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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2004-12-21 Correspondence - Block Wall Construction - Calvary Chapel Open Door°~" ° ..~ x Engineering Department December 21, 2004 Ref: Block Wall Construction - Fullerton Main Plant Mr. Roger Stahlhut Calvary Chapel Open Door 621 South Clementine Street Anaheim, CA 92801 Dear Mr. Stahlhut: This is in response to Mr. Folsom's letter (copy attached) to the City of Fullerton dated December 9, 2004, wherein he conveyed Calvary Chapel's desire to complete the construction of a masonry block wall on the subject property. This wall was clearly shown on the City of Fullerton approved plan to be constructed on the northerly property line in the area of the Chapel's new parking lot. Unfortunately, the footing was dug and concrete placed approximately two feet south of the property line. It is clear that the wall as proposed to be completed is not in accordance with the City of Fullerton's approved plan and the agreement exhibits. The letter this office received failed to completely explain the reasons for this error. The letter merely indicated how the aesthetics of the wall and the site could still be provided for in-lieu of relocating the wall, and clearly detailed the City of Anaheim's requirements for the wall. What was omitted was the fact that even though the contractor was advised by this City's representative that the footing was not per plan, the concrete was placed in the excavated area. The explanation that with the City of Anaheim approval it was believed that all obligations were met indicates a lapse of judgment on Mr. Folsom's part in regard to site ownership and use thereof. Nothing in the City of Fullerton's agreement with the Chapel provided for the work currently being proposed. Having said that, the City will allow for the completion of the wall in its current location based on the following conditions: The City of Fullerton reserves the right to have the wall removed, including all footings, steel reinforcing, and masonry blocks upon the termination of the existing lease between Calvary Chapel and the City of Fullerton. At such time, the void created by this removal shall be restored to the surrounding grade with clean friable soil compacted to match the adjoining soil. In addition, a new wall shall be constructed at the property line in conformance with the requirements of the City of Anaheim solely at the expense of the Calvary Chapel or its assigns. Fullerton: 100 Years of Community Pride 303 West Commonwealth Avenue, Fullerton, California 92832-1775 (714) 738-6845 Fax (714) 738-3115 Web Site: www.ci.fullerton.ca.us Mr. Roger Stahlhut December 21, 2004 -Page 2 Our concession to allow you to proceed with building the wall two feet south of the property line does not alter the terms of the original lease agreement, which specify the boundaries of the property for which you are responsible. As such, you will be responsible for maintaining the property between the wall and the property line, for promptly abating any hazardous conditions that arise in this section of the property, and for defending and indemnifying the City from any and all losses, claims, or suits that arise from or are related to this section of property. Calvary Chapel is aware of all of the noted conditions and accepts all responsibilities associated therewith and acknowledges same by affixing its signature below. This amendment to the current agreement will become a part thereof and is considered equal to all other conditions therein as if included in the original agreement. Sincerely, ~~~ Donald Hoppe Director of Engineering APPROVED: r. Roger Stalh t, President Calvary Chapel Open Door c: Gretchen Beatty, Risk Manager Miles Folsom, Architect David Schickling City Clerk, File S:\Engineering\WATER_GENERAL\Calvary Chapel Main Plant Agreement -December 16, 2004.doc Architecture o som Miles Carey Folsom -Architect 1440-4C S. State College Blvd. Anaheim, Ca. 92806 Office: (714) 778 - 5882 Fax: (714) 778 - 8414 December 9, 2004 Donald Hoppe -Director of Engineering Engineering Department City of Fullerton 303 W. Commonwealth Ave Fullerton, CA. 92832 - 1775 PROJECT: Anew parking lot For: Calvary Chapel Open Door - 101 1 North harbor Blvd SUBJECT: Issues pertaining to the construction of the block fence along the north property line. Dear Sir, This letter has been prepared to address issues raised by the_City of Fullerton Engineering department pertaining to the construction of a block fence along the north property line of the property leased to Calvary Chapel Open Door by the City of Fullerton for it's use as a parking lot. HISTORY: The construction of this parking lot has involved conditions and regulation from both the City of Fullerton and the City of Anaheim. When the request was submitted to the City of Anaheim to construct this parking lot they indicated that such work must be subject to a conditional use permit. As a part of the conditions of approval the City of Anaheim required that a 6'-0" high block fence be constructed along the north side of the subject property where no such existing 6'-0" high block fence was present. They also required that _a solid vine like landscaping be planted adjacent to the wall so that it will cover the wall completely. Additionally they required closely spaced tees be planted in the landscape adjacent to the wall to achieve a screen between the residential properties and the parking lot. DESIGN: We reviewed the design of the wall with planning staff. Staff concluded that a wall of a similar design that is already in place on the adjacent church property would be acceptable. That wall is of standard concrete "cinder block" construction. Furthermore the design would be constructed to meet or exceed Anaheim city standards. Upon field inspection of the site it was concluded that only a portion of this wall would be required to be constructed along the north property line since there is an existing fence on one of the neighboring properties that currently meets the requirements. The plans permitted indicated that this type of wall would be constructed and the landscape requirements would be met. LAYOUT: During debris and vegetation removal from the existing chain link fence, the actual condition of this area was revealed. Many of the property owners had constructed fences of various types and heights. LETTER TO THE CITY OF FULLERTON ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT -ISSUES PERTAINING TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PROPOSED BLOCK FENCE ALONG THE NORTH PROPERTY LINE OF THE LEASED PROPERTY. ~ Additionally it was discovered that debris, vegetation, and trash was stacked against these fences (including the existing chain link fence in some areas). It became evident that the removal of any of these fences would impact significantly the adjacent properties requiring significant construction work on the adjacent properties. Prior to obtaining a permit from the City of Anaheim (in whose jurisdiction it is to regulate the construction of this wall) we brought this issue to the attention of the planning department. The planning department agreed that it would indeed be prohibitive to construct the fence on the property line and agreed that the wall could be off set from the property line so as not to impact the existing fences. The wall was permitted based upon this decision. The planning stamp on the permitted. plans serve as documentation of this decision. The wall was laid-out as close as possible to the existing fence. The City of Anaheim performed an inspection of our foundation excavations and approved them. The foundation has been poured. ISSUES: The City of Fullerton has requested clarification the work associated with this wall which has been, for the most part, previously addressed herein. The following is a summary to address the remaining questions: Design: The proposed wall is a standard block fence constructed just about everywhere in both the City of Fullerton and Anaheim. This wall is a cinder block wall 6'-0" in height. (Condition # 4 of Resolution # PC2003-64) (see attached wall permit package for wall design) Creeping fig will be planted along the base of the wall at 36" o/c and maintained so that the entire fence (including all fences along the north property line) will be covered with this vine (Condition # 4 of Resolution # PC2003-64) Additionally, there is a 9'-0" (only 8'-0" is required by the resolution) wide landscape buffer between the north property line and the paved parking lot area that will be landscaped with groundcover, shrubs, and (24" box) Brisbane box trees spaced closely together to achieve a visual barrier between the properties. (Condition # 7 & 8 of Resolution # PC2003-64). The net result will be a visually screened wall that it for :all practical purposes . invisible to the eye. As viewed from the Leased property. 2 Position: As indicated, the wall has been positioned as close to the existing fence as possible. A line was established as close to the existing fence as possible, parallel to the property line. The back side of the new fence is .designed to be constructed along that line. CONCLUSION: The conditions outlined herein could not be stated clearer. The wall cannot be built any closer to the property line than indicated. The legal ownership of this property, including to the portion of the property between the proposed wall and the north property line, is secured by documents on record with the City of Anaheim, by the Orange County Assessors, the grant deed for the property, and are protected by centuries of real estate law. LETTER TO THE CITY OF FULLERTON ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT -ISSUES PERTAINING TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PROPpSED BLOCK FENCE ALONG THE NORTH PROPERTY LINE OF THE LEASED PROPERTY. 2 There are existing fences already in place (both block and wood) that straddle the property line and are within a utility easement on north side of the north property line (on the adjacent properties). As such since these fences that have been construed on both the their property and Fullerton's property, they cannot be legally removed unless permission is obtained by both the utility company and the City of Fullerton. This further protects the unauthorized use of the 10" +- of land between the north property line and the proposed fence. It is a common practice to offset fences from property lines. There are no laws requiring that fences be constructed directly on property lines. The fact that there are so many variations in fence positions along the north property line it would be illogical to infer that any segment would represent the property. We hope that this letter addresses all of the issues and concerns you have with the construction of this fence. We also hope that the attached exhibits will help you better understand the design. Please let us know when we can continue work on this project. Best Regards, For Calvary Chapel Open Door, Miles Folsom -Architect (714) 778 - 5882 LETTER TO THE CITY OF FULLERTON ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT -ISSUES PERTAINING TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PROPOSED BLOCK FENCE ALONG THE NORTH PROPERTY LINE OF THE LEASED PROPERTY. 3 Letter to City 4# Fullerton December 9, 2004 ~~/ l fLrL ~ ,s /~ it t Adjacent residential property New proposed trees -- {spaced close together) l~raperty line Existing fence ~---~------ {position Existing Chain link {position v New proposf fi'-0" high block fences debris reioca~ zone New shrubs New Ground Parking lo# {paved area li ~. •. New trees `~' ~' _ r;~ ;~ Black fence SECTION Not sti scale k ~~ y,,,~ etc ;~ `-r ~~ ,i ~r ~' < {Covered with - ~: -~.~- . _.~ -~.~ ~- .~-''"- '- : .^.~ ~~ creeping fig} ~_- ;~~;-,, ,, f~ -~,,.,,~' t Q v J Shrubs ~ ~ ~ x~ r ~ ~ ~ ~` ~,~ 3 ~, ,J Ground Cover ,~=." ~: ;. EL~i/ATION {ENI~ OF EXi~1B1T "A") Not so scats varies} ~ , ~ _ - -~~ _ ~~ ~, #ence , T r-.-