Item 5 - Exhibit 10 - Consulting Architect Second ReportNovember 7, 2019
Ms... Jennifer Armer
Community Development Department
Town of Los Gatos
110 E. Main Street
Los Gatos, CA 95031
RE: 15925 Quail Hill Road
Dear Jennifer:
I reviewed the revised application drawings and the applicant’s response to my March 26 letter . The concerns
and recommendations in that review letter were as follows:
Issues and Concerns
From a pure architectural design standpoint, it would be difficult to fault the proposed design. However, the
proposed architectural style is typically constructed on a flat building pad, and the structure may be difficult
to reconcile with the Town’s Hillside Development Standards and Design Guidelines.
I went on to identify some specific elements of the Hillside Development Standards and Design Guidelines
which may not be adequately addressed by this design.
The recommendation included a lead paragraph noting that the primary issue was consistency to the hillside
guidelines, but provided suggestions for some changes that might improve the design.
Recommendations
The primary issue is whether the proposed design or some modified version of it would be sufficiently
consistent with the Town’s Hillside Development Standards and Design Guidelines. In the past, the Town
has welcomed architectural variety, and much has changed in home size and household expectations in the
fifteen years since the Hillside Development Standards and Design Guidelines were adopted.
The formal style of the proposed home makes modifications to more strictly conform to the standards and
guidelines difficult without resulting in a distortion of the basic forms and details of the traditional style.
There are a few modifications that I can suggest that would maintain the spirit of the architectural style.
They would include the following:
1.Increase the second floor setback, if possible.
2.Add continuous railings and cast stone friezes in lieu of the currently proposed three separated front
elevation forms.
3.Increase the window sizes on the second floor over the entry.
4.Enhance the second floor cornice to add more visual substance.
5.Deep set all wall planes and windows.
6.Add additional landscape buffering along the street edge.
EXHIBIT 10
15925 Quail Hill Road
Design Review Comments
November 7, 2019 Page 2
The revised application drawings have not modified the proposed architectural style and form of the three
symmetrical stacked boxes, so the primary questions remains as to whether the project meets the Town’s
expectations for development within areas subject to the Town’s Hillside Development Standards and Design
Guidelines.
The new drawings are responsive to the six recommendations above, but the changes may not be sufficient
to achieve compliance with the Town’s Hillside Standards and Design Guidelines. I am not able to offer any
further recommendations to address the issue of hillside guidelines compliance without breaking-up the mass-
ing into distinct bays and levels with stepped back roof forms, cantilevers, and material changes as would be
common for traditional French and Mediterranean Style homes constructed on sloping hillsides.
Mitigating circumstance could include the fact that the structure would be at the bottom of the hill rather
than the top so it’s visibility would be limited to homes above it and to viewers on the two immediately adja-
cent streets. Also, it would not be in immediate adjacency to other homes so side-by-side comparisons might
diminish the substantial change in style, character and massing from other homes in this area of the Town.
Still, it would likely seem to be an anomaly to the normal compatibility of form, scale and character that char-
acterized the foundations of the Town’s Residential Design Guideline.
Please let me know if I can provide any further assistance.
Larry
Sincerely,
CANNON DESIGN GROUP
Larry L. Cannon