Attachment 14From: gvendenkaren bgmail com [mailto:evendenkaren@qmaii.com On Behalf Of Karen Evenden
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2014 10:17 PM
To: Council
Cc: Chris Evenden
Subject: 134 Loma Alta Appeal
Dear Mayor Leonardis and Members of the Los Gatos Town Council,
Please find attached our letter that details why we support Lezli Logan's appeal regarding the
proposed single family home construction at the above address.
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter further, and can make ourselves
available should you have any questions.
Thank you for your consideration.
Chris and Karen Evenden
ATTACHMENT 14
Chris & Karen Evenden
132 Loma Alta Avenue
Los Gatos, CA 95030
January 29, 2014
Honorable Steve Leonardis
Members of the Town Council
Town of Los Gatos Town Council
110 E. Main Street
Los Gatos, CA 95030
Dear Mayor Leonardis and Members of the Town Council
We ask you for your support in the appeal filed by Lezli Logan requesting denial of the proposed new
structure at 134 Loma Alta Avenue, Los Gatos, based on the most recent plans provided by Donald
Prolo. We ask that the appeal be considered based on the following:
Misleading and incorrect information provided by Mr. Praia at the Planning meeting on
December 11, 2013
The proposed design is not in keeping with the existing immediate neighborhood, nor the Town
of Los Gatos Residential Design Guidelines
Significant reduction in solar access for 132 Loma Alta Avenue
View and privacy impacts on 136 Loma Alta Avenue, and privacy impacts on 132 Loma Alta
Misleading & incorrect information provided
The Planning Department provided documentation that incorrectly stated that 136 Loma Alta
Ave is a two -story. Mr Praia provided a misleading photo and indicated that this supports that
136 is a two -story. However, it is a single story as defined by the Town Code.
- Mr Praia's neighborhood analysis covered an expanded neighborhood to include 15 structures.
However, the Los Gatos Design Guidelines say, on page 11 HOW TO READ YOUR
NEIGHBORHOOD, that "the greatest attention will be given to the immediate neighborhood
where nearby homeowners are most likely to be confronted by the new house or addition on a
daily basis, and where other residents driving by are most likely to see the new structure in the
context of the nearby homes ". The Los Gatos Planning Department detailed to Mr. Prolo, in
documentation in June 2013, the houses which comprise the immediate neighborhood. An
analysis of this immediate neighborhood shows a different neighborhood context to the one
presented by Mr. Praia (see later).
The streetscape provided by Mr. Prolo's architect misrepresents the height of 138 Loma Alta.
We appreciate that the streetscape states that it is not to scale, but nevertheless it does provide
a misleading picture of the neighborhood by showing the roof height to be greater than it
actually is. The proposed roof height for Mr. Praia's proposed house will create an
unprecedented differential vs. its adjacent neighbors.
The existing neighborhood
- The immediate neighborhood as defined by the Los Gatos Planning Department in their
documentation provided to Mr. Prolo in June 2013 comprises seven single family homes. The
breakdown is as follows:
0 5 single story homes
0 2 "1 and 2 story" homes (as defined on page 63 of Town Design Guidelines Appendix A),
both of which only have partial second stories. Of these, the second story for 138 Loma
Alta Avenue a single room that is only half a story above the first story as seen from the
front. The first story at the rear of the house is lower than the first story at front. The
other home at 129 Loma Alta has a second story above the garage only.
In addition, 134 Loma Alta is currently a single -story home.
- There are no full two -story homes in the immediate neighborhood; Mr. Praia's would be the
first.
Solar access
There would be a significant loss of natural light to our home, 132 Loma Alta Avenue, if the current
proposal for 134 Loma Alta Avenue were implemented. Section 3.11.1 of the Town of Los Gatos
Residential Guidelines state that shadow impacts on adjacent properties should be minimized and
"locate structures to minimize blocking sun access to living spaces and actively used outdoor areas on
adjacent homes ". The revised plans submitted by Mr. Prato for the Planning Commission Meeting on
December 11, 2013, are only a small improvement on his original plans and still have a substantial
negative impact on our home with regard to solar access.
The impacts of the proposed house at 134 Loma Alta Avenue are as follows:
- The second story casts a greater shadow over our house vs a single story house. The
comparative difference between a one and two story home becomes more marked in the winter
months, when it actually covers our bathroom skylights, as well as the windows of all rooms
along the entire side of the house.
- As the second story extends the full length of the house, the impact of the shadow is across a
greater length of our house for a longer duration each day.
- The proposed second story would significantly reduce natural light in the living spaces on this
entire side of our house by blocking much of the sky, over and above direct sunlight.
- The topography increases the impact a second story has on the solar access to our home as 134
Loma Alta is uphill from us, with this side of our house facing the sun for much of the day.
Privacy
When there is a two -story home next to a single story home, there is always the potential for privacy to
be impacted for the one -story home. In our case, the loss of privacy for 132 Loma Alta is even greater
given the small, narrow lot size, and the topography —134 Loma Alta is uphill from our home. I
appreciate that Mr. Prolo has made some small adjustments to his design with the increase in second
floor setbacks, and moving the rear end of the structure to the side further away from us, but he still has
a full two story house in an immediate neighborhood of primarily single story homes. The topography,
small size and narrow shape of the lots are reasons why full two -story structures are absent in this
part of the neighborhood. We realize that even with a larger single story vs. the current structure, we
will be impacted with privacy, especially as 134 Loma Alta is uphill from us — in the same way that Mr.
Prolo has pointed out that there are some privacy issues with 136 Loma Alta with respect to his
property. However, 136 Loma Alta is a single story home, and it is only the topography and lot size that
create privacy issues which is something that cannot be controlled. By proposing a full -two story
home, Mr. Prolo makes the privacy issues significantly worse than they need be. A second story not
only negatively influences solar access for us, but also means that Mr. Prolo's home will loom over ours
and be able to potentially look into all our windows on that side of our house, and right into our back
yard, especially the outdoor dining area. All at very close range. In fact, he will also be able to look right
into the yard and the windows of 136 Loma Alta even though it is uphill. We are grateful that the
Planning Commission asked Mr. Prolo to eliminate the balcony at the back of the second floor, but as
the second floor continues all the way to the rear of the house, there is still a direct, close range, view
into our outdoor space from his large French doors located here.
We want to reach a reasonable compromise with Mr. Prolo, and have never said that we would only
be content with a single story home, even though this is a neighborhood of primarily single story
homes. We know that even with a partial two -story home next to us, we will be impacted in terms of
solar access and privacy, but we hope to minimize these impacts to an acceptable level, and maintain
some of the qualities that encouraged us to buy our home five years ago.
At the Planning Commission Meeting on October 9tb, we expressed our concerns regarding the size and
bulk of the proposed construction and how it affected our solar access and privacy. The Planning
Commission Staff Report also expressed concerns regarding the bulk. When taking the total bulk of the
main building, the revised plan for 134 Loma Alta decreased the overall square footage by just 1 %, and
the second floor square footage was reduced by only 6 %. This mass has the negative effects on privacy
and solar access as detailed above and is out of keeping with the character of the neighborhood. I have
included the covered porch in this calculation which, although not part of the FAR, is essentially another
room with a fireplace wall and part of the bulk of the structure in every meaningful sense, especially as
the revised proposal has a room above it.
For these reasons, we respectfully ask the Town Council to support us in asking Mr. Prolo to make a
meaningful reduction to the bulk of the second story, by moving part of it to the ground floor — we
suggest moving, at a minimum, the room to the rear of the structure to the ground floor which would
improve solar access as well as privacy issues for both of the adjacent neighbors. We do welcome the
development of the site at 134 Loma Alta Avenue, and accept that it will likely impact us negatively in
some ways. However, we ask that the these effects not be as adverse as they are with the current
proposal, and that Mr. Prolo consider a solution that is also reasonable for the existing neighbors and
respects the quality of their homes.
If you have any questions, or would like to discuss this further, we would be more than happy to discuss
them with you and / or provide more information.
Thank you for your consideration.
Chris and Karen Evenden
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