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San Clemente zoning administrator approves Smith residence addition at 145 Trafalgar Lane
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Summary
The City of San Clemente Zoning Administrator approved a development permit for an addition and detached garage at 145 Trafalgar Lane, finding the project categorically exempt from CEQA and leaving an indemnification condition unchanged.
The City of San Clemente Zoning Administrator on March 24 approved a development permit for additions to the Smith residence at 145 Trafalgar Lane, finding the project categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Staff presented the proposal as a 420-square-foot master-suite addition, removal of a 240-square-foot carport and construction of a 447-square-foot detached garage. Project planner Laura Corey told the administrator the additions are located on an interior lot in the Residential Low zone, adjacent to a historic resource at 143 Trafalgar Lane, and that “the proposed addition meets the required setbacks of the primary residence, and the detached garage complies with the requirements for accessory buildings.”
Principal planner Zach Ream stated he supported the staff recommendation and told the hearing that only minor edits and grammatical corrections were made to the staff report that day. “I’m Zach Ream, principal planner, supporting the staff recommendation,” he said.
Staff recommended the zoning administrator find the project categorically exempt from CEQA under State CEQA Guidelines sections 15301 (existing facilities) and 15303 (new construction of small structures) and adopt Resolution ZA 25-006 approving Public Hearing Project PHP2507 and Development Permit DP2508, subject to conditions of approval. The staff report concluded the project would be compatible with neighborhood massing and materials and would not have identified impacts to the adjacent historic resource, noting existing landscaping and a 17-foot separation between the proposed addition and the detached garage help reduce visual impacts.
At the hearing the zoning administrator said he had reviewed the staff report and had driven by the property. The administrator also noted an error in the printed vicinity map provided at the meeting and asked staff to correct the map for the official records. The administrator said he found that, based on the resolution’s findings, he could determine the project is categorically exempt from CEQA and move the staff recommendation. He declined to change condition 1.2, the indemnification provision, saying the version in the resolution “adequately covers the city’s needs and purposes for indemnification on these types of applications.”
The zoning administrator closed the public hearing and adopted Resolution ZA 25-006 approving PHP2507 / DP2508 for the Smith residence. No public speakers registered for this hearing.
The file for the project includes the CEQA exemption determination (State CEQA Guidelines §§15301, 15303) and Resolution ZA 25-006; the administrator instructed staff to correct the vicinity map in the meeting attachments for the official record.
