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CITY
OF ROCKVILLE PLANNING DIVISION
STAFF REPORT
DECEMBER
3, 1999
SUBJECT:
Special
Exception Application SPX99-0282
Applicant:
Shohreh Malekzadeh
674 College Parkway
Rockville, Maryland 20850
Planning Commission Review Date: December 8, 1999
Board of Appeals-Public Hearing Date: January 15, 2000
REQUEST:
In
accordance with Section 25-296 of the Citys Zoning Ordinance, the applicant
seeks special exception approval to establish an accessory apartment in her
home at the afore noted location, which is in the R-90 (single family detached,
restricted residential) zone.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approval
is recommended subject to full compliance with the following conditions:
·
The applicant is allowed to establish a one (1) bedroom accessory apartment.
The kitchen and cooking facilities for the proposed accessory unit must be
relocated and may not be located in the furnace and washer dryer room as shown
on the applicants proposed floor plan (See Exhibit 1).
·
A minimum of three on-site vehicular parking spaces must be provided.
·
The owner/applicant must comply with the certification requirements of the
"property maintenance code."
·
The accessory apartment cannot house more than three people.
·
The special exception is granted solely to the property owner/applicant and
is not transferable with the property in the event of change in property ownership.
Said special exception expires if the owner sells the property or if the applicant
no longer occupies any portion of the dwelling.
·
If the special exception expires for any violation of any conditions of approval,
the accessory apartment must be removed and dismantled or otherwise rendered
inoperative within thirty (30) days of the date of expiration.
·
The owner/applicant must comply with all applicable regulations governing
accessory apartments as well as licensing of the unit.
·
The above noted conditions of approval must be duly recorded among the land
records of Montgomery County so that any future purchaser of the subject property
is aware that the accessory apartment must be removed or a new special exception
application filed and approved upon transfer of ownership.
Note:
In order to record the conditions, staff will provide the applicant with a
form of declaration, the document and legal instrument the applicant must
complete and file with the office of land records.
ANALYSIS:
The
subject property is located on the east-side of College Parkway in the residential
subdivision of College Gardens. The property is approximately 9,909 square
feet in size, located approximately 700 feet northeast of Clemson Court and
200 feet southwest of Yale Place. The property is improved with a two story
single family detached dwelling (with basement), of masonry and frame construction,
and contemporary in design. The site's topography ranges from flat to pronounced
sloping. The surface elevation of the rear yard area along the back lot line
is substantially higher than all other yard areas. The rear yard slopes pronouncedly,
receding towards the rear of the dwelling with surface grades leveling out
as they form the immediate rear and side yard areas near the base of the dwelling.
While the surface grades found in the side and front yards are less pronounced
in slope, the front yard does have some gentle but evident sloping, which
levels out along the sites street frontage. The property contains an array
of mature plantings, ranging in species and size, i.e., shrubs, hedges, flowering
and non-flowering plants, and several significant sized hardwood and evergreen
trees.
The
applicant seek special exception approval to establish an accessory apartment
in her home that could include as many as two (2) bedrooms but no less than
one (1) bedroom. The proposed accessory living unit will be located on the
basement level and occupy the bulk of the floor space on that level of the
home. In addition to the two bedrooms, the proposed accessory apartment will
have an established living room, dining and kitchen area, and shower/toilet
facilities. The remainder of the dwelling, the main and second floor levels
of the dwelling will be the primary residence of the applicant. Exterior dwelling
access to the accessory unit will be via a separate dwelling entrance located
on the east-side of the home. In order to establish the accessory apartment
as proposed, the applicant requests approval of the application request as
submitted
As
per Section 25-296 of the Ordinance accessory apartments are permitted in
the R-90 Zone by grant of special exception. In accordance with Section 25-338
of the Ordinance the Board of Appeals shall not grant any petition for special
exception unless it finds from a preponderance of the evidence of record that:
1. The proposed use will not adversely affect
the City's Master Plan (the Plan), Zoning Ordinance, or any other applicable
law/s; and
The
use as proposed does not violate or adversely affect the Plan or any known
laws of the City of Rockville. The land use designation of the property as
assigned by the Plan, is for detached residential (medium density - 2.5 to
4 dwelling units per acre) land usage which is also consistent with its R-90
zoning classification. By allowing accessory apartments in residential zones
as special exception uses, it is inferred from the ordinance that these residential
uses are appropriate and compatible with other uses in the zone, if it can
be shown that these accessory units will not have an adverse impact on neighboring
properties.
2. The proposed use at the location selected
will not: a) Adversely affect the health and safety of residents or workers
in the area; or b) Overburden existing pubic services, including water, sanitary
sewer, public roads, storm drainage and other public improvements; or c) Be
detrimental to the use or development of adjacent properties or the neighborhood;
and d) Change the character of the neighborhood in which the use is proposed,
considering services currently required, population density, character and
number of similar uses; and
No
exterior renovation or structural expansion of the applicants home is planned
or required in order to establish the proposed accessory unit. The property
will continue to function as the applicants primary residence, with little
(if any) physical disruption to the neighboring properties. The subject property
is located in a well established neighborhood, comprised of both single family
detached and attached dwellings, as well as public parkland and educational
institutional land uses. Through formal establishment of the proposed accessory
apartment (via the special exception application process) the applicant asserts
that the unit will be operated and maintained in accordance with all applicable
laws and ordinances. Such adherence serves to insure that the health, welfare,
and safety of the community will not be adversely impacted by the proposed
use.
The
basement level of the home where the accessory apartment will be located is
already served by water and sewer service connections, i.e., kitchen sink,
shower/toilet facilities, etc. No appreciable upgrade of the dwelling's existing
utilities are contemplated nor do they appear to be needed to establish the
accessory unit. No exterior dwelling modifications or expansions will be
made, thus insuring that existing site drainage patterns will remain unchanged.
It is important to note that the rooms the applicant hopes to convert to bedrooms
will likely require that the windows in those rooms be replaced and retrofitted
with new windows that provide a secondary means of escape and rescue, and
ventilation in case of fire. It is likely that the replacement/new windows
could cause minimal alteration to the exterior appearance of the dwelling,
in the event window wells are installed to accommodate the new/larger windows.
In
processing the subject application request, the applicant has informed staff
that she plans to rent the accessory unit and limit occupancy to no more than
two persons. Additional vehicle/s (owned by the prospective accessory apartment
tenants) should not substantially increase current vehicular traffic levels
in the site area. The property's existing driveway supplemented by the dwellings
attached carport, should easily accommodate a minimum of four (4) vehicles.
These on-site parking spaces would comply with the minimum number of spaces
required per Section 25-395(a)(11) &(13) of the Ordinance, for both the
existing and proposed residential uses.
It
should be noted that the primary role and intended purpose of accessory apartments
in the city is to create and enhance existing housing opportunities within
residential communities that comprise primarily single family dwellings.
The subject dwelling will continue to be used as the applicants residence,
with the accessory unit subordinate to the overall use of the property. There
will be no external evidence of the accessory unit and based on information
provided by the applicant, limited physical activity is anticipated from its
use. Staff found no evidence that the establishment of the accessory unit
would negate full or potential use of any neighboring properties.
With
the exception of the likely need to replace existing windows in the rooms
the applicant proposes to convert into bedrooms, there is no exterior physical
alteration or expansion of the dwelling needed to establish the proposed use.
The overall aesthetic character of the applicants home will not change.
The physical character of the dwelling would continue to be similar to other
homes found in the subject community. Existing services now provided to
the site area should not be adversely impacted by the use as proposed, i.e.,
refuse collection, snow removal, street repair and maintenance, etc. Due
to established occupancy restrictions that limit the number of persons permitted
to reside in accessory apartments (as per the ordinance) it is also unlikely
that the delivery of services within the site area would be appreciably altered
or impacted. Since accessory apartments are permitted in the respective residential
zone only by grant of special exception, the regulatory oversight of the Ordinance
insures that there will be no proliferation of such uses in the area.
3.
The proposed use complies with the requirements of the ordinance applicable
thereto.
Submission
of the subject special exception request represents the applicants efforts
to satisfy and comply with the ordinance requirement in order to establish
an accessory apartment in the R-90 Zone.
In
addition to satisfying the above (general) "standards for granting"
a special exception request, in accordance with Section 25-372 of the Ordinance the following "special development
and use requirements" are applicable to the use as proposed:
1.
An accessory apartment must be part of or have at least one party wall in
common with the main dwelling. An accessory apartment may not exist in an
accessory building.
The proposed accessory unit will be located on the basement level and entirely
within the subject dwelling.
2.
Only one accessory apartment may be created in or attached to an existing
one family detached dwelling.
The applicants accessory unit will be the only such use on the subject property.
3.
Such use is not allowed on lots which: a) are occupied by a family of unrelated
persons; b) contain another apartment, rooms for rent, a boarding house;
and/or c) where any other rental uses exist.
The
applicant (Shohreh Malekzadeh) affirms that she is the sole occupant/owner
of the subject dwelling. There will be no other accessory apartment or rooms
for rent in the applicants home. The applicant further assures the Board
of Appeals that she does not plan to convert other portions of the home for
rental purposes, nor will the dwelling be used as a boarding house. The applicant
affirms that the accessory unit is being established as a source of secondary
income and will be leased and/or rented on the open market.
4.
Both the main dwelling and the accessory apartment comply with all appropriate
standards, including off-street parking requirements.
The
subject property and dwelling comply with all known development standards
and regulations as per the R-90 Zone. At present time the property has on-site
parking facilities, i.e., an attached carport supplemented by a three (3)
bay driveway. Section 25-395 of the Zoning Ordinance requires a minimum of
two (2) on-site parking spaces be provided for single family residential dwellings
and for each apartment with two (2) or more separate bedrooms, one and one-half
(1ý) spaces are provided. There will be a minimum of four (4) vehicular on-site
parking spaces provided.
5.
Any separate entrance to the accessory apartment must be located so that the
appearance of a single family dwelling is preserved.
Exterior
entry into the proposed accessory apartment is provided via an existing entrance
door located at the east side of the dwelling. As previously noted, there
are no exterior renovations to the dwelling or its entrances required in order
to establish the proposed site use. Thus, the single family dwelling appearance
of the dwelling will remain unchanged.
6. All external modifications
and improvements to the single family detached dwelling in which the accessory
apartment is to be created or to which it is to be added must be compatible
with the existing dwelling and surrounding properties.
With
the exception of replacing the existing exterior windows located in the two
rooms that the applicant hopes to convert into bedrooms for the accessory
apartment, there are no external modifications to the dwelling planned or
necessary in order to formally establish the proposed site use. As previously
noted, windows located in these proposed bedrooms are required to be large
enough and designed to provide a secondary means of escape and rescue and
ventilation in the event of a fire.
7.
All modifications to the lot must be compatible with surrounding properties.
There are no physical modifications to the subject property proposed under
the request as submitted.
8.
The accessory apartment must show and utilize the same street address (house
number) as that of the main dwelling.
No separate address will be used for the accessory apartment.
9.
No variance may be granted to accommodate an accessory apartment.
No variance is needed to establish the proposed accessory apartment.
10.
The accessory apartment may not house more than three (3) persons and must
be subordinate to the main dwelling.
The applicant has been made aware of the occupancy restriction and agreed
to limit the number of persons residing in the subject accessory unit to a
maximum of two (2) people.
11.0.
Ownership Requirements
11.1. The owner of a lot on which an accessory apartment is located
must occupy one of the dwelling units, except for bona fide temporary absences
not exceeding six months in any twelve month period. The Board may increase
the period of temporary absence at any time upon finding that a hardship would
otherwise result. Any request for an extension of the period of temporary
absence made subsequent to the initial grant of special exception shall be
made in compliance with procedures for modification of a condition of special
exception.
For
the purpose of zoning requirements the term "owner" means an individual
who owns a substantial equitable interest in the property as determined by
the Board of Appeals.
The applicant affirms that the dwelling located at 674 College Parkway is
her primary residence and that she is the owner of the property.
Lastly,
the Board of Appeals must make the following findings in addition to all of
the other noted findings and requirements in granting the subject special
exception request:
1. That such use will not constitute a nuisance
because of traffic or number of people, and will cause no objectionable noise,
odors, or physical activity.
Based
on the applicants intended use of the accessory unit, it is anticipated that
additional traffic generated by residents of the accessory unit will not be
overly disruptive to neighboring residents and property owners in the area.
The applicant affirms that the unit will be occupied by no more than two (2)
persons. Based on site inspection and the plans as submitted, due to the
modest size of the accessory unit as proposed, staff finds that the proposed
unit is not large enough to physically accommodate large numbers of people,
i.e., parties, social gatherings, etc. It is the intent of the applicant
that the accessory unit remain a subordinate use of the dwelling. While there
will be additional physical activity generated by the proposed use, it is
unlikely that such activity will have an adverse impact on the surrounding
properties. As noted the accessory unit will be located on the basement level
of dwelling and will be accessed via a separate exterior entrance. The accessory
unit is not readily visible from the sites frontage along College Parkway.
2. That such
use will not adversely impact parking or the traffic situation in the neighborhood.
The
applicants home as designed, has an attached carport accessed via an onsite
driveway that enters onto College Parkway. The driveway as designed is large
enough to accommodate a minimum of four (4) vehicles. Due to the modest size
of the accessory unit being proposed, coupled with the manner in which it
is to be used, little if any appreciable impacts on neighborhood parking and
traffic generation are anticipated.
Based
on all of the afore noted factors, staff recommends that Special Exception
Application SPX99-0282 be approved subject to the conditions referenced on
pages one and two of this staff report.
Notification
cards were sent to abutting property owners informing them of the application
request and pending Planning Commission meeting and Board of Appeals public
hearing, at which time the request will be publicly heard and considered.
Notices were sent to 415 property owners located within the
site
area. A list of addressees is contained in the projects application file,
available for public review and inspection.
/cdc
Attachments
Exhibit
1 Floor Plan of Proposed Accessory Apt.
Exhibit
2 Existing Basement Floor Plan
Exhibit
3 Floor Plan 1St Floor
Exhibit
4 Floor Plan 2nd Floor
Exhibit
5 Floor Plans Overall Dwelling
Exhibit
6 Copy of House Location Survey
Exhibit
7 Subdivision Plat