Loading...
Attachment 8ATTACHMENT 8 ( Joel Paulson From: Shannon Susick <ssusick@comcast.net > Wednesday, November 09, 2016 1:42 PM Joel Paulson ; Susie Pineda M-Group Laurel Prevetti Sent: To: Cc: Subject: 16362 Hilow Rd Des k Item Attachments: Nov 9th Hilow.pptx; appeal.docx; HILOW.pdf Goo d Morning Comm is sioners, Please deny the above captioned A& S Application for the reasons stated below: 1. Since your 6-1 denial on July 27 , 2016 there have been zero (0%) changes to the above grade living space in terms of Floor Area Ratio or Square Feet. 2. The applicant has not considered the i mmediate neighbor's concerns or the multiple concerns of your Commission and motion. 3. The Town Council remanded it back due to these concerns and for your prevue and authority. 4 . The mass and scale above grade with the garage has not changed nor has the data above (confirmed with 151 American Real Estate & the Town of Los Gatos ROG.) 5. The 2-5-2 immediate neighborhood, which per the Residential Design Guidelines is a definition can be expanded to 4-6-4 as 13 of the 14 immediate homes are single level ranch homes. 6. The nearest Town neighborhood Hilow Ct, a few hundred feet from the subject has 14 homes, all single level ranch homes and should be considered. Preserv i ng and protecting our Town, the neighbors, the Guidelines, views, privacy and minimizing impact on schools, traffic, infrastructure are just a small part of your vital volunteer commission work and I thank you . The processes we have to ensure that more than just maximums are followed are directly connected to the characteristics that we all love about Los Gatos . Diversity in our town neighborhoods, where affordable and less impactful homes are located that provide views, privacy and with distinct neighborhood patterns like this portion of Hilow Road are key in responsible development. With the county pockets such as this one consistency is also paramount (recent Bella Vista, Overlook, Prince decisions.) Consider this one of possibly 5 applications by developers on this street in the future with 2 recently transferred properties. If you were to take this application & add it to the others we would be looking at 5 new 2-3 story homes with potentially 5000 sf of living space each (above & below grade), 500 sf of garage space. That many more cars on a street that is targeted as a safe route to schools, that many more children in our schools! 25,000 sf of living space, 2500 sf of garage space and 10-15 more cars on a street that has traffic issues, 10-15 more children in our impacted schools and of course adverse impacts on neighbors views, privacy and town resources. Taken individually this house with the above & below grade living space is one of the largest in the neighborhood and doesn't blend "seamlessly'' into it. The height and setbacks, while within the bare guidel ines intrude dramatically on the immediate neighbors next to and behind the proposed site . The garage space even with the reduction is larger than any others on this street, except the proposed house by another developer at 13686 Hilow. In conclusion, please consider your original well supported 6-1 motion & deny this current application . The developer needs to implement in h is revised plans the concerns of the immediate neighbors in addition to yours & Councils and build a single family residence that conforms to the neighborhood, perhaps using the cella r in lieu of the above grade mass instead of in add it ion to. 1 Than k you very much, Shannon Susick (qos) 316-9559 2 Sally Zarnowitz Subject: FW: Residential strµcture From: lynda pugliese [mai lto :lpug09@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2016 7:40 PM To: Joel Paulson; Susie Pineda M-Group Subject: Residential structure Co mmiss ioners & Staff, Commissioners and Staff: I've seen all the orange nettin g and know the potential imp act on our ne ighborhood. Pl ease u pho ld your original 6 -1 decis ion to deny the proposed a pp li cation at 163 6 2 HiLow Road as it doesn 't fit into th e immediate neighbo rh oo d o r th e nearest Town ne ig hbo rh oods. In ad diti on it impacts views, pri vacy and th e Town 's infrastructure with it s excessive bul k a nd mass a nd li ving s pace (includin g the ce ll ar.) The developer has made no effort to address the issues your commi ssion rai sed in its decision in Ju ly, but instead h as had his tea m focu s on personal attacks rather than th e critical Los Gatos R es id enti al Design Guidelin es and Town Polic ies. P lease preserve o ne of th e remaini ng "affo rdab le" neighborh ood s in Los Gatos and p rotect the imm ed iate ne ighbors fro m t he encroachment of devel oper 's whose on ly concern is th e ir bottom line. Our lo ng tenn property values are far mo re enhanced by preservation of our ne ighborhood s rat her th an more structural monster hom es in our al read y expand ing nei g hborhood . Sincerely , Lynda Sue Pugliese December 14, 2016 Town Council Town of Los Gatos 110 East Main St. Los Gatos CA 95030 Honorable Council Members : Once again we write in opposition to approval of Architecture and Site Application S-16-011 at 16362 Hilow Road (APN 532-04-082) which will be to be heard again by the Town Council on December 20 . This will be the fourth public hearing regarding this application , starting with the Planning Commission decision on July 27 to overturn the initial approval by DRC. The last three of these additional hearings (TC, PC and TC) have been triggered by the Applicant/Developer's actions. Throughout this unfortunate and time-consuming process, the Applicant/Developer has employed legalistic and political maneuvers , but he has offered no meaningful modifications to make the proposed design more consistent with the Residential Design Guidelines. It is not too late to stop this process and start over with a revised design that complies with the Guidelines . The Residential Design Guidelines are intended to protect the neighbors and assure and that new homes respect the scale and character of the neighborhood. The attached table includes a summary of seven specific guidelines that have not been adequately considered in design of this house. Two-story houses in predominantly one-story neighborhoods are supposed to blend with the smaller homes , and are not supposed to include height and bulk at front and side setback lines which are significantly greater than those of the adjacent homes as shown on the following page. The Guidelines include specific language about minimizing mass and bulk by using detached garages or garages that are set back and articulated from the main structure, not the proposed 733 square foot garage that is buried in the mass of the two-story structure . The Guidelines also say that cellar space will not be included in floor area calculations to ensure that substantial efforts have been made to reduce visible mass to assure compatibility with the site 's immediate neighborhood and "to provide hidden square footage in-lieu of visible mass ." The Applicant/Developer desires to build a massive house and sell it for as much is possible . The neighborhood and the immediate neighbors will have to live with the consequences of this action for years to come . It is not too late to avoid making this huge mistake. We ask the Town Council to reject the appeal. Sincerely Bill and Debbie Wagner 16374 Hilow Road, Los Gatos 95032 12-14-16 JQ;<QJ~s; J!.6)3;~2' l\'IJU!!J )JW R'.CQJ~!!); ~RCQJ!?-©!St\.L ~©J M~!l'tf Wl'fHJ ~~~ Ne1 ~e1M !MIJ~INJT~ ljtJiJ~ !R'~SJIJ!!);~INJlflJ~J, ©t~SJIJ~l}JJ ~YU©t~~UN~S:r GENERAL DESIGN PRINCIPLES (Selected excerpts from the NO The size and bulk of the proposed house plus Residential Design Guidelines) garage (above-grade structure) is over 50% greater • Design to blend into the neighborhood rather than stand out. than the average of above-grade structures in the immediate neighborhood. • Relate a structure's size and bulk to tho se in the immediate neighborhood. 1.4 COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS (Selected excerpts) NO The mass and bulk of the combined house and • Homes will respect the sca le and character of their garage i s out of sca l e w ith the immediate immediate neighborhoods. neighborhood. Second story windows and the second story balcony at the back of the hou se • Homes will be design ed with respect for the views, privacy threaten the privacy of neighbors. and solar access of their neighbors. 2.2.2 Provide front facade articulation similar to those NO The front fa1;ade should be articu lated with predominant in the neighborhood . different setbac ks similar to the adjoining hou ses, • Where front wall setbacks are vari ed in the neighborhood, not pu shed completely forward to the 25-foot new homes should relate more to tho se of adjacent homes . front setback line, such that the mass and bulk of The width of projecting building mas ses and the amount of the bu ilding overwhelms over th e adjacent horizontal offsets in wall planes should also be si mil ar. property . 2.3.1 Design two story houses in predominantly one story NO The proposed house should be single story, or neighborhoods to blend with the smaller homes. designed to bl end with sing le story houses as • Two-s tory hou ses may not be appro priate for every indicated in Guideline 2.3.6 discusse d on the next neighborhood . For neighborhoods dom ina ted by one-s tory page. homes, an effort should be made to limit th e hou se to one- story in height or to accommodate second floor space within the exis ting roof. If a two-story hou se is proposed in this type of a n e ighborhood, the hou se shall b e des igned to bl end with the smaller homes. 12-14-16 2 .3.2 Avoid structures with height and bulk at front and side setback lines which are significantly greater than those of the adjacent homes. 2.3.6 Locate second floor mass to minimize impacts on the streetscape and adjacent neighbors. • Place second mass in locations appropriate to the height of adjacent homes. Two story Ma•ruafn O'W story Exiahno a d1aeen1 to Er isttng twwo story two s lory one 1tory J""4"'"' TT T ~~~~ New Homo 2 .3.7 Minimize the mass of garages. story • If detached garages exist in the neighborhood, consider a detached garage at the rear of the lot to reduce the mass and scale of the house. NO NO NO This photo shows height and bulk at front setback lines that doesn't comply. The proposed 8-foot second story offset is too little to minimize impacts on neighbors and is not consistent with this Guideline. The 700 square foot garage buried within the mass of the two-story structure significantly increases visible bulk. All other two-story houses on Hilow Road, including those at the south end of Hilow, have detached garages or attached garages with very limited second story space over them. 12-14-16 !lb(Q;~s; J)~j~~~ IJIJU!l.CQIW R~~.!QI !1R©l!?-QiS6\J, ~©MP.ll.'if Wl THJ 'q~~ IN;Q ~QM L\51J~INJ'lj~ lj lrl [: fR'E:s mQJ JI:!'ruJFll.4\ l In lr:S'U@ NJ (5 l)JIJl!l cl IJN JI:S?! I L dJ .~ , .r . '!:ti ,,,, JJU ~ ~ ~ ~· 3 .3.2 Height and bulk at front and side setbacks NO The proposed 8 -foot second story offset i s too • Two story houses may not be appropriate for every little to minimize impacts for th e si ze of the neighborhood. For neighborhoods domin at ed by one story proposed hous e. hom es, an effo rt should be made to limit the house to one Th e proposed cellar includes 1600 sq uare feet of story in height or to accommodate seco nd floor space with in heated livi ng space, but no effort has been mad e the roof form as is common in th e Craftsman Sty le. to re duc e the above -g rade v isible ma ss. Th e 3479 • The intent set forth in the Ge nera l Plan is "to provide squa re feet of first and second story living space is hidd en square footage in -lieu of visible mass ." In the spirit of al most the max im um allowed by the FAR . And that intent, the review of applications wit h cellar spac e w ill not comb ining the 733 square foot garage and the include th e consideration of th e floor area of the cellar in the two-s t ory space over the dining room within the evaluation, but will carefully evaluate the desi gn to ens ure that mass of the house structure greatly increases su bstantial efforts have been made to red uce visible mass to visible mass and bulk compared to other houses assure compatibility with the site's immediate neighborhood . with similar square footage.