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Attachment 1 Exhibit 11February 17, 2015 Marni Moseley Town of Los Gatos 110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95031 Re: A &S Application # 5 -14 -072 Response to Appeal Dear Ms. Moseley, (via email) RECEIVED FEB 18 2015 TOWN OF LOS GATOS PLANNING DIVISION After the unanimous approval of A &S Application #5 -14 -072 by DRC on January 13, 2015, an appeal was filed. Below are Davidon Homes' responses to the appellants listed issues: 1) Four Heritage Oaks Removed near Santella Court In 2013, prior to commencement of design for this lot, Davidon requested that the Town provide an Arborist Report of all trees located within the LRDA. Fees were paid and Debbie Ellis performed the tree survey in January of 2014. The arborist report was provided on January 16, 2014. The purpose of our request to get the survey was to evaluate a feasible siting of the house on this lot. Knowing the size & condition of the trees, helps determine that siting. This has been something Davidon has been sensitive to throughout the approval of the previous 14 homes. Early on in the design process, prior to our initial A &S Application submittal on September 23, 2014, Davidon met with staff with a preliminary design, as we did for the previously approved 14 lots, to address any potential concerns regarding all aspects of the Los Gatos Hillside Standards & Guidelines. Due to the site constraints, the condition of the trees, and to maintain a consistent design within the subdivision, staff had no issue with the design presented. As a result, the design was refined, submitted and ultimately unanimously approved by DRC on January 13, 2015. EXHIBIT 11 3/11/15 PC Staff Report The appellant speaks of 4 Heritage Oaks being removed. The proposed plan removes 6 existing trees (Tree #'s 604 & 608 -612). Per the Preliminary Arborist Report dated January 16, 2013, as prepared by Debbie Ellis, the tree descriptions are as follows: Tree # Tree Type Trunk Dia. Height* Vigor/ Preservation Canopy Structure Suitability #604 Blue Oak 18" 45 *35 75 60 Fair /Good #608 Coast Live Oak 25" 30 *30 60 20 Poor #609 Coast Live Oak 20 ",10" 35 *30 60 50 Fair /Poor #610 Coast Live Oak 21" 45 *40 70 60 Fair /Good #611 Coast Live Oak 18",19" 22 *35 40 40 Poor #612 Coast Live Oak 20 ",20" 35 *25 60 50 Fair /Poor By definition, none of these trees would be categorized as a Heritage Oak. As expressed in the DRC Hearing on January 13` ", the four trees the appellant is mainly concerned about are Tree #'s 608, 609, 610 & 611. As can be seen in the above table, 2 trees are in Poor Condition, 1 in Fair /Poor Condition and 1 in Fair /Good Condition. Based on the horizontal and vertical locations of these trees being within the most feasible building footprint, their existing condition as reported by Debbie Ellis, and with early on concurrence from staff, these trees were deemed necessary for removal. The design process proceeded based on those facts. 2) Site /House Visible from the Valley Floor. The house is visible from the Viewing Platform located at the corner of Los Gatos Blvd. & Blossom Hill. Pictures were taken of the visible story poles from that location and Bassenian Lagoni Architects performed a visual analysis of the structure. Attached are the Visual Analysis Exhibits for Lot 7. The percentage of rear elevation visible from the Viewing Platform is 21.9 %. This visibility complies with the Los Gatos Hillside Standards & Guidelines. 3) Alternatives exist to locate house to the West. The appellant is stating that an alternative siting of the house is possible on the West end of the Lot. Davidon thoroughly studied all alternatives during the preliminary stages of design. Though it may be true that there is a portion of the lot within the NW corner of the LRDA that has no trees, the alternative of placing the entire house within this area was found to be infeasible. Below are four studied alternatives: Alternative A - Preserving Trees #s 608 -611 (Still remove Tree #604 & 612 and no impact to any other tree) The building envelope would be limited to 69' wide by a varying depth up to 52' deep (See Exhibit A). This width is determined by a safe distance from the trees on the front and sides of the house. The depth is driven by the topography of the lot. For this analysis, the roof structure is assumed to be the same as the proposed, with a high point elevation of 740.9. This is a low profile 3.5:12 roof pitch, which is typical for Craftsman style architecture. The depth of this alternative is limited to the point on the slope that measures 35' overall height from existing grade, which is at elevation 705.9.. . A house any deeper would exceed the allowable overall height of the house. Alternative B - Preserving Trees #'s 608 -610 (Still remove #604, 611 & 612 and no impact to any other tree) This is similar to Alternative A, except Tree #611 is removed, which allows structure to be constructed to the front setback line. The building envelope would be limited to 69' wide by a varying depth up to 63' deep (See Exhibit B). This width is determined by a safe distance from the trees on the sides of the house and maintaining the existing front setback. The depth is driven by the topography of the lot. For this analysis, the roof structure is assumed to be the same as the proposed, with a high point elevation of 740.9. This is a low profile 3.5:12 roof pitch. The depth of this alternative is limited to the point on the slope that measures 35' overall height from existing grade, which is at elevation 705.9. Alternative C - Preserving Trees #'s 608 -611, Maintain Front Setback and Lowering House by Steepening Driveway (Still remove #604 & 612 and no impact to any other tree) This Alternative C, studies the maximum 15% driveway to lower the house in the attempt to add depth to the structure and reduce visibility. This width is determined by a safe distance from the trees on the sides and front of the house and maintaining the existing front setback. The depth is driven by the topography of the lot. For this analysis, a maximum driveway grade of 15 %, along with necessary reverse vertical curves, is assumed. The roof structure is assumed to be the same as the proposed, with a 3.5:12 roof pitch. This analysis places the garage finish floor 1.2' lower than Alternative A & B. The depth of this alternative is limited to the point on the slope that will measure 35' overall height from existing grade, which is at elevation 704.7. The building envelope would be limited to 69' wide by a varying depth up to 55' deep (See Exhibit C). This is only a 3' net gain in depth over Alternative A. Alternative D - Preserving Trees #'s 608 -611, Push House as Far West As Possible (Still remove #604 & 612 and no impact to any other tree) This Alternate D, studies the maximum 15% driveway to lower the house and push the house further West in the attempt to add depth to the structure and reduce visibility. This width is determined by a safe distance from the trees on the sides and front of the house and maintaining the existing front setback. The depth is driven by the topography of the lot. For this analysis, the garage face was assumed at 85' from the street versus 42' in Alternatives A, B & C. The maximum driveway grade of 15 %, along with necessary reverse vertical curves, is assumed. The roof structure is assumed to be the same as the proposed, with a 3.5:12 roof pitch. This analysis places the garage finish floor at elevation 714.1, which is 7.65' lower than Alternates A & B. The depth of this alternative is limited to the point on the slope that will measure 35' overall height from existing grade, which is at elevation 699.6. The building envelope would be limited to 47' wide by a varying depth up to 76' deep (See Exhibit D). This Alternative would require removal of Tree #606, a significant amount of excavation, and would add retaining walls along the driveway in total height of 10 feet. Summary of Alternatives Analysis: 1) Neighborhood Compatibility For all alternatives the house size, floor plans and architectural creativity are limited by the alternative building envelope dimensions. The dimensions constrain the ability to provide a home that is compatible with the neighborhood. The width of the house forces an increased portion of the front elevation to be garage doors. Articulation of the elevations becomes very difficult while trying to maintain the house size to be consistent with the neighborhood. The ability to capture views from desired living spaces becomes limited. Usable rear yard reduces significantly. And finally, the street scape is impacted because of the house width is not consistent with the rest of the homes on the street. 2) Visibility from the Viewing Platform. As can be seen from the Visual Analysis for the current application, the portion of house that is visible from the viewing platform is the area within this NW corner of the LRDA. The portion that is not visible is within the vicinity of Tree #'s 608 -610, because of other elements providing screening. The visibility of Alternatives A & B does not change from the proposed application. The same amount of structure will be seen. For Alternative C, the house sits 1.2' lower, and Alternative D sits 7.65' lower. These are also still visible from the Viewing Platform. Because the rear elevation decreases significantly in width from the proposed application, the percentage visible increases significantly for all Alternatives. Alternatives A & B are 50% Visible, Alternative C is 35% visible and Alternative D is 27% Visible. Per the LGHS &G, exceedance of 25% of the rear elevation requires further height restrictions. The site has been thoroughly studied through the design process. The current application has been designed with no exceptions to the Hillside Standard and Guidelines. The impacts to the trees were deemed insignificant, due to their current condition. Mitigation for the removed trees will occur onsite. Visibility from the viewing platform is unavoidable, yet the current application complies with the HS &G more so than the appellants request to locate the house to the West. Please let me know if you have any questions or require any additional information. Sincerely, DAVIDON HOMES Steve Abbs Vice President, Site Development Cc: Dennis Razzari, Jeff Thayer This Page Intentionally Left Blank G pAN00N H0E5 6 0 ` II b96JfJ9 CKEK CA (915) 9<SL8040 (915) 168 -01a0 IRM VISIBILITY STUDY(300MM) LOT 7 02.09. 15 THE HIGHLANDS OF LOS G A T O S Bassenian I Lagoni !R[9IIl[TGR[• 1000116•IIIR[I615 TOWN OF LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA:" ®„ �a 081 1 120] pAVI00N HOMES W4NU� CPEEK. CnP9a598 -]J9a VISIBILITY STUDY(300MM) LOT 7 02.09,15 THE HIGHLANDS OF LOS G A T O S Bassenian I Lagoni AIi11tf6t91F JpXXl16•IXflR1015 TOWN OF LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA 091.1120] �AVIOON HOMES s r -- 1m W1%NL% CRE[K. GK9�596 -SNO (9]]J 9K }90.M (93]) 358 -OIaO IR% VISIBILITY CALCULATIONS LOT 7 THE HIGHLANDS OF LOS GATOS TOWN OF LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA r ti. T 02.02.15 Bassenian I Lagoni .1R TECTUIE• R.1KRY9• nrtFm IS IS - swsr'+eaawnm cm%•'%artgmr%w�MO •1 ML6W 081.1120] D t� �111 I '?,.,. 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