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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-05-23 BBA Supplemental MaterialBuilding Board of Appeals May 23, 2024 –Administrative Conference Room 239 Serena Drive –Bedroom Definition and Use Background January 2023 •Property owners (Kropfl) applied and were approved for a Short-Term Rental (“STR”) Permit for a 3-bedroom single-family residence at 239 Serena Drive, Monterey Country Club. January 2024 •The property owners submitted a STR Permit Renewal Application. In reviewing the renewal application, the Short-Term Rental staff observed a discrepancy in the number of bedrooms. •A check of the Title Report and the Riverside County Assessor identified a 2-bedroom single-family residence plus Den. •The originally permitted 2-bedroom plus Den residence used the Den as the 3rd bedroom. The STR renewal was denied and required to use only the original bedrooms. February 2024 •An email from the Chief Building Official was sent to the property owner clarifying what defines a bedroom and the requirements of a sleeping room. •The property owners revised the STR application which was subsequently approved. Background March 2024 •The property owners petitioned the Riverside County Assessor’s Office to change the property profile to a 3-bedroom residence. •The Director of Development Services provided a letter of determination affirming the Chief Building Official’s response to the prohibited use of the Den as a bedroom. April 2024 •A letter of appeal was filed by Mr. Shaun Murphy of Slovak-Brown-Murphy & Pinkney on behalf of the property owners on two issues: 1. Whether the Kropfl's may continue to use the third bedroom (den) for short-term rentals. 2. Whether the Kropfl's may use their code-compliant living room as an additional sleeping room to accommodate two more guests. The matter of Issue No. 2 has been resolved via a public hearing before the City Council on May 9, 2024. The Council upheld the recommendation of the Director of Development Services that a living room was not and could not be used as a bedroom. Original Plans and Permitting •239 Serena Drive is a Plan 300 which identifies an open-air atrium and a Den. •Originally built under the Uniform Building Code. •The habitable room within the interior of the residence is labeled as a Den in the original plans. •An open-air atrium serves as the natural light and ventilation for the Den but does not provide egress to an exterior public way. Original Plans and Permitting 1973 and 1976 Uniform Building Code 1 CHAPTER 14 – REQUIREMENTS FOR GROUP R – DIVISION 3 OCCUPANCIES Section 1404. Stairs and exits shall be provided as specified in Chapter 33. Every sleeping room below the fourth story shall have at least one operable window or exterior door approved for emergency egress or rescue. 2 CHAPTER 33 – STAIRS, EXITS, AND OCCUPANT LOADS - DEFINITION EXIT is a continuous and unobstructed means of egress to a public way, and shall include intervening doors, doorways, corridors, exterior exit balconies, ramps, stairways, smokeproof enclosures, horizontal exits, exit passageways, exit courts, and yards. Independent Egress and Rescue Opinion On August 29, 1979, The City’s Building and Safety Division logged a technical opinion response from the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO) on emergency egress from an atrium into the tract file. The response identifies the use of an atrium as emergency egress: “The intent of the code is that windows required by Sections 1304 and 1404 be available so that rescue could be effected from the exterior, or in the alternative, one may escape from that window to the exterior of the building without having to travel through the building itself. If these emergency windows open onto an interior court or so-called atrium, they do not meet the intent of the code.” A Letter from Sunrise Company – The tract developer. On September 25, 1981, A letter from the Sunrise Company was provided acknowledging a plan review concern that the Den could be used as a bedroom. It says: “The Den is not intended to be used for sleeping purposes. Similar rooms in our Monterey Country Club complex are furnished and shown as dens.” “We are familiar with the provisions of Section 17922 of the California Health and Safety Code at: UBC Section 1204. We have absolutely no intent to violate these sections.” Code Application •Originally permitted on June 28, 1978. •The building permit classifies this residence as a Group R3/M1 Occupancy under the Uniform Building Code. •Today’s equivalent of a Group R3 Occupancy is under the California Residential Code. •The 1973 and 1976 Uniform Building Code and 2022 California Residential and Building Code all identify the same language for emergency escape and recuse. •Since its adoption in 2008 by the California Building and Standards Commission, Building and Safety has utilized the California Residential Code as the basis for plan review for R3 occupancies. 2022 California Residential Code – Code Application The 2022 California Residential Code states the following regarding the use of bedrooms 1 The California Residential Code does not define a “bedroom.” Instead, the code specifically identifies a habitable space: HABITABLE SPACE. A space in a building for living, sleeping, eating, or cooking. Bathrooms, toilet rooms, closets, halls, storage or utility spaces, and similar areas are not considered habitable spaces. (CRC Section R202 Definitions) 2 Basements, habitable attics and every sleeping room shall have not less than one operable emergency escape and rescue opening. Where basements contain one or more sleeping rooms, an emergency escape and rescue opening shall be required in each sleeping room. Emergency escape and rescue openings shall open directly into a public way (CRC Section R301.1) 3 PUBLIC WAY. Any street, alley, or other parcel of land open to the outside air leading to a public street, that has been deeded, dedicated, or otherwise permanently appropriated to the public for public use and that has a clear width and height of not less than 10 feet (3048 mm). (CRC Section R202 Definitions). 2022 California Residential Code 239 Serena Drive – Monterey Country Club 239 Serena Drove – Monterey Country Club •The Red Marker identifies the atrium at 239 Serena Drive. •The adjacent residence is identified as 237 Serena Drive. •The directional arrows indicate that no immediate exterior windows to the public way are available to use the Den as a sleeping room. Summary 1.The 2022 California Residential Code, Section R310.1 (Emergency Escape and Rescue), was applied correctly. 2.The room approved as a den in the original floor plan (circa 1979) cannot be counted as a bedroom as it neither meets the current code requirements established by this section nor the original 1973 Uniform Building Code - Sections 1404 and Chapter 33 (1976 UBC is used as closest reference). 3.The recommendation is the single-family residence at 239 Serena Drive cannot use the room labeled as a Den for sleeping purposes as it lacks the required code-compliant emergency egress for escape and rescue. The residence shall continue to be a 2-bedroom residence with a Den as demonstrated by the original building permit.