �,/' , ', `,. ./�%/ �� �'� '' '%ff�/� f� �%,, �`F,& ,gip;,;,, r o A CV1, f ILI \2 -3to Mia• �. °:�; �E,\NEER o• y 38 - I i ` Ti iv• _ - _ � � - - I C� f . z''�� FW.. V I I x H 1� Im W ,w w 1 J 'W 4 C N \ 1 . _ ul 4' i, I � M 1 1'. c� m nix W�a o_ /� * �J J/� f7� Z i • ~ m C o� O o �-1 3 9 • � I �1 II i � I I i :y 1 E. Community Contra Harvey of ommurt ragdoDirector of Community Development Development Costa Department County County Administration Building 651 Pine Street 4th Floor, North Wing Martinez, California 94553-0095 `. f Phone: -2091 510) 646-2091 '" - ai -. , May 27, 1993 Dr, Lawrence Thal 291 Arlington Avenue Kensington, CA 94707-1487 Dear Dr. Thal: RE: PROPOSED OFFICE ADDITION (Permit #146859) This letter is a follow-up to our conversation earlier today. The purpose of this letter is to inform you that we are unable to clear your proposed office addition for issuance of a building permit. The reason for this action is that the project does not comply with the design standards reviewed with the Board of Supervisors in 1989 relative to this project. See attached memo dated January 27, 1989. That memo indicates that the addition would not exceed the height of the uppermost peak of the roof of the existing building. The proposed three-story addition would exceed the height of the existing structure by 42 to 13 feet. Before making this decision, staff reviewed the matter with the adjoining property owner, Mr. Rastegar, who indicated that he would not support any project with a larger profile than the maximum height limits identified in the aforementioned memo. Should you choose to revise your plans to conform with these standards, we are prepared to clear a building permit. Alternative Actions To continue to pursue your proposed three-story development, there are two possible courses of action. First, you can appeal this administrative decision to the Board of Supervisors. Such an appeal must be filed with the Clerk of the Board by no later than June 27, 1993. The appeal must be accompanied by a filing fee of $125. The appeal letter must also include certain information. Before making a submittal, please contact Anne Cervelli of the Clerk of the Board office (646-2373) to advise you of the necessary submittals. rJ: we request that you attach copies of selected exhibits from your construction plans at a reduced scale (1111 x 1711) to your appeal letter. These exhibits (1, 2, 4, 5, & 12) pertain to the site plan, floor plans, elevations, and proposed buttressing of the existing retaining wall. Please also forward a copy of your appeal letter directly to this office. The second approach would be to submit a new application for development plan approval of the project. The basic fee would be $2900 (plus time & materials after 1200 of fee expenses have been exceeded) . State law also requires that we collect a $25 fee for administration of the Fish & Game program. The application would be scheduled for noticed public hearing before the Zoning Administrator. Should you elect to pursue this approach, to ensure speedy review of your application, please contact me in advance of your submittal so that I might review the elements of your submittal package for completeness. Should you have any questions, please call me at 646-2091. Sincerely, ROBERT H. DRAKE Senior Planner Att. 1/27/89 memo to the Board of Supervisors cc: Scott and Natalie Rastegar Fred Fung, Building Inspection Dept, Anne Cervelli, Clerk of the Board .gj Mthalltr RD -2- =` ~� ^ ^ ' ' " CONTRA COSTA COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT TO: .~.. ~ .. Supervisors.~.. ~ DAT FROM: Harvey E. Bragdon, Dir c 0 SUBJECT: 291 Arlington Avenue nsin o Staff has met with Dr' Thal and Mr. Ra$tigar on several occasions in an attempt to resolve the question of the construction of a three-story addition at 291 Arlington Avenue, Kensington. The most recent meetings were held on January 25th and January 26th respectively. ° Agreement between the two parties has been reached in order for the development to proceed at this time. The agreement provides that: l' Dr' Thal would be allowed to proceed with construction of a two-story building addition at a height not to exceed the uppermost peak of the roof of the existing building' 2' Access to the rear of Dr' Thal 's property will be allowed for Dr' Thal /s use and emergency access only. This will be accomplished through the placement of a secured gate at Dr' Thal 's property line consistent with the requirements of the Kensington Fire District. 3' The number of doctors occupying 291 Kensington will be the same as of the date Of the hearing on June 6, 1983. 4' Dr. Thal has the option to make application for Development Plan approval for a third floor addition' 5' No construction will take place nor will the atop work order placed by the Building Inspection DepartmenC be removed until the Building Inspection Department is satisfied as to the adequacy of the retaining wall located between the two principal 's properties. This agreement is satisfactory to the two principal parties therefore we recommend the Board of Supervisors accept this report and discontinue proceedings relative to it' s December 13, 1988 action. KUJ/df 29larl 'mem _ . � , *c