75B - PH CONDOS CH 34 & CH 41 - Laserfiche WebLink

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General Plan Amendment No. 2007-02 Zoning Ordinance Amendment No. 2007-03 Ordinance Amendment No. 2007-01 June 11, 2007 Page 2 Analysis o£ the Issues Air space condominiums allow individual ownership of units created by a subdivision map. This type of development has given businesses opportunities to own their own unit instead of leasing a space and paying rent. A condominium unit is enticing to many businesses as it allows them to avoid continually paying rent while at the same time using the property as an investment. Currently, the subdivision of commercial and industrial sites into air-space condominiums is allowed by Chapter 34 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code (SANG); however, there are no standards in place for non-residential condominium development. Chapter 34 of the SAMC contains standards for residential condominium projects. Without any standards, the City is unable to adequately address issues that may arise from the subdivision of commercial and industrial sites into condominiums. Potential issues include the lack of landscape, building and site maintenance, and insufficient easements and reciprocal rights for access and parking. Without sufficient standards, once viable and attractive centers can fall into a deteriorated condition due to neglected maintenance and landscaping. A significant number of commercial and industrial projects were built many years ago and will not, therefore, comply with today's development standards. These properties do not meet the requirements of Chapter 41 of the SAMC and thus fall into a non-conforming status. The intent of the non-conforming section of the zoning code is to create a system that over time recycles and transforms non-conforming properties into new developments. Older and substandard commercial and industrial centers are typically the primary candidates for condominium conversions. Many of these older developments do not meet the current development standards for parking, landscaping or building setbacks. Once the property is divided into air-space condos, the opportunity to enhance the site and to meet the current development standards is lost. With numerous owners, the ability to consolidate the site is decreased as a developer would need to purchase each unit from an individual owner. This usually results in the site staying as is with no upgrades or enhancements unless there are City standards that require such improvements. 75B-3