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Variance No. 2006-01 June 12, 2006 Page 3 Section 41-6B6 of the City's nonconforming code states that no additional uses shall be allowed on a site where an existing nonconforming use exists, even though such proposed use may be a conforming use in the zoning district. As a result, the existing warehousing and food preparation business is considered a nonconforming use; therefore, the proposed real estate and mortgage office cannot be permitted on the site. In order for the proposed office use to be permitted, the existing industrial business must not operate on this site. The State of California Government Code Section 65906 states that a variance shall not be granted for a parcel of property which authorizes a use that is not expressly permitted by the zone district governing the parcel of property. Considering that Section 41-686 of the City's nonconforming code does not allow the proposed office use on the site, this section of the State code applies and therefore, does not allow the proposed use to be approved. Additionally, this section implies that a use variance for the proposed office use is not allowed under State codes. Variances are typically reserved for variations from development standards such as setbacks and parking and not uses. The Santa Ana Municipal Code establishes a parking requirement for office use at one parking space for each 333 square feet of office space. As proposed, the site would require a total of 11 parking spaces, two parking spaces for the proposed 750 square feet of second story office space and nine spaces for the remaining 4,550 square feet of industrial space. Approval of a variance for a parking reduction of four spaces, 36 percent, will be required as the site only has seven spaces available. In recent history, the Planning Commission has reviewed variances for parking, each with different situations. In February of 2005, the Commission reviewed Variance No. 2004-1B for the FAMSA retail chain addition located at 419 East First Street. The addition required 43 parking spaces, of which only 20 were being provided. This resulted in a reduction of 23 parking spaces for the addition or 53 percent. In this case, the Commission denied the variance request as a result of the existing nonconforming parking situation. Variance No. 2002-06 for Doffo Automotive located at 1607 South Sycamore was reviewed by the Commission in June of 2002. A new auto repair facility was proposed that required 37 parking spaces. The Commission approved a reduction of four parking spaces, an 11 percent reduction, based on the nature of the business operation that included the ability of the vehicle repair bays to be utilized as parking spaces and the second floor office space's low parking 31A-4