to respect that we can you know we need commercial space um and we just want it just like other
community so thank you thank you for listening no thank you for taking the time to close we
appreciate your input and you appreciate the work you've done on this thank you okay is there anyone
else in the virtual audience there are no hands planning commission Amy Boyd with planning
commission the property was zoned rm1 residential multifamily at the time of the district plan
and it recommended no change the property was later remapped to cmx1 commercial mixed use
three units would be allowed by right under rm1 the opponent has not demonstrated that there are
unique physical conditions or circumstances of the property that would prevent it from being
used in conformance with the required occupied area or setback the planning commission recommends
that the board grant the requested variance for two family and deny the requested variances for
front yard setback and occupied area may i just respond briefly so the front yard setback we are
eliminating that by way of the amended refusal um and then in terms of the occupied area we are
less we have a less variance in the properties to the left and right of us so we're not affecting
those properties they're affecting us more than anyone else thank you so we're holding this for
amended refusal am i correct thank you counsel the case is otherwise closed all right thank
you am i doing one more am i going back you have one more okay and then mr whale will be out here
all right uh mi2025-005-350-3430 north bodine street um unanimous support from 19th ward rco
applicant also provided a support of 12 signatures from neighbors all in the immediate block
mr knockamson just state your name for the record alan knockamson could you identify your client in
relationship to the property lucero fernandez and our vice chair has a few questions uh good
afternoon have you submitted your documents and exhibits uh five days in advance of this hearing
yes we have and do you waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy
seat we do okay uh thank you you can proceed with your case all right thank you so this is
This is not a developer. This is a client who had a property, the building structure extended out
not a developer this is a client who had a property the building
by a little more than five feet without permits. We're trying to correct this situation. It was
extended by the first and second floor. It's owner occupied. She owns it. All right, so let's go over
the refusal. So again, this is, you know, an RTA one property, I think. I can't read. It's like
blurry but um again single family use we have three refusals 100 occupied area where 75 is
allowed by right we have no rear yard setback where nine feet is required and our minimum rear
yard area square feet is supposed to be 144 where it's zero this you know obviously my client would
love to have done it the right way um but we're trying to fix it to do it the right way we under
also understand that this is just the first step in clearing this up that if we are lucky enough
to have this variance granted we have to go get a building permit and we have to get a co which
means further inspections um you know again mike's clients a long-standing member of the community
and as you can see the community is well in support of this project with unanimous support
and then we have a petition behind that of nearby neighbors as well
so and by the way it's not out of character to have full lock coverage and no rear yard setback
3424 north bodine and 3442 north bodine both also have full uh lock coverage
just maps oh so we're actually rm1 sorry i couldn't read that um but yes but we're just using this
a single-family structure. She's just living there. Next. Next. So that's the front of the
property. Continue. It's a proof of posting for today's hearing. North Bodine to the right and
to the left. Continue. And then this is just Pitt interior photos. We try this to be as
descriptive as possible and then you can see here from the red dots of what was extended out and it
was really to create a basically this was a two-bedroom and we wanted to make this into a
two-bedroom with an office and also extend out the kitchen area so that was what was extended there
and on the second floor she didn't extend up she just extended back she created a separate bedroom
for herself and converted one of the smaller bedrooms into an office next
so we met with the community next
next how do you have pictures of what she did in the room um alex do you have pictures of that
one bedroom and the kitchen oh the kitchen was you'll see the kitchen this is the new kitchen
right so that's basically that floor area did not exist or to a significant degree and then
do we have the second bedroom is this it all right so those are those are pictures examples
of what was extended out and then our application for appeal deed to the property and then tax
clearance certificate she's lived there since 2007 so she's been there almost a generation
so she just wanted more room for herself did not understand how long ago she do this um
i don't know how did we get here well we got all night yeah l and i came a violation
so and we're trying to clear that up on multiple levels okay all right do you want to yeah miss
Yes, Fernandez, can you raise your hand so they can see you and then swear you in?
And she's represented by Onion Flats Architecture, so she has a really good architect who's helping
us clean this up.
But he wasn't the original one.
He was not the original one.
So she hired an architect, she hired a law firm, we're dealing with this.
It's been promoted.
Could you please state your name and spell for this phonographer?
Yes, my name is Lucero Chesnudiz.
L-U-C-E-R-O-C-H-E-Z-M-U-D-I-Z.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
i do proceed yeah lucero you heard everything i had to state today about your zoning matter
Proceed, Cal.
Yeah, Lucero, you heard everything I had to state today about your-
yeah is it is it true and correct what i stated yes and do you do you adopt as your own testimony
yes thank you questions from the board yes yeah where are the pictures
yeah go ahead yeah you could uh alex wanted to reshare the screen there were their pictures um
um but okay I didn't see a picture of the outside of the property oh in the front I don't know if
in the rear right yeah do we have any pictures of the rear you showed us the bathroom and the
kitchen yeah so that's the kitchen so that would be the extended area part of the extended area
and then the other bedroom Alex is that's the extended bedroom on the second floor do we have
any pictures just of the rear of the exterior from the outside we do not because we're full
lot coverage so that would require us to go into the lot next door yeah so so question question
for you you've got this property goes from property line to property line to property line
to property line right so in the rear addition this property goes the addition goes from the
side property lines to the rear property line how are you planning it you have you got a window there
and as a look at google it looks like the window is facing the adjacent property on the property
line so if there's a window that's on the party line we know what has to happen after this hearing
and what's that that it would have to be boxed in like you can't
Then you can't have a bedroom without a window.
So, well, I mean, so we would have to take a look in.
Well, I think that bedroom also faces, well, the party wall left and right.
But I would assume she would then have to, like, install a window at the rear of the property.
And that's on the property line also.
Well, you can do that.
Can you check that?
Well, you can.
Let me see.
i guess i guess my my and we don't have to let's talk go through all that now the fact
of the matter is you've got this addition that goes from three property lines back rear and sides
and you're attempting to have a and you have a bedroom there that has a window somewhere
and actually this is the only property on the whole block that does it on the second
level everybody else has a hatchback where there's nothing above the first level of extension
yeah um i would have to take a look at that i'm sure they're if there has to be modifications
made she will figure out those modifications yeah i mean she may have to set back the property back
and i don't know from the property line the rear property line in order to get a
a legitimate window yeah if we have to deal with that through administrative review
alley behind this property i'm sorry i didn't hear you is there an alley behind this property
um alex do you want to go on uh atlas and let's see i don't i'll be on the deed
well we can also see on atlas right there is and and i believe the project architect has his hand
raised well let me bring the architect on there is an alley
so you could have like the window in the rear
well i don't think you can do that by code either
because you're that's the property right um yeah uh this is dan addis here uh architect
hold on hold on one minute counselor do you want the architect yeah of course well he's
say your name and bell quick sonographer uh sorry did yesterday state my name and spelling
please uh dan addis d-a-n-a-d-d-i-s um so um i guess i'll start by saying to tell the truth the
whole truth nothing but the truth i do so if we could pull up the floor plans again really quickly
You'll see that on both the zoning submission and this existing predates your plans.
So your plans are actually just recording an existing condition.
So not exactly.
My zoning plan is recording an existing condition while also proposing the fixes required to
satisfy the emergency escape opening requirement by the International Residential Code.
So if you see on that bedroom two right there and the dotted line that's on the approved
zoning drawing um that that um screen or that a slider door that's towards the rear of the bill
of the bedroom um does not currently exist so the client is well aware and what we've discussed is
um does not currently exist so the client is well aware and what we've discussed is that
any windows that currently exist that are on the property line um they will need to be they will
need to be closed up they will need the proper fire ratings we will need to pull a commercial
or a residential building permit to um to make all to correct all those fixes if we get this
variance and also go through all the city inspections to make sure that we've satisfied
any fire separation requirements and the proposed um fix for that bedroom to make sure that we still
have the required emergency uh escape access is that we pull back refill up the property line
so that we can actually have glazing and we're proposing either it could be a window but i'm
proposing putting in a screen door like a slider i guess accessible slider so that you then have
access to the public right of way which is provided by that alley in the rear so um that's
how we're handling that that's how we're proposing to handle that while you know the bedroom on the
front of the house already has its windows so it has that so you're absolutely correct that the
bedroom requires a window or some way to get out um and that's that's how we're proposing to to
handle that if this variance is granted and so and so the so the was it currently called out as
a bedroom where you have the office on the second floor um i'm calling that out as an office because
that that's not a legal bedroom right so the intent is not to have that as a bedroom and
obviously i mean if you've been in any of these real homes they have this very tiny tiny room
so that's more appropriate as an office i don't i can't speak to what's currently in there but um
yeah like the the plan is that we're looking for a variance for it's just for the for two bedroom
with one on the rear uh and one in the front where we have uh you know safety we've got the ability
to get to public right of way okay i have a question about the uh construction so when the
addition was built do you know what happened at the ground level from a foundation standpoint
for the two stories that went up because i'm assuming the existing basement did not go back
that far i believe that it's been i can't speak to it i can't speak to it but my understanding is
the basement doesn't go all the way back and i would just suggest that like this is all stuff
that would need to be verified at the building permit and inspection phase like like in the end
of the day if the variance is granted we need to provide accurate drawings documenting the existing
conditions and any required fixes to bring the building up to code we are aware of that i think
we're just more so trying to understand process right and like you as a as a expert when you
looked at the construction because at this point a lot of um everything that has been touched touched
a major line electricity was moved um the gas line was was touched they had to underpin the
buildings next door they've had to build something that now has structure like a lot of construction
happened in the in the realm of construction that's now happened without oversight review permits
or plans so i think we're you know yes understanding that that happens the building
permit phase but um we also don't have to say yes so i think we're sitting here and we're just
trying to understand what's the next steps to bring this to correct this and i don't think
that just saying that we're adding this sliding door to the second floor bedroom is sufficient
Well, Dan confirmed what I'm stating is correct.
We have to do all the inspections one would expect of a newly constructed property.
Sort of, because you cannot inspect inside a wall when the drywall is already up.
Sometimes they tell you, like, hey, we've got to cut some holes into seeds.
Sometimes.
I would expect that would be the case with the inspections,
is that we're going to have to open up some walls to do some confirmation
in order to pass certain inspections etc etc yeah what now i said you have to confirm some
foundation depths etc yeah yeah so i i would leave it to dan to explain how we would do that
in terms of foundational dan you know well yeah i guess i so so obviously there's so one we you
know as as the design professional brought on here like we also kind of on the hook for making sure
that when we get to the building permit phase that we're actually documenting safe conditions so
But whether whether it's something that somebody could try to get away with or not, like we're going to have to go in there and we're going to have to evaluate what the we're going to evaluate what the existing wall assemblies are and make sure that we've got our one hour ratings.
And we're going to have to do to that point in the basement, like if, you know, like the back portion of that basement has some crawl space that's not accessible without doing some sort of some sort of exploratory demolition.
So I believe that that would be the next that would be the next step before we could put together documents, because we really the job is to get in there and actually document what is existing so that we can establish whether or not whether or not it was done to code and then provide corrective measures if needed.
Does that answer the question? I'm happy to try to rephrase it if there's more that you're looking for.
no that's that's sufficient okay um questions from mortuary can i can i just make a comment my comment
Questions from auditory. Can I can I just make a comment? My comment would just be see this is this is why you asked for permission rather than forgiveness.
Um, because you've now created all these conditions that make it so that.
When you get to the building stage, you're going to have to do a lot of revisions to make sure that you have habitable rooms, which is.
what the code requires and you would have known that had you had the client um gotten or asked for
permits ahead of time yeah I don't think it was intentional um it never is okay well that's the
that's the that's the age-old story here I didn't know uh it wasn't intentional I I I thought it
It would be okay. The contractor told me it was already whatever the story is. The bottom line is that what was done here is something that would have been flagged. Um, if permits were asked for, and this is not the 1st time that this has had a building courts violation.
In the 10 years that she's senior, she's on the property. Okay.
Um, Hillary, no questions at this time, Mr. Chair.
virtual audience any comments
there are no hands planning commission amy boy with the planning commission the comprehensive
plan recommends a change in zoning at this location from r1 residential multi-family to rsi
5 residential single family there is no evidence that the proposed addition was constructed with
the benefit of permits and the proposal will injure the use of adjoining properties access
slight and air the planning commission recommends that the board deny their requested variance for
occupied area rear yard depth and rear yard area just to respond the next door neighbors are not
in opposition to this project and they're the ones who are most directly impacted right right um