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upheld by the Council at that time. Planner Bonte described the project and used overheads to show a site plan of the proposed parking area. He pointed out the main difference between this plan and the one rejected in October, 1995 - the box culvert, which would be built to withstand a "100 year flood." Associate Planner Bonte said the Kingdom Hall was able to reapply since one year had elapsed. He said the application was approved subject to the following conditions: That the applicant upgrade the existing 30-year flood channel to a 100-year box culvert, the design to be approved by the Engineering Division, and that it not change the existing grade; the parking lot would have to be landscaped in accordance with the Redwood City Zoning Ordinance, including a ten foot wide buffer area along the rear portion, and buffer areas along the side, and landscaping subject to Architectural Review; and the existing heritage trees on the site would have to meet tree preservation guidelines; and finally the applicant would be required to install a seven foot high fence around the rear and side property to screen the parking area from the adjacent residences. Associate Planner Bonte said the approval was based on the following findings: "the existing Church was built around 1950 without a formal parking area; there is little room for members to park their cars on the site, the small area in the rear can handle maybe five to eight cars, and most of the parking takes place on the adjacent residential streets in the area. Most churches located in residential areas in Redwood City have been allowed to use portions of their property for parking, and the front yard on Iris Street would be landscaped to reduce the visual impact of parked cars in the rear yard. Additionally the applicant would design fencing and landscaping to separate the parking lot from the adjacent residential properties. Shade trees would be planted throughout the parking area in accordance with the Redwood City Zoning Ordinance. Finally, the existing church facility is not going to be expanded and therefore the parking requirements will not increase." Associate Planner Bonte described the objections of the neighbors and the issues outlined in the formal appeal: The proposed parking lot would detract from the residential character of the area due to noise and traffic and could adversely impact neighboring residences. He said the seven foot fence, buffer areas, and heritage and additional shade trees would mitigate those impacts. Another issue of the appeal referred to lighting, and that would be mitigated by three-foot high lights that would prevent spill light encroaching into adjacent residences. He said the concern that additional parking would increase traffic was mitigated by the fact the church was not asking for an increase in the size of the church building and the allowed occupancy will remain the same. He said such a request would probably be denied unless additional off street parking could be provided. Associate Planner Bonte said the church was used everyday until 10:00 p.m. at night, and the Council might choose to limit the number of church activities or the hours of operation. He said the parking lot would remove up to twenty cars from the street REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTE BOOK NO. 55 JUNE 2,1997 MINUTES Page No. 368 PAGE 12