Loading...
Attachment 1 - CDG DR Proposal May 16 2022May 16, 2022 Ms. Jennifer ArmerCommunity Development DepartmentTown of Los Gatos110 E. Main StreetLos Gatos, CA 95030 RE: PEER REviEw DEsign sERvicEs statEmEnt of Qualifications Dear Jennifer: STATEMENT OF INTEREST I am pleased to submit the following statement of qualifications to provide peer review services for the Town of Los Gatos. I have a twenty year history of continuously providing design review services to the Town, and would like to continue in that role. INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION I was retained in February 2002 as the Town Consulting Architect, and have to date provided 917 detailed reviews for projects including modest additions to single family homes, new single family homes, multifam- ily developments, retail stores and shopping centers, and many commercial projects including the two Netflix Campus Complexes. In the course of that time, I have worked closely with over 25 individual staff planners in the Community Development Department. When I was selected to provide these peer review services, the Town Council believed that the detailed design review process would benefit from some outside professional design review experience that would streamline the development review and approval process, and would free up time for the Planning Commission to deal with broader policy issues. The process I developed and the re- view letters that I have provided have resulted in clearly identifying for each project significant issues for plan- ning staff and Planning Commission consideration, and in identifying one or more ways the applicant might address those issues to allow both staff and the Planning Commission to work with the applicant to achieve a project suitable to the applicant’s goals and the Town’s Community Expectations. In providing design review services to the Town, I bring over forty-five years of active design review services for a great many Bay Area Communities as well as individual California Redevelopment Agencies (Pasadena, Los Angeles, Pleasant Hill and others) and U.S. and Canadian institutions of higher education (25 years as the Consulting Architect for the University of Victoria, BC). That experience has been enriched with the preparation of many design guidelines documents as well as the active planning of a great many Califor- nia Downtowns and Transit-Oriented Developments. ATTACHMENT 1 Peer Review Design Services Proposal May 16, 2022 Page 2 EXPERIENCE. Latry Cannon has provided design and planning review consultation services to cities, counties, redevelop- ment agencies and institutions of higher education for the past forty-five years. As a registered architect and an active urban planner/designer, he has extensive experience in working with planning staff, developers, and architects to arrive a mutually agreeable solutions which reflect community goals while respecting develop- ers’ reasonable expectations. CDG design review experience is enhanced by the firm’s substantial experience in preparing comprehensive design guidelines documents, including signage guidelines, for the expression of community identity goals. He is currently providing on-going design review consultation to the following Bay • Town of Los Gatos (20 years) • City of Brentwood (18years) • City of Millbrae (2 years) • City of San Mateo (18 years) • City of Sunnyvale (18 years) • City of Brisbane (1 yerar) Other design review clients have included the following: • City of Alameda • City of Albany • City of Campbell • City of Cupertino (18 years) • City of Dublin • City of El Cerrito • City of Lathrop • City of Milpitas (11 years) • City of Mountain View • City of Napa • City of Pasadena • City of Pleasanton • City of Pleasant Hill • City of Redwood City (2 years) • University of Victoria, BC • California State University, HaywardDESIGN REVIEW EXPERIENCE BY CATEGORY • Single Family Homes • Single Family Additions • Multifamily Complexes • Small Lot Subdivisions • Mixed Use Buildings • Downtown Stores • Retail Pad Buildings • Shopping Centers (New) • Shopping Centers (Remodel) • Markets and Drug Stores • Restaurants • Fast Food Restaurants • Gas Stations • Automobile Dealerships • Small & Large Office Buildings • Hotels • Cinemas • High Technology Campuses • Home Improvement Centers • Department Stores • Large Format Retail Buildings • Churches and Synagogues • Libraries and Public Safety Buildings • Parking Structures • Day Care Centers QUALIFICATIONS • Register Architect. • Over 45 years of design review and design guidelines experience. • Twenty years of design review services to the Town of Los Gatos. • Several current design review clients have been clients for 18 years. • Extensive knowledge of the Town of Los Gatos neighborhoods. • Long term experience in working with individual Los Gatos planning staff. • Thousands of digital images of Los Gatos neighborhoods and homes. • Thousands of example images from other communities for use as examples in review letters. • Design review experience in all project and building types. • Experience and history of writing clear and concise review letters. • Extensive experience in identifying design concerns and preparing specific design solutions for addressing them. • Preparation of Los Gatos How to Read Your Neighborhood Workbook. • Multi-year work with staff and the General Plan Committee in preparation of Residential, Multifamily and Commercial Design Guidelines. Having worked with staff and the committee over a period of three plus years on the guidelines, and having written the design guidelines, I have detailed knowledge of each guideline’s intent. Peer Review Design Services Proposal May 16, 2022 Page 3 TOTAL NUMBER OF STAFF PROVIDING SERVICES Larry Cannon personally has provided all design review services to the Town of Los Gatos as well as to all other design review clients throughout his long career. This has provided objectivity and consistency to all reviews, with familiarity and easy access to the thousands of personal digital images of examples to clearly convey recommendations. ABILITY TO PERFORM ON SHORT NOTICE AND UNDER TIME CONSTRAINTS I have consistently provided review letters within two to three weeks of receiving drawings and authorization from staff to proceed. When projects are needed sooner. Los Gatos projects are given priority. STATEMENT OF UNDERSTANDING The Town of Los Gatos is a very special place with residents and elected and appointed officials who are acutely aware of the Town’s unique scale and character. When I was selected to provide design review services in 2002, I met individually with each member of the Planning Commission and Town Council. Each told me that the two highest review priorities were in this order: • Neighborhood Compatibility • Design Excellence I have been guided by those two priorities in all reviews since that time. SERVICES APPROACH I implement a disciplined and consistent approach for all projects that emphasizes neighborhood compat- ibility and design excellence. It is a highly graphic approach that utilizes a review and recommendations letter including the following: • Neighborhood Context Aerial photo with identification of the site location and photos of the site and surrounding structures gathered from Google Earth Pro and other photos from previous project reviews. • Issues and Concerns Annotated applicant drawings with issues and concerns graphically called out • Recommendations Recommended changes over annotated applicant drawings showing recommendations along with photo images illustrating similar solutions within the Town of Los Gatos and other locations ESTIMATED HOURS AND FEE ESTIMATES $150 per hour for time actually spent plus limited actual expenses at cost plus 15% up to the Town’s autho- rized maximum deposit. Most projects are accomplished within an intial authorization of $2,500. Follow up reviews utilize any funds left from the intial authorization plus addional hours billed at the hourly rate above. Peer Review Design Services Proposal May 16, 2022 Page 4 REFERENCES TOWN OF LOS GATOS Joel Paulson Community Development Director (408) 354-6879 jpaulson@losgatosca.gov CITY OF MILLBRAE Tom Williams City Manager (650) 784-3434 cell TWilliams@ci.millbrar.ca.us Darcy Smith Community Development Director Community Development Department (650) 259-2341 dsmith@ci.millbrae.ca.us CITY OF SAN MATEO Rendell Bustos Senior Planner (650)-522-7211 rbustos@cityofsanmateo.org (408) 730-7444 CITY OF BRISBANE Mr. John A. Swiecki Community Development Director Community Development Department City of Brisbane 50 Park Place Brisbane, CA 94005 (415).508.2120 jswiecki@brisbaneca.org CURRENT LITIGATION: None Peer Review Design Services Proposal May 16, 2022 Page 5 SINGLE FAMILY HOME RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT REVIEW LETTER EXAMPLE May 11, 2022 Mr. Ryan SaftyCommunity Development DepartmentTown of Los Gatos110 E. Main StreetLos Gatos, CA 95031 RE: 14329 Mulberry Drive Dear Ryan: I reviewed the drawings and evaluated the site context. I have previously reviewed another proposed house on this site some eleven years ago, and have also reviewed several other homes on Mulberry Drive including the one immediately in front of this flag parcel. My comments and recommendations are as follows: NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT The site is located on a dead end street with a mix of old and newer homes designed in traditional styles. The homes are a mixture of one and two-stories in height. Photographs of the site and surrounding context are shown on the following page. 14329 Mulberry Drive Design Review Comments May 11, 2022 Page 2 THE SITE Entry drive to the site Mulberry Drive House in front of site House immediately adjacent to the site Nearby house on Mulberry Drive 14329 Mulberry Drive Design Review Comments May 11, 2022 Page 3 PROPOSED PROJECT The existing home on the site will be removed and replaced by a two story new house with garage - see pro- posed elevations below. PROPOSED FRONT ELEVATION PROPOSED LEFT SIDE ELEVATION PROPOSED RIGHT SIDE ELEVATION PROPOSED REAR ELEVATION 14329 Mulberry Drive Design Review Comments May 11, 2022 Page 4 ISSUES AND CONCERNS The proposed design is good from the standpoint that it is a recognizable traditional residential design style that would fit comfortably into the immediate neighborhood. But there are many issues that need to be addressed to bring it into better conformance with the Town’s Residential Design Guidelines and traditional detailing. 1. The garage gable is quite large and dominates the front facade. It would not be consistent with Residen- tial Design Guideline 3.4.1. 3.4.1 Limit the prominence of garages • Avoid designs that allow the garage to dominate the street facade. • Recess garage doors as much as possible from the garage facade. • Integrate the garage into the house forms in a manner that de-emphasizes the garage doors. 2. The roof slopes are somewhat variable, and overly complex which would not be consistent with Residen- tial Design Guidelines 3.5.1 and 3.5.2. 3.5.1 Unify roof pitches • Utilize the same slope for all primary roofs. 3.5.2 Avoid excessive roof form complexity • Avoid multiple floor plan pop outs that produce multiple roof gables. 3. The height differential between the gable peaks on the second floor projecting bay windows is visually awkward. The differential is caused by the lack of consistent roof slopes - see comment #2 above. 4. The first floor roof transition between the front porch roof and the left side facade is very awkward and non-traditional. 5. The lack of a beam at the front porch and a metal railing would not be consistent with Residential De- sign Guideline 3.10.1. Also, some porch elements need further refinement. 3.10.1 Porches and Entries • Select columns that are traditional to the architectural style of the house. Take care in selecting columns with an appropriate width to height ratio for the style. Except for a very few styles, the columns should have appropriate caps and bases with proportions typical of the style. • Provide a well proportioned beam between the column caps and the roof. Size and detail the beam so that it looks like a convincing structural member. It should be visible both from inside and outside of the porch. • Railings should generally be constructed of wood unless the specific architectural style allows for metal or stone. Provide both top and bottom rails with the bottom rail raised above the porch floor level. 14329 Mulberry Drive Design Review Comments May 11, 2022 Page 5 6. The two story gable walls on the side elevations are adding unnecessary complexity to the roof form and, as currently designed, not consistent with Residential Design Guideline 3.3.3. 3.3.3 Provide visual relief for two story walls 7. The open gable roof without supporting structure on the rear facade is not consistent with the architec- tural style. 8. The rear deck columns are too small and the proposed glass railings would not be consistent with the style. 14329 Mulberry Drive Design Review Comments May 11, 2022 Page 6 9. Note that the section shown below is quite incomplete and confusing. It does, however, highlight the issue that roof overhangs seem to vary which would not be consistent with the architectural style and Residential Design Guideline 3.5.3. 3.5.3 Relate roof overhangs to the architectural style and to the surrounding neighborhood RECOMMENDATIONS The recommendations below are intended to simplify the design, refine the details and improve conformance with the Residential Design Guidelines. 1. Eliminate the gable roof at the garage and extend the porch roof over the garage. 2. Increase the consistency of the roof slopes (6:12 shown), and provide more uniformity to the front facade roof gables and bay windows. 3. Revise the transition of the porch roof to the left side facade to reduce the tall wall expanse. 4. Add window on the second floor front facade which currently is quite blank. 5. Add a beam at the front entry porch, refine the column bases and caps, and use a wood railing rather than the proposed metal railing. 14329 Mulberry Drive Design Review Comments May 11, 2022 Page 7 6. Eliminate the side facade gables/ This would still provide a generous, high ceiling in the Master Bed- room. Some examples are shown below. 7. Add a roof truss to the rear facade second floor deck. Two examples are shown below. 14329 Mulberry Drive Design Review Comments May 11, 2022 Page 8 8. Refine the second floor deck columns, column bases and railings to match the front entry porch. 9. Group the windows on the rear facade (see example below), or use smaller windows to allow more wall space between them. 10. Provide consistency on all roof overhangs - see concern #9 and illustration on page 6 11. Recess the garage door per Residential Design Guideline 3.4.1. Ryan, please let me know if there are any issues that I did not address. Sincerely, CANNON DESIGN GROUP Larry L. Cannon Peer Review Design Services Proposal May 16, 2022 Page 6 COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT REVIEW LETTER EXAMPLE May 3, 2022 Ms. Jocelyn Shoopman Community Development Department Town of Los Gatos 110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95031 RE: 15600 & 15650 Los Gatos Blvd. Dear Jocelyn: This is the fourth round of site plan and architectural submittals that I have reviewed for this project in the past ten years, the last being in 2013. I have reviewed the revised project drawings. My comments and recom- mendations are as follows: NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT The site is a former auto dealership located at the corner of Los Gatos Boulevard and Los Gatos Almaden Road. The site is largely a paved parking area with now abandoned sales and service buildings. Nearby uses are mixed, and include shopping centers, commercial strip buildings, an auto dealership, and residences. Photos of the site and surrounding neighborhood are shown below. ARCHITECTURE PLANNING URBAN DESIGN Site with existing building Los Gatos Blvd. site frontage Eastern parcel property edge Commercial building across Los Gatos Blvd. Adjacent auto dealership to the north Shopping Center across Los Gatos Almaden Road Los Gatos Almaden Road site frontage Commercial building across Los Gatos Blvd. 15600 & 15650 Los Gatos Blvd. Design Review Comments May 3, 2022 Page 2 CONTEXT The site, as an important corner lot on two main streets, needs to be viewed in the broader context of Los Ga- tos Boulevard. Over the past twenty years or so, several other corner lots have seen new development, and the Town has worked hard to guide that development in a manner to reinforce those corners with strong archi- tectural forms and landscaping. The site and the other most important corners are shown in the aerial photos below. Some of the earlier project submittals for this site utilized site plans which separated the proposed structure from the Los Gatos Boulevard and Los Gatos Almaden Road frontages with parking lots. The current plan properly places the structure at the corner with parking to the side and behind it. This is much more desirable than allowing parking to dominate the street frontages. The proposed corner treatment is shown below with two other similar Los Gatos Blvd. intersections. Lark Avenue Intersection Blossom Hill Road Intersection Proposed Site Plan Proposed Corner Treatment 15600 & 15650 Los Gatos Blvd. Design Review Comments May 3, 2022 Page 3 PROPOSED PROJECT Proposed Los Gatos Blvd. Elevation Proposed East Elevation (Entry and Parking Lot side) Proposed North Elevation (Entry and Parking Lot side) Proposed Los Gatos-Almaden Road Elevation Los Gatos Blvd. Parking Lot Entry Corner North Parking Lot Entry Corner Los Gatos Blvd. Corner 15600 & 15650 Los Gatos Blvd. Design Review Comments May 3, 2022 Page 4 ISSUES AND CONCERNS The proposed design is contemporary in style with a mix of flat and sloping roofs. It would be substantially different in that regard from most of the newer commercial projects along Los Gatos Blvd. which have been largely modeled on traditional Mediterranean Styles. The closest in style would be the Market Hall in the North Forty project. That said, the project is very well designed and would, I believe, be in the spirit of the Town of Los Gatos and the Town’s Commercial Design Guidelines. There are, however, a few issues which staff may wish to discuss further with the applicant. 1. The site plan works well with parking frontages along Los Gatos Blvd. and Los Gatos-Almaden Road limited in length. There could be an issue, however, with the truck loading area located at the project auto entry on Los Gatos-Almaden Road. Circulation conflicts between trucks and autos could be con- trolled by limiting the delivery time schedules. But, the truck maneuvering pattern to easily back into the truck bays is not clear. 2. Provisions for safe pedestrian circulation from parking at the northern edge of the parking lot to the building entry are well provided for, but similar accommodations have not been made for parking at the eastern edge of the site. 15600 & 15650 Los Gatos Blvd. Design Review Comments May 3, 2022 Page 5 3. The proposed treatment at the intersection corner of the site appears attractive, but not likely pedestrian- usable as shown on the corner sketch below unless the adjacent building occupancy supports outdoor uses. 15600 & 15650 Los Gatos Blvd. Design Review Comments May 3, 2022 Page 6 4. The strong contrast of color on the central portion of the Los Gatos Blvd., facade and on the truck load- ing dock area would draw the eye like a focal point, and would disrupt the well-done design unity of the rest of the structure. Likewise, the window treatments (i.e., transparency) will depend on the tenant’s interior uses. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Ask applicant to provide verification that truck access to loading dock works and that provisions will be made to mitigate truck/auto conflicts. 15600 & 15650 Los Gatos Blvd. Design Review Comments May 3, 2022 Page 7 2. Add a landscape divider at the Los Gatos-Almaden Road project entry if possible 3. Provide a protected pedestrian circulation path from the east parking lot to the entry similar to the one proposed from the north parking lot. 4. Remain flexible on the treatment of the Los Gatos Blvd /Los Gatos-Almaden Road intersection corner and the Los Gatos Blvd. facade fenestration until building tenant confirms potential interior uses. If not feasible as current;y shown, add landscaping to the corner and investigate alternative treatments for the window areas. Some examples are shown below. 15600 & 15650 Los Gatos Blvd. Design Review Comments May 3, 2022 Page 8 5. Tone down the color contrast of the white stucco wall volumes on Los Gatos Blvd. and the truck load- ing area walls or change the material to wood siding or stone to improve the overall design unity of the facades. 15600 & 15650 Los Gatos Blvd. Design Review Comments May 3, 2022 Page 9 Jocelyn, please let me know if you have any questions, or if there are specific issues of concern that I did not address. Sincerely, CANNON DESIGN GROUP Larry Cannon 15600 & 15650 Los Gatos Blvd. Design Review Comments May 3, 2022 Page 10