The size and location of one newly constructed shed in the Skytt Mesa neighborhood in Solvang subjected 21 other property owners to code enforcement review and violations, upsetting those with years-old sheds.
A dispute between neighbors over the shed in question led to several complaints about other sheds in the Skytt Mesa area violating setback rules, according to a staff report.
During public comment of the July 12 City Council meeting, resident Kristin Kellner said she was the property owner who had an issue with her neighbor’s newly constructed shed.
Kellner said her next door neighbor built a 120-square-foot shed that’s 14 feet by 8 feet. Her primary issue with the structure is that it butts up against the fence that separates her property from her neighbor.
“It’s right outside my master bedroom, so it makes me feel uncomfortable, because that room is a private space in my home,” she said.
Kellner and her neighbor had been in touch twice to discuss her concerns but weren’t coming to a consensus on the issue, so they decided to reach out to the city individually to work together on a solution.
After getting in touch with city code enforcement, Kellner said her neighbor provided the city with 20 addresses of other residents that the individual claimed had sheds that violated city code. The city’s code enforcement program is currently complaint-based.
“I’m feeling really concerned about this complaint-based code enforcement, because I think the city should really consider the validity of the complaint and the precedent you set on how you respond to someone that reports on other homeowners in expense of their own violation,” she said. “It really really pains me to know that the fact that I wanted code enforcement to inspect this one property now impacts other neighbors.”
Kellner said she didn’t agree with the fact that her neighbors are all being “grouped together now” on an issue that began with one person.
Laura Temore with the city’s Planning and Building Department, said the shed in question violated city code because of its size—a shed is compliant if it’s 12 feet and under. She also said that California state code states a structure must have a minimum of 5 feet of space between it and another building, which it currently does not.
The department is currently working with the property owner and has a meeting scheduled for later in the week.
Each of the other residents with shed code violations were sent a notice on June 1. Eleven residents had responded to the notices, and nine will need to either move their sheds to the rear of their yards or remove the structure completely.
According to a staff report, a majority of the homes in the Skytt Mesa residential area were built with limited storage, closet, or cabinet space. And the original design doesn’t have a lot of space for a shed either.
A majority of these homes were built right up to the minimum setbacks between residences—which eliminates the ability to put a shed on either side of the houses in the development. The only space left for a shed on these properties is the rear yard.
This isn’t the first issue that Skytt Mesa residents have complained to the city about. Their complaints have included concerns over accessory structures, recreational vehicles, front yard landscape, side yard landscape, fencing changes, architectural/painting changes, and accessory dwelling units.
City Councilmember Robert Clarke said he doesn’t want the council or the city to be the referee for issues between Skytt Mesa residents, as the council represents all of Solvang.
In an effort to keep Skytt Mesa residents in compliance and mitigate future issues among neighbors, the council directed staff to present residents with information on potentially forming a homeowners association. If residents decide to form a homeowners association, it would need city approval.
