HUNTINGTON BEACH : 3rd-Story Additions to Be Hearing Topic

In response to a string of disputes over third-story additions to Huntington Harbour homes, the City Council has directed the Planning Commission to hold a public hearing on the issue.

As homeowners in the area have proposed new additions, many of their neighbors have protested, arguing that the expansions would block views. Typically, each case has been resolved by council members after heated public hearings.

Now the Planning Commission will consider adopting recommendations of a city advisory committee that was established last year to propose changes in the rules regulating multistory homes.

Existing city zoning codes allow third-story additions, subject to approval by the Planning Commission and City Council, but they set no limits on how large the third floors may be or how they may be used.

The Harbor Code Committee has recommended that third stories be permitted with the zoning administrator’s approval, as long as proposals meet specific limitations.

The committee recommends that building height be strictly limited to 35 feet and that third stories be no larger than 12 1/2% of the size of the home’s first-story floor area.

City staff members asked council members last week to adopt the group’s recommendations as a provisional code until an ongoing overhaul of the full city zoning code is complete.

Council members, however, balked at formally backing the recommendations, instead sending the issue to the Planning Commission.

“Let’s bring this to the public and get input on it . . . to see if it would be beneficial for the city,” Councilwoman Grace Winchell told her colleagues. “Let it fly or don’t fly.”

Councilman Don MacAllister said he has reservations about the proposed code changes.

“This is not just a Huntington Harbour problem, it’s a problem of the whole city,” he said. “My real concern is that we’re going to rewrite something that will change the whole city, and we have not so notified everyone in the city who would be affected.”

The Planning Commission hearing on proposed third-story restrictions is expected to be scheduled in mid-October, a planning official said.