Staff Hearing Officer approves front-setback modification for 574 Ricardo Avenue after structural issues require full rebuild

The Staff Hearing Officer approved a front-setback modification May 14 to allow reconstruction of an attached garage at 574 Ricardo Avenue in the Alta Mesa neighborhood to remain roughly 15 feet from the front lot line rather than meet the RS-15 zone’s 30-foot front setback.

The modification was requested after the project’s previously approved plan — which anticipated retaining the existing foundation and portions of the garage — required full demolition when contractors discovered insufficient soils and uneven settlement in the foundation. Carly Earnest, Associate Planner, presented the project and said the site is a 7,400-square-foot lot currently developed with a 1,324-square-foot single-family residence and a 413-square-foot attached two-car garage. The proposed new two-story house would total 2,287 square feet with the existing 413-square-foot garage footprint retained.

Staff and the Single-Family Design Board recommended approval. "The discretionary application ... is a front setback modification to allow a portion of the reconstructed attached garage to remain in the front setback combined with substantial redevelopment," Earnest said, noting the project is exempt from further environmental review under California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines section 15303 for new single-family residences in residential zones. Earnest also told the officer that redesigning the project to meet the current 30-foot front setback would make it impossible to provide the two covered parking spaces required for the unit.

Hearing Officer Gullett reviewed the staff report, visited the site and agreed the modification is reasonable in the neighborhood context, citing the 1975 citywide downzoning that rendered many existing garages legally nonconforming. "I do approve this zoning modification," Gullett said, adding that the approval is appealable to the Planning Commission within 10 calendar days.

No public comments were received at the hearing on the item. The applicant’s architect attended and confirmed the demolition was necessitated by the discovered foundation condition and that the current plans are largely unchanged from prior approvals except for minor adjustments to avoid additional interior setback modifications.

The approval allows the project to proceed under the conditions listed in the staff report; any appeal must be filed at 630 Garden Street and will be considered by the Planning Commission.