31B - 2000 BLKS W. ALDER & W. LA VERNE AVE.

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Variance Nos. 05-13, 05-17 thru 05-21, 05-26 thru 05-47, 05-49 thru 05-52 and 05-57 thru 05-60 August 22, 2005 Page 8 second driveways on their property. The property owner at 2425 West Elder Avenue is requesting a variance to allow a wider driveway and a circular driveway on their property. The 30 new variance applications have been combined with the original six applications so that the Commission may consider all the requests in a timely manner while preventing additional delays to the pending street improvement project. At the July 25, 2005 meeting the Commission asked staff to investigate, how many streets remain in the City with rolled curbs, if a permit parking program could be initiated in the neighborhood, and if the City had experienced similar situations on other street improvement projects. The Public Works Agency indicated that this is an unusual circumstance and that there are few neighborhoods remaining in the City with this condition. With regards to creating a permit parking district within the New Horizons neighborhood ( a representative of the Public Works Agency attended the New Horizon's neighborhood meeting on July 20, 2005. Parking permit programs are most effective when parking intrusion from a project outside the neighborhood begins to impact the parking supply in the area. As the maj ori ty of the cars parked on the street are generated by the residents of the neighborhood, the parking permit program may not be effective in addressing this concern; however, the program could limit the number of parking passes that each house would receive. To date the neighborhood has not approached the City to further explore this option. Santa Ana Municipal Code Section 41-239 (c) requires that driveways in the R-1 zoning district lead to a garage and that driveways not exceed the width of the garage. This code requirement has the effect of limiting the amount of pavement within a front yard setback, resulting in increased landscaping, less pavement and a more aesthetic streetscape for the neighborhood. Houses in this neighborhood were annexed from the County in April 1959 and were constructed with a one car garage and rolled curbs under the design standards of unincorporated Orange County. The rolled curbs and sub-standard flow line caused drainage problems in the area. An unintended consequence of the rolled curbs has also allowed residents to drive onto their property, which has led to second driveways and widened driveway areas (Exhibit 3). The additional pavement areas are used by residents to park their vehicles and in most cases were constructed without appropriate City permits. A major component of the street improvement proj ect will be to replace the rolled curbs with vertical curbs and gutters, which will preclude access to the second driveway. 31 B-14