City sets parameters for cargo container usage

Local News
City sets parameters for cargo container usage

By Ashley Ratcliff Peninsula News
Thursday, August 16, 2007 12:24 PM PDT

RPV — Portuguese Bend Landslide area residents long have struggled to keep their homes on stable ground, and for some, cargo containers are the only way they know how.

At its last meeting on Aug. 7, the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council adopted an amended ordinance that outlines the permitted usage of cargo containers like these pictured above in Wilmington. Due to shaky ground in the city’s Portuguese Bend Landslide area, property owners seek to use the containers as an alternative foundation.

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A decision by the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council last week formalized restrictions on these alternative foundations, which aren’t always met with approval.

“We’ve kicked this one around for a year or two, and I think we’re ready to adopt the ordinance as drafted,” said Councilman Douglas Stern.

Council voted 4-0 (Councilman Larry Clark was absent) to introduce an ordinance that places limitations on how residents may use cargo containers on their properties.

Mayor Tom Long previously told the News that in most cases, there is a valid reason to allow homeowners to use the containers. “My point of view is, I agree that given the unique circumstances of the Portuguese Bend neighborhood, the constrained type of use we’re proposing for the cargo containers is appropriate,” he said.

The City Council at its March 6 meeting directed staff to amend the code language to prohibit the use of cargo containers for general storage on steep slopes (a 35-percent incline or greater) and in commercial and all residential zones.

According to the amended ordinance, cargo containers can, however, be “stored, maintained or otherwise kept on any property within the city” in the following circumstances:

Temporary construction or emergency storage;

City-owned property and city uses;

Residential zones; and

The Portuguese Bend and Abalone Cove landslide zones of the most active portion of the landslide moratorium area, as reflected by certain streets (Cherry Hill, Kumquat and Limetree lanes, Peppertree Drive, and Pomegranate, Roseapple and Tangerine roads).

“[The amended code] provides necessary language to exempt the long-term placement of cargo containers — that being a year or more — from the requirement for building permits by excluding them from the definition of a structure,” said Associate Planner Kit Fox.

Staff met with Portuguese Bend Community Association representatives in June to reach a consensus about the use of cargo containers. Fox said residents have no objections to the ordinance.

“The revised code language is reflective of those discussions, and staff believes and understands that the Community Association supports the approach that’s reflected in the staff … Their [only] suggestion was to limit the use of cargo containers to only developed lots,” Fox said.

Madeleine McJones, whose RPV home sits atop cargo containers, recalled how the city at one point considered banning the containers altogether. She said she’s relieved that officials finalized the code to permit the uncommon foundation in extreme cases like hers.

“It’s a great simple, clean solution. It can’t cause any trouble. I mean the worst thing is to do nothing and watch your house fall down,” said McJones, a Community Association member. “That’s not really fair … They finally found a middle ground, after so much negotiation, that still supports our uniqueness yet keeps the rest of the community looking [like it’s] not covered in shipping containers.

“I understand that [the city needs] to control them, but we need to use them. We’re a little stranger due to our predicament,” she added.

As it stands, residents may use the containers as a specialized foundation for a home if the property owners obtain permission from the city. So far, the McJones residence on Tangerine Road is the only house the city received permits from to use cargo containers as an alternate foundation system since the 1980s. City Attorney Carol Lynch said a number of residents have failed to request permission.

The ordinance also outlines the development standards that apply to cargo containers, including restrictions on using the structures for human and animal habitation; refuse or debris storage; installing plumbing, heating or air-conditioning systems; and stacking the containers — unless incorporated into a home’s design that meets zoning and building code regulations.

Cargo containers, under the new rules, will be modified as determined by Director of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement Joel Rojas to “mimic the appearance of a residential accessory structure, including but not limited to siding and false roof elements.”

To prevent the containers from becoming an “eyesore,” the boxes must be painted an earth-tone color approved by Rojas and may not display any names, logos or markings on the exterior. The ordinance also prevents containers from blocking exits, windows, vent shafts, parking spaces, driveways or any area designated for emergency use.

The number and location of cargo containers on construction sites are approved at Rojas’ discretion as well. The code states that the containers must be placed in a “location that will minimize disturbance to the surrounding property owners.”