HomeMy WebLinkAboutCT 02-28x1; La Costa Condominiums; Tentative Map (CT) (29)Hofman Planning
Associates
Planning Project Management Fiscal Analysis
November 7, 2001
Scott Donnell, Planning Department
City of Carlsbad
163 5 Faraday A venue
Carlsbad. CA 92008
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Dear Scott:
Thank you for meeting with us on October 18,2001 to discuss the La Costa Condominium project.
At this meeting, we were seeking direction from City staff regarding the interpretation of the City's
Hillside Development Ordinance and its recently adopted cul-de-sac policy.
At this meeting, we presented to you a verbal description of our proposed grading scheme and
project. Upon review, staff stated that we seemed to be going in the right direction, however, staff
wanted to see our grading proposal on an exhibit. You also indicated that this exhibit would need
to be submitted as a Preliminary Review application.
Enclosed please find our application and exhibits. To reiterate the points we made at our meeting,
the following discussion is included for your use:
Limits of Grading as it Pertains to the Hillside Development Permit
As you are aware, the slope along the southern boundary of the project is steep and unstable.
Drainage from the adjacent, overlooking single family residences has caused a considerable amount
of erosion. Also, our soils study has determined there is an underlying landslide on the property.
We believe that this unstable slope anp landslide will cause future damage to the single family homes
above if they are not addressed in our grading scheme.
Pursuant to good grading practices in this situation, we are proposing a buttress to stabilize this
condition. The buttress forms the pad you see on the exhibit that is approximately at an elevation
of 144 feet. We would like to use this pad for our development. This would allow for a more open
project and increased views for buildings at this elevation with no visual impact on adjacent
developments. The area of the buttress and resulting pad are not visible from either La Costa
Avenue or adjacent properties.
5900 Pasteur Court • Suite 150 • Carlsbad • CA 92008 • (760)438-1465 • Fax: (760)438-2443
We believe this grading scheme is^llowable under the Hillside Development Ordinance and we
on this.
Secondary Access
As you are aware, we would like to develop 58 units which is at the growth control point for this site.
This is 20 units fewer than the project under review by the City a couple of years ago. At that time,
a secondary access was proposed in conjunction with the Marbella project to the west. Due to the
opposition of the homeowners' association, the City allowed one access point for our project.
The new cul-de-sac policy limits the number of units that would take access from a single point to
50 units. At our meeting, staff thought that perhaps the 50 unit limit was not applicable to a single
condominium project and that, instead, it was intended to address access for a single family detached
residential project. We believe this is a proper interpretation and we would likcyour consideration
on this issue. "" ~~—~———
If you have any questions or need any additional information, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Bill Hofman
cc: Kwan So, Calso LLC.