Okay, great. Good evening and welcome to the capitol planning Commission meeting We are meeting via zoom because of the the cobit and there are several ways that the public can watch and participate On the screen now you should be able to see the several ways that you can join in the meeting by phone by the webinar and We welcome your participation If you are a zoom attendee raise your hand as a participant and then just wait to be recognized so with that we will call the Regular meeting of the capitol planning Commission to order. We have the role, please Edna. Oh, I'm sorry tonight on The meetings can be viewed live on the city's website and also on charter channel 71 and compas 25 and AT&T Uverse channel 90 and our technician tonight is noel copy Okay, roll call, please Edna. Yeah Here Thank you, Edna and now we'll start the meeting with the pledge of allegiance, please a pledge of allegiance We're getting better Okay, that brings us to item two on the agenda tonight, which is oral communications Katie or Matt. Are there any additions or deletions to the agenda? There are no additions or deletions to the agenda this evening Okay, thank you. Do we have any people standing by to make public comments? We do have a public comment for 307 McCormick, which was emailed in which I can read to the record Into the record when that item comes up Okay Looks like there is one hand raised right now These are for items that are not on the agenda I Believe this is the person who has the comment for 307 McCormick, but okay Well, we'll wait till we get to that particular item that if that they can hear us We'll be there in probably just a few minutes So we'll move on Any Commission comments tonight? This is commission will I have a comment? Okay So I don't want to open open debate on this topic But for the record, I would like to voice my disapproval of adding the color board in the applications for these proceedings That's my only comment Okay As noted, I'm sure it will be in the minutes any staff comments I'll have a directors report at the end of the meeting no staff comments at this time Okay Our next item in is the approval of the minutes from the regular meeting of March 4th 2021 I understand there is a correction to the minutes Commissioner Newman, did you have a correction? Yeah, I didn't catch it, but apparently the minutes reflect my approval of the color board Initiative which I do not approve of so that should be changed So for Edna that is the item for a In the last paragraph It's changing the name Ed Newman to make route. Thank you. Okay. Any other additions or corrections to the minutes? Hearing none is there a motion to approve Don't move Commissioner Wilk there a second. I'll second to a sure question Motion is second to approve the minutes as as modified May have the roll call please Edna And the motion carries the minutes are approved and that brings us to item for the consent calendar We have two items on the consent calendar tonight 1447th Avenue for a second story edition and 4850 towpads for a remodel of an existing three-story family residence Is there any one of these items any member of the Commission would like to pull for discussion This is a Commissioner Wilk. I'd like to pull Item B 4850 towpads Street just to get a question answered Okay Let's take item a first 1447th Avenue. Is there a motion to approve? No proof so much so moved Have a second you will Procedurally, I think we need to make sure no member of the public would like to pull an item off Prior to making a motion Okay, well, we do have the motion on the floor. So is there any member of the public who wishes to address? 47th Avenue or towpads Street in the zoom meeting None of the attendees are raising their hands and it looks like there's no public comment within our The public comment email, okay, so we're okay to proceed Yeah, we'll continue is there a second thing to the motion to approve 1447th Avenue When the motion is there a second all second reporting for our commissioner Christian They have a motion in the second all in favor. Oh, we need the roll call, please Ed. I'm sorry I am staying due to proximity 1447th Avenue is approved and let's go to 4850 towpads. Mr. Wilkes you had a question I did when I looked at the conditions of approval. That was a requirement for an eight foot fence the last two feet being lattice and I wanted to get an understanding of was that in fact buying any privacy and Sean Believe was maybe going to take a look at that and give me a response. Hey, did you get your response? No, I'm hoping I will get it right now Sean, yes, I'm here. Good evening commissioners to that question It I want to first state that it wasn't included as a condition of approval to have a Changed fence it was included as details in their color material board that they were proposing to modify their existing fence or replace it with a taller fence that included lattice so that it would be up to eight feet But it was not included in their conditions of approval And it was by the recommendation of staff as a mitigation measure. I don't have a visual for you on the rear yard, but It looks like they have an approximately six to seven foot fence there already. So that would be going up one to two feet From the existing fence height. Okay. Well, that's an allowable fence under our under our rules Right. So my concern was that that was a recommendation that came up during our concise and they They agreed to do it but my concern is that We did they feel perhaps undue pressure in order to try to get their whole building approved and willing to Accept things that are unnecessary. So I when I had I called Matt and I said, well, I was concerned about that if you know if the idea is to Add some privacy by all means But it's already a second story. I wasn't sure how adding another two feet Would add any privacy and was it a just a frivolous condition or a frivolous request by Arkansas? And I thought I was going to get a better answer then it's yeah, I know what does you know, so I Guess my concern would be I'd want to know if if They in fact would prefer to leave the fence alone or just have a six foot fence So perhaps if no one objects to that not being a condition If staff if everybody's okay with staff just contacting them saying that that is not a requirement and that And that the planning Commission does not require it as part of the application Then it's up to them whether or not they want to be a good neighbor or not Does that make any sense? Yeah, I understand what you're saying Makes sense to me. It's a be strictly voluntary on their part. Okay Would that be okay if that makes that communication to the applicants that We we can we do approve the application and that we review the sense requirement and determined It was not it was not something we particularly insisted on So I believe we actually do have someone with their hand raised. I'm not sure if it's the owner So that is one of the owners After discussion and questions we can open the public hearing and Okay, any other Questions for staff regarding this project on Topaz Street If not, then we'll open it up to the applicant if the applicants present you can Enter into the conversation now Mr. Sokolov I'm gonna go ahead and give him the ability to talk here. So All he has to do is unmute himself now Great, good evening everybody. Can you hear me? Okay? This is rock. So first Want to thank Commissioner Wilkes for his comment and consideration that meant a lot But the idea to go to a higher fence Is two-fold one is we do want to make sure we're sensitive to neighbors And we wanted higher fence The second Reason is because I'm six seven. I don't want them seeing me either. So It really is something that we choose to do not not feel like we have to Thank you then then then I move approval of this application Thank you, Mr. Sokolov. Do we have a second? Second There we have a motion and a second to approve the application at 4850 Topaz Street And then we have the roll call please Emotion carries. Good luck. Mr. Sokolov with your project That brings us to item five public hearings. We have one tonight at 307 McCormick Avenue This is a design permit for a first and second story addition and a variance request for the parking space dimensions and side yard setbacks Matt you're doing the presentation actually Sean Sean Good evening commissioners So the application before you is through a seven McCormick Avenue. It's a proposal to add 703 square feet in addition To the first story and a new second story to an existing 1148 square foot one story single-family residence The existing residence is as I mentioned a one-story single-family home. It's not conforming Due to proximity to the side setback it's located in Above Deepo Hill and it's in between Deepo Hill and Noble Gulch Park Start by one and two-story single-family homes Site plan orange indicates the enclosed first and second-story additions including the garage to the front The second-story deck is shown in green behind these are the existing and proposed Single-story floor plan This is the new second story with the deck. These are the existing and proposed front elevations Here's the rear. These are the existing proposed north elevations on the side to the right and these are the Elevations existing proposed to the left. The applicant has requested a variance to the required covered parking space dimensions and The required side yard setback both are in regards to the garage and the parking space within So into capital and municipal code the planning commission may grant a variance When it finds that one there is a special Circumstances applicable to the property that the private privilege is enjoyed by other Properties in the vicinity and to that a grant of variance would not constitute a grant a special privilege inconsistent with the limitation on other properties in the vicinity Variance requests will be analyzed on the following slide The code requires the proposed structure to have at least one on-site garage parking space That is 10 feet wide by 20 feet deep The garage must also be at least four feet from the side four feet 11 inches from the side property line Due to the location of the existing structure the applicant can only fit a nine foot wide covered parking space With the construction of it the new garage which is required Additionally the garage comes within four feet of the property line, which is 11 inches less than what is required for these setbacks In relation to variance finding a the subject property Is an irregularly shaped lot the rear property line is angled there for one side of the property is 16 feet shorter than the other In addition the structure through some McCormick Avenue as well as several surrounding properties are misaligned the property boundaries Due to the property shape and historical orientation of development on this lot and surrounding lots the strict applications of Development standards for parking space dimensions would deprive the subject property of privileges enjoyed by other properties in the city and Under identical zone classification in relation to variance finding B Staff reviewed characteristics and lot dimensions of 11 properties along the west side of McCormick Avenue between Park Avenue and Loma Avenue eight of the observed 11 properties have garages or carports and five of those garages and carports appear to have non-conforming size yard setbacks therefore a Grant of a variance would not constitute a grant of a special privilege because the multiple properties in the vicinity have Existing garages or carports that encroach into the required side setbacks and would not otherwise meet minimum parking dimensions If they had complied with all of their development standards Structure as mentioned before is is not conforming due to the south side The south side of the the structure on the single story Staff reviewed the proposal that it does not exceed 80% of the fair market value of the structure and Staff found that the alterations Constructed 55% of the present fair market value of structures. So the alterations are permissible With the approval of a variance for the garage setbacks and covered parking dimensions the projects otherwise complies with the parking requirements we also wanted to note that the existing structure on the encroaching south side has ease that actually extend over their property line because the proposal will include a Reconstruction of the roof the applicant has proposed removing ease on that south side so that they do not cross property lines any longer Municipal code allows for maximum driveway width of 40% of lot width and Currently the entire front yard is gravel and utilized for parking across the majority of the street frontage The proposed project will bring the landscape area into compliance with the maximum driver width and and Landscaping and will replace the gravel area between the new driveway and the south property line with regular landscaping to not be used by Additional parking To this condition number six requires the applicant to submit a landscape plan for approval by the community development director prior to issuance of a building permit With that staff recommends the planning commission approve the project based on the conditions and findings for approval Okay, thank you Sean. Are there any questions for staff? Yes, I do Mr. Newman, thank you. I Didn't understand the reason for two variances One being a small side yard variance on the north side and the other being a variance for the smaller size for the parking space why if you're gonna if we're gonna Approve a side yard variance. Why don't we do it for a standard size parking space? What's the right? What's the reasoning there if the applicant or owner are present? See if they'd like to explain that Don't see them. Oh I do see the owner. I don't know if he would like to to discuss though Well, if the staff doesn't have any thoughts on that we can let him address it in the when we open the public hearing I Can I can address that to some degree about why they they proposed it this way in short? They are trying to negotiate in between the the differences in Standards they wanted to maintain some level of setback from the adjacent properties So to that effect they wanted to maintain a four-foot buffer between properties But they also wanted to make sure the space inside the garage was was functional so they Went in between both Standards and apply for the variance that you've seen Okay, any other questions for staff? I have one And I'm curious if and I didn't see this in the Arkansite discussion Was the issue of privacy on the adjacent properties Addressed because of the second-story deck and also I'm curious as to why the west side of the second-story deck Is parallel to the property line on Bay Avenue? Why isn't it squared off because if there is a privacy issue even if we were to require Six-foot walls on each side of the deck to alleviate that problem We couldn't do it because of the way the deck is angled so I'm curious as to why that is To clarify that second question. Are you asking why the the rear deck is angled? Larger on one side than the other yeah, because if there are privacy issues They can't even be resolved with adding sidewalls to the deck on the on the north and south sides of the deck That doesn't appear that Arkansite even addressed the privacy issues the the deck there was angled as you see To comply with the second or the rear setbacks for the first day of story, okay? That makes sense. I could thought that might be the case It was It did come up briefly in the the planning for the Arkansite meeting As to the privacy impacts the our local architect did when he felt that this was a design that addressed that and built it into the the the setbacks relating to the neighboring property on the On the north face. There's a window above the stairwell, and that's that's it. There are no other windows facing that property the And the deck is as you see it it is as far towards the middle as it can be but I can I can let our One of the owners speak if they want to discuss that further Okay, thank you Sean Okay, so this is a public hearing and then it's time to open it up to the public is the owner Ready to speak. Yes. I see that they have raised their hand. Okay, mr. Rafferty and so if you unmute unmute your screen You'll be able to speak Okay, here I am. Can you hear hear me? Yes? We can okay? What would you like me to comment on? Well, this is your time to Respond to any concerns the Planning Commission had or to add any additional information to support your application No, I don't have anything further Okay, and if you have questions that be happy to answer them. Okay There any questions for the owner of the property? Hey have a question commissioner Christiansen Have the question go ahead I I'm curious with the along the lines of what commissioner Newman Was addressing the I was just curious why the four foot mark it seems like if you were to Just just push it to three foot passage. I mean I can understand why you want to have a nice passage on that side For your side set back because the other side seems to have none But if you I mean even if you were to square off your garage and create a three-foot passage It would you know enable you to have a regular shaped parking space I'm just curious why why are you going for both variances? Okay, so I If I'm still you can still hear me. I think we actually wanted to square off the garage And I thought that's actually what was going to be shown here Dennis is having trouble getting into the call the architect But I think we'd prefer actually have a squared off garage and after yes the single variants of Encouragement Right I Think with a square the way it's shown it doesn't encroach or it keeps well, I didn't know that I thought the setback was for being up for feet 11 inches, so Anyway, I'd go either way There's a personal reason but that was no no we'd prefer to have it square Any other questions for the property owner Someone had a comment or somebody else there was a comment Prior to the the meeting where you had a comment from email Wasn't for you that's that's the public comment for the meeting. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Rations We'll bring it back to the To the Commission and can you read that email, please Matt? Look Katie has the Chair Ruth we actually have one more person hoping to speak this evening and you're muted Katie Well, that's not very helpful This evening we have one more member of the public who would like to speak Lisa Salvino and Sean if you can allow her to speak via zoom and miss Salvino. You'll have to unmute yourself. There you go Yep, I think I am. Can you hear me? Yeah, yes, right? Thanks My name's Lisa and my husband Jim's with me and We're the primary residents 309 McCormick, so we are on the north side next to this proposed plan and We purchased this house 22 years ago and razor we've raised our daughters here We have concerns about not only the variance but Nick as you mentioned privacy, so I was happy to hear you bring that up So the key things here If we talk about the variance We are concerned and we oppose it because the stepbacks are non-conforming Which is obviously why we're here It's not going to support the parking demands of this neighborhood. I would point out that we are We are not a permitted street. We are a highly used street for parking by employees Down in the village and also tourists Now that the outdoor dining is in place, which is wonderful that Esplanade parking is also no longer available Which has created higher demands Secondly talked about privacy. This is a big concern to us You know, I'm not an architect but in looking at the plan it appears to me that we will have a wall Except, you know nine feet away from us I To be quite honest the stairway window is not of a huge concern to me But we have a reverse floor plan. So our whole living area our kitchen our family room And our dining room are all upstairs The addition will put a wall nine feet from our dining room window our Kitchen and most importantly our deck. So when they're out on their deck They will be able to into on to our deck completely I mean I could toss the paper over to them in the morning as well as into our living room and our dining room Now I would I mean I am happy to invite a whole of you over to actually come upstairs and see what we're dealing with because you'll see it It's a very small space and we've lived here for 22 years. We haven't done any large modifications This is this is it. And so this is a huge encroachment to our privacy Then I also wanted to talk about kind of it on the issue of privacy Tom is never Thomas, you know, it owns the house for 20 years. We do know him He's never lived as a resident in that house outside of a couple months during the fires last fall He says tenants the whole time they have repeatedly over the last 20 years voice Concerns to us about his commitment to the duties he has with the landlord There have been two separate occasions that you can look up years ago Where the domestic violence was happening and police had to come this was two different sets of tenants where that's occurred The other thing That I want to point out is that we're talking about this garage and making sure they have a network for the garage There was a garage on this property. There was a car a carport the heat He walled up and created a non permitted room in back. So there was a garage there I mean the house as it sits today is size well for the lot. It's not a big lot When he walled in that garage There was no front entrance for visitors to the person who was back there We had on more than one occasion Drippers coming on down our side yard in the evening thinking they were going to see this gentleman next door You know, this was when our children really got so, you know, given the history We have no doubt that this is going to be a rental and we'll deal with the same things that we dealt with Parking, you know, I know there's going to be two spaces Three three bedroom house. I think it's just realistic for us to assume there will be three cars and I think in closing I just want to say that I really If someone know we've lived here are are for 22 years in this house We are active in the community We love this area and we're committed to the neighborhood and I would really urge you to put the needs of the owner occupied residence of the street and even the community when you're considering the proposal because I think it was sprung on us Literally we found out about this eight days ago and that's unfortunate So, thank you. That's any questions for me. I'm happy to answer Thank you. Mr. Salvino for mr. Salvino any questions for mr. Salvino. Yes, I Didn't quite understand the history of a prior parking Area that was walled in can you kind of explain to me where that is on the plans or was But you could show the plans Sean. I could probably point it pointed out There was a carport there. It was a covered carport It was of normal size. You could park of those. There were several tenants in the time We've lived here that parked their car in that carport Yeah, but I'm I'm trying to find out where it was John could you put the plan on the screen, please? So it's right where the proposed garage is there is where that's that's where the carport was It might have been a little bit it may have been actually a little further in towards the driveway actually Okay, and then you say that was closed in to make a room out of it Yeah, there was they closed it in I believe skip addressed it in his in his letter to that he wrote Okay, so that's currently a living space that's going to be turned into a garage Well, okay, here's what I can say there is a living space that was walled off the carport was taken out The carport was it was taken out at some point and the structure the room was walled up Does the walling up of that room affect your? I guess the existence but no truthfully it didn't it has not at all Because if you're on my deck today and you you can't actually see down into their yard because there is you know trees which I think you know are They were somewhere here, but there are trees there that do do prohibit us from seeing down I mean if anything they can look up yeah at us, but this is gonna put them face to face nine feet from Which is just It's a serious privacy issue for us especially as The expectation is that it will be renters you know, they tend to go in and out and Unfortunate for those that are primary residents Okay, any more questions from the Commission. We do have one additional public comment Okay, it's written Sean, can you no longer share your screen so that I can share mine? One moment so unfortunately my Read aloud feature is not working. So I will be reading this out loud to you for the record dear planning Commission our Family including myself have been residents of 310 McCormick across the street from the Rothschins home for 46 years We were surprised to receive notice 11 days ago by snail mail of the current plans for a major addition Invariances to 307 McCormick and wondered why we hadn't heard this before I will note that over the years I've watched the original garage on the north side of the Rothschins home converted to an unpermitted living space and ultimately walled in it seems Dissingenuous that now another garage will be built in front of the original garage This new garage will not fit without variances Our family opposes these theoretically Hardship variances as they move the new garage even closer to the next-door neighbor's property at 309 McCormick and Shift the hardship to them in addition a garage Narrowed to less than 10 feet is unusable by larger cars and SUVs and further Further is both the need for increased on-street parking by the residents and adds the possibility of a new garage will also become Interior living space as many garages in Capitola have become I know from the Online plans that there is also a planned roof deck overlooking the Rothschins backyard in 1992 when we applied for an upstairs addition at 310 McCormick including an 8 by 12 roof deck Overlooking our rear yard. We were told by planners and the Planning Commission that due to privacy issues Our roof deck was denied even though roof decks at that time were unmentioned in the building codes We appealed but the city stood firm My question is if rear roof decks impinge on next-door neighbors privacy Can it now be approved if not? We also oppose the rear yard deck Additions to the Rothschins plans no matter how small without sidewalks curbs and a narrow street parking on McCormick Ave is tight at best often used by village visitors and employees. We politely suggest to planning and architects that in cases where new construction may have Major impact on neighbors including privacy and parking that an initial requirement Be have you spoken with the neighbors? We were not afforded this courtesy Which I imagine would often save headaches and expense for future projects best regards skippin Marley Allen Marilee Allen Hey, thank you, Katie Do we have any other looming public comments? I'm gonna check. There's no way Dennis Norton can get in I Should like to hear from the architect He's not present in the zoom meeting Okay, well we'll close the public portion then and bring it back to the Commission I would like to say it was interesting for skip Allen's history on roof decks second-story decks because the council used to take a very hard line on those and not allow them and I think we've gotten lax on that and I need probably to Go back to how we used to handle them and not not allow them for privacy reasons So Let's bring it back to the to the Commission Any Commission wanting to make comments? suggestions Hi, this is the Commission Wilk I can chime in with just my general observation. I didn't I Didn't think this was going to be a problem when I looked at the how I And I saw that it was a single-story house and that there seemed to be a lot of Variances in the neighborhood over the years a lot of two-story houses flat-roofed houses different designs crazy angles this and that very narrow side yard and Yeah, I did notice that the Jason houses had these high decks and it occurred to me Well, this this applicant is just trying to make his house Are taking advantage of the same variances or what have you that that everybody else in the neighborhood has so I just thought In general without actually having stood on his roof and looked at the neighbor's yards that That he wasn't asking for anything that was unusual for the neighborhood Beyond that, I'm willing to listen to other arguments Commissioner Christensen you had a comment I I basically that's the Commissioner Wilk headed on the head. I just I mean I understand Actually, I need to formulate my words a little bit better If you could go to the next question, please Mr. Newman any comments? Yes, I do So To me this raises a general issue of the extensive use of variances in Capitola Which over my period of time on the planning commission. I've seen it then become more and more liberal The state law requires very strict adherence to the requirements for a variance We have been basically just seeing a flurry of Applications with variances with the idea that well, we've counted people on the street who have old houses who Sparking or side yard doesn't comply with the current Guidelines and therefore we should let this one build that way too, but I disagree with that And I've heard other council members expressed disagreement with that too because The idea of having design guidelines is to upgrade the community and the construction in the community and If the philosophy is to say well, there's a lot of old houses here that don't meet those guidelines So we should allow this one to build to not meet the guidelines There's really no point in having the guidelines So I have strong reservations About the variance. I heard some things tonight too that kind of disturbed me too Yeah, as you know, I'm kind of a rules guy and when someone illegally encloses a garage and then comes Before the planning commission with another garage that needs a variance That that I have a little trouble with that too as a Basis for a variance. So that's not the main Ration out for my Concern over this application. It's just basically that we should not be Overusing the variance process every time an application comes in because there's a lot of old houses that don't meet current standards Question ed This is uh commissioner wilk. So I understand what you're saying. It makes sense Uh, what is your feeling on this roof deck? Idea commissioner ruth was saying it it seems to Depend on which commissioners are sitting on the diet as to whether or not they're approved or not What is your opinion on that? Well, I agree with the commissioner ruth's history on this The cap again capitol has evolved on it We and it's hard for the public because we there's some things we clearly don't protect like ocean views and so forth but the the council and the planning commission has been very protective of privacy when it comes to decks and that has Taken the form of in some cases not allowing people to Get on to the decks By having a doorway and other cases by not allowing the decks So I think I think it is a One of the jobs of the planning commission to Look into that and it's a balancing because I mean both property owners have some rights there, but We have to balance those rights So your argument would be because of the neighbor has the high deck. That's the grandfathered in situation Uh, but a new bill especially in this extensive a remodel should meet the code because for your reasons Is we're trying to upgrade the neighborhood and not continue Them in less than optimum conditions I think that's a fair characterization Thank you Okay, commissioner christensen. Are you ready? I wanted yes. I just wanted to clarify so the um The letter that katie just wrote That there's The old garage or the old carport is where bedroom three is currently located. Is that right? Is that what I Like interpret that correctly Sean could you put up the floor plans, please? Existing I do want to offer to the commission that with the new information About possibly an illegal enclosure. You could also we could come back with additional information if so needed I think that would be a decent idea I just that was just something I wanted to clarify. I at first I thought that the um that the Garage was the proposed location for the garage was where the carport was located and I didn't if it was behind it then um I mean, I kind of agree with commissioner So could could I hear a stab? This is commissioner wilk again. Can I hear a staff? explanation for recommending approval of this variance then one more time Is that ideally I'd like to agree with staff whenever possible Sean yeah that handy or so did you want us to look at the the variance findings again? Yeah, so you You said well, you know the conditions they have to be you know an exceptional and kind of went through them Could you just even I wasn't paying close enough attention? But it seemed to me that that's worth going over again. Why your rationale for or why the variance is needed or acceptable I can share that on the screen from the staff report if you'd like Sean You'd like me to put that out? Sure Yeah, if you can stop I'll put it up there. I think reflecting back in the report the discussion of how the lot is shaped was one reason for the The variance the rear the rear lot is at an angle Um and then also the home itself when it was built Was not built um in alignment with the lot lines, but typically you're looking at the The lot itself is um not a it has a unique shape to it And it's not isolated to this property in the neighborhood either. There are multiple ones that are very Off in terms of orientation including the property to the north. Um, that is uh very non-conforming as well That that speaks to Ed's uh issue which is that that shouldn't be a reason for a variance, right? We're trying to improve the neighborhood not uh discontinued to allow non-conformances Just because the other houses I have non-conformances We want to make the neighborhood better get them all conforming because eventually every house will probably have to be remodeled one day Also, right I don't think this lot is that oddly shaped if you look at the site plan. I mean it's It's got square corners on both sides on mccormick avenue and there's just uh You know it's trapezoid, but it's not really that that weirdly shaped Not for a side yard setback variance. Yeah I mean, we have some weirdly shaped lots in capitol, but this is not one of them. Okay Have we got all the questions answered? I would like to point out one more thing Just when people were talking about the setback of that second story deck that the second story and the second story deck Not only comply with development standards, but by a long shot the setback is six feet nine inches and on one side It's nine feet and the other side is 15 feet. So We're not talking about a deck that did not comply with standards. It actually is Farther from the setbacks than it even needed to be so Hey, I have to add this is commissioner christensen. Um, I don't mean to interject but uh I do think that the north elevation I feel like they have paid attention to not putting, you know, overly large windows Um in that side so they don't stare into from their living space to the neighbor's living space Even though it's close proximity And I would agree that most of I mean capitol has Really small side yard setbacks So I I I agree that um We shouldn't further intensify those as you know a nice The standard but at the same time like I I like to ask myself when Some of these suggesting Doing something like this, you know, what what else would they do kind of thing like what else would we suggest they do, you know, so This garage is providing parking if if there is a point that they walled in existing parking that's An entirely different point but as it's drawn um I feel like that As it's drawn if we were just to give be given this context, it's a proper solution for covered parking It's a you know Regardless of whether or not it's in the setback or not. It's still providing more parking on their lot um I don't know that's that's kind of what i'm thinking I haven't made a comment yet I would like to see a redesign that Creates A deck that can afford privacy to the neighbors if there Is a necessity for a second-story deck if not, I'd like to see it eliminated And perhaps even redesign the garage so it can Be constructed without a variance Maybe we should just continue this item and that would be my suggestion. I concur also with mr. Rearman Uh, and a split boat would would uh result in a uh This pool Yeah, so I think that's probably the best this applicant's likely to get is the split boat I would I would move to continue Well continue to do and for them to do what? I would To get more on the garage I I mean it's kind of fair wouldn't you say? just to I mean katie or um, I'd like to ask staff what How would you how would you go about investigating something like that? Is that a thing that um That you could Yes, um, so we could we could take a look at what has been permitted on this site And see if there was previously a garage that was enclosed Sounds like it was a So we can do more history and look into the record It'd be helpful in this motion if you'd like to continue Um to provide direction to the applicant. So if if we were to find that The there's an illegal You know addition on the site just providing direction of do you have any direction regarding the second story? deck changes you'd like to see in an application that came back any direction towards um making sure there's a compliant we can bring back more information on any Any illegal conversions that took place? But if you do have the specific direction on the deck, this would be the appropriate time And I don't know that you'd be able to give direction on the parking until we bring back that The information for you on whether or not there was an illegal conversion I think you're with that. I'm sorry go ahead Katie can we deny this without prejudice so the applicant can submit a redesign and not have to pay the fees again You know, um, I think it would be less expensive for the applicant if you were to continue and have them and Review it at the next meeting with more information at this point. They're vested into a design and staff time so You could you could deny without prejudice Or Continue and we'll do our research and work with the applicant before we bring it back Well, I want to be clear that I just don't believe that the shape or any of the characteristics of this lot Satisfy the state requirements for a variance. So I don't want to mislead The applicant then to putting a lot of money into designing Making design changes that still require a variance when I don't think they can meet the requirements for a variance Man, I should I didn't realize this is going to be this difficult So the variances that you're concerned are are the side yard setback in the parking? That's the two they're asking for but to get any variance They have to meet the two requirements one of which is special circumstances by reason of the shape and et cetera of the lot and the property and they're They're telling me because one line of the lot that has nothing to do with the variance Area is slanted that that somehow creates Satisfies that requirement and I don't buy it So but what they said is that they they increased the setback of four feet thinking that that was acceptable But it's four feet 11 so Then they need a variance for that So if they were to come back with a four foot 11 clearance that would eliminate that variant that needs for that variance, correct If they had a proper size parking garage They had the proper size parking garage. They're asking for variance as the size as well as side garrants head back Yeah So so So in order to be compliant they would They would increase the side setback 11 inches that would squeeze the garage So they have to push the garage They'd have to widen the garage In and eat into their living space. Yeah, well if I could if I could interject here I don't think it's our job to redesign the project for them I think I think that is their obligation if we continue it and suggest that we're not going to approve the variance Uh, well, I'm trying to give them for Katie's instruction some guidance as to where our concerns are Right, so that's where I was going with that our concerns are strictly the variances Which is the garage is too small and the side yard setback is is too narrow Right and and the roof deck and the privacy encroachment on the neighbors But the the roof deck is not a They're not that's not a variance No So so we're mixing two concerns here. There's the variance which would probably satisfy ed And then there's the view shed your privacy issue Which is a whole nother topic, which is which is your concern. I don't know if that's a concern and it's a concern of the neighbors Well, it is but There's a lot of neighbors have a lot of concerns. I'm concerned about how this boat is going to go So I would like to someone attempt a motion Well, I Courtney moved to continuance, right? I'll second that Okay, we have a motion and a second then to continue this item to our next regularly scheduled meeting Or to the next meeting when the applicant is ready Uh, may the roll call please edna It's okay. Can we reopen discussion? No, we have a motion on the floor right now where the vote started. We have to finish it I vote no then Okay, I'll vote no I'll vote no Okay, commissioner newman. I think the ball is in your court Okay I'd like to move. This is not the entire application. I'd like to move to deny the variance requests There a second chair will second the motion May the roll call please edna the motion carries and the application is denied Or that was a motion to deny the variances Motion to deny the application. I guess it amounts to that. Yeah, so that brings us to the next item Which is the director's report? Katie any Any more information for us tonight? Yeah, I have some information for you So first I wanted to touch upon code enforcement that was brought up the last meeting We are going to take this I'm going to take a discussion on this to our city council Not next week, but that this will go on the 22nd of April So I'll be bringing that discussion forward and it will have to do with signs as well as outdoor displays and Just a lot of the stuff we're seeing around town Second I have really exciting news For someone who's been working on a zoning code update since she arrived in capitol The coastal commission we are on their agenda for April 12th and We received a letter from them A few weeks back Outlining their changes the letter was short. They had four changes for the overall code One has to do with Actually Three of the changes are regarding visitors serving And the monarch cove in they did not agree with the change to add r1 to that or single family to that site They also in our Mapping they've asked that we've removed the r1 from that site as well as the depot that in a depot hill site and then some of the Put notes that we had put in the visitors serving regarding monarch cove in that The exchange of allowing them to have single family there in exchange for an easement to a permanent view shed or nightly rental they've They'll be recommending to the coastal commission not to accept those staff changes The other change has to do with the village the future village hotel or the former theater site And on that site throughout the village There's always been commercial allowed on the ground floor and then residential on the any stories above the first floor And they have added a note to that site prohibiting residential any type of residential on the former theater site So I actually took this to city council last week The we drafted a letter in response to their changes asking them to accept The original document as proposed and as submitted We outlined some of the history of the monarch coven outlined some of the history of The former theater site And with that the council directed us to submit this the the letter to the coastal commission So the meeting is on the 12th The public hearings begin at 9 a.m. You're welcome to View it And speaking with rainy who's our representative she thinks will be on the agenda around 9 30 in the morning so I'm looking forward to that discussion and we've submitted the letter from the city council. So hopefully They hear our plea But it is exciting that that will be going in front Of the coastal commission and then after that any modifications that they do ask for will have to go back to our city council And in order for it to be certified and take effect in In capitolah, so those are my And the last change that they asked for was We're not substantive changes just regarding the language of protecting the views from the cliff above Looking down at the over the theater site. So those are my updates and I'll I look forward to giving you another update on our lcp submittal at the next hearing Hey, thank you katie. Are there any communications from any of the commissioners? Hearing none then looks like we're all done. We'll adjourn the meeting To our next regularly scheduled meeting in may Thank you katie. Thank you commissioners Thank you. Bye. Thank you


I said I want to get six pack abs. Why do you think it is that people who set more audacious goals are more likely to achieve those goals? Is that what you're saying? Well, totally. And it's because it's exciting. And you need a compelling future to use Tony Robbins words. You need a compelling future to pull you through.   You've got to have something that like you're amped up about.  Dang. That was like aggressive goal. Now, admittedly, if you look at him in the first movie compared to the last movie, he's like 25 pounds heavier of like pure muscle by movies three and four. In the first one, it wasn't quite as audacious. Take all kinds of hormones, probably, or something. Not saying Hugh Jackman takes anything.


Just before I get started, the slides for this talk are on my website right now. I'm telling you this because there's a ton of content, and we have a short period of time here. So I'm going to cram through it, and you will want to review later, so now you know where to find it. I have a book in my bag. And on that book, I draw all sorts of layouts all the time. That's how I design websites. I start with a piece of paper, and I just draw some stuff. This would be super cool. So a couple of years ago, I made this design. And when you look at it, you go, yeah, this looks like a standard web design. It's fairly basic. It has some interesting stuff. Like there's the categories and title at the top, and then you have the featured image, and then you have the meta content on the left-hand side, or right-hand side, right-hand side, and then the content itself. And you go, yeah, sure. This is relatively easy to do, except on smaller screens, I wanted to make a slight change. Move the meta content from next to the content up above the featured image. And then on even smaller screens, I wanted to move the featured image up above the rest of the content. And at this point, you go, this is not so easy.  Combined on one website with just CSS and HTML, impossible, because you'd have to change the markup structure to get this to work with old layout tools. So instead, you'd have to go with JavaScript and you'd have to change everything, which is not great because then you're changing everything, and it shouldn't be like that. Today, I want to talk to you about a whole new way of thinking about layouts on the web. And this whole new way of thinking about layouts will truly change the way we design websites from here on forward. I'm not talking about emerging technologies that are coming two or three years from now. I'm talking about technologies that are here today that you need to start using today. It's called CSS Grid. I'm Morten van Hendriksen, and let's get cracking. So just to prove to you that I'm not making things up, this is the layout I drew built purely in HTML and CSS and WordPress, running in the browser today.  This website you're seeing here is my website. So if you go to morten.com, grab the site of your browser and start doing this. You'll actually see the content jumping around on the page. And your brain will say, there's some JavaScript happening here, or this might be bootstrap? It's not. It's just pure, simple CSS. And in fact, the HTML behind it is cleaner than any HTML you'll ever see from WordPress before this point. So instead of going through the entire WordPress theme, which will take way too long, I decided to make a slightly simpler example. So I made this little web page for the room we're in. So this is the speaker track for today. And when you look at it, I want you to think about how you would make this layout using only HTML and CSS. No frameworks, nothing else. Just look at it for one second, I think. How would I mark this up? All right? It's here. So first, you're probably going to do something like draw boxes around the main items. So here we have some sort of header thing. And then there's a huge section on the side with all the content. And then on the other side, there's like a logo. And then there's some other sidebar stuff. So we have those boxes, and we'll mark that up in HTML. Then because we have to lay this out, we need to start grouping elements. So below the main header thing, there's a bunch of content. But the content is displayed in two columns. So we need to put a box around them so we can float them left to right or use flex to put them left and right. Then in the sidebar, we have another grouping of content. And since we're floating that, we need to put a box around that. And then inside the sidebar itself, there's two more pieces of content that need boxes around them. So we end up with something like this. The blue sections are semantic markup, things that are required for the document to work. This is the actual content. The red sections are boxes that we drew around content solely to say this is a thing that will go next to another thing and this is another thing that will go next to another thing. And you can see that the markup is full of that stuff. When you start looking at responsive layouts, that gets super complicated because in this responsive layout, you see that thing, the black box that's on the sidebar? That's actually the header. And the small box on the far right-hand side that has some address information, that's actually the footer. And on a mobile display, the semantic structure is as it should be on the other end of the scale, everything has been moved around. And then you say, I can do this. Bootstrap is my friend. Everything is fine. The problem is what Bootstrap does to fix this and all the other frameworks is take the HTML and apply some JavaScript and move the HTML around in the document to get this stuff to work. That means for accessibility reasons, the whole document is now jumbled, which is not great. It also means we're leaning on external technologies just to do something that should work on its own. The problem is web layouts, the way we've been doing it since the beginning of web time, have always been broken. And all we've been doing this entire time is refine how we break the layout.  And all this stuff is trying to solve this fundamental problem, which is a web document, so HTML is a document that starts at the top and ends at the bottom. And any time you want to put something next to something else, you have to somehow break the document just to do that, which goes against everything we want to do in design. Consider this super simple example. You have a box and then two boxes inside, two-column layout. Simple, right? Should be. Well, if you look at just the markup, this is what you get. Just two boxes below each other with a box around them. Then you have to put them next to one another, so you use float. You float one item to the left and the other item to the right, and then the box that surrounds it collapses. Because, of course, you're floating content, so you're pulling them out of the structure of the document and then you want content to float around it. To fix that, you then have to introduce a clear fix. So that's just empty content that you stuff in the bottom corner solely for the purpose of making that box wrap around the content again. And then you say, well, we have better tools now. We have Flexbox. And it's true, Flexbox does solve this problem, but if I make it just one element more complicated, Flexbox doesn't help us anymore. Because now, we can't save to Flex. Put the content two of the pieces next to one rather than one piece, none. Flexbox would try to treat all three as the same thing because Flexbox works in one direction, either horizontal or vertical. So now, we have to introduce an extra box. And say, can you please flex this container thing next to the other thing? And then inside the container, we'll put two things underneath one another. This is a hack. This is not the way it's supposed to be. This is truly a hack. This is how we design websites today. We cheat.  It's nuts. If you think about it, it's totally crazy. Float and Flex force us to put extra content into our HTML for the sole purpose of layouts, which goes against everything we've learned about how to mark up websites. This is also layouts today. This is how we have to do things. Well, it is today that you are going to change all this. Just before I get into it, consider what the web looks like right now. This is Bootstrap, the official documentation, telling you how to make a layout that has two columns. Look at the HTML. Look how many nested divs are necessary to get this to work. This is WordPress theme builder plus some sort of page layouts plugin. I can tell you by looking at this HTML, all of this stuff generates a box with some content in it. But it's necessary because we have to do all this floating and clearing and nesting and nesting and nesting. Underscores does the same in the slightly less extreme version. When you look at the overall markup of underscores, there's a bunch of elements within underscores that are there solely for the purpose of layout. So the blue boxes here are the header, the main, the aside, and the footer. The red boxes are there for layout purposes. So what if we could take all that extra craft away, have just the semantic markup, and nothing else, and then solve the layout problems in CSS in a clean and simple way? Instead of this layout, we'd have this, which is easier to read. Makes way more sense. What if we didn't have to do all this crazy stuff anymore? If you look at my example, the blue items are the ones that matter. The red don't. But even if I take away the red items, the structure of this document still makes no sense. We have a heading one, then we have a main, then we have a header, then we have an aside, and then we have a footer. If I take all the extra craft away and reorganize the document, all of a sudden, it makes much more sense from a semantic standpoint. Header, H1, main, aside, footer. The problem is, up until this point, all our layout tools have been content out and one-dimensional, meaning you apply a layout to an individual item, and then you have to relate that item to other things. What we need is a two-dimensional layout that works layout in. And that's what CSS Grid gives us. So instead of doing all the boxing thing I was talking about before, what if we start by saying, here's what we want. Let's apply a grid to it. Just like you would do in design. You draw a grid on top, and then you say, we're going to place contents on this grid. So you have your semantic markup. Then you simply grab each item, the header, the H1, the main, the side buyer, and the footer. And you place them on the document. That makes sense.  It'll be like, zip all the blinds work. Too bad. This works perfectly.  This example is a live website. All the screen grabs are from the website. All the content restructures the way it's supposed to. You can play around with it. You can see exactly what's going on. And the craziest part is when you read the code, you'll be like, I understand what's happening here. I don't even need to understand CSS Grid. I can actually see how this works. So how does it work? I've been told that listening to my talks can be a bit like trying to capture a fire hose sometimes. So I've decided to try to structure this in such a way that it's more like strapping fire hoses on a platform and then flying. But this means I need your absolute attention. Now, I'm going to crush through some stuff here. Nice and quick. So brace yourself. Stand firm. CSS Grid needs new terminology. So we have Grid Container, Grid Item, Grid Line, Grid Cell, Grid Track, Grid Area, Grid Gap. I apologize. I know you have to do this. There's a simultaneous translator who just not appreciate me speaking fast. So Grid Container is any container in your document that you create a grid inside. You do that by simply declaring display Grid. You can do this to as many elements as you want on the page. It doesn't matter. It does not matter. A Grid Item is any direct descendant of a Grid Container. So if you create a Grid, any direct descendant automatically becomes a Grid Item that's placed inside the Grid, but only the first level descendant, just like it is with Flexbox. A Grid Line is any of the lines that you draw inside the Grid, horizontal or vertical. The Grid Lines are numbered by default. So the first edge of the Grid, either vertical or horizontal, has the line number one. And then you just count them, two, three, four, five, six. And the last one has the last number. Grid Cell is any cell inside the Grid. A Grid Area is any defined rectangular area inside the Grid that covers more than one cell. A Grid Track is either a horizontal track or a vertical track, so a row or a column. And a Grid Gap is the space between each of the cells if you choose to add basically gutters. Got that? Good. Don't worry, these slides are online. You can go look at them later. And this will become part of your vocabulary anyway. So CSS Grid in a nutshell. How does this actually work? How do we apply it today? Number one, define a Grid on an element where you want a Grid to appear. Number two, place items within that Grid where you want them to appear. Number three, make world peace. That's all there is to it. What does it look like? Well, here's my example. This is the semantic markup with no CSS apply, except for color. Then we start by grabbing just the site container, that's the container that wraps everything, and we declare display Grid. So now we have a Grid. Then we decide how many columns and how many rows we want. I mean, you do that using Grid template columns and Grid template rows. And here what we do is say the distance from the edge of the Grid to the first line, that's the first value, then the distance to the next one, it's the next value, and so on, and so on. So you're declaring the width between each of the lines and then another line is drawn. This comes with new features like the FR or fraction value that allows you to say, take one fraction of the available space and then put a line there. So you can make truly dynamic layout. Do the same with rows. You just declare a list of where you want the rows to appear, and they will appear automatically. Once you've drawn rows, you have cells, and your browser automatically places all the direct descendants of the Grid element in those cells, from the top left to the bottom right. Then for each individual element, you can, if you want to, declare a Grid column and a Grid row property and say, I want this element to appear from column line two to column line four and from row line two to row line three. That means you literally find column line two and column line four, and you put the content in between those two lines. Same with rows. What? I hear you see what I'm talking about. We're doing layout in. So we create the layout first and then we just dump content where we want them to appear. When you look at this, you realize there are all these new things you can do. Like, for instance, create actual white space on a layout. You can just choose not to populate cells. Then you have white space. No spacer, GIFs or anything like that anymore. And once you know this, you can then place any of your elements anywhere you want in the Grid. Looks promising, right? But you have to do all this counting stuff. I keep track of the line numbers and then what if it's responsive and you keep changing the Grid? It gets kinda nuts. In my layout, I move elements, particularly the header and the footer. Keeping track of that with numbers would be a pain. And to be fair, you can actually give each of the track lines a name and refer to them by name instead of by number, but that's still quite a lot of stuff to deal with. So we have this new property called Grid Template Areas. And Grid Template Areas is nuts. It's almost like ASCII. You declare Grid Template Area and then you write out each of the cells in your Grid and you say, what is the name of the cell? So for instance, here, I have the three cells at the top are title, title, title. And then we have main header header and main sidebar footer. Then you use the Grid Area property on individual child items and you just declare the name of the area you want that element to appear. So if you say Grid Area Header, well that's wrong, oh no, it's right. If you say Grid Area Header, the element goes to the header area. If you say Grid Area Title, it goes to the title area. And this allows us to do crazy responsive web design. Because that means instead of doing a bunch of crazy stuff, all you have to do is change the Grid Template Areas and then the items that you've already said this is going in the title area, this is going in the header area, it will just move around in the grid. So your responsive code and your media queries become very, very simple. And anyone who reads this code can see, okay, so we have a grid that has two columns and then we put the title and title and main and header and main and sidebar and then when the screen gets wider, we have three columns and here we have title, title, title, main header, header. The CSS actually visibly declares what's going on. No more, no more, everything just works. This is that point where your brain will start going like, what is happening? This doesn't actually compute yet. And trust me, I've been working with this for over a year.  Which means my kid is walking around in the background there making noises when he grows up, he won't think the way I do and he'll be like, this is super simple and then I'll tell him about floats and clears and he'll be like, why would you do it like that? That's so crazy. There's also this weird little thing called nested grids. Now, in the original grid specification from a couple of years ago, you have the ability to create a grid and then have an element within the grid inherit the grid so you would get consistency. That never happened in browsers. So instead what we do is we declare multiple grids inside one another and it turns out that's actually a huge benefit because then you can say I have an overall layout grid where I lay out my header, my footer, my sidebar and so on, then you can have a subgrid just for the main content layout and you can even have a grid inside that grid for something else and you have detail control of every single component within your layout. And as you know, the new trend in web design is to work on component level. Well, nested grids allow you to literally work on component level and this means, for example, if you're making a WordPress theme, you can make individual content grids for individual types of content. So if you apply a certain class to any element then you can change the grid completely using pure CSS. No more fancy templates and crazy PHP, just use CSS. But older browsers. This is the absolute biggest argument against CSS grid. First of all, all modern browsers support CSS grid now. Every single one of them, there is an issue but I'll get to that in a second. Before we get to that, there's also the question of I think it's too soon. This is emerging technology, it's not mature yet. True, it's emerging technology but small websites like the New York Times have started using them so I would say any client that says we're not ready for this yet because no one is using it can be urged forward. This is something we can do today but there are two elephants in the room, right? So you have these, so you give me way too much credit. There are always these things that don't work the way we want to. So we have Internet Explorer 10 and 11 and we have Edge who are not currently following the spec exactly. Point of order, if it wasn't for Internet Explorer 10 we wouldn't have CSS grid. CSS grid was invented for Internet Explorer 10. And the reason why these two browsers are lagging behind is because the other browsers decided to change the spec but the spec is built into Windows. So Microsoft has to update all of their operating systems to get this to catch on. However, Edge is probably a couple of weeks away from getting full grid support. And I'll show you how to create proper backwards compatibility for all of the browsers. There's this other thing that has nothing to do with CSS grid that's called a feature query that we can use now to ask a browser do you support this CSS property? And we can use that to test whether or not the browser supports grid. The canonical best practice is to ask at support display grid works exactly like a media query. So if it says yes then we run the code inside. The problem is Edge does support grid it just supports the wrong spec. So if you're testing for grid support in Edge test for something that Edge does not support within the grid spec for example grid area auto. Then Edge won't try to run the grid. My recommendation here is actually to serve up the mobile experience on all browsers that don't support grid. And this is where people fall off the horse, right?  So that means the site won't look the same at all browsers? That's exactly right. The thing is we've been doing responsive web design for 10 years now. No, we have not. We've been doing responsive web design since 2010. And that we've established an entire language around not serving up the same experience across all browsers because on a mobile browser the website looks totally different from what it does on a large desktop browser. There is no actual reason why a website should look the same across all browsers except that we keep saying they should. So we can change our methodology around this. Making everything look the same across all browsers is a bad habit. We should be making things look the best they can on whatever browser they're supported in. Responsive web design allows us to do this. We just have to migrate it from not just saying responsive web design is about the width of a screen to also say we can make it responsive to the age of the browser. Accessible mobile-first layouts work well on all browsers. If you don't believe me, go look at the mobile version of Wikipedia on your desktop browser. You will never use regular Wikipedia again. The mobile version on the desktop browser is so much better. I don't understand why they just don't move forward. This is progressive enhancement. This is our responsibility. We progressively enhance the web because if we don't, then we'll get stuck in the past forever. So practical approach to CSS Grid right now so you can use it when you walk out of this room. First, build accessible mobile-first layouts without Grid. That is your baseline. So make it work on a mobile phone. Make it sure that it still works when it's on a widescreen. Then use that mobile-first layout as the fallback. So if everything goes to hell, mobile-first works. Then use Add Support to detect grid support at the appropriate breakpoint. When everything starts looking weird, add a grid, then keep scaling up the width of the screen. Add another grid, add another grid, and another grid because people have screens that are this wide right now. So you need to account for that. If you don't believe me, go to my brother's house. He has a ridiculously huge screen. So remember the layout I drew that was impossible? If you apply Grid to it, it's not only impossible. It's something that makes sense and just works. And it's the layout that's in the new theme on my website. And you can go check it out on GitHub and put it on your own site as well. Your path to CSS Grid starts here today right now. Number one, use Firefox when you develop because Firefox has a grid inspector. So anytime you find an element that has grid on it, there's a little hashtag-type thing that's supposed to look like a grid. And if you click on that in the inspector, the grid lines appear in your browser and you can actually see the grid while you're working with it. I'm sure the other browsers will catch up, but right now Firefox has it. Second, Rachel Andrew has a website called Grid by Example. This is basically doctrine. Rachel Andrew is by and large the reason why we have CSS Grid in browsers today. She's been pushing it for years and years and years and she's documented absolutely everything. So we want to know how it works. Go to Grid by Example. Mozilla Developer Network has tons of documentation, most of it written by either Rachel Andrew or Jen Simmons. It is a great resource. It's documented every single property and everything that's going on. CSS Tricks has a complete guide to CSS Grid, which is just like the complete guide to Flexbox, which is also the same content over again. Koon, my new theme, which is running on my website, is on GitHub and you can go check it out, pick it apart, send pull requests, complain about the lack of internationalization. What you'll notice is CSS Grid respects text direction. So there is no RTL style sheet because with CSS Grid you don't need it anymore. I wrote an article about this that came out in the smashing magazine yesterday called the Building Production Ready CSS Grid Layout today that covers what I talked about here plus how I designed the theme plus a bunch of other stuff. Go read it. Go where you want to go. Go where you want the web to go and the rest will follow. We in this room control a large percentage of the web and if we all adopt CSS Grid now and do it properly, the web will follow. Don't believe me? This is the LinkedIn office in Carpentria that I go to occasionally. They built a new building and then they put this huge patch of grass directly in front of the entrance. So if you look at the image here, there's a building here. So everyone walks like this and I saw the patch of grass and this was taken on the first day and I'm like, this is insane. Whoever designed this was not thinking about the end user. So I just started walking across the grass and I was walking across the grass for a couple hours to make a path and then a couple of months later someone sent me this picture and then a week ago someone sent me this picture. If you pave cow paths, meaning walk where you want everything to head, eventually someone put paving stones down. So designers in the room, CSS Grid means you can finally use proper grid systems in your designs. And it also means the design of the browser is now really easy. Theme developers, start using CSS Grid today in all your work, even if it means providing full fallbacks for everything you do. I have links for that if you wanna talk to me later. Framework people, CSS Grid cures your dividers. So you should take a strong inoculation right now. Page builders, this is make or break time. CSS Grid plus Gutenberg and WordPress means that most of what page builders does will be handled inside WordPress itself. So if you're building a page builder, you need to get on top of the spec and figure out how it fits into your business model. Set best practices be responsible because CSS Grid allows you to mess around with the structure order of your content and can make sites really inaccessible. So don't do that, but use it for good. Build the web you want to see and repeat after me. Make it accessible, make it fancy, and make sure the fancy doesn't break accessibility.    This is your mantra, all right? Number one, what? Number two, number three, thank you very much. Awesome. Okay, we're gonna take five minutes of questions now. Do we have questions in the room? Because I guess the alternative is everyone piles on Morton in an expert bar or somewhere like that. Where do you think you're gonna be for questions if people wanna come in and get into the detail? Expert bar enhancement? Right, okay, you are gonna have to ask questions. The other room is running late. They're not as sharp as we are. So I need some questions on the floor. While you're thinking about that, I have got a question to get started with. What really is the Gutenberg implications with CSS Grid? Can you give some really nice examples straight off the bat? Okay, so are you all familiar with Gutenberg, the new content editor? So there's a new content editor coming to WordPress called Gutenberg that works on the principle of block elements.  And the idea over time is that Gutenberg will evolve to have things like columns and things like other types of layouts which is completely new to us in the WordPress community. If you take that idea that all the stuff that you put into a blog post or eventually all the stuff you put on the entire view because Gutenberg will likely evolve to the point where you can customize the entire view including your header and your sidebar and everything else. And then combine that with CSS Grid. There's a door that opens to customization within WordPress that is truly mind breaking, which is, imagine if you go into the content editor of WordPress and you're writing a post or some other type of content and then you say, for this content I want to have an extra sidebar and then you can go in and just draw out a guide and place content to the left or the right of that guide. I'm not saying that this is what the Gutenberg team is working on now. I'm sure if anyone in the rooms from the Gutenberg team they're like, what are you talking about? This is not part of, I haven't written this article yet. I have crazy ideas, but the thing is, once we have CSS Grid, all the layout components of a layout are handled by the CSS. And that means you can provide different style rules for individual types of content on the page. And it also means that WordPress can generate different layouts in pure CSS because Gutenberg outputs everything at block levels. So you can target each individual block that's added to the content as a grid item. So this opens the door for WordPress itself to become a page builder. It also opens the door for WordPress itself to allow for custom layouts for each individual piece of content to create across a WordPress site. This could happen. It should happen. It should also be in the hands of theme developers to control how much of this customization is possible. But this is one of those times when all paths are open and whatever we do decides where we end up going. Yes? Yeah, that was all I was looking for. Yeah, okay, thank you. Kind of mind-blowing. Very cool. There, come on. There must be some questions here. Yes, so do you want to hop to the microphone, Graham? That'd be awesome if you could do that. There's another microphone on the other side as well. But Graham, your question, please. Yes, thanks Morton. That is an unbelievably informative presentation. You mentioned Flexbox earlier. Do you think that with the use of grids that it's gonna effectively replace the necessity for Flexbox? Or could you see the two coexisting in any situations? Will CSS and Flexbox coexist? Absolutely. CSS, grid, and Flexbox coexistence allows us to do magical things. They should be used in conjunction with each other. In fact, grid, flex, and float all have a place in layouts. It's just now we can use float for what it's supposed to be, which is floating elements next to other elements and letting content flow around it. We can use flex for what it's supposed to be, which is flexing contents within a box to either line up horizontally or vertically or break nicely. And then we can use grid for the overall layout. So one of the most interesting demos I've seen of CSS Grid so far was a grid where they used... They made an actual grid and they put content inside each of the cells and then they used flex to scale the contents in each of the cells to be consistent. So using grid and flex together makes for... That gives us extra layout tools that we previously didn't have because we can now relegate the responsibility to the right type of tool. Thanks. That was a great answer. Cheers. OK. Yes, again, Mitri. Hi, Morten. Thanks for the great talk. And my question is... I know that the future of the web is kind of influenced by what default WordPress themes do in terms of layouts, in terms of CSS, in terms of HTML. Do you have a strategy to advocate CSS grids to use them in default themes and how we as theme developers can influence that and what are step-by-step guide to use CSS grids more? OK. There are two questions there. So first, is there a strategy in place to make the default theme in WordPress use the CSS grid? Yes. I'm building a conspiracy to make that happen. I started it last year. So... But seriously, there are conversations around this because hopefully the next... Considering the introduction of Gutenberg, the next WordPress theme should display what is possible. And as far as I'm concerned, what is possible becomes more interesting if we use CSS grid for it. Of course, when WordPress ships a default theme, you have to consider the fact that WordPress is a global tool that people use all over the world and we have to account for every single type of user, including users that are on older hardware, on slower networks, on less updated browsers. So in that conversation, we have to have a conversation about backwards compatibility, about how to handle fallbacks properly and all that kind of stuff. And my scorched-earth policy on progressive enhancement might not work for WordPress core, but I think we're going to get there. As for everyone else who is not developing a core theme that ships with WordPress, you should use CSS grid in your layouts, even if it's just a progressive enhancement for modern browsers. Because a year from now, two years from now, five years from now, this is what's going to be expected and you need to learn it now because otherwise the kids that are in school now who are learning web design, who are learning this stuff, will just jump over you because this is better and easier and more performance. Thank you. Anyone else? Anyone from the floor? I think you're going to have to have a bundle at the expert bar. That'll be good. Okay. Oh, yes. Yes, sir. So for those of us who like to learn by breaking things, is there a CSS grid theme you'd recommend we start off with? So as far as I know, based on doing no research, I think the Kuhn theme, I built this probably the first WordPress theme that only uses CSS grid for layouts. I don't know if there are other things that do it. By all means, go trash it. It's on GitHub and it's even on my website, so you can just muck around with it on the website. I'm going to document that theme once it's done. It's still in its infancy. But I'd like to see more themes showing up. The thing with CSS grid is, all the things that we know about layouts are no longer relevant. This requires a completely different way of thinking about web layouts. And if you approach it that way, so you just start designing something without considering floats and clears and everything, then you can do new interesting things. And I would love to see our community start building new and interesting designs using CSS grid layout that break the norms. You'll notice that Kuhn pretty much sticks within common parameters about design because I want it to be something that people can relate to. But I think the next theme that is built should be something totally new and different. Yes? I have a question. Yes? So, one of the things that comes up when I do this talk or even talk about CSS grid is, what is happening to the frameworks people use? So, Bootstrap, Foundation, all these things, are they going to adopt CSS grid? I actually can't answer that question. I know you have it. So, that's why I'm bringing it up. I can't answer that question. I went and looked at the beta version of Bootstrap yesterday and it does not have CSS grid in it. They're doubling down on Flexbox as the layout module. I'm interested. It's interesting to think about where these frameworks will go next because the frameworks are very much rooted in this idea of using divs and containers to create these advanced layouts. And with CSS grid, a lot of that goes away. So, if the frameworks were to migrate to CSS grid, they would have to break their standard practice and retrain all the people who use it. That might mean that these frameworks will date themselves out of the game. It also might mean that you in this room can build a new, better framework based on CSS grid that may out-compete these old dinosaurs. Just think about that. It's nice to end on a call to action, isn't it? Thank you very much, Morton. That was fantastic.


So around the edge of the site, buildings will be about 45 stories high, but in the centre of the site, and that's where most of the community facilities will be, buildings could be up to 13 stories high. Now that's not as high as you think, it's actually lower than the height of Kings College Chapel and just a bit higher than the new fire station building. We've also studied the views you will get at the development from the wider countryside and will only be allowing taller buildings where they're really well designed and they won't have a negative impact on their surroundings.


This blue lock opening is crazy. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, why is it dying? Got me right. So, does this mean I'll be alright? Yeah, just continue with the script. Uh, okay. Bold charismatic artwork. Eye-catching colors. Life-changing transitions. No, no, no, you still need to edit. Aw, man. Yeah, if you don't edit the video then it'll just be pretty boring. Ah, yeah, you're right. Okay, let's do this. Bold charismatic artwork. Eye-catching colors. Life-changing transitions. But what's the most important part? The song. The song is the most important part for the opening. And I'm here to break down for you. Ash De Hero's latest release. Judgment. And to show you the part that doesn't get as much attention as it should. The full song. Because as hype as the song is, the openings have accumulated more views than the full music video. Yes, people can like the song from the opening, but they're not getting the full experience. Openings are spliced speedruns. And you can't argue that against me. Does the opening have this? The full rap? The beautiful backing vocals? Nah, I don't think it do. So my goal for this video is to show the beauty of the full song and give you a taste of the meaning behind it. So let's do this. Judgment.  It gets you in the zone. It is a... But with Judgment's energetic, catchy and aggressive sound, and the lyrics that follow the Blue Lock worldview, it's the strongest song that represents ego. The song represents Blue Lock way too well. And because of that, my likeability exploded. But do you know what else should explode? This YouTube channel. All you need to do is click that red button and you'll help my dreams come true. Thank you. But anyways, take these lyrics for example. Again, talking about talents, environments and making excuses, losers always find a way to justify themselves cleverly. Those who don't do anything call out always. It's impossible. Those who don't speak act to show the possibility. I should face the truth. Find my way out. If you drag me down, I'll take you in. Hey, hey, don't them lyrics follow the themes of the second selection? Pretty goddamn well. Plus, there's an easter egg within the song. The names of the Blue Lock players are hidden within the song. The ones that I were able to find were Isagi, Enchigiri, right at the start, and then there's Nagi, later on. But apparently there's also Rin, Bachira, Ryo, Kunigami and Bado within the lyrics as well. Now that was epic. But not as epic as Ash's raw, broad vocals. Because goddamn, his voice is like hearing heavy snow. So strong, yet so soft. And then you want to plan it for how fun it is and keep experiencing and experiencing the beautiful voice of Ash. Ash's vocals are just so air catching. It's an experience you are missing out on if you have not listened to the full song. Just listen to his backing vocals right here. But when Narukaze plays the guitar near the end, isn't it so cool? Like man, I can repeat that for ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever. But there you have it. Ash DeHero's judgement is truly a perfect combination of catchy, aggressiveness and energetic put into this one song. So next time you watch this opening you'll be a little bit more open. Into how the full song went. This is the kind of song that will get you pumped up for anything. Going to the gym, going on a car ride, going on a date. I don't know, it'll just get you pumped up man. The lyrics are powerful and the beat is undeniably catchy.  I hope you enjoyed this video and don't forget to subscribe for my future content. Peace.


Hello everybody and welcome back to The Average. Today I'm going to be painting over a film book cover. If you're new to my channel then you do not know but I hate film covers on books and I'm painting them over one book at a time. I've done a few of these already but this is probably my fourth one and I'm really excited about this because I went to the second hand book shop to scout out the area. Sometimes they have books in there with the right covers on them. Sometimes they don't. This time I went in and I discovered that they had ink art which is one of my favourite books from when I was a teenager. I might have read this when I was about 15 and I absolutely fell in love with it. Just check out Brennan Fariser and look how awful this cover is. The movie was okay. I think I can't really remember it that well except going to the cinema and seeing it. Andy Serkis. I think this was probably one of the first films he was in. I'm not sure if this is before or after the rings. I think it's after. So yeah, he's playing the evil Capricorn I think was the baddie's name. And yeah, this is the cover and I'm gonna be painting it right. Look at that Minotaur. Terrible. So let's begin. I'm gonna be painting over this with gouache, but I've run out of white so that could be quite horrific as we go on with the process but we'll see how I do. Okay, stick around and we'll do it now. Okay, and the process begins. This is always my favourite part of just covering up the awful poster like design of the book that was originally on it. And you just see it slowly disappear here and it's great. I really enjoy that. I'm sorry, Brennan Fariser I hope that your career takes off again. Has anybody else seen that like sad interview with him? I hate it. Can we please get Brennan Fariser more acting jobs? Apparently Hollywood won't touch him anymore because of like a few films that failed with him and it's so sad because he was awesome in The Mummy and Georgia the Jungle. Remember that? That was amazing. I love that film. Anyway, slightly off topic. Ink Heart is about a young girl called Meggy and her father. They basically... It basically starts out as a mystery because her mother disappeared when she was a baby and you think that the mother just left or whatever but the dad turns out has a power to be able to read things out of books and into books. And I really remember this book quite vividly because when I was younger I read it and thought oh my yeah this is amazing and it was when I was starting to find my real passion for reading and writing and this book is all about people who love books and writing and stories. So it was really interesting to me because I really connected with the characters in that sense. But anyway, yeah, it's about these two, the daughter and the father, if they read aloud from book they bring things out of the book and or into a book. I don't know if that's a spoiler. I'm sorry if it is. But yeah, it's a really fun book and they bring up baddies and they wreak havoc on their lives and they have to try and get them back into the book and stuff like that. And the reason that they're in trouble is because one of the main big baddies from this book wants to wants their dad to read money and gold and treasure out of this book for them. So they can become this rich kind of gang thing and so what's happening is the baddie is burning all the books that he's comes from so that he can't be read back into the book and it's really, it goes off from there but it's great. And there's even a character from Arabian Nights that comes out and he's a big part in the book and I just think it's so cool and interesting to be able to take things from different kinds of books and put them all into one story and I really love this book. So when I saw it in the bookshop I thought I'd definitely have to paint it over. Okay let's talk about the art a little bit aside from the story. I wanted to make Maggie the her the main focus of the book cover so I wanted to see what it would be like if she was kind of floating up in this magical haze. It's not very literal to what happens in the book but it's kind of just a nice abstract way to indicate that she has powers or some sort of relation to her powers and her reading. I think in the book world it's always good to have a book cover that is kind of abstract and not too on the nose because if you have like a specific scene in your head and you recreate that on the cover it can turn people off but if you're a little bit more like cryptic in what the cover means then it's more likely to make people want to read it. Anyway that's what I've heard. I don't know if that's necessarily 100% true and it's not like I'm making this cover for anybody else I'm making it for me so I wanted to make Maggie and put her on the front cover. I had a problem because I didn't have any white gouache. I found this watercolor white that you have seen on my palette and I used that a little bit on top but that was a very risky business because obviously the watercolor is going to activate the color of the gouache underneath so it was very tricky trying to navigate that so what I did instead is I just took watercolor paper and painted Maggie on the watercolor paper and then cut her out because then I could play with what I like doing with the paper art again around and as if this force of magic is lifting her up and things are swirling out of the book around her and I just wanted to give a general impression of something magical happening and her reading the book. I think I made her look a little bit happier than I wanted her to look because I thought she would be fearful of this thing happening but I guess it's cute so I like it and again it's something that is going on my bookshelf so if I like it then that's kind of the whole point right and I especially enjoyed making this I wish I had just left it as it is now but then I went in with this ink pen and I regret regret this um it works on some of the things and I did enjoy as I was doing it but then looking back on it I wish I hadn't done it because it kind of looked nicer I believe with this line-less style and then I just kept adding stuff for some reason because the whole point of when you're an artist is to know when to stop and I just obviously didn't hear I think because this book cover was probably the quickest one I've done I felt like inadequate and that I had to keep adding things to it and no just stop even if it takes even if it didn't take as much time as you want I should have just known um you can see hear me correcting this mistake of putting the ink down over this yellow bit and it's smudging everywhere because it's mixing with the paint and this was a little bit of a panic stage but don't worry guys spoiler alert I do fix it so it's all fine I really like the white streaks of kind of smokiness going across the page as well as if the power that's being created here is so forceful that smoke and ash is billowing across the page I quite like that idea and I think it really fits you probably can't see this very well but I took the papers of the book that she's reading and then I on the right I cut out pages and then I bent them around as if the pages are billowing and you can't really see it very well but it's a nice little detail that I liked doing I added obviously a few blingy stars just to bring the piece together because I always like doing that filling up the blank page a little bit and I really like this piece overall obviously if I was doing a straight illustration and not painting over a book it might be a little bit better because it is quite difficult to do this I don't know if anybody has tried it yet I get a lot of people saying I'm gonna do it and I'm like yes do it I want to see um but I haven't been shown anybody's stuff so if you've done it please let me see it I would love to share it with everyone and have a look but yeah this is kind of the completed piece and I really do like the way it turned out as I said it was probably one of the quickest paintovers that I've done which quite surprised me I do like the overall composition of the piece and the colors and I think everything works very well there's a few little mistakes that I just created but that's what I do I kind of when I start making artwork I kind of just go for force into it and if I make a mistake I regret it but then I'm like okay whatever I'm kind of very soft on myself when it comes to that I'm like yep that's fine I've learned from that don't do that again so yeah I overall it's cool and I think it's really cool looking at the cover and then seeing the book inside it always makes me feel really happy and I definitely prefer this cover to that movie cover not only because it's a movie cover but this one in particular was a really awful movie cover um I remember the movie not being too bad so go watch that if you want to they never made the other two this is also a first book in the trilogy by the way so if you guys don't want to read them they are really good and they're kind of middle grade I think young adult middle grade more middle grade but they're great they're fun stories and they're really interesting so go pick up a copy guys and that is the final product I'm really happy with the result like I said and if you like this then please give it a thumbs up and stick around for more content and I will see you next time guys bye I just like to give a shout out to all my patrons they are and Tom thanks for being my patrons guys and if you'd like a shout out at the end of my video then check out my patreon down below thanks for watching guys see you next time bye