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1 Ogden City Council Work Session: September 19, 2017 PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO REGULATIONS REGARDING REASONABLE ACCESS TO ABUTTER’S ALLEYS AND PARKING WITHIN THE FRONT YARD SETBACK Purpose of Work Session: To review the proposed text amendment Planning CommissionRecommendation: Approval of the amendment regarding reasonable access to abutter’s alleys (5-0) Approval of amendments to front yard parking standards (5-0) Executive Summary A petition has been filed by Anne Hagopian and Kevin Koons to amend the City’s ordinance to clarify the regulations for determining ‘reasonable access’ to an abutter’s alley with regard to the expansion of non- conforming parking within a front yard setback. In addition to the petition, the Planning Commission is recommending amendments to other standards regarding parking and total coverage in a front yard setback. Background As per the City’s ordinance, single-family and two-family homes are required to have at least two off-street parking spaces that are not located within the front yard setback of the home. This is normally accommodated with either an attached or detached garage or a parking slab on the side or rear of the home. However, in certain instances, such as Ms. Hagopian’s, off-street parking beyond the front yard setback is not possible. Lack of parking can be an issue in older neighborhoods where the original garages were smaller or not actually part of the original structure. Also, many of the lots in these older neighborhoods are narrow and do not have the typical side yard setbacks newer neighborhoods have. In those cases, there are regulations setting standards for the creation and expansion of off-street parking within the front yard setback of a home. The proposed amendments are specific to the creation and expansion of parking within a front yard setback for single-family and two-family residences. In the petitioner’s case, the existing home features a small, ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 Ogden City Council Work Session: September 19, 2017 single-car carriage garage; however, the garage is too small to be practically used for the parking of an automobile. Because of this, the driveway leading to the small garage has been used for off-street parking. As discussed in the transmittal documents and the Planning Commission report, Ms. Hagopian and Mr. Koons hired a contractor to enclose the small garage for additional living space and expand the driveway to accommodate parking for two cars. Upon notification by the City that permits had not properly been obtained for the garage enclosure, Ms. Hagopian and Mr. Koons were also informed that they could not expand the driveway to accommodate the desired off-street parking because the parking was located within the front yard setback of the home. Further, since the petitioners have access to an abutter’s alley to the rear of their property, the City’s ordinance in this case would require that parking be created in the rear of the lot and that the existing abutter’s alley be used for access. As a result of this discovery, the petition was filed with the intent to amend the regulations requiring them to use the abutter’s alley as access for additional parking. In the case of Ms. Hagopian and Mr. Koons, an alley, known as an abutter’s alley, exists behind the home. Ogden City has many of these alleys and they have proven to be quite problematic over the years. These alleys are not publicly dedicated and are the collective responsibility of the abutting property owners. Because they are not public rights-of-way and are privately and collectively owned, most of these alleys are not maintained and few are paved. This is the case with the petitioner’s alley. The current City code regarding front yard parking (§15-6-2.15.B.4.b) indicates that if a property owner wishes to expand off-street parking within the front yard setback that property owner may do so as long as certain conditions are met. The conditions to expand or create parking include a requirement that space is not available for the parking in the front, or that there is not reasonable access to locate legal parking in either the side or rear yards. The term ‘reasonable access’ is the term in question in the petition. The petitioner has access to the abutter’s alley to the rear of the property but the discussion is whether that abutter’s alley constitutes reasonable access due to its condition. The phrasing used in the existing code regarding reasonable access does not specifically refer to access to an abutter’s alley; however, the Planning Staff has indicated that that was the original intent of that term. With ---PAGE BREAK--- 3 Ogden City Council Work Session: September 19, 2017 the abutter’s alley in poor condition, the code would seemingly require the petitioner to rehabilitate and maintain the abutter’s alley to accommodate additional off-street parking. It is this section of the code the petitioners wish to clarify. Current Proposal The current proposal is to amend the City’s zoning ordinance to address several specific topics related to parking in the front setback of a residential lot. First is the petitioner’s request to clarify what reasonable access means with regard to abutter’s alleys. Second is the Planning Staff’s recommended changes clarifying how much of a front yard may be covered by parking and hardscape. Reasonable Access Amendments The petitioners have requested an amendment to the City’s code to clarify that an unmaintained abutter’s alley does not constitute reasonable access when considering parking expansion in the front yard setback. To address this, the proposed ordinance introduces language in several sections of the code. Section 15-6-2.B deals with additions or enlargements of nonconforming structures. The more significant amendments proposed (marked in red) to the Front Yard Parking section are included below and provide clarification on when existing parking might not qualify as required parking and clarification on how reasonable access is defined. b. Front Yard Parking: A maximum of two hard surface parking spaces may be added in the front yard setback, [if] when all of the following standards and conditions are met: No legal parking has existed on the property or the property has a garage/carriage house that may appear to provide legal parking, but it cannot accommodate modern vehicles due to having original interior wall dimension space of twelve feet (12’) or less in width, seven feet in height, and a depth of less than twenty feet and [space in not available, or there] There is no reasonable access to locate legal parking either in the side or rear yards; (additional sections not shown here) ---PAGE BREAK--- 4 Ogden City Council Work Session: September 19, 2017 d. For the purpose of subsection B.4.b(1), reasonable access is defined as either: Having at least eight feet of clearance in the side yard setback on either side of the building without obstructions that cannot reasonably be avoided, such as utilities, window-wells, a direct elevation change of three feet or greater, or retaining walls three feet or greater: or Having a right-of-way or alley adjacent to the property with established rights for access, where; The travel distance to the property line is less than one-hundred feet (100’) from an improved street and the right of way or alley has at least a minimum of twelve foot (12’) wide space that is or could be paved; or The travel distance to the property line is more than one-hundred feet (100’) from an improved street and the right of way or alley has an existing minimum twelve foot (12’) wide paved surface. Front Yard Parking Coverage Amendments In addition to the amendments addressing reasonable access to abutter’s alleys, the Planning Staff is proposing several other clarifications on front yard parking. If approved, these amendments would apply when nonconforming front yard parking is created or expanded and would apply to the petitioners’ property when they submit the request to expand their front yard parking. The proposed amendments include: A requirement that front yard parking and associated driveway be a hard surface pad or set of two foot wide tire-runners of concrete, asphalt, sob-block, or block/coble stone. The front yard parking area shall have a minimum width of nine feet Front yard driveways and parking areas installed after August 1, 2017 that are greater than nine feet wide shall not exceed fifty ---PAGE BREAK--- 5 Ogden City Council Work Session: September 19, 2017 percent (50%) of the width of the home fronting the public street or twenty feet whichever is less. A graphic illustrating the applicable lot dimensions and standards proposed. The Planning Staff is also proposing standards for driveway widths in all residential zones. As proposed, for single-family and duplex lots in residential zones: Driveways shall be a minimum of nine feet This is a change from ten feet Driveway widths may not have more than fifty percent (50%) of the front yard area covered by hard surface. Planning Commission The Planning Commission reviewed the amendments at its July 5, 2017 meeting and forwarded a recommendation of approval to the Council. The Commission made two motions for the amendments: one for the changes the petitioner is requesting and another for the amendments proposed by the Planning Staff. The Commission made its first motion on the petitioner’s request and voted to recommend approval with a vote of 5-0. The findings for the first motion were that the amendment to exclude abutter’s alleys as reasonable access is consistent with the intent of the zoning ordinance and policies outlined in the general plan. The Commission made its second motion on the amendments proposed by Staff and voted to recommend approval with a vote of 5-0. The findings for the second motion were that the amendments were consistent with the intent and purpose of the regulations of the zoning ordinance, and that the amended language provides better clarity in meeting the intent of the ordinance and that the amendments are consistent with the general plan. Public Comments There were no public comments included in the transmittal for the July 5, 2017 meeting. ---PAGE BREAK--- 6 Ogden City Council Work Session: September 19, 2017 Questions for Administrative Staff 1. Please provide additional background on abutter’s alleys and why they are not always usable in these situations. 2. Please discuss why 100 feet was chosen as the distance establishing reasonable alley access. 3. The proposed language indicates that reasonable access exists via an abutter’s alley if the alley is less than 100 feet to the property, is at least 12 feet in width, and is or could be paved. Who determines if the alley could be paved? What are the standards for determining if an alley could be paved? If it is determined that an alley could be paved, is the owner then required to pave the alley to obtain approval for rear parking?Attachments 1. Transmittal 2. Ordinance 3. Planning Commission Report Council Staff Contact: Glenn Symes, AICP (801) 629-8164 ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK---