Planning commission approves three Carmen Drive condo conversions with tenant protections

Mount Shasta — The Planning Commission on April 28 approved tentative parcel maps that will allow developer conversions of three existing rental properties at 804, 806 and 809 Carmen Drive into four-unit condominiums each, adding conditions intended to protect current tenants and resolve long-standing maintenance issues.

Staff presented the proposals as technical condominium-map conversions needed to enable future financing and insurance options for the owner while leaving the existing buildings largely unchanged. Planning staff recommended additional conditions after receiving public comment, including new language addressing trash storage and snow removal, and proposed resolution changes were placed in the commission packet before the hearing.

Why it matters: Commissioners and members of the public pressed for enforceable tenant protections amid an extremely tight local rental market. Commissioner Tim Stearns said the city has struggled with near-zero vacancy and warned that conversions could reduce rental supply: “So it’s … we’ve had almost 0% vacancy for a long time, a very, very low vacancy,” he said, arguing for measures to keep housing available for workers. The developer told the commission the conversion is primarily a financing step and that he does not “plan to sell in the short term,” but commissioners sought written, enforceable commitments rather than a verbal promise.

What the commission approved: After public comment and back-and-forth with the developer and staff, commissioners voted to approve the tentative parcel map for 804 Carmen Drive with revised conditions that staff drafted in response to public concerns. The key additions included: - First right of refusal: tenants in good standing must be offered the opportunity to purchase a unit before it goes to market. - Trash-storage rules: tenants will be required to store trash receptacles inside individual garages (the staff memo was revised to reference garage storage to deter wildlife access and offsite trash problems). - Snow removal and stormwater/ snow-storage provisions to be handled as common-area/HOA responsibilities and enforced as conditions of approval. The motion to approve 804 (with the revised staff memo and the additional tenant-protection and storage conditions) passed 3–1. Commissioner Tim Stearns voted no.

The commission then duplicated the same approvals and conditions for 806 and 809 Carmen Drive. Both motions passed 3–1 with Stearns opposed.

Developer response and tenant protections: The project proponent told commissioners the fourplexes were built to allow future conversion and that the immediate intent is to maintain the units as rentals while gaining administrative benefits that make insurance and refinancing easier. The proponent said leases include language alerting tenants to the potential for conversion and said the developer would renew tenants’ leases. Commissioners and public commenters endorsed adding the first-right-of-refusal condition and discussed other possible safeguards — such as limiting sales for a period and relocation assistance — but the commission ultimately approved the set of conditions described above.

Technical and affordability points: Staff found the projects consistent with the general plan’s medium-density residential designation and the R2 zoning code. The packet confirmed that units provided under an earlier density-bonus program remain deed-restricted for affordability for the longer term required by that program; staff reiterated that deed restrictions remain binding regardless of ownership changes.

Votes and next steps: The commission recorded three separate votes, each passing 3–1 (Findlay, Pardee, Belinda in favor; Stearns opposed). Staff will finalize the resolution language and conditions, and developer requests will move forward to any subsequent ministerial steps required for condominium mapping and final recording. Commissioners indicated they may follow up with staff if enforcement questions arise or if the parties propose additional tenant protections.

The commission moved on to the next agenda items after the trio of approvals; no immediate appeals were announced at the meeting’s close.