Introduce an Ordinance, Waive the Full Reading and Read by Title Only an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Rocklin adding Section 17.08.132 to Title 17 of the Rocklin Municipal Code Establishing Use and Parking Limitations in Single Family Residential Areas (ZOA2019-0001)

Proposed Ordinance Amendment:

This Ordinance Amendment would add Section 17.08.132 to Title 17 of the Rocklin Municipal Code to establish use and parking limitations in Single Family Residential front yard and street side yard areas by limiting the amount of impervious surfaces and by placing a maximum limit on the number of vehicles.

Proponent:

The proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment was initiated by the City of Rocklin.

Location:

The proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment would apply to Single Family Residential areas Citywide.

Planning Commission Review and Recommendation:

The Planning Commission reviewed this item on May 21, 2019. There were no public comments on the item, but the Commission did have questions for staff regarding parking on private property vs. on street. Staff noted that the Ordinance does not apply to vehicles parked within a garage, and that there are existing time limitation regulations for the parking of vehicles on a street. Following deliberations the Planning Commission voted 4-0, with one member excused/absent to recommend City Council approval of the project as proposed and modified by a Blue Memo provided at the meeting.

On January 22, 2019 the City Council was presented with a staff report outlining options for addressing excessive residential vehicle parking. Following discussion, the City Council directed staff to move forward with an ordinance to regulate the parking of vehicles on private, paved driveways and the size of driveways and parking areas.

Staff believes the best approach to regulate excessive residential vehicle parking would consist of the combined application of the two following strategies:

    1) The Rocklin Municipal Code currently requires parking of vehicles within residential zoning districts on impervious surfaces, but it does not regulate how much of the front yard or street side yard setback areas has to be maintained as pervious or permeable surfaces. Therefore, to limit the amount of impervious surface area that could potentially be used for parking vehicles, it is suggested that for all lots 5,000 square feet in size or larger in single family residential zones, a minimum of 40% of the front yard setback area shall be preserved as permeable (pervious) surfaces, such as lawn, grass or other landscaping.

The 5,000 square foot lot size was chosen because lots less than that size are not anticipated to have enough room in the front yard and street side yard setback areas to accommodate significantly more impervious surfaces beyond a two-car driveway and pathway to the sidewalk.

Subsequent to the distribution of the agenda packet for the 5/21/19 Planning Commission meeting, staff identified the need to include a method for approving exceptions to the setback area permeable surface requirement. Although staff has tried to anticipate the impacts of the proposed permeable surface standards there will inevitably be some unusual situations involving parcels that are oddly shaped or encumbered by other special circumstances such that compliance with the letter of the proposed standard would result in undue hardship and deprive the property of privileges enjoyed by other properties in the vicinity and in the same zone classification. To provide a mechanism by which these unusual situations could be addressed, staff recommended and the Planning Commission agreed that section A of the proposed ordinance be amended to add the following language:

    2. Exception. In those limited circumstances where a property owner has shown that because of     special circumstances applicable to the subject property, including size, shape, topography, or     other unique circumstance, the strict application of the requirements of this title is found to     deprive the subject property of privileges enjoyed by other properties in the vicinity and under     identical zone classifications; and the Community Development Director has found that the grant     of an exception would not constitute a grant of special privilege inconsistent with the limitations     upon other properties in the vicinity and zone in which the subject property is situated, the     Community Development Director may grant an exception to the permeable surface coverage     standards noted herein. The Community Development Director shall document in writing the     findings of fact upon which he/ she has based any decision to either approve or deny a request     for an exception.

Said language has been incorporated into the draft Ordinance. As with other staff decisions, persons dissatisfied by any decisions the Community Development Director might make under this provision of the code would have the ability to appeal that decision, ultimately to the City Council.

    2) The Rocklin Municipal Code does not currently regulate the quantity of vehicles that can be parked on private, paved driveways in residential areas. Therefore, to address this issue, it is suggested that the Rocklin Municipal Code be amended to state that no more than six (6) vehicles may be parked at any time in the combined front yard and street side yard area between the residence and the street at a single family dwelling unit, and that a violation of this requirement results in a citation, where in each vehicle over the allowed six (6) shall be treated as a separate citation.

An exception to this restriction would allow temporary parking of seven (7) or more vehicles in the combined front and street side yard area between the residence and the street at a single family dwelling for a period not to exceed seventy-two (72) consecutive hours for any purpose, up to a combined total of five (5) days within any thirty (30) day period. This exception is intended ensure the parking restriction does not overburden property owners by accounting for family events or other similar occasions that are part of the common use of a single family residential home. Code Enforcement would be authorized to cite the property owner if they observed either: (1) that seven (7) or more vehicles were parked at a property for more than seventy-two (72) consecutive hours; or (2) that seven (7) or more vehicles were parked at a property for at least six (6) total days in any 30-day period.

The suggested number of six (6) vehicles was based on research of other similar ordinances which included a variation on the number, ranging from four (4) to six (6). It was thought that four (4) was too limiting and would capture too many households in Rocklin, so a larger number of six (6) was selected to allow for circumstances such as homes with multiple teenage drivers, homes with children or parents who have moved in, homes with kids home from college, etc. The ordinance includes a provision that allows for an annual exemption to the vehicle limitation if an applicant can demonstrate that the number of licensed drivers who live at the residence and whose driver’s license and current vehicle registration has the same address as where the vehicle is to be parked are above the six vehicle limitation.