Exhibit 4 - Project Description and Letter of JustificationTHE A. CHAUBE RESIDENCE, 14300 Lora Drive, Los Gatos, CA 95032
Kris & Associates - 3484 Mission View Dr., Fremont CA 94538 - (510) 252 1212 Page 1
Planning Division January 8, 2021
Community Development Department, Town of Los Gatos
110 E. Main Street
Los Gatos, CA 95030
RE: The A. Chaube Residence, 14300 Lora Drive
Project Description/ Letter of Justification
To Whom It May Concern:
On behalf of Sonali and Amrito Chaube and their family, I am pleased to present this project to
the town of Los Gatos. The proposed project involves the construction of a new two story
single-family home with a four cars garage on 14300 Lora Drive. The lot has an existing home of
1,187 ft² which on completion of the new proposed single-family home, will be converted to an
Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), under a separate application to the town of Los Gatos.
This letter accompanies the submitted building plans and additional exhibits for the above
referenced project and contains description of the property, the neighborhood, and how it
complies with the Residential Development Standards.
EXISTING PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
The property is located almost at the end of the south side of Lora Drive, close to the junction
with Wedgewood Ave. The immediate neighbor on the left side and across the street are one
story building, while on the right side and rear side are two story building.
The property is located on the east side of Lora Drive and is the second house on the right. The
immediate neighborhood of Lora Drive is a mixture of single-family homes, both single story
and double story, multi-unit two story condominium, and a multi-unit community. The houses
have a variety of styles. The neighboring property to the south is a two-story single-family
home of Spanish style, where the one on the north is a single-story single-family home of
modern style. The house behind 14300 Lora Drive is an extremely modern style whereas the
condominium and multi-unit complexes have a utilitarian style commonly seen.
The existing home has 1,187 ft2 of living area with an existing garage of 406 ft². There is a
driveway to the north of the existing house which leads to the garage behind the house. Behind
the garage is a huge open area which is approximately 15,000 ft². It is in this empty square lot
subsection support that the proposed house single-family home as planned.
EXHIBIT 4
THE A. CHAUBE RESIDENCE, 14300 Lora Drive, Los Gatos, CA 95032
Kris & Associates - 3484 Mission View Dr., Fremont CA 94538 - (510) 252 1212
Page 2
There are a few trees lining the driveway as well as a few trees in the front yard of the existing
property. The backyard is largely free of vegetation and trees and only has a few small trees at
the North east corner. These are not expected to be cut or pose an impediment to the
construction effort.
PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT DESCRIPTION
This proposal includes the building or the construction of a new single-family home at the back
of the existing property, in the backyard east of the existing structures. The new detached
single-family home is expected to be 4,342 ft². The existing single car garage of 406 ft² behind
the existing home will be demolished and replaced with the new four cars garage of 986 ft²,
which is detached from the new home.
The proposed architecture is done in what is commonly referred as “Formal Mediterranean
Style” architecture, with architectural elements that are easily found in both traditional and
contemporary homes around the neighborhood. The architectural forms and materials are
straight forward and clean with hipped roofs. The siding is color brown stucco (Suede #105)
with complementary different tones of brown for main entrance mass, trim, and accents
throughout the proposed home, see proposed color Material Board for better clarity. Exterior
doors and windows will be Expresso color to further enhance the richness architecture of the
new home. The main entrance door and its porch openings including adjacent windows are also
proposed to have shapes and configuration of the “Formal Mediterranean Style” architecture
elements. The roofing will be brown Spanish Colonial roof tiles (Ludowici Spanish Tile-13) with
Oxford brown color for its eaves and gutters.
LANDSCAPING
The two existing trees that are larger than 10” diameter trunks at the front portion of the
existing house: Canary Island Palm (#42) and Chinese Pistache (#41) will be preserved and will
still be the dominating features of the overall landscape of the front lot.
And to preserve neighbor privacy, the following perimeter trees will be planted around the new
home:
On the north side - Four 24" box Tristania Conferta will be planted 3’ away from property
line with 17' spacing on center. With adjacent neighbor (14298 Lora Drive) existing trees,
Red maple #43, Red maple #44, and Coast redwood #45 - together will provide privacy
screening.
On South side - Two 24" box Laurus Nobilis will be planted 3' away from property line with
12’ spacing on center.
On the east side - Four 24" box Magnolia Grandiflora ‘Saint Mary’ will be planted 3' away
from property line with 15’ spacing on center.
In addition the Owner/Applicant of this project will implement the Arborist Report
recommendation provided by Walter Levison, Contract Town Arborist (CTA) dated 09/25/2020.
THE A. CHAUBE RESIDENCE, 14300 Lora Drive, Los Gatos, CA 95032
Kris & Associates - 3484 Mission View Dr., Fremont CA 94538 - (510) 252 1212
Page 3
COMPLIANCE WITH RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS
The proposed home specifically addresses the Residential Design Guidelines as follows:
SITE PLANNING:
The new home will be sited at 154’-7” away from the adjacent Lora Drive at the large
backyard of the existing home, with generous setback that comply with the city design
guidelines.
The new four cars garage will be detached from the existing home with 28’ separation
and the new home with 12’ separation. It will have accessibility and driveway that is
similar with the existing condition.
Utilizing hipped roof similar to the existing home and surrounding neighbor to reduce
the visual impact on the neighborhood. The top of the hipped roof is kept below 30’
(29’-9.5”) to comply with the city planning restriction.
Grading has been kept to the minimum required for proper site drainage.
SCALE AND MASS:
• The proposed home has a huge 154’-7” front setback with generous separation from the
adjacent neighbor to minimize its visual impact as demonstrated in the overall Siteplan
and Streetscape on Sheet A-9 for better clarity. The height of the new home is quite
similar to the adjacent rear neighbor at 14333 Mulberry Drive and to the adjacent right
neighbor at 17525 Wedgewood Ave.
• The proposed home has been carefully articulated with roof elevation lines, walls, and
balcony that are pushed in and out to break up the overall mass, especially for the front
elevation. The simplified front building envelope resulted into clearer and simpler
architectural mass and manages to avoid complex roof forms to be consistent with
Residential Design Guideline 3.3.1. (Develop the house plans and elevations together).
• A suitable profile projecting trim is added below second floor windows on all four sides
of the house to provide visual relief for t wo story walls which is especially common in
“Formal Mediterranean Style”. The added element is also responsive to Residential
Design Guideline 3.3.3. (Provide visual relief for two story walls).
HARMONY/COMPATIBILITY:
The neighborhood architecture character is somewhat eclectic, with a combination of
traditional to ultra-modern style; so the proposed “Formal Mediterranean Style” is
considered neutral yet complimentary to the overall feeling of the neighborhood.
All front elevation first floor windows and doors will have arched forms. We
implemented ‘segmented arch’ top also common practice in Mediterranean Style. This
implementation is consistent with Residential Design Guideline 3.2.2. (Design for
architectural integrity).
Exterior doors and windows will have substantial sash and wood trim width to match
traditional windows appropriate to the style and consistent with Residential Design
THE A. CHAUBE RESIDENCE, 14300 Lora Drive, Los Gatos, CA 95032
Kris & Associates - 3484 Mission View Dr., Fremont CA 94538 - (510) 252 1212
Page 4
Guideline 3.2.2. (Design for architectural integrity) and 3.7.4. (Design the windows with
attention to matching the traditional details of the architectural style).
Rafter tails which are common practice in Mediterranean Style are added into the roof
design. This implementation is consistent with Residential Design Guideline 3.2.2.
(Design for architectural integrity).
EXTERIOR MATERIALS:
High quality materials are selected for this proposed home including textured stucco for
the walls, combination of contemporary and “Formal Mediterranean Style” with dual
glazed, low-E windows, and complimentary “Spanish-style” roof tiles. See proposed
color Material Board for better clarity.
Balcony with impact-resistance clear glass railing and brush-finish Stainless Steel
balustrade is also proposed at the rear elevation.
ENERGY CONSERVATION:
The house will employ high quality dual glazed, low-E windows, with ultra-high
performance insulation packages and high efficiency mechanical systems for heating,
cooling, and domestic hot water.
The high ceiling, the generous void spaces in the middle portion of the house, and the
strategically located high windows throughout the house will help deep penetration of
sunlight to reduce the need for artificial lighting during daytime.
Cross ventilation is provided to allow natural cooling in order to reduce the need for
A/C.
PRIVACY:
Most large windows and glass doors are located at the front and rear elevations of the
proposed home compare to the side elevations to help maintain the privacy of the
adjacent neighbor.
And to preserve neighbor privacy, the following perimeter trees will be planted around
the new home:
o On the north side - Four 24" box Tristania Conferta will be planted 3’ away from
property line with 17' spacing on center. With adjacent neighbor (14298 Lora
Drive) existing trees, Red maple #43, Red maple #44, and Coast redwood #45 -
together will provide privacy screening.
o On South side - Two 24" xox Laurus Nobilis will be planted 3' away from property
line with 12’ spacing on center.
o On the east side - Four 24" box Magnolia Grandiflora ‘Saint Mary’ will be planted
3' away from property line with 15’ spacing on center.
LANDSCAPING:
• All proposed landscaping shall comply with the Town’s Landscaping Policies.
THE A. CHAUBE RESIDENCE, 14300 Lora Drive, Los Gatos, CA 95032
Kris & Associates - 3484 Mission View Dr., Fremont CA 94538 - (510) 252 1212
Page 5
• The Owner/Applicant of this project will implement the Arborist Report
recommendation provided by Walter Levison, Contract Town Arborist (CTA) dated
09/25/2020.
• Proposed drought tolerant plants and landscape materials have been chosen to enhance
both the architecture and the natural setting of the lot.
GEOLOGICAL:
A Geological report has been ordered and will be submitted for peer review when
completed.
Conclusion
This house has been conceived from the beginning to be compatible with both the
neighborhood and the site. The size, mass, color, and exterior style are in keeping with the
surrounding properties and enhance neighborhood.
Sincerely,
Krislani Mulia
Designer
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