31A - VARIANCE - REDUCTION OF LANDSCAPE 1901 N TUSTIN

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Variance No. 2011-01 February 28, 2011 Page 3 Proilect Analysis Variance requests are governed by Section 41-638 of the SAMC. Variance requests may be granted when it can be shown that the following can be established: • That there exists a special circumstance related to the property, such as size, shape, topography, location or surroundings. • That the granting of the variance is necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of substantial property rights. • That the granting of the variance will not be detrimental to the public or surrounding property. • That the granting of the variance will not adversely affect the General Plan. If these findings can be made, then it is appropriate to grant the variance. Conversely, the inability to make these findings would result in a denial. Using this information, staff has prepared the following analysis, which forms the basis for the recommendation contained in this report. In the case of proposed projects that are located on sites or in buildings considered to be legally non- conforming according to Article VI of the Zoning Ordinance, the project analysis begins with an assessment of the degree to which the proposed project triggers the need to bring such non- conforming aspects of the site into conformance with current standards. Regarding this project, Section 41-683 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code (SAMC) states that if a nonconforming building is vacant, unused or unoccupied for 12 consecutive months, any subsequent use must conform to current development standards, including setbacks. As this particular building has been vacant for over 10 years, the medical office would not be able to occupy the building until the entire site complies with current code requirements, or a variance is approved for those items which do not meet the current standards. In this case the C1 zone requires a front yard setback of not less than 15 feet (Sec. 41-368). When this front yard area abuts a street, as it does in this case, the area is also required to have 15 feet of landscaping (Sec. 41-372). The building has an existing front yard setback of eight feet at the narrowest point along Tustin Avenue and five feet at the narrowest corner along Lenita Lane. The applicant is requesting to allow the existing setback to remain at its current dimension, which would require the approval of a variance from the code discussed above. In analyzing the variance request staff must be able to show that findings can be made that support the criteria listed above. 31A-5