Seal Beach Planning Commission approves reduced rear setback and wider garage at 1400 Ocean

The Seal Beach Planning Commission on July 6 approved a request to build a new single-family home at 1400 Ocean that includes a reduced rear-yard setback and an attached garage wider than code ordinarily allows.

Senior planner Patricia Garcia told commissioners the project, on a 3,394-square-foot reverse-corner lot, proposes a 2,689-square-foot residence and requests two entitlements: a variance to reduce the required rear-yard setback to 9 feet (the code requires 24 feet minus alley width, but this lot has no alley) and a minor use permit to allow an attached garage within 30 feet of the street-side lot line that exceeds 20 feet in width and more than 50% of the residential façade.

"I am senior planner Patricia Garcia and I will be presenting tonight's variance and minor use permit requests," Garcia said, outlining staff findings that the configuration prevents the lot from claiming the alley-width reduction and concluding the requested relief "would not grant a special privilege and is substantially consistent with the intent and purpose of the zoning district." Staff recommended adoption of resolution 26-05 approving variance 26-001 and minor use permit 26-0003 and found the project exempt from CEQA.

The applicant told the commission the parcel would be "economically undevelopable" without the variances, saying the buildable footprint without relief would be about 1,300 square feet "and no one's gonna build that." The applicant added the design choices responded to site constraints and family use, and that design elements were included to avoid a dominant garage face.

A neighbor, Alon Alexander of the adjacent 1404 Ocean building, said he submitted written comments and that residents were concerned the reduced setback would eliminate daylight and reduce quality of life for long-term tenants. "I think the whole purpose of having these setbacks is so that people don't feel like they're living in a dungeon," Alexander said.

Commissioners questioned lot coverage, overhangs and whether the lot's general-plan land-use designation (Commercial General) was consistent with its RHD-20 zoning; staff explained parts of the block were not updated on the land-use map and noted the general plan allows some mixed residential use in Old Town. Staff also said the project’s lot coverage is 55.17% and explained that smaller Old Town lots commonly have higher allowable coverage because of narrow setbacks.

Several commissioners raised precedent and aesthetic concerns about allowing garages that take up a large portion of a façade. Staff and a commissioner noted prior cases and emphasized that a minor use permit involves case-by-case design review and that findings must justify approvals.

Chair (role) moved to adopt resolution 26-05 with a minor typographical edit to remove reference to garage width from the variance finding; the motion was seconded and passed on a roll-call vote, 4-0. The clerk announced the formal appeal period begins the day after the decision and runs 10 days.

The planning commission’s director later gave a brief report on outreach for a business-concierge program and said staff continues limited outreach to the Bank of America property owner; staff also announced a joint study session with the city council on housing-element programs scheduled for July 20 and invited public questions in advance.

Votes at a glance: resolution 26-05 (approving variance 26-001 and minor use permit 26-0003) — motion passed 4-0. The attorney announced a 10-day appeal period starting tomorrow.

Next steps: the decision is final unless appealed within 10 days of July 7; staff scheduled a joint study session with the city council on July 20 to discuss housing-element programs.