Tobias v. City of Santa Cruz
Filed 3/29/06 Tobias v. City of Santa Cruz CA6
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
| CAROLYN TOBIAS, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. THE CITY OF SANTA CRUZ et al., Defendants and Respondents. | H028634 (Santa Cruz County Super. Ct. No. CV148043) |
In this appeal, plaintiff and appellant Carolyn Tobias (Tobias) challenges the trial court's decision denying her petition for writ of administrative mandamus. Tobias asserts the trial court erred in refusing to reverse the decision of the City of Santa Cruz issuing a design permit for the construction of a new home adjacent to hers.
Statement of the Facts and Case
Tobias and real parties in interest Doug Stevens, May Stevens and Augusta Griffen (hereinafter Stevens), own adjacent homes in the Seabright neighborhood in the City of Santa Cruz (the City). Stevens's home is located on a lot on the corner of Mott and Doane Street. Tobias owns a home adjacent to it on Mott Street.
The Stevens's existing one-story home is 996 square feet, is old and in poor condition. The project site is a 2700 square foot substandard lot measuring 30 by 90 feet. Seeking to demolish the existing house and build a new, larger one, Stevens submitted a land use application with the City for a demolition authorization, design permit, coastal permit and variance for the exterior side yard setback requirements along Doane Street. The proposed design includes a footprint for the house of 1215 square feet, which includes a one-car garage required by the City, and a second-story that is 607 square feet. The total square footage for the proposed home is 1,822. The proposed plan calls for an exterior side yard setback of four feet for the first floor and six feet for the second floor, instead of the normal eight foot exterior side yard setback requirement, necessitating a variance. The exterior setback is located on the Doane Street side of the lot, which is opposite to Tobias's property on Mott. No variance in the setback distance was requested for the interior yard adjacent to Tobias's property.
The Seabright neighborhood where the Stevens and Tobias properties are located was developed in the 1800's as an enclave of second homes, and presently consists of a variety of architectural styles, including one and two-story residences. The neighborhood is historic, consisting of both old and new homes, and is the subject of the Seabright Area Plan, adopted in 1981 and incorporated into the General Plan of the City. The Seabright Area Plan was adopted to address the growing need of some residents to expand their existing small homes, originally deigned as second homes, to be more livable sizes as permanent residences, while at the same time preserving the â€
