Exhibit 3 - December 17, 2024, Town Council Desk Item Report with Attachments 11-13PREPARED BY: Erin Walters
Associate Planner
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Attorney, and Community Development
Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● (408) 354-6872
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 12/17/2024 ITEM NO: 18 DESK ITEM
DATE: December 17, 2024
TO: Town Council
FROM: Chris Constantin, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Consider an Appeal of a Planning Commission Decision to Approve an
Architecture and Site Application for Construction of a Single-Family
Residence and Site Improvements Requiring a Grading Permit on Vacant
Property Zoned R-1:8. Located at 15411 National Avenue. APN 424-12-
140.Architecture and Site Application S-23-033. Categorically Exempt
Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15303: New Construction. Property
Owners: Vyankatesh and Ramya Muddada. Applicant: Jose Rama. Appellant:
Hellen Martinez. Project Planner: Erin Walters.
REMARKS:
Attachment 11 includes public comments received between 11:01 a.m., Monday, December 16,
2024, and 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Attachment 12 includes the Appellant’s Town Council presentation.
Attachment 13 includes the Applicant’s Town Council presentation.
ATTACHMENTS:
Previously Received with the December 12, 2024, Staff Report:
1.November 13, 2024 Planning Commission Staff Report, with Exhibits 1 through 12
2. November 12, 2024 Planning Commission Addendum, with Exhibits 13 and 14
3.November 13, 2024 Planning Commission Verbatim Minutes
4.November 15, 2024 Planning Commission Action Letter with Modified Conditions of
Approval
5.Appeal of the Planning Commission Decision, received January 22, 2024
EXHIBIT 3
PAGE 2 OF 2 SUBJECT: 15411 National Avenue/S-23-033 DATE: December 17, 2024
6. Supplemental Correspondence from the Appellant, received December 4, 2024
7. Applicant’s Response to Appeal, Received December 10, 2024
8. Draft Resolution to Deny Appeal and Approve Project
9. Public comments received between 11:01 a.m., Wednesday, November 13, 2024, and 11:00
a.m., Thursday, December 12, 2024
Previously Received with the December 16, 2024, Addendum:
10. Public Comments received by 11:01 a.m., Thursday, December 12, 2024, and 11:00 a.m.,
Monday, December 16, 2024
Received with this Desk Item:
11. Public Comments received by 11:01 a.m., Monday, December 16, 2024, and 11:00 a.m.,
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
12. Appellant’s Town Council Presentation, received December 17, 2024
13. Applicant’s Town Council Presentation, received December 17, 2024
ATTACHMENT 11
If you are OK with this arrangement, you can consider pulling back your appeal.
Let me know at your earliest convenience.
Regards,
Vyankatesh (Venky)
From: Ramya Muddada
Sent: Monday, December 16, 2024 12:51 PM
To: Erin Walters <EWalters@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Fw: 15411 National Ave project
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Hello Erin,
Below is the communication with the appellant, I think this should be part of the support,
Best,
Ramya
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Ramya Muddada <
To: Christian (National Ave Nieghbore) U.
<; Vyankatesh B
Cc: Jose Rama
Sent: Monday, December 16, 2024 at 12:45:56 PM PST
Subject: Re: 15411 National Ave project
Hello, Hellen and Christian,
We looked into the feasibility of moving the second-story first egress window location to the front wall,
but after speaking to my other neighbor on National, it will not be possible to move it.
Best,
Ramya
On Monday, December 2, 2024 at 12:50:27 PM PST, Vyankatesh B > wrote:
Hello Hellen and Christian,
We are looking into the feasibility of moving the second story first egress window location, to the front
wall.
The second egress window already has enough privacy currently with the big oak tree and its not in the
direct line of sight for you. Also, we cannot technically move it to the rare wall since there is not enough
space on that wall and also it will be more closer to the rear neighbor.
If you are OK with this arrangement, you can consider pulling back your appeal.
Let me know at your earliest convenience.
Regards,
Vyankatesh (Venky)
From: Ramya Muddada
Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2024 9:31 AM
To: 'Jose Rama' ; Erin
Walters <EWalters@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Re: Public Comments - 15411 National Avenue - 12-16-24
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Hello Erin,
Please see the attached letter in response to the appellant's letter received by the staff on 12.16.24,
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns,
Best,
Ramya
On Monday, December 16, 2024 at 12:31:18 PM PST, Erin Walters <ewalters@losgatosca.gov> wrote:
Hello Jose, Venky, and Ramya,
Please see the attached public comment regarding the proposed 15411 National Avenue project. The
comments will be included in a Desk Item report for tomorrow’s Town Council report.
All comments received by 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, December 17th will be included a Desk Item.
Sincerely,
Erin Walters ● Associate Planner
Community Development Department ● 110 E. Main Street, Los Gatos CA 95030
Ph: 408.354.6867 ● 408-354-6872
www.losgatosca.gov ● ewalters@losgatosca.gov
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Dear Erin,
This letter is to address the appellants letter received by staff on 12.16.24
1. We definitely worked on the feasibility of moving the first egress window, but my other
neighbor at 15385 National Ave is not willing to the change and sent a letter on 12/12/2024
reminding us of the assurance we had given him that we would not put a window on our
front façade on the NE side.
Below are a few reasons why it is not feasible:
• Due to the driveway curve in that area, we can't add privacy trees that would block
the window's view.
• We are not willing to Obscure/frost the windows on our front façade as it
compromises our design element.
• Moving the window will not solve the issue of privacy, as we would still be able to
see 377 Blackwell Dr.'s backyard and at least one window, and we would add one
more neighbor to this mix.
2. Due to architectural reasons, we cannot move the second egress window. There is
not enough space to put an egress window due to the patio roof, and we had assured
113 Leila Ct neighbors that there wouldn’t be an egress window in the back of our
property (staff has this communication as part of neighborhood reach-out).
The rest of the windows are non-offensive. The windows in the bathrooms and storage
are not in the line-of-sight area as they start at 8ft and end at 6ft, and the garage window
is non-living space and at ground level.
Even though the garage, storage, and bathroom windows are non-offensive, we have
decided to obscure them and have an opening of only 4 inches.
3. With regards to the size and scale of the house – We are at a standard size for a multi-
generational home.
From: Hellen
Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2024 10:27 AM
To: Erin Walters <EWalters@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Fwd: 15411 National Ave - Tower Visible from Street
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Hello Erin,
Could you kindly include this desk item?
Thank you,
Hellen
From:
Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2024 11:00 AM
To: Erin Walters <EWalters@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: appelants letter
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
December 17, 2024
Los Gatos Town Council
Via Email
Dear Council,
This letter intends to provide additional information and comments to our original letter
sent on December 4, 2024.
Appeal of the Planning Commission’s Decision on the Proposed Structure
at 15411 National Avenue
While we recognize and accept that the Applicants have the right to build a two-story
structure in this flag lot, the following are the reasons which prompted this Appeal:
The structure is inconsistent with neighborhood compatibility, sizing, massing and
scale per section 2.1 of the General Neighborhood Design Principles.
The position of numerous windows in the structure raises severe privacy concerns
resulting in our loss of quality of life and need to be re-positioned. We find the
Conditions of Approval as written are inadequate on this requirement.
The proposed landscaping is inadequate to protect our privacy. The Conditions of
Approval address only the type but not the number of trees required
Our house on 377 Blackwell Drive as well as several of the adjacent houses in the
immediate neighborhood were built in such a way to maximize privacy, minimizing
adjacent windows, offsetting the ones that exist, and facing the primary living areas
towards our respective backyards instead of each other. The houses surrounding this rear
lot have a high level of privacy by design.
The project is inconsistent with neighborhood compatibility, sizing, massing and scale
per the General Neighborhood Design Principles.
The size, massing, scale, bulk and style of the proposed structure does not harmonize with
the adjacent houses, including ours, and it stands out even more so by its location in the
middle of the city block (in a flag lot / corridor lot), which causes it to overlook the
neighboring backyards and most private indoor living areas. We believe this is not in line
with section 2.1 of the General Neighborhood Design Principles which states that
“residential development shall be similar in mass, bulk and scale to the immediate
neighborhood.”
A look at its Square Footage (SF) of the structure provides an indication of its bulk and
scale in relation to neighboring properties, especially given its location in the middle of the
city block (flag lot):
Covered patio: 570 sq ft
Covered porch: 36 sq ft
For comparison, below are the
TOTAL Square Footage of several adjacent properties, per the Planning Staff report. None
of the properties have a basement so this is also their gross square footage.
We are not disputing that the proposed structure (exactly) meets the maximum allowed
FAR of 0.30. We are stating the fact that its total size significantly exceeds the neighboring
properties.
Despite the applicants having partially met the Town’s Consulting Architect
recommendations, we believe the structure still does not appear to be consistent with
section 2.1 of the General Neighborhood Design Principles due to its very large mass, bulk
and scale, especially given its location in the middle of the city block (flag lot).
Town Code Section 29.40.072 states that “The use of below grade square footage is
allowed in residential zones as a means to provide ‘hidden’ square footage in lieu of visible
mass.”
The proposed structure includes a very large basement but also maximizes its FAR (0.30),
its allowable garage size (901 sq ft) and its basement size (1700 sq ft, similar to the first
floor). This does not follow the intent of Sec. 29.40.072 of using a basement to decrease
visible mass and thus creating a more harmonious design with its surroundings, given its
location in a flag lot.
Note that the project maximizes all the allowable size per the Town Code, which as one of
the commissioners put it during the hearing, “a maximum is a maximum, not a goal”. It is
much larger than any of the adjacent two-story and single-story residential houses,
which also lie on similarly sized lots of approximately 10,000 sq ft. Another commissioner
during the hearing stated that the proposed structure is “not that much larger than the next
largest house” and that statement is incorrect.
A joint letter of opposition on this matter from four neighbors was sent to the Planning
Department on November 12 and we believe this concern has not been fully addressed.
One additional point of clarification: Based on various comments made by some of the
Commissioners during the hearing, we believe they incorrectly assumed that all the
Blackwell neighbors who spoke that day were asking that the application be changed from
a two-story house to a one-story house. This is inaccurate – In fact, two of our properties
are two-story houses (373 Blackwell Dr and 377 Blackwell Dr), so we have no fundamental
opposition to another two-story structure. Our request is that the size of the proposed two-
story structure be reduced to one that is less massive and more harmonious with the
surrounding structures, especially given its location in the middle of the city block (flag lot),
which causes it to overlook all the neighboring backyards and many indoor living areas on
every side, as we have already stated.
Request:
Decrease the size of the proposed structure to one that is less massive, more harmonious
and in scale, bulk, and size with the surrounding structures and its positioning in the
middle of the city block, by following point 2.1 in the General Neighborhood Design
Principles.
Modification needed on the condition of approval to relocate windows
Our main privacy concerns, shared with two other neighbors on Blackwell, are related to
various windows on the proposed structure which have line of sight to our various primary
living spaces and backyards. Our house on 377 Blackwell Drive as well as several of the
adjacent houses in the immediate neighborhood were built in such a way to maximize
privacy, minimizing adjacent windows and facing the primary living areas towards our
respective backyards. The proposed structure, given its large massing and flag lot position,
will overlook all our backyards and interior living spaces (unobstructed by trees, in the case
of our property at 377 Blackwell Drive), severely affecting the expectations of privacy and
quality of life that has been a part of this neighborhood for decades.
There are various windows in the proposed structure that have a line of sight into our
private living areas, including various windows upstairs as well as the proposed garage
windows, which have a line of sight into our upstairs bedrooms given that they have not
planned for privacy tress next to our common fence (see photo below).
It is important to note that, given the current level of privacy we’ve had for the past 15
years, it is not only a DIRECT line of sight that raises our concerns.
Below are a few photos of how the proposed structure would look from our master
bedroom (with also a direct view into our master bathroom located behind the
photographer), upstairs bedroom and downstair bedroom. The current proposal does not
include planting any privacy trees next to our common fence (only trees next to the
common fence with 373 Blackwell Drive are planned), so these photos truly show how
unobstructed the line of sight will be.
View of structure from master bedroom window
View of structure from upstairs bedroom #2
View of structure from downstairs bedroom
One of the Commission’s conditions for approval is that, in order to address the strong
privacy concerns brought up by multiple neighbors before and during the hearing, “the
applicants shall meet in good faith to relocate the offending windows such that they are
the least offensive to the privacy interest of the neighbors.” We feel that this language is
vague and does not specifically state that the windows shall be relocated, nor encompass
all the windows brought up as an issue during the hearing. In multiple neighbor letters
since early 2024, there had been requests to relocate these windows and/or bedrooms
due to privacy concerns. And in our letter to the Planning Department on November 11
(attached below), we provided specific suggestions on how those offending windows might
be moved to face East and West instead of North to address our primary privacy concerns.
We also mentioned in the letter and the Planning Commission hearing that there are other
windows that are of significant concern to our property specifically and it is unclear, and
open to interpretation, which and how many the approval of condition applies to. The
Planning Commission tried to address the privacy concerns with this condition of
approval, but it in effect does not.
Our proposed relocation of one of the offending windows from the North wall to the East
wall would provide significant improvement to privacy, given that it would only have a very
partial view of our backyard from its new location (and no view into our rooms). Here is a
drawing from our letter to the Planning Department on November 11 proposing this
repositioning:
Additionally, we sent an email to the Applicants before the Planning Commission hearing
summarizing our ongoing concerns with the proposed structure. It was NOT our intended
strategy not to communicate with the Applicants before that date.
On December 2, the Applicants wrote to us stating that they were looking into the
feasibility of moving just one of the second-floor offending windows (egress window #1)
from the North side to the East side if we would consider dropping this appeal. They also
stated that they think upstairs egress #2 already would not be moved and that it “already
has enough privacy”. This proposal unfortunately would not address all our privacy
concerns. It is clear that the egress window #2 placement (and others) infringes on our
privacy, even if it's not directly within the sightline. The design and layout of our home
places a high premium on private outdoor spaces, and the current design directly
contradicts that. The statement that “there is already enough privacy” feels dismissive of
the very real concerns that we and other neighbors have raised.
On December 10 the Applicant stated in their letter to this Council that they did not intend
to reposition the offending windows above. In the case of egress window #1, they use a
new privacy argument with a different neighbor on 15385 National Avenue. This would
severely impact our privacy and quality of life on several of our primary living areas and our
backyard, especially since the Applicants do not intend to add additional privacy trees on
the section of the North fence (their proposal only includes planting privacy trees on their
common fence with 373 Blackwell Drive).
If the offending windows truly cannot be repositioned, we believe that there are ways they
can work with their architect to address our privacy concerns, for example by moving some
of the problematic living areas from the North-facing side to the South-facing side (where a
“sitting area” and “master closet” are shown in the current design, which could be
repositioned), and by eliminating the large windows from the “garage storage room” and
the “garage.” Alternatively, one of the upstairs bedrooms could be moved downstairs
where the large “garage storage room” is now. These options seem to be dismissed
without due consideration, even though they could easily address the privacy issues with a
bit of creativity from the architect.
The use of obscure glass does not fully address our privacy concerns since it can be
bypassed by opening the egress windows much of the time, especially in the good Los
Gatos weather. Note that on their December 10 letter, the Applicants state that “to
address the planning commission councils’ [sic] conditions of approval [they] have
decided to obscure additional windows”. However, the drawing under that statement
states “we have marked additional panels to be masked with internal film to become
opaque at these new locations.” Note that using glass with internal film (which just
darkens the image - opaque) is not the same as using obscure glass (which distorts the
image for privacy), and it is explicitly stated as not an allowed solution per the conditions of
approval.
Request:
The condition of approval be amended to require redesign that all the offending windows
shall be repositioned to a location that addresses the neighbors’ privacy interests.
Modification needed on the condition of approval regarding trees
One of the Commission’s conditions for approval is that “the [privacy] tree species shall be
mutually agreed upon by the neighbors that they are a minimum protective of privacy and
non-allergenic to any of the neighbors.” While we appreciate and value this condition, we
believe it’s insufficient to address the concerns we expressed before and during the
hearing, given that the proposed plan includes planting of privacy trees by the section of
the North fence facing 373 Blackwell Drive only, but there would be no privacy trees by
the section facing our property at 377 Blackwell Drive.
On December 10 the Applicant stated in their letter to this Council that they did not intend
to reposition the offending windows as mentioned above. This would severely impact our
privacy and quality of life in several of our primary living areas and backyard, which makes
adding additional privacy trees on the section of the North fence facing our property much
more important.
Additionally, the allergy condition to various types of trees by one of our family members
which we brought up verbally during the hearing is not something we would proactively
communicate in writing, as with any medical condition.
Request:
The condition of approval be amended to require that both the species and also the
number and location of the privacy trees shall be mutually agreed upon by the neighbors.
We humbly and respectfully ask that this appeal be granted so that the applicants may
submit a proposal which addresses all the issues listed above and they can move on to
building an appropriate two-story house, considering the privacy of all neighbors and
maintaining our quality of life and neighborhood character.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Hellen Martinez
377 Blackwell Dr
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Appeal of Planning Commission’s Project Approval
of 15411 National Avenue
Los Gatos Town Council, December 17, 2024
1
ATTACHMENT 12
Appeal to Planning Commission
Building Plan Approval of
15411 National Avenue
Appellant's Opening Presentation
Los Gatos Town Council
December 17, 2024
2
Reasons for our Appeal
•While we recognize and accept that the Applicants have the right
to build a two-story structure in this flag lot, the following are the
reasons which prompted this Appeal:
•The structure is inconsistent with neighborhood compatibility, sizing,
massing and scale per section 2.1 of the General Neighborhood Design
Principles.
•The position of numerous windows in the structure raises severe privacy
concerns resulting in our loss of quality of life and need to be re-
positioned. We find the Conditions of Approval as written are inadequate
on this requirement.
•The proposed landscaping is inadequate to protect our privacy. The
Conditions of Approval address only the type but not the number of trees
required.3
Our Immediate Neighborhood
4
•Our home as well as several of the adjacent
houses in the immediate neighborhood were
built in such a way to maximize privacy,
minimizing adjacent windows and facing the
primary living areas towards our respective
backyards.
•They comprise a mix of one-story and two-story
houses, all under 2,729 sq ft and with no
basements. All garages on Blackwell are under
490 sq ft. (on National, all are under 777 sq ft)
•Emails supporting this Appeal were sent to the
Town by our neighbors #1 and #2, who are also
directly impacted by the proposed structure and
have similar concerns.
Our
home
Proposed
Structure
#1#2
Size and Location of the Proposed Structure
•The structure’s large massing and bulky style do not harmonize with the multiple single-family homes around it, including ours.
•Its location in a flag lot in the center of the city block causes it to look over the backyards of several neighboring properties, negatively impacting those neighbors’ privacy, quality of life, sunlight, and property values.
•It is not in line with section 2.1 of the General Neighborhood Design Principles which states that “residential development shall be similar in mass, bulk and scale to the immediate neighborhood.”
•The structure includes a very large basement allowed by Town Code Section 29.40.072, but without its intended use to decrease the above-ground visible mass.5
Proposed
Structure
Our
home
Intended Use of Basements/Cellars
•Town Code Section 29.40.072 states that “The use of below grade square footage is
allowed in residential zones as a means to provide ‘hidden’ square footage in lieu of
visible mass.”
“A maximum is a
maximum, not a goal”
•The proposed structure includes a very large basement but also maximizes its FAR (0.30), its allowable garage size (901 sq ft) and its basement size (1700 sq ft, similar tothe first floor). This does not follow the intent of Sec. 29.40.072 of using a basement to decrease visible mass and thus creating a more harmonious design with its surroundings, given its location in a flag lot.
Size of the Proposed Structure
2693 + 489 = 3,182 sq ft373 Blackwell Dr
2693 + 468 = 3,161 sq ft377 Blackwell Dr
2173 + 411 = 2,584 sq ft381 Blackwell Dr
•House: 3,240sq ft (countable)
•Garage: 901 sq ft (countable)
•Basement: 1,700 sq ft (not countable)
•TOTAL GROSS SQUARE FOOTAGE: 5,841 sq ft
•Covered patio: 570 sq ft (not countable)
•Covered porch: 36 sq ft (not countable)
•Attic (not countable)
7
•All numbers are within allowed limits.
•This calculation shows the complete
massing and volume of the structure.
8
2693 + 489 = 3,182 sq ft373 Blackwell Dr
2693 + 468 = 3,161 sq ft377 Blackwell Dr
2173 + 411 = 2,584 sq ft381 Blackwell Dr
Size of the Proposed Structure
•House: 3,240 sq ft (countable)
•Garage: 901 sq ft (countable)
•Basement: 1,700 sq ft (not countable)
•TOTAL GROSS SQUARE FOOTAGE: 5,841 sq ft
•Covered patio: 570 sq ft (not countable)
•Covered porch: 36 sq ft (not countable)
•Attic (not countable)
•All numbers are within allowed limits.
•This calculation shows the complete
massing and volume of the structure.
9
10
Significant Privacy Concerns
•Given its location in the center of the flag lot, the proposed structure has
numerous second-floor and first-floor windows facing our property, with line
of sight into our most private living spaces, bedrooms, bathroom and
backyard.
11
Window Repositioning Request
•To address our privacy concerns, we had proposed to the Planning
Commission that these windows be either removed or relocated.
•Only using obscure glass is not sufficient since it can be bypassed by
opening the windows, especially given our good Los Gatos weather.
•Only planting additional privacy trees is not sufficient to fully address
concerns.
•Changing the location of the rooms with these windows could also
be a solution.
12
Our Window Repositioning Requests
13
Addressing Privacy Concerns
•The Commission’s condition of approval for the
“applicant to meet in good faith to relocate the
offending windows” tried to address our privacy, but we
find it is too vague and not suited to address our primary
concerns, which was one reason for our Appeal.
•Concerns about several of these windows have been
raised in letters from multiple neighbors since early 2024,
with no action taken by the Applicants
14
Second Story NE Egress Window
•On December 16the Applicants claimed for
the first time to have an early verbal
agreement with a neighbor on National Ave to
avoid egress windows on the NE wall.
•However, on December 2 the Applicants had
written to us offering an arrangement to look
into moving one of the offending egress
windows from the NW to the NE wall as we
had suggested, in exchange of dropping this
Appeal.
•It would be reasonable to relocate this
window to the NE wall, since it would only
have direct line of sight to the property on the
front lot home owned by the Applicants. Note
that its line of sight to the neighbor on
National Ave is similar in either position.
15
Our Home Neighbor on
National
Front Lot
House
Use of Obscured Glass
•A Condition of Approval states that “the privacy windows shall utilize
obscured glass. Privacy film shall not be used.”
•Obscure glass is insufficient since it can be bypassed by opening the egress
windows.
•On their December 10 letter, the Applicants state that “to address the
planning commission councils’ [sic] conditions of approval we have decided
to obscure additional windows.”
•However, the drawing under that statement states “we have marked
additional panels to be masked with internal film to become opaque at
these new locations.”
•Glass with internal film is not allowed per the Conditions of Approval. Any
window that faces our property needs to have obscured glass, not
privacy film.
16
Inadequacy of Adjacent Landscaping
•The conditions of approval state that the neighbors shall
agree to the type of privacy trees to be planted, but not
the quantity.
17
•The current plan does not include
privacy trees directly facing our
property.
•Treesto address privacy, traffic,
noise, and pollution
Photos of the Structure from inside our Residence
•These photos show how unobstructed the line of sight would be, given the lack of trees planned next to our common fence.
•Note that the garage windows (above lattice) can be seen from our master bedroom.18
Master bedroom,
second upstairs
bedroom, downstairs
bedroom
In Conclusion
•We respectfully ask that this Appeal be approved, based
on:
•The structure is inconsistent with neighborhood compatibility,
sizing, massing and scale.
•Significant privacy issues caused by multiple windows, which are
not fully and adequately addressed by the current Conditions of
Approval.
•Inadequacy of the proposed landscaping to protect our privacy,
which is not fully addressed by the current Conditions of
Approval.
19
Thank you
20
Proposal for single family residence
The proposed residence is a transitional home
that executes a mix of elegance and
sophistication
promotes and uplifts surrounding area by value
and scenery
The proposed house is on a 13,209 vacant flag
lot with a proposed build area of 3,240 sf
The expanded size of the house is necessitated
by the specific requirements of our family
structure, including multi-generational living
arrangements that demand additional space for
storage, comfort and functionality.
ATTACHMENT 13
Before
Demolition
When the property was bought, we inherited the dump with storage structures.
Addressed
Neighborhood
concerns at
best of our
abilities.
•The Initial plan for the proposed house was to have it on the north side, where the Blackwell neighbor would have had three
windows with the more extended façade facing them. However,
we moved the project to the south after conducting the shadow
study and to minimizing shadow impacts on adjacent properties.
•Made sure the façade facing Blackwell is smaller.
•Removed balcony and windows with a line of sight from our proposed design to provide more privacy to our Leila Ct and Blackwell Dr neighbors.
•Obscure/frosted glass on the two-story bedroom egress windows
on the north elevation facing the Blackwell Drive rear yards.
•Made adequate setbacks (almost 40ft) on the proposed north
side of the building to ensure distance b/w proposed two-story
windows and two stories of current neighbors on Blackwell Dr is
over 100 feet.
•The current giant oak tree at the rear of the proposed site, shared with the Blackwell neighbor, provides a considerable privacy screen.
•We are planting 5 Privacy trees to add additional privacy from the
egress windows for the Blackwell neighbors.
The Windows for storage, bathrooms, and garage are
non-offensive, but we have addressed even these by
obscuring and having only a 4inch opening
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