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Home My WebLink About4. PLN-14-00169 - 10909 Lakewood BlvdCit ofDowney STAFF REPORT PLANNING DIVISION DATE: SEPTEMBER 17, 2014 TO: PLANNING COMMISSION SUBMITTED BY: ALDO E. SCHINDLER, DIRECTOR ,nOFCOMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FC REVIEWED BY: WILLIAM DAVIS, CITY PLANNER V VP PREPARED BY: MARK SELLHEIM, PRINCIPAL PLANNER SUBJECT: PLN — 14 — 00169 — SUMMARY VACATION ABANDONING THE ALLEY EASEMENT OVERLAYING THE PROPERTY AT 10909 LAKEWOOD BOULEVARD. LOCATION: 10909 LAKEWOOD BOULEVARD ZONING: PROFESSIONAL OFFICE (C -P) ZONE INTRODUCTION The owner of the property at 10909 Lakewood Boulevard, Mr. Allen Carpenter, submitted a request to the Public Works Department to summarily vacate the 20 -foot wide alley easement that overlays the rear part of that lot. According to Section 8334 of the Streets and Highways Code, a City may summarily vacate a street or right -of -way for the following reason: A portion of a street or highway that lies within property under one ownership and does not continue through such ownership or end touching property of another. The parcel that the easement traverses, also referred to as the project site, is located on the west side of Lakewood Boulevard, between 3 I and 5th Streets (see Exhibit A). It measures 50' x 126. 50' and totals 6,325 square feet. Improvements on the property consist of a single - family dwelling, built in 1936, that has been converted into a dental office. The rear portion of the lot, where the alley easement overlays the property, is developed as a parking lot. And as Exhibit A illustrates, the alley easement does not extend beyond the boundaries of the property that is subject of this request; it begins at its southerly boundary and terminates at the northerly boundary. The Planning Commission's role in the summary vacation process is to review and report to the City Council as to whether the proposed vacation request conforms with the General Plan. According to Government Code Section 65402(a): No street shall be vacated or abandoned, if the adopted general plan or part thereof applies thereto, until the location, purpose and extent of such street vacation has been submitted to reported upon by the planninq agency as to conformity with said adopted General Plan or part thereof. The four steps involved in a summary vacation process are the following: Agenda Page 1 The City conducts an environmental analysis, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). 1. The matter as noted above, is submitted to the Planning Commission for its report and recommendation as to whether the summary vacation is consistent with the City's General Plan. 2. Following a City Council finding that the proposed summary vacation conforms with the General Plan, the Council may adopt a resolution of vacation. 3. The City Clerk certifies and records a copy of the resolution of vacation. Upon recording it with the County Recorder's Office, the vacation is complete. With respect to the environmental analysis, Staff has applied the following CEQA Guideline Section to the proposed request: 15061(b)(3). Staff determined the proposed vacation is exempt from CEQA and therefore not subject to it, since it can be seen with certainty that the requested vacation will not cause any significant impacts to the environment. Approving the requested vacation precludes the possibility of the City constructing an alley in the rear portion of the project site, and thus, conditions at the site will remain as they are now. DISCUSSION In 1962, the owner of 10909 Lakewood Boulevard granted the City a 20 -foot wide easement for the purpose of developing an alley along the back of this lot. According to the City plan, it was going to be part of a 20 -foot wide alley that would parallel the rear property lines of the lots that front the west side of Lakewood Boulevard, and stretch from 3rd to 5th Street. Another section of alley was also planned along the rear of the lots on Lakewood Boulevard, between 3rd Street and Firestone Boulevard. The City, however, has abandoned the idea of developing both alleys for several reasons. Firstly, a majority of the properties along the west side of Lakewood Boulevard, between Firestone Boulevard and 5th Street support single - family homes and an alley would negatively impact those properties. Also, a few of the properties on the west of Lakewood Boulevard in recent years have been redeveloped into office projects and an alley would adversely impact their parking areas. For example, in 2005, the owner of the two contiguous parcels at the northwest corner of 3rd Street and Lakewood Boulevard, 10933 Lakewood Boulevard, merged the lots and redeveloped the site into a ophthalmologist's office with parking in the rear (see Exhibit B). Another example is the site at 11003 Lakewood Boulevard, which is located at the southwest corner of the 3rd Street and Lakewood Boulevard (see Exhibit B). In 2006, the owner of that site combined two adjoining lots and developed a 2 -story, 7,000 square foot office building. Likewise, parking for this project is in back of the building. An even more recent example illustrating the point that the alleys will not be developed is In -N- Out Burger's recently- approved parking lot expansion project. Zoning entitlement applications that In -N -Out filed to implement the expansion included a zone change, a conditional use permit (CUP) and a summary vacation for the alley easements that traversed the site. In October, 2013, the Planning Commission approved the CUP application to enlarge the restaurant's parking lot and lengthen its drive -thru lane by using the adjoining property, 11101 Lakewood Boulevard, for the expansion. Planning Commissioners also recommended that the vacation application to abandon the alley easements conformed with the General Plan (Commissioners also recommended that the City Council rezone 11101 Lakewood Boulevard to the Agenda Page 2 Lakewood /Firestone Specific Plan so it could accommodate the expansion). Like the property under consideration, the alley easements overlaying the In -N -Out site only traversed that site and did not extend onto the neighboring properties. In November 2013, the City Council approved the vacation and zone change. General Plan Conformity Approving the requested alleyway vacation will conform with the General Plan in that it will implement the following General Plan goal and General Plan program. General Plan Goal 1.4 — Protect and enhance the residential neighborhoods (Land Use Chapter - Neighborhood Enhancement). Eliminating the prospect of future alley development on the project site and adjoining properties will help protect neighboring residences; they won't lose the rear 20 feet to alley development, plus they won't be impacted by alley construction and the resulting, long -term impacts that accompany an alley. General Plan Program 1.3.2.2 - Adjust the codes, policies and regulations in response to changes in land use trends (Land Use Chapter - Changes in Land Use Trends). Vacating the alley easement further cements the understanding that many of the properties on the west side of Lakewood Boulevard, between Firestone Boulevard and 5th Street will remain residential and not be converted to commercial uses, thus the alley is unnecessary. In the mid 1970s, the City planned to extend a 20 -foot wide alley along the backside of these Lakewood Boulevard properties. Its purpose corresponded with the development trend that was underway at the time involving those properties. A few had recycled from residential to commercial uses and the City had rezoned them to Professional Office (C -P), from residential to accommodate the transition. According to the alley plan, as properties recycled to office uses, the owners would dedicate an easement in the rear for alley purposes. The intent of the alley was to divert onsite traffic to the alley by eliminating drive approaches, which in turn would smooth traffic flow along Lakewood Boulevard. However, most of the properties remain residential, primarily due to the constraints posed by their reduced size, and as a consequence the alley was never implemented. RECOMMENDATION That the Planning Commission adopt a Minute Action recommending to the City Council that vacating the alley easement overlaying 10909 Lakewood Boulevard conforms with the General Plan. Attachments: Exhibit "A" — Site Plan Exhibit "B" — Aerial Image Agenda Page 3 PLN -14 -00169 REQUEST TO VACATE ALLEY EASEMENT 10909 LAKEWOOD BOULEVARD 5TH STREET 10903 i i 7 126.50' 10909 � 1 zes.5o' � 10919 � LY zo' OF L�YT a (] BLOCK I OF CT NO, 8326 J RECORDED IN BOOK 115, 88 AND 67 i 3RD STREET LEGEND 0 ALLEY EASEMENT AS RECORDED IN INSTRUMENT NO. 5285. RECORD OF LOS ANGEI..ES COUNTY DATED JUNE 29, 1962 50' o i W J PROJECT I SITE O C) 50' —I SCALE 1'= 40' EXHIBITA Agenda 4 • • • 1.10 ' ••9 :• ''� 0 I. r �1. urger ►.4 EXHIBIT B Agenda Page 5