Officer approves conversion of second-floor commercial space to residential at 923 State Street in El Pueblo Viejo district

The Staff Hearing Officer approved May 14 a request to convert a 1,204-square-foot second-floor commercial unit to a residential two-bedroom unit at 923 State Street, a building known as Osborne’s Bookstore in the El Pueblo Viejo historic district. No exterior alterations are proposed.

Hearing materials describe the lot as 5,054 square feet with a 5,330-square-foot two-story commercial building constructed in 1914 and listed on the California Inventory of Historic Resources. The applicant seeks an open-yard modification because the conversion provides fewer than the required open-yard area for residential use; the property is in the city’s growth-management program and in the AB 2097 radius, so no vehicle parking is required for the new unit.

Applicant Douglas Beard said the unit currently functions as office space and that the work will include adding an approximately 80-square-foot bathroom area to create a two-bedroom, one-bath residential unit without exterior changes. "What we're looking to do is... add an 80 square foot area, bathroom area to accommodate, residential living," Beard said.

Staff recommended approval; the officer said the project is consistent with the city’s ongoing work on an adaptive-reuse ordinance that would make similar conversions by right in the future. "This project is very clearly in line with what the city's wanting to see and facilitate downtown," the hearing officer said, approving the open-yard modification and noting a 10-calendar-day appeal period to the Planning Commission.

No public comment was recorded for the item. The approval allows the applicant to proceed under the conditions listed in the staff report; the action is appealable to the Planning Commission within 10 calendar days.