Loading...
09 Attachment 2 - July 22, 2020 Planning Commission Verbatim MinutesLOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A P P E A R A N C E S: Los Gatos Planning Commissioners: Melanie Hanssen, Chair Kathryn Janoff, Vice Chair Mary Badame Jeffrey Barnett Kendra Burch Matthew Hudes Reza Tavana Town Manager: Laurel Prevetti Community Development Director: Joel Paulson Town Attorney: Robert Schultz Transcribed by: Vicki L. Blandin (619) 541-3405 ATTACHMENT 2 LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 P R O C E E D I N G S: CHAIR HANSSEN: We have one item on the agenda for Public Hearings, and that is agenda item #2, which is considering an appeal of a Development Review Committee decision approving a request to demolish a single-family residence and construct a new single-family residence on property zoned R-1:10; located at 146 Robin Way; APN 532— 12-015; Architecture and Site Application S-19-043; the property owners are—excuse me if I mispronounce your name— Mehrdad and Leila Dehkordi; the Applicant is Gary Kohlsaat; and the project planner is Diego Mora. May I have a show of hands from Commissioners who have visited the site? Are there any disclosures? I don't see anyone with their hand up, so then we can go on. Mr. Mora, do you have a Staff Report for us? DIEGO MORA: I do. Good evening, Commissioners. On May 19th the Development Review Committee held a public hearing for the application where the neighbors raised concerns about the project. The Development Review Committee continued the application to allow the Applicant time to address the LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 concerns raised. The Applicant met with the neighbors and revised the design. At the June 9th public hearing, based on compliance with Town Code and the Residential Design Guidelines, the Development Review Committee approved the application with an added condition of approval for an 8' fence and landscaped screening addressing privacy concerns that are contained in Condition 11 of Exhibit 3. On June 19th an appeal to the decision was filed by the adjacent property owner to secure commitment by the Applicant to address the privacy concerns in Condition 11. Based on the analysis that is provided in the Staff Report Staff recommends denial of the appeal, upholding the decision of the Development Review Committee subject to the Conditions of Approval. I would also like to include a public comment that was inadvertently omitted from Exhibit 10 from Mr. Robert Buxton on May 18th leading up to the May 19th DRC public hearing. He cited concerns with the architecture, mass, and scale of the home. Additionally, he cited concerns of blocked hillside view. This concludes Staff's presentation and we are available for questions. Thank you. LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CHAIR HANSSEN: Do any Commissioners have questions of Staff at this point? Commissioner Burch. COMMISSIONER BURCH: During the DRC meeting when it was added to the Conditions of Approval to have the higher fence and the landscape screening, was the Applicant along with the neighbors aware of that Condition of Approval? Was there any indication given that that would meet the privacy concerns that the neighbor had brought up? DIEGO MORA: The Applicant was aware of the Condition of Approval. The specifics to that approval and how that would be met was left up to the Applicant and the owner adjacent to the property, that question. CHAIR HANSSEN: Go ahead, Commissioner Burch. COMMISSIONER BURCH: So, the 8' fence and the landscaping was an agreement between the homeowner and the neighbor, but there were still then, from what I'm understanding, from what I'm reading, some concerns about that agreement and the privacy? DIEGO MORA: That is correct. JOEL PAULSON: Commissioner Burch, let me jump in as well. That condition was placed on the application at the DRC hearing. The Applicant and the adjacent owner, who is currently the Appellant, were amenable to it. I think the Appellant's concerns were there were no details LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 associated with that because it was something that was added at that meeting. The Applicant I believe has met with the neighbor and their landscape architect, and so I think they've had conversations, but ultimately we're moving forward with the appeal because the appeal was not withdrawn. COMMISSIONER BURCH: Thank you. CHAIR HANSSEN: I had a related question to that. If I read the language of the appeal, and I guess we can ask the Appellant, it specifically says they were looking for a written commitment from the Applicant on how this is going to work and it's my understanding, and I'm asking for Staff's confirmation, that when we put something in the Conditions of Approval we don't normally expect the Applicant to on top of that write something up, because it's in the Conditions of Approval and they otherwise can proceed with their development and building permits and so on and so forth. Is that correct? JOEL PAULSON: If Mr. Mora doesn't have any input on that, again, I think that we put the condition in but the details behind that hadn't been fleshed out yet because it was something that was addressed at the meeting, but obviously the project couldn't move forward to building permit level without that condition being addressed and so LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 that would require cooperation between both the Applicant and the Appellant saying yes this satisfies that condition to the satisfaction of the Community Development Director. CHAIR HANSSEN: Okay, and then one other procedural question, and I'm doing this really for the benefit of anyone viewing. Since this appeal was based solely on the screening from the south side of the property is it okay for members of the public to bring up other issues and to create basically a brand new hearing that could bring in any issues on top of what was in the appeal, or are we only considering the language of the appeal? JOEL PAULSON: As with typical appeals, and if either the Town Attorney or Deputy Town Attorney have any additional, this is a de novo hearing, so you are free to ask questions about any aspects of the project. Obviously the appeal is very specific, but ultimately as with all appeals, it becomes an opportunity for you to bring up any questions that you might have. CHAIR HANSSEN: All right, thank you. Now, do any other Commissioners have questions of Staff? Commissioner Hudes. COMMISSIONER HUDES: My question is about the architect's report. There were some elements of the architect's report that were very specific, but there were LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 also some things… And so my question of Staff is when the architect says "simplify" something, is it clear what that means? They drew a box several times on several of the drawings with a box around them so that says simplify. DIEGO MORA: Thank you, Mr. Hudes. When the architect indicates simplify it's giving some flexibility to the Applicant to come up with some sort of solution and justify how that component of the comment was indeed simplified. It may be a reduction in height, it may be a reduction in mass, etc. COMMISSIONER HUDES: Okay, thank you. CHAIR HANSSEN: All right, do any other Commissioners have questions of Staff? Seeing none, we will now open the public portion of the public hearing and give the Appellant and then the Applicant an opportunity to address the Commission for up to five minutes. Mr. Paulson, who will be speaking as the Appellant? JOEL PAULSON: That I do not know. I don't see the Appellants in the attendee list. I do see a hand raised, so I'm going to allow what may be Ms. Buxton to speak, and so let me allow her to talk and then see if they have any other input. I do not see the Appellant listed. LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 JIM ZAKE: I'm having technical difficulties, so I apologize. This is Jim Zake; I'm using Susan Buxton's notebook, so I apologize. JOEL PAULSON: Great. That's great. JIM ZAKE: Okay. I'm so sorry, you guys. So, just a couple of comments. The reason I filed the appeal is just to ensure that the screening and the fence are executed. I was invited by the Dehkordis to meet with their landscape architect as well as Gary Kohlsaat, their architect, to have a discussion about the screening and about the fence, so I invited the Dehkordis, Gary, and their landscape architect, Tina, over to our home so they could get a first-hand view of what we're concerned about. I built a story pole that is 12' tall marked from 8' to 12'. I walked along the property line in our back yard. Starting from the back yard I addressed the areas of concern where they were going to remove an apple tree that provided complete screening, and 20' in length of 12' high rhododendrons that were going to be removed, which would provide a clear line of site from our back yard to their back yard and their complete rear elevation of their new home, which is almost entirely glass, so severe concerns of privacy on my side. LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 On the windows of the north elevation of our home their structure is going to be…I believe it's 18' tall. We're 3' higher from an elevation grade perspective and our views are completely obstructed, so my desire was to have that screened with plants as well. In the meeting with… Well, what I will say is that for some reason the Dehkordis declined to come over to our back yard to see, but I did meet again with the landscape architect and Gary and we agreed in concept on the height of the plants that would need to be installed to provide proper screening. My desire was to have that completed before the construction was started, and again, the complete intent is to have privacy and to screen what will be the new structure. Because of our property being 3' higher from an elevation grade perspective the size of the plants that Gary estimated would have to be 36" box plants, and we agreed with that in concept at the meeting that we had. I received a proposal from the Dehkordis with respect to the planting. They proposed ten each 15-gallon plants to provide coverage relative to the story poles I put up. At our elevation grade the plants would have to be 10' tall. Fifteen-gallon plants are 6' tall. When I received the proposal I hired a plant expert to come over and review the LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 situation. He let me know—and I can provide you his name and everything about him, if you would like—but he told me that it would take ten years for a 15-gallon plant to get to that size, so I was very concerned that we had agreed in concept over what was going to be provided and then what was proposed. Additionally, for the back yard there is an apple tree that Gary Kohlsaat said would not survive. My plant expert said it would not survive. The foundation of the new proposed home is encroaching under the canopy of that tree substantially, there are surface roots, and again I'm not an arborist or anything, but both Gary and the plant expert that I hired said that that tree would not survive. So again, the Dehkordi's proposal to keep the apple tree that they were previously going to remove because it wouldn't survive, and ten 15-gallon podocarpus that are 6' tall, are just really not in alignment with what we agreed to. That's my concern, and again, I can provide you with all the information I received from my plant expert. My proposal is to have 20 each 36" box podocarpus along the fence line to provide screening and the privacy that we're enjoying today. LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 And that's it, and I apologize for being a bit disjointed because of my technical difficulties and having to use somebody else's PC, so sincere apologies. CHAIR HANSSEN: Thank you very much. We're glad that you were able to come and make comments. I want to ask my fellow commissioners if they have any questions for the Appellant? Vice Chair Janoff has her hand up. VICE CHAIR JANOFF: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Zake, for your comments. My question is your proposal mentions 20 each 36" box plants but you don't mention the fence itself. Do you have any other conditions or requests regarding the 8' fence that's required by Condition of Approval Condition #11? Is it just the box plants? JIM ZAKE: Yes, Ma'am, and I apologize; I did have that on my notes and I'm so disjointed and disheveled that I've missed it, but yes. On the proposed plan the fence is not noted and we agreed in concept to an 8' fence; 6' fence, 2' lattice. VICE CHAIR JANOFF: Okay, thank you. JIM ZAKE: And thank you for asking. CHAIR HANSSEN: Okay. Now, do any other Commissioners have questions for the Appellant? Commissioner Hudes and then Commissioner Barnett. LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 COMMISSIONER HUDES: Thank you. I understand that the appeal is being made about the privacy issues, and I understand the review is a de novo review. Nevertheless, neighbors in their letters raised other issues about the architecture and height. As the Appellant do you share any of those concerns? JIM ZAKE: Yes, Mr. Hudes. Thanks for asking. I've never been through this process but I definitely was one of the concerned neighbors relative to architecture, relative to the height of building, the architectural style, the scale and scope of the project, and I had documented all that information previously. My appeal was relative to the screening and the fencing. I don't believe anybody filed an appeal relative to the DRC's ruling for the approval of the building itself, but I definitely have concerns about that. COMMISSIONER HUDES: Thank you. CHAIR HANSSEN: And Commissioner Barnett, you had your hand up. COMMISSIONER BARNETT: Yes, I noted in Mr. Zake's email of May 18th there was a reference to a declaration of restrictions relating to the subdivision and I was wondering if you felt that there were any provisions of that declaration that may affect the privacy issue? LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 JIM ZAKE: Mr. Barnett, can you repeat that question; I'm sorry. COMMISSIONER BARNETT: Yes. As I read your email of May 18th you mentioned that there's a declaration of restrictions relating to the subdivision and I was wondering if that bears on your appeal? JIM ZAKE: I don't believe it does. I think those were the original documents when the subdivision was first developed in the mid-fifties. COMMISSIONER BARNETT: That satisfies my question. CHAIR HANSSEN: And do any other Commissioners have questions for the Appellant? Okay, it looks like there are none, so then we will move on and we will ask to have the Applicant speak for up to five minutes on their behalf. JOEL PAULSON: Thank you. We see Gary Kohlsaat is raising his hand, so he is ready to speak for up to five minutes. CHAIR HANSSEN: Okay, Mr. Kohlsaat, go ahead, and I had neglected before, but if you could please state your name and address for the record. GARY KOHLSAAT: Good evening, everybody. This is Gary Kohlsaat. I am at 51 University Avenue, Suite O, Los LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Gatos CA 95030. Nice to see everybody tonight. Can everybody hear my okay? Am I too loud, too soft? CHAIR HANSSEN: It's good. GARY KOHLSAAT: Okay. Normally when we get Conditions of Approval like this we work with Staff and the neighbor or concerned person to make sure that the screening is appropriate, and that was our plan all along, but the appeal kind of kickstarted it a little bit more. We were attempting to satisfy the Zake's concerns when we met with them on July 9th and we met with… We had our landscape architect and I joined as well. First of all, we're okay with the 8' fence. It's 6' of solid plus 2' of lattice, and that will go on the architectural site plan, which will be part of our next set of documents that Planning Staff will review, but it doesn't surprise me that the Zakes were concerned about this, just given the nature of their needs, that they didn't want to leave it to chance, and so I'm generally okay with that. I still think that we could have worked this all out to everybody's satisfaction, but here we are. So, that being said, the things we talked about at the site on July 9th were the appropriate screening materials and the appropriate sizes and locations, and several things were discussed. The apple tree was kind of a LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 contention point. The Zakes loved the apple tree and the Dehkordis also loved the apple tree; they felt that it wasn't going to survive. We have actually relooked at the grading plan where you can see… If you look at these landscape plans. I don't know, Diego, if you could share that plan for me. Is that possible, the plan that we gave you? It's that landscape plan. Well, anyway, the canopy of the tree does come into our patio but not necessarily too much into the roof covering, because we have an open section over the outdoor kitchen that has no roofing on it at all, so we're talking about 10% of the canopy—I'm estimating 10% of the canopy—of the tree conflicting with our roof, so we think that it can survive and maybe it needs a little bit of soil put around it. We are raising the house up by 6" from where it is now, so we have the ability to actually add some topsoil and cover some of those roots. We felt that that was kind of a good solution overall for that aspect of it. And then we talked about the side screening between the two homes right there in that area. The difficulty with installing larger podocarpus in 36" size boxes is they're quite expensive and the 24" box would probably after a few years catch up to the 36" and be better established, so it's preferred to plant smaller LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 sizes in the long term. But I completely understand their desire to provide more immediate screening, so what we talked about doing was raising a planter box, extending the planter box and replacing it and extending it into our side yard at the level of their property, which is 3' higher than our property, and to actually get 3' of height for our plants. So, we are starting the plants at the elevation of their house, which you've got an 8' fence and we felt that we need to put 10' or 11'—I’m sure Jim Zake could refresh my memory on that—but like 10' or 11' would be the goal. What we didn't want to do was plant something that was going to grow to 12', or 15', or 20' because that's going to block too much from both, so we wanted to find that intermediate perfect plant and the podocarpus is an evergreen that grows very well. The problem with planting a large size box is the planter box itself needs to be wider to accommodate the root ball and drainage and everything like that, and so we are starting to encroach into our side yard quite a bit with a larger planter in order to handle the larger box. JOEL PAULSON: Excuse me. GARY KOHLSAAT: Are we out of time, Joel? JOEL PAULSON: That's the five minutes there. GARY KOHLSAAT: That was fast. Can I close? LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CHAIR HANSSEN: Is there one last thing you wanted to say? GARY KOHLSAAT: I do. I just want to point out that not only does their house sit 3' above ours, but part of their back yard is raised up actually at the next door neighbor's property level, which is about 2.5' up there, so when they're talking about some of the privacy screening they're talking about in their back yard, in the very far part of their back yard, which is another 2.5', and they're looking down from about 5.5' down on the Dehkordi's property. The Dehkordis are not necessarily going to be looking up because of the 8' fence. I'm happy to take questions. CHAIR HANSSEN: All right, so let me see if any of the Commissioners have questions for you. All right, I'm not seeing anyone that has raised… Oh, Vice Chair Janoff. VICE CHAIR JANOFF: Thank you, and thank you, Mr. Kohlsaat. Did you propose or did you have a discussion regarding the 24" boxes versus 36" with the Appellant? GARY KOHLSAAT: We talked about three different sizes. We talked about the 15-gallon, the 24" box, and a 36" box. If you do the 36" box you're going to space them farther apart. The landscape architect was highly recommending going with the 15-gallon because of better LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 18 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 overall health of the plant in the long term. I normally use either between 15-gallon and 24" box. There was some discussion about using something that would get them more immediate screening, and indeed we did talk about as long as we could have a reliable water source during construction to get these things established now, and I think that's a wonderful plan. VICE CHAIR JANOFF: Let me just interrupt you for a second. My question was have you proposed the 24" box sizes to the Appellant? I understand your discussion about the benefits of the 24" or the 15-gallon versus the 36", but have you discussed the 24" option with the Appellant? GARY KOHLSAAT: We did discuss several, and then between the Dehkordis and the landscape architect they decided that the 15-gallon was what they wanted to present, and so that's what they chose to put on this plan at this time. VICE CHAIR JANOFF: Okay, just so I'm clear, the Appellant is proposing 36" and the owner is proposing 15- gallon, and you're suggesting 24" is a better compromise. Is that correct? GARY KOHLSAAT: I think that's a fair statement, yes. Yes. VICE CHAIR JANOFF: All right, thank you. LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 19 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 GARY KOHLSAAT: Yes, mmm-hmm. CHAIR HANSSEN: Do any other Commissioners have questions for the Applicant? Okay, so seeing none we will move on and this would be the time that we would take public comments, so I want to find out from Mr. Paulson if anyone has raised their hand to make comments from the public. JOEL PAULSON: Yes, Robert Buxton would like to speak. CHAIR HANSSEN: Okay. Go ahead, Mr. Buxton. ROBERT BUXTON: I hope you started the three minutes over, please. JOEL PAULSON: I haven't even started it yet. ROBERT BUXTON: Okay, I'll tell you when you can start it, Mr. Paulson. So, can you all hear me? CHAIR HANSSEN: Yes. ROBERT BUXTON: Okay, thank you. So thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for allowing me to speak this evening. My name is Bob Buxton. My wife and I have lived at 118 Robin Way for 38 years, two sons in Los Gatos schools, Cal Poly, UCLA, and we're strongly involved in volunteer work as someone you know. This is a very tight knit neighborhood, and when I say neighborhood I'm speaking of Robin Way, Cardinal LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Lane, and Stonybrook Road; it's comprised of wonderful and respectful families. Our current position on the application is as follows: Number one, support the Appellants, Mr. and Mrs. Zake, and their right to privacy and quality of life. Thirty-six inch is going to handle it; they have hired a landscaper, etc. With the $2 million budget for this home a few more dollars for the right thing to do for the Zakes is more than appropriate. Item number two, because of poor communications from the beginning of the process we recommend that the Planning Commission act on Alternative #1, "Continue the matter to a date certain with special direction." We look forward to the Planning Commission taking a leadership role in getting this matter resolved. We're not that far away. It has been a stressful time for many residents. There is no need for an appeal to the Town Council. A couple of additional comments. I had a memo to the DRC of May 18th that I don't know if you got it in your package or not—it wasn't originally there—but I wanted to point out one part of my May 18th email and that is Exhibit 15. We never approved the project in December and we don't approve it now. We are supporting the Zake's appeal. LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 21 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Exhibit 15 is incorrect in many ways as to the neighbor's positions. This is when everything started. I wouldn't be here today if it was done correctly. Lastly, something that really bothers me is the portrayal of the existing home to be demolished, and I'm not saying it shouldn't be demolished, but the original owner and seller approximately five years ago sold the property to the current homeowners. The home was in pristine condition; pristine condition. Lester H. Strickler and his wife spared no expense on 146 Robin Way. Mr. Strickler, a well-known and respected land owner, developer, and financier here in the valley; his business is Los Gatos Investment Company. The condition stated is an insult to Mr. Strickler and lacks total respect and it really bothers me that the house is being portrayed as falling down, the walls caving in, etc., etc. Anyway, that's all I have to say and I would be happy to answer any questions. Thank you very much. CHAIR HANSSEN: Do any Commissioners have any questions? Commissioner Hudes. COMMISSIONER HUDES: This is same question that I had for the Appellant. There were other issues that were raised in letters from neighbors about the architecture and neighborhood compatibility. In your mind are those still LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 22 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 issues that should be considered or were those issues that were resolved satisfactorily from your opinion? ROBERT BUXTON: My opinion is those are still issues. I'm looking out my office window now at the story poles and the obstruction of our hillside views. The size and mass of the building itself does not fit the neighborhood, but the issue tonight from our perspective is to totally and completely support the Zakes in what their desire is for privacy and for sure all the (inaudible), but Commissioner Hudes, yes, still an issue. And when I say neighborhood I've told you the three streets, somewhere around 50% of the neighborhood are not in favor of this project, but we're here to support the Zakes. COMMISSIONER HUDES: Thank you. ROBERT BUXTON: Yes, sir. CHAIR HANSSEN: Commissioner Badame has a question for Mr. Buxton. COMMISSIONER BADAME: Mr. Buxton, thank you. I just want to clarify your testimony in that although you had concerns with the architecture and the neighborhood compatibility, your issue, in order for this to go forward, is that you want to support your neighbor in that we have the 36" box plants, and that would be satisfactory despite the architecture and neighborhood compatibility, since that LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 23 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 seems to be the issue tonight and that was what you started your conversation with? ROBERT BUXTON: Absolutely, again, supporting the Zakes, 36". Life is too short and we're going to have obstructed views, the house doesn't fit the neighborhood, and many well-known realtors in the area agree with that statement, but we are supporting the Zakes; the rest of it is what it is. Life is too short, so let's get on with this and please, I appreciate all your support. Let's just get it done for the Zakes. COMMISSIONER BADAME: Thank you, Mr. Buxton. ROBERT BUXTON: Yes, ma'am. CHAIR HANSSEN: And do any other Commissioners have questions for Mr. Buxton. Seeing none, I don't think there is anyone else from the public in the attendees but I just want to confirm with Mr. Paulson. JOEL PAULSON: That's correct. CHAIR HANSSEN: Okay, so then the next item when we're doing an appeal would be to go back to the Applicant first and then the Appellant and give them each three minutes to respond to questions from the public or give any final comments to the Commission before we begin our deliberations. So, I'll ask the Applicant to speak. You LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 have up to three minutes to respond or add any additional comments. GARY KOHLSAAT: Thank you. I do want to say that we haven't given up working with the Zakes. This is by far not our best and final offer; this was just something that was a result of our meeting not only with the Zakes but with the owner and landscape architect. We respect the process, we respect the Town Staff. We'll make sure that everybody is done right by this. I didn't have a chance earlier to comment about the architecture. We did change it fairly dramatically in terms of simplifying it after our first DRC hearing. We changed it once after we got Mr. Cannon's review. We worked with Staff; they felt it was appropriate. We then changed it more to simplify it even more to help try to fit it in with the neighbor's concerns and we lowered the house and we created more exhibits to really showcase what we've done. So, if you are looking at your package and you're looking at our Sheet A-3 we did a full-color streetscape with all the neighbors' homes and our home and landscaping with and without, and you can see how this house we feel is as respectful as it's going to get in this neighborhood. I'm proud of this house; I think it's going to be a very LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 25 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 eye catching house. My hope in the end is that there is harmony renewed in this neighborhood, especially on Robin Way. Everybody is very considerate and community minded and the Dehkordis are there as well. Thank you. CHAIR HANSSEN: All right, thank you, Mr. Kohlsaat. It looks like Commissioner Hudes has a question for you. COMMISSIONER HUDES: Thank you. Mr. Kohlsaat, the Staff Report lists seven items that were recommendations from the consulting architect to address consistency with the Residential Design Guidelines. In the final plans, the ones that are being considered now, have these seven items been addressed? GARY KOHLSAAT: In my mind we would not have been at the DRC if they hadn't been addressed. Ms. Zarnowitz and Mr. Mora were working with us directly quite a bit. When we made the second round of changes we commented that these are even more what Mr. Cannon was going for and they said yes, even though they liked the other one; they were fine with the other one. Although they're not the arbiters of architecture they are the professionals and we rely on them, and you guys rely on them, to get us to this point. In my mind I think we have. That's a subjective question I think though, if you agree with that or not. LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CHAIR HANSSEN: Commissioner Hudes, do you have a follow up question? COMMISSIONER HUDES: Yeah. I'm just picking one of them out, #4, "Select a roof material more similar to the other homes in the immediate neighborhood." Was that addressed? GARY KOHLSAAT: That's the one item that seems to come up quite a bit, but the Design Guidelines are probably ready for a little update as you see that there are quite a few of these standing seam metal roofs in Los Gatos. I think we had another challenge of that roof on another project and a client of ours went around and found 25 examples without even breaking a sweat. We changed the color of the roof from the gray to the brown, and these are not reflective roofs, and these are very high-quality roofs—they're probably the most expensive roof you can get besides a slate roof—and I would say that this has a spirit of ranch houses. You see them all over the country, this type of roof being used in modern ranch and modern farmhouse, projects. CHAIR HANSSEN: Commissioner Hudes still has more questions. COMMISSIONER HUDES: This is a follow up. The homes that you mentioned with the standing seam roofs, are LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 27 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 they in the immediate neighborhood or the adjacent neighborhood? GARY KOHLSAAT: They're in the adjacent neighborhoods but not in the immediate 2-5-2. COMMISSIONER HUDES: Okay, thank you. CHAIR HANSSEN: Do any other Commissioners have questions or comments for the Applicant? It doesn't seem like we do so then we will go on and ask the Appellant if they would wish to comment for three minutes? JIM ZAKE: Thank you, Ms. Hanssen; greatly appreciate it. I'm just going to read through a few observations, concerns, and proposed solutions. Hopefully I'll be a little more concise now that I've had a chance to take a breath. Again, I apologize for being a little bit disjointed initially. With respect to the plants and the screening, the privacy, without question the new structure is going to be— and it's surprising because we're 3' higher—blocking our views out of that side of our house, so just with respect to the issue at hand, with respect to the screening, the observations are as follows: The proposal was for ten each 15-gallon podocarpus. They're no more than 6' tall. LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 28 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 The existing apple tree has a surface root system. Per the plans the new proposed foundation is going to encroach well under the canopy and over the exposed root structure. The 20 lineal feet of the 12' tall rhododendrons to be removed was not addressed in the revised plan and leaves substantial exposure. The required no less than 8-foot fence was not reflected in the revised plans. My concerns: Bob mentioned this as well—thank you Robert—that a properly cared for 15-gallon podocarpus takes ten years to reach the height and girth for the required screening; that's per the expert consultant that I hired. Thirty-six inch boxes are what would be required to achieve that. Gary did repeatedly comment that due to the age and the surface root structure the apple tree would not survive. Our consultant also commented that and was in alignment with that thought process as well. The Dehkordi's proposal is not in any fashion in alignment with our in- person discussion and conceptual agreement, so I am very glad that I went through the Town process. I've never been through this before but I'm greatly appreciative of this LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 29 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 process and being able to ensure that everything is documented and well vetted, so thanks very much for that. So, the proposed solution again: include in the revised plans no less than an 8' fence with 6' of solid and 2' of lattice, which we agreed to; provide 20 each, two per 8' section, 36" box podocarpus along the fence line; as previously planned remove the apple tree; erect the fence and install the plants prior to the initiation of construction; and then finally I just want to ensure and guarantee the proper watering and case of the noted plants and that we put some sort of requirement to replace any failed plants within a certain period of time. And again, I just want to thank the Town very much for their consideration and for having this process for us to go through and I look forward to moving it forward. So, thank you very, very much for the opportunity to speak. CHAIR HANSSEN: Okay, thank you very much, and so any of the Commissioners have questions for the Appellant? It looks like Commissioner Tavana. No, no. Okay. All right, do any other Commissioners have questions for the Appellant? Seeing none, we will close the public portion of the hearing and ask if any Commissioners have questions of Staff, wish to comment on the application, or introduce a LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 motion for consideration by the Commission? Commissioner Barnett. COMMISSIONER BARNETT: Well, if I heard Mr. Kohlsaat direction he's saying that their position that's been communicated is not their best offer. It seems to me it would be appropriate to allow some time for further conversation. CHAIR HANSSEN: I think what you're suggesting is a continuance? COMMISSIONER BARNETT: That is what I have in mind, yes. CHAIR HANSSEN: Okay. I'd like to hear from other Commissioners on their thoughts on the application. Commissioner Burch, then Vice Chair Janoff, then Commissioner Badame. COMMISSIONER BURCH: (Inaudible) to ask a question maybe of my fellow commissioners. I am usually one of the first ones to say that if all they're appealing is one thing we should only look at the one thing, however in this particular appeal and in going back through what the Town Architect had recommended and through some of the neighbors' letters, aside from the issue about the privacy, which to me feels like there's probably an easier solution there that can be met, I am actually struggling with some LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 of the elements of the house architecturally as far as how it fits in with the neighborhood. Now again, I can drop that there if we all feel that DRC approves that particular aspect and we don't want to discuss that any further, but I would like to know if there's anyone else that feels a concern about that, if we do even want to entertain a conversation about that? CHAIR HANSSEN: All right, so let's see. We also had Vice Chair Janoff and then Commissioner Badame had their hands up. VICE CHAIR JANOFF: Thank you. I think it's respectful to limit the scope of our discussion tonight to what the Appellant is asking for, and with regard to that, since we don't have an alternative proposal from the Applicant, then I find that what the Appellant is requesting to be reasonable. There seems to be relatively little conversation that leads to a mutual understanding and commitment, and so having these four items enumerated: the quantity 20 36" box; 6' fence with a 2' lattice; the removal of the apple tree, and installation of the screening prior to the beginning of construction seem reasonable to me. I did want to comment about the apple tree. While it might be noble to try to save it, if there's any concern LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 32 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 that it might not be salvageable it's probably wise to remove it before you wind up in a situation where the item you're counting on for screening actually doesn't wind up screening and then you're left in a future state where you don't have the privacy that you're looking for tonight. So, I would be in favor of the Appellant's proposal as stated. With regard to the architecture, I too would like to make some comments about it. I didn't have a problem with the standing seam roof; I think those are interesting and I think they're going to be a part of construction, particularly in this time period. We've even seen the standing seam roof on Victorian homes, so it's not completely inappropriate. The one item I found odd was the front wood square box that's still there, the one box that the architect commented on was tucked under the eave—as you're looking at the elevation the eave on the left side of the house—and that front detail looks a little bit odd to me, but I don't have a huge problem with it if my other Commissioners don't. I'd be willing to limit tonight to a decision about the privacy that the Appellant is asking for. CHAIR HANSSEN: Thank you, Vice Chair Janoff. Commissioner Badame. LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 33 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 COMMISSIONER BADAME: I typically would like to have a conversation about the architecture, the bulk and the mass, and the privacy issues, but it looks like we're not there right now. We're kind of limiting the scope to what the Appellant is looking for, and I don't see or feel that the proposal of the Appellant is unreasonable as well. So, if that can't be resolved tonight or agreed upon tonight, then I'm also going to be looking for a continuance. CHAIR HANSSEN: Okay, thank you, Commissioner Badame. Do any other Commissioners want to comment at this point? I would just like to add my comments. I too noted that there were extensive comments during the DRC review process about the bulk and mass of the application and some comments about maybe some of the square footage might have been relocated underneath the house in a cellar, and so on and so forth, but I also agree that it was very consistent from the comments from the public tonight as well as the comments from the Appellant that even though those issues might has been on the table they are willing to limit their concerns to what was in the appeal, and that's about the screening between the two homes. LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 34 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 I also thought that the Appellant was very specific, went to the trouble of hiring their own expert, and has made a very specific proposal that I agree with Vice Chair Janoff doesn't seem unreasonable. I would prefer if we can get resolution on this tonight, that if the Applicant is able to agree to those conditions that we could avoid having to have another hearing on this subject, but I don't know the best way to do that so I'm going to ask… Oh, and we have a comment from Commissioner Hudes as well. COMMISSIONER HUDES: Thank you. I'm responding to Commissioner Burch's comment earlier. With respect to the privacy issue I'm definitely persuaded that the Appellant has proposed a reasonable solution to this; maybe it needs to be tweaked but I basically think that that issue is resolved. I personally am still struggling with being able to make the findings about neighborhood compatibility, but I'm still thinking about it. CHAIR HANSSEN: All right, does anyone else wish to comment on the application? So then I think this would be a good time, if any of the Commissioners were willing to make a motion and let's see where we can go with it. LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 35 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 So, we have an option of denying the appeal and approving with additional conditions as proposed by the Applicant. There was one suggestion of continuance. So, I'd like to see where we're at on that if anyone is willing to make a motion. All right, I'm not seeing anyone willing to make a motion. Vice Chair Janoff. VICE CHAIR JANOFF: My apologies. I would like to make a motion but I don't have the documents in front of me; I'm limited to a few pieces of paper, so I don't have the formal motion language before me, and so I hesitate to make the motion in case there are formalities that need to be included but would be willing to do so otherwise. CHAIR HANSSEN: Okay. Before we do that I did want to ask Staff a question. If it was the desire of the Commission to make a motion and there was a vote in favor of it, wouldn't we need to ask the Applicant if they are willing to agree to that condition, or would be just make the motion and say this is the condition and then they have to decide whether to live with it. JOEL PAULSON: You would make the motion with the condition and they would have the opportunity to appeal it to Council if they weren't comfort with that condition. CHAIR HANSSEN: I see. Okay. All right, so Vice Chair Janoff, I think we could probably make it work with LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 36 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 referring to the findings that are listed in the Staff Report; it was around the Residential Design Guidelines and so on and so forth. So, if you wanted to make a motion I think we could do it and just refer to the findings that are mentioned in the Staff Report. And Staff, if you're not okay with that please say something, but I think you've delineated what all the findings were in the Staff Report. JOEL PAULSON: That's been done in the past, so you can just reference the findings and considerations as illustrated in the Staff Report. CHAIR HANSSEN: Okay, so take it away, Vice Chair Janoff. VICE CHAIR JANOFF: Okay, thank you. I, in reference to the Appellant's subject property and in reference to the findings and the conclusions in the Staff Report, move to amend the Staff recommendations to include the four points of proposal that the Appellant has provided, which we've already enumerated and is part of the record as part of the Conditions of Approval. CHAIR HANSSEN: So, your motion is to deny the appeal with the condition of amending the Conditions of Approval? VICE CHAIR JANOFF: Yes, thank you. LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 37 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CHAIR HANSSEN: Okay, all right. I just want to make sure I got it right. So then do we have a second? Commissioner Badame has her hand up. COMMISSIONER BURCH: I move it. So seconded. CHAIR HANSSEN: All right, Commissioner Badame seconds the motion. Do any Commissioners want to make any additional comments before we take a vote? Seeing none, then we will do a roll call vote and please answer yes, no, or abstain. Commissioner Badame. COMMISSIONER BADAME: Yes. CHAIR HANSSEN: Commissioner Tavana. COMMISSIONER TAVANA: Yes. CHAIR HANSSEN: Commissioner Burch. COMMISSIONER BURCH: I'm actually going to say no, knowing that I believe this is going to pass, but only because I'm really struggling with the architecture, particularly the roof, so I'll say no. CHAIR HANSSEN: Okay, that's fine. And then Commissioner Hudes. COMMISSIONER HUDES: No. CHAIR HANSSEN: Commissioner Barnett. COMMISSIONER BARNETT: Yes. CHAIR HANSSEN: Vice Chair Janoff. VICE CHAIR JANOFF: Yes. LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/22/2020 Item #2, 146 Robin Way 38 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CHAIR HANSSEN: And then I vote yes as well, so it passes 5-2, and are there any appeal rights on this decision? JOEL PAULSON: There are, thank you, Chair. Anyone who is not satisfied with the decision of the Planning Commission can appeal that decision to the Town Council. The appeal forms can be found online and they must be submitted. There is a fee for filing the appeal and the appeal must be filed within ten days. CHAIR HANSSEN: Okay, thank you very much. So that concludes Item 2 on the agenda.