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Item 03 - 125 Wheeler Ave - Staff Report Exh.17125 Wheeler Ave Objections 125 Wheeler Ave Objections 1 Thank you for taking the time to review our concerns. The Greens 129 Wheeler Ave 2 We live at 129 Wheeler Avenue and we are the most affected neighbor. We met with Mr Jeans May, 21st, 2016 where he assured us the plans were within the planning guidelines, and that they would proceed without modiﬁcations, breaking ground in September. We voiced our concerns in person, and twice via documentation submitted to the Los Gatos Planning Division. It’s a shame no modiﬁcations were made to address any of our concerns. Background Neighborhood Compatibility Setbacks & Property Contours FAR Assessment Cellar vs Basement Shadow and Light Privacy Grade Request Agenda 3 Background 4 We fell in LOVE with Los Gatos and spent a year and a half looking for the right house. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 Blossom Manor 5 We knew we didn’t want to live in an area that was densely populated like Blossom Manor Wheeler Ave 6 and so we were thrilled to ﬁnd Wheeler Ave, an area that beautifully preserves a spacious housing pattern. “In order to preserve Los Gatos’s unique character and high quality of life, new development must meet very high standards.” Los Gatos Residential Design Guidelines 7 We purchased 129 Wheeler in December 2015 and after reading the Los Gatos Residential Design Guidelines we were conﬁdent that any new construction in our area would honor the neighborhood. Neighborhood Compatibility 8 Next I want to talk about the neighborhood compatibility. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 The City of Los Gatos has given great weight to the fact that “a house design which is appropriate in one neighborhood may not be appropriate in another neighborhood.” Los Gatos Residential Design Guidelines 9 The City of Los Gatos has given great weight to the fact that “a house design which is appropriate in one neighborhood may not be appropriate in another neighborhood.” There are too many design elements in the plans for 125 Wheeler Ave that make it incompatible with our neighborhood. What’s Unique? 10 What’s unique about our neighborhood? 11 Every house is built without towering over one another. 12 As an example take 119 Wheeler and 262 Los Gatos Blvd. Their living spaces are far apart. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 13 In addition, 119 Wheeler Avenue’s second story has a signiﬁcant offset. 14 119 Wheeler Avenue even has a 20ft plus driveway separating 119 from 125 Wheeler. 15 Trees adorn all the properties in the neighborhood. 16 This is typical of the entire neighborhood. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 17 It’s driveway to driveway. 18 Wooded. 19 Driveway to driveway. Respecting privacy. 20 With living areas far away from one another. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 21 The area is not dense. 22 Another massive driveway and modest house. 23 Typical of the area is that traditional houses like these are modest in size and far apart. 24 Again, driveway to driveway spacing with modest traditional houses. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 25 129 Wheeler has second story offsets, more living space on the ﬁrst ﬂoor (reducing bulk and mass), and is over 100 feet to the neighboring house. 26 Even houses up and down Whitney represent this spacious character. 27 Single story or modest second story homes with offsets and driveways providing relief to neighbors. Wheeler Ave Neighborhood •massive setbacks •huge offsets •garage to garage/driveway buffers •respect for privacy •wooded and natural 28 The Wheeler Avenue neighborhood homes have massive setbacks, second story offsets, single story garage to garage buffers and driveway buffers. Homes respect neighbor privacy and are wooded and natural with modest homes. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 125 Wheeler Ave •no setbacks •no offsets •disproportionate •inconsistent bulk, scale and mass •changes intensity and density 29 By comparison 125 Wheeler is disproportionate in size with it’s 60 foot width. For example, the proposed house is as wide as the entire width of their neighbor’s lot at a whopping 60 feet. This is a creeping problem, one house feeds another, and if approved, will change the entire feel of the area. The bulk scale and mass is not consistent with the neighborhood and their plans drastically change the intensity and density of the neighborhood. So what does the density look like in this area? Density Comparison Wheeler Blossom Manor 30 Let’s compare Blossom Mannor, where houses are a standard 8 feet setback on every parcel, to the Wheeler & Whitney area that have distance between houses AND signiﬁcant distance between living areas. Blossom Manor 31 Just look at the overhead density of Blossom Mannor Wheeler Ave 32 Then compare it to Wheeler. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 Density Comparison Wheeler Blossom Manor 33 The difference between the two is signiﬁcant, and you can see that our area preserves a spacious natural setting. What you’ll notice as you drive around the Wheeler neighborhood is that the houses are modest they’re not bulky and there’s less mass. Bulk, Scale, Mass 34 So what constitutes Bulk, Scale and Mass? We would like the architect, Mr. Jeans to help us deﬁne it. 35 In Mr. Jean’s presentation to this Planning Commission on January 27th, 2016, the architect displayed his plans for 15735 Camino Del Cerro. In defending his plans for the Del Cerro house as NOT being Bulky and having excessive Mass, Mr. Jeans deﬁned what WOULD be considered a house with Bulk, Scale and Mass. 36 Mr. Jeans presented that this house, pictured below, is a true representation of Bulk, Scale and Mass. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 Deﬁnition Bulk, Scale, Mass “We believe that bulk, scale and mass would be more that appearance - which is close to the setback, high buildings instead of shorter buildings, and gabled roofs.” Tony Jeans Planning Commission Meeting January 27th, 2016 37 Mr. Jeans stated that he believed that bulk scale and mass would be more like his drawing in appearance - with sides close to the setback and high buildings instead of shorter buildings and gabled roofs. 38 Let’s take another look at his drawing. This looks remarkably familiar why? 39 This is because Mr. Jeans’s own drawing looks like a replica of 125 Wheeler Avenue. In fact, the 125 Wheeler plans ﬁt Mr. Jeans’s own description of Bulk, Scale and Mass. 125 Wheeler is 30 feet high, 8 foot and 6 foot setbacks, and is massive and bulky. FAR Assessment 40 The FAR assessment for 125 Wheeler is not an accurate representation of the massive size of the house, and the cellar should be considered in the assessment. Let’s ﬁrst look at the the 2:5:2 rule. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 2,500/8,379/2,110 29.8% 4,070/8,000/1,484 50.9% 2224/6600 33.7% 2,674/8,261 32.4% 1,620/22,490 7.2% 1,336/10,200 13.1% 2,620/11,570 22.6% 1502/9,120 16.5%1,036/13,503 7.7% 2,449/7,405 33.1% 3,273/7,361/multi 44.5% 41 The 125 Wheeler Avenue plans omitted a few houses so we’ve added them back in this diagram. These are the FAR percentages per house. We understand that there is a fencing dispute with 127 Wheeler, so the actual lot square footage may be less than 8,000 sq ft, and the FAR may be more than reported. 2:5:2 127 Wheeler Ave 129 Wheeler Ave 119 Wheeler Ave 160 Wheeler Ave 120 Wheeler Ave 136 Wheeler Ave 142 Wheeler Ave 141 Wheeler Ave 262 Los Gatos Blvd 256 Los Gatos Blvd Average FAR 24% 42 But even with all these abnormalities– houses facing Los Gatos Blvd, multi-dwelling residences and ﬂag lots, if we abide by the 2:5:2 rule we still have an average FAR of only 24%. 262 & 256 Los Gatos Blvd 43 The 262 Los Gatos Blvd house is arguably not an appropriate comparison since it bears little impact to the immediate neighborhood on Wheeler Ave, and faces Los Gatos Blvd, as does 256 Los Gatos Blvd. “the presence of signiﬁcantly different house styles or large scale houses located at a greater distance from the applicant’s site will be given less weight than the immediate neighborhood.” Los Gatos Residential Design Guidelines 44 The Los Gatos Residential Design Guidelines states that “the presence of signiﬁcantly different house styles or large scale houses located at a greater distance from the applicant’s site will be given less weight than the immediate neighborhood.” However, if we concede that both 262 and 256 Los Gatos Blvd houses be included as representative of the area, then we would like to emphasize that the living space between these two Los Gatos Blvd homes and the adjacent neighboring homes on Wheeler be included in this comparison. Therefore the following should be considered: Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 119 Wheeler Ave & 262 Los Gatos Blvd 45 119 Wheeler Ave and 262 Los Gatos Blvd has a 70 foot setback living space to living space. Each single story garage acts as a buffer and provides ample separation, privacy and design aesthetic. 120 Wheeler Ave & 265 Los Gatos Blvd 46 120 Wheeler Ave and 265 Los Gatos Blvd has a 100 foot setback living space to living space. Each large open driveway acts as a buffer and provides ample separation. 47 Even though 119 Wheeler has a “cellar” it should not be used as a typical example of the Wheeler Ave area. It is in fact atypical. 119 Wheeler Ave 48 119 Wheeler Avenue boasts no direct neighbors on all sides. There should be no relational comparison between 119 and 125 Wheeler Avenue houses. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 50ft 76ft 89ft 70ft 64ft No Direct Neighbors 49 119 Wheeler Avenue affects no neighbors an any side and offers setback ranging from 70-200 feet, while 125 Wheeler Avenue directly impacts neighbors and offers setbacks of only 8-30 feet. 50 119 Wheeler does have a “cellar,” and it should be noted that it’s the only property of it’s kind in this area with a “cellar.” What’s more evident is that their house design beautifully reduced the visual bulk, they offset the second story and maintained massive setbacks, complimenting the design guidelines. Cellar vs Basement “The intent of a cellar set forth in the General Plan guidelines is, “to provide hidden square footage in-lieu of visible mass.”” Los Gatos Residential Design Guidelines 51 We’re wondering how the 125 Wheeler Avenue plans can consider their Basement a Cellar. If any part of a cellar is above grade, it shall be considered in analyzing the bulk and mass of the structure, even if it is not included in the FAR. Because the intent set forth in the General Plan is “to provide hidden square footage in-lieu of visible mass.” We would like a review of the plans of 125 Wheeler Avenue to include the cellar space in the ﬂoor area ratio. Cellar vs Basement “…carefully evaluate the design to ensure that substantial efforts have been made to reduce visible mass to assure compatibility with the site’s immediate neighborhood.” Los Gatos Residential Design Guidelines 52 Although we have sent in two requests to staff for modiﬁcations to 125 Wheeler Avenue, no accommodations have been made in the plans. No reduction of visible mass, no increased offsets, and no effort whatsoever to reduce the visible mass and to ensure compatibility with the immediate area. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 1,484 sq ft ﬁnished cellar 53 This is the 1,484 square foot cellar. This cellar is larger than two of their neighbors entire houses! The 125 Wheeler Avenue proposed plans refer to their basement as a “Cellar.” This is not an accurate representation of the intended use. The owner has verbally conﬁrmed that he is ﬁnishing the “Cellar” with bedrooms, media room and other living spaces. This is an abuse of the cellar/basement policy since the cellar here is clearly in addition to mass and bulk. 1,484 sq ft Finished Cellar 54 If any part of a cellar is above grade, it shall be considered in analyzing the bulk and mass of the structure, even if it is not included in the FAR. The 125 Wheeler Avenue plans are raising the proﬁle of the building so that their “Cellar” can be as high as possible, with multiple windows above grade on the sides of the house Large Courtyard 55 There are also plans for a large courtyard in the rear. Changed Grade 56 To accomplish their raised “cellar,” the plans show that they are changing the grade by over 3 feet! For the grade and slope of the existing site at 125 Wheeler, the “Cellar” should be no more than 1 foot above grade, which is consistent with the grades of 119 and 129 Wheeler Avenue. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 125 Wheeler Plans 57 Let’s look at the square footage in the proposed project data for 125 Wheeler Avenue. 125 Wheeler Plans 1st ﬂoor: 1,376.50  2nd ﬂoor:1,209.53 Cellar: 1,484 TOTAL: 4,070.03 Front covered porch: 248.20 Back covered porch: 293.10 Garage: 561.16 TOTAL: 1,102.46 58 The total LIVABLE areas calculate as follows; 1st ﬂoor: 1,376.50 square feet, 2nd ﬂoor:1,209.53 square feet, Cellar: 1,484 square feet TOTAL: 4,070.03 square feet But that’s just the under A/C ﬂoor area What about the other livable areas that also contribute to mass, bulk and scale of this house? Front covered porch: 248.20 square feet, Back covered porch: 293.10 square feet, Garage: 561.16 square feet TOTAL:1,102.46 square feet 5,172.49 square feet 59 The Grand total is 5,172.49 square feet FAR 50.9% 60 If we only calculate the A/C square footage of the house, ﬁrst ﬂoor, second ﬂoor and “cellar” then the FAR is a whopping 50.9%. The 125 Wheeler Ave proposed design clearly shows the “Cellar” above grade and should be considered in the FAR assessment. Including the “Cellar” makes the FAR assessment much greater since the total square footage including the “cellar” is 4,073 square feet. Just because you can't see the living space doesn't mean it doesn't have an impact. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 Planning Commission Meeting “The Cellar policy like it or not basically says it is not counted in the FAR because the FAR is designed to make you look at bulk, scale and mass of a house and whether or not something that big belongs in their neighborhood. And whether there’s an underground component is not relevant.” July 27th 2016 Tony Jeans 61 On the meeting held July 27th, 2016, Mr. Jean’s voluntarily spoke to the Planning Commission about the cellar policy of 16362 Hilow Road- a property that Mr. Jeans had no interest in whatsoever. In front of the commission, Mr. Jeans defended his position, and claimed the FAR protects only the visual aspect of the home. But that’s not true. The FAR is supposed to represent the maximum ﬂoor area only. There are many more nuances to a house design. FAR is supposed to work in conjunction with the planning guidelines and not max everything out. You can’t have it both ways: maximizing the FAR AND raising the grade AND including an almost 1,500 square foot livable cellar. 62 Because in Mr. Jean’s own words this constitutes Bulk, Scale and Mass. 63 If we accept this design, then our neighborhood is forced to accept a mansion on a tiny lot. Planning Commission Meeting “…is the house going to stick out like a sore thumb because it’s too big. And the cellar policy is designed to allow people to put some extra space and not have it clutter up and block the neighborhood views and neighboring views.” July 27th 2016 Tony Jeans 64 One of the statements that Mr. Jeans made during his voluntarily podium time was that “If you’re driving through (the) beautiful Los Gatos neighborhoods, is the house going to stick out like a sore thumb because it’s too big?” The answer here is YES- 125 Wheeler Avenue is going to stick out like a sore thumb. Mr Jeans goes on to say, “And the cellar policy is designed to allow people to put some extra space and not have it clutter up and block the neighborhood.” Well this is exactly what we believe too. We would like a revision of the design. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 Planning Commission Meeting “I’ve wondered if you’re involved in this project or are you involved in another project in the immediate neighborhood” Commissioner Hudes July 27th 2016 “No” Tony Jeans 65 It was interesting that after Mr. Jeans spoke, Commissioner Hudes asked if Mr. Jeans was working on a project in the area. Tony replied No. This is interesting since the 125 Wheeler Avenue project started earlier this year, and all parties received the second round of our objections that previous day. Setbacks & Property Contours 66 Each house in the Wheeler & Whitney immediate area was built following the contour of each lot, and the houses conform with both the The Los Gatos Residential Design Guidelines and the Town of Los Gatos 2020 General Plan Community Design Element. “Buildings, landscapes, and hardscapes shall follow the natural contours of the property.” Town of Los Gatos 2020 General Plan Community Design Element 67 The Town of Los Gatos 2020 General Plan Community Design Element states that “Buildings, landscapes, and hardscapes shall follow the natural contours of the property.” current proposed 68 The proposed plans of 125 Wheeler Ave do not follow the natural contours of the property. Instead, the 125 Wheeler Avenue plans show an orientation that is in contrast to the contours of the property. And this outline doesn’t even include the balconies, patios and courtyards. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 “Building setbacks shall increase as mass and height increase” Town of Los Gatos 2020 General Plan Community Design Element 69 The other notable factor is that while the Los Gatos 2020 General Plan calls that “building setbacks shall increase as mass and height increase,” the mass and height of the proposed plan of 125 Wheeler Ave, including the “Cellar” and balconies, is too large for the lot and setbacks are not proportionate to the mass of the house. 70 Note the the orientation and the minimal setbacks. Shadow and Light 71 The proposed plans for 125 Wheeler Avenue will deny 129 Wheeler Avenue access to views, sky exposure and sun access. 72 While the story poles display a massive home, they are obstructed by the tree in the front so they don’t tell the full story. 129 Wheeler Avenue will be encased by an enormous shadow due to the bulk of the proposed house at 125 Wheeler Ave. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 73 Blocked light will have a signiﬁcant impact on the quality of living and the enjoyment of our home. 74 129 Wheeler has focal points and large windows that extend along the entire west side of the property. These windows provide light, sun access and sky exposure to our entire house. The 125 Wheeler Avenue proposed house will block light to every room. This is our dining room - it will be completely blocked. 75 It will block light into our living room. 76 And our kitchen bay window, a focal point of our house, will be facing a massive wall and windows. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 77 All light will be blocked. 78 There will be no sky access - we will be encased by walls along the entire West side of our house. Current Shadow Graph Sunlight Shadow 79 The impact into our yard from the current house at 125 Wheeler is negligible. We receive full sun and can see very little of the house. Proposed Shadow Graph Sunlight Shadow 80 The impact into our yard from the proposed plans is devastating. We we are completely in shadow 50% of the day with obstructed views in every window. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 Shadows 81 It’s easier to understand when looking at the shadow here. Three quarters of our house and most of our yard is enveloped in their massive shadow. Blocked light will have a signiﬁcant impact on the quality of living and the enjoyment of our home. “New houses should be planned with an awareness of the impacts which they will have on the views, sky exposure, sun access and privacy of neighbors.” Los Gatos Residential Design Guidelines 82 The design aesthetic for housing in Los Gatos supports existing home owners by ensuring that new development is designed “with sensitivity to adjacent neighbors” and states that “new houses should be planned with an awareness of the impacts which they will have on the views, sky exposure, sun access and privacy of neighbors.” Privacy 83 The plans of 125 Wheeler Avenue compromise our privacy. Privacy 84 This is not just about window placement. Any window on the East side of 125 Wheeler Avenue intrudes into our house. Their second story window poses the most egregious invasion since it is across from our master bedroom and bathroom, and no offset will be sufficient to address our concern. It will also look down into our dining room, living room, formal living room and kitchen bay window. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 Trees 85 Mr. Jeans proposes to place trees along the east side of the house. We are concerned that with such narrow setbacks, between 6 to 8 feet, trees along the east side of 125 Wheeler Avenue will pose a risk to our foundation, sewer, and home once mature. We will further be encased in shadow and and we will endure the nuisance of their tree leaves constantly dropping in our yard. The proposed plans at 125 Wheeler Avenue do not have an appropriate setbacks to accommodate trees. Flag Lot 86 129, 127 and 125 Wheeler Avenues all form a ﬂag lot. Our property has no relief in the back yard. 87 127 Wheeler Avenue was built with an 8 foot setback from our back fence and windows looking into our yard and home. Grade 88 Flat sites or gentle grades of less than about 10% (a one foot rise over 60 feet as in 125 Wheeler Avenue’s grade) are the easiest to build on. So why does this plan ask for a re-grade of over three feet? Issues such as soil type, high water tables, and poor drainage are some of the issues that can complicate construction. However, there are no justiﬁcations for the drastic change in grade the plans propose. We expect a geological study to be performed prior to any excavation of soil. Any construction on this site should not change the grade, it is not necessary and it will adversely impact neighboring properties. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 Water Ellie’s photos 89 These images of 125 and 141 Wheeler Avenue were taken over several Winters. 125, 129 and 141 Wheeler Avenue are the lowest geological properties in this area. Water is an issue in this area, and as we all know water is often the most difficult site issue to understand and predict. Unless you are trained in civil engineering, understanding the effects of water on this site in both dry and wet seasons can be challenging. Surface Water 90 Surface water, including runoff from rain, can cause ﬂooding for neighbors and ﬂooded basements if not properly managed. More severe drainage issues may require techniques such as curtain drains and swales in addition to french drains. Mr. Jeans references swales in the plans with no details or where they will be built and how they will be drained. Subsurface Water 91 From a building standpoint, do you really want the lowest ﬂoor in your house below the seasonal high water table? Where is the study showing the water table height? The height of the water table may be so highly localized that the “cellar” might serve as an indoor swimming pool. Disturbed subsurface water from the 1,484 square foot cellar will reroute to adjoining properties, often in the spring or rainy season when the water table is highest. 92 You can see from the diagram that vague arrows represent water runoff. Water runs to the lowest part of the property, the Northeast. The 1,484 sqare foot impervious cellar, built in an area with a high water table, will compound the drainage displacing water to neighboring properties causing ﬂooding. Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016 Summary 93 “If you have a small lot you will be faced with constraints.” Commissioner Kane July 8, 2015 94 On July 8th, 2015 Commissioner Kane said “If you have a small lot you will be faced with constraints.” 125 Wheeler Avenue is a lot that cannot support such a massive house. We need to reinforce the prevailing neighborhood pattern. 125 Wheeler Avenue plans display a blatant disregard for the protective language of the design guidelines. We should do more to preserve the neighborhood than we have done before. Requests •Maintain curent setback •No new shade patterns •Remove windows on east side •Impermeable areas reduced •50% reduction in bulk and scale Please condition these requests 95 1. Maintain current setback - the new plans should not impose on us any more than the current house. 2. No new shade patterns - we should not lose all light in our house and yard. 3. Remove windows on the east side - maintain our privacy. We don’t want to see them when we are in the shower. 4. Impermeable areas need to be reduced so we are not affected by their displacement of soils and water. 5. 40-50% reduction in the bulk and scale of the house with less mass on second ﬂoor Requests •Engineering and geological survey •Water table study •Grade restriction - no more than 1 foot •Drainage survey Please condition these requests 96 6. Engineering and geological study to certify that water and soil movement will not affect our property 7. Water table study - how is the cellar going to affect our drainage 8. Grade restriction - the grade should not be altered more than 1ft 9. Drainage survey needs to show sump pumps with back up generator/battery powered pumps for storms 10. We request that these items are conditioned Planning Commission Hearing - August 24, 2016