Residential Areas Near McKinley Park Face Potential Changes to Building Codes

1. Move the west boundary of the Alhambra Corridor SPD easterly to 29th Street. That still keeps it across the freeway, but would allow the base zones to control from 26th to 29th, where now they are controlled by the SPD, which is more limiting. Land that would be outside the SPD after this action would be rezoned to a number of different zones.
2. Exempt the land between 30th and Alhambra Boulevard, from I Street to N Street, from the SPD Residential Preservation Transition Buffer Zone, which currently controls height. With the amendment, buildings proposed in this area could be 65 feet high, with the following restrictions:
   1. Within 39 feet of a residential zone, 45 feet max.
   2. Within 40-79 feet of a residential zone, 55 feet
   3. More than 80 feet from a residential zone, 65 feet max.
3. Since the distance limitation is to a zone, not an actual house, the only area that will have restricted height is between I and J, 30th and Alhambra, because land immediately to the east is zoned R1. It is also unclear where the measurement is made. If it is the street centerline, as is the current requirement, then given the width of Alhambra, which is about 66 feet, any building could likely be built at 45 feet in that area. However, I would imagine that the city would interpret that if a parcel has a portion of its land area within 79 feet, and a portion greater than 80 feet, they can extend to 55 feet in that portion that is less than 79 feet, and 65 feet on that portion which is more than 80 feet away from the zone. Further, all the land south of J and adjacent to Alhambra is zoned commercial, so everything from J to N can be 65 feet high.
4. For areas north of I Street, between 30th and Alhambra, the existing 300 foot distance limitation from a residential zone would remain, which restricts buildings to 35 feet in height.

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