TITLE
Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code Section 21.27.065 relating to bedroom splitting, read and adopted as read. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
On August 12, 2008, the City Council adopted an emergency ordinance (moratorium) prohibiting interior alterations- to create additional bedrooms (bedroom splitting) within parking impacted areas in the City. In response to the moratorium, staff has reviewed the existing regulations governing bedroom splitting and attended four community meetings held within the parking impacted areas. At the meetings, residents were mainly concerned with parking impacts associated with bedroom splitting, arguing that the increased number of bedrooms leads to an increase in residents with vehicles.
The existing regulations were adopted in 2005 allowing bedroom splitting of units over a certain size (Exhibit A- Current Bedroom Splitting Regulations). Although the total number of requests for bedroom splitting has significantly diminished, projects are still occurring in parking impacted areas without providing parking, further exacerbating the parking problems.
Based on review of the existing standards and evaluating the impacts resulting from bedroom splitting, staff is recommending revisions to the regulations to prohibit bedroom splitting in single-family and multi-family units with nonconforming parking Citywide. However, single-family units outside of parking impacted areas that have driveways 20 feet or more in length will be exempt from the parking requirement, which is consistent with the regulations governing additions to nonconforming properties.
Staff presented the proposed amendment on January 15, 2009 at the Planning Commission hearing. After the public testimony, the Planning Commission made a recommendation that the City Council adopt the proposed amendments to the Zoning Ordinance.
This letter was reviewed by Assistant City Attorney Michael J. Mais on February 3,2009 and by ...
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