Attachment 3 March 11 Minutes1
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A P P E A R A N C E S:
Los Gatos Planning
Commissioners:
Community Development
Director:
Planning Manager:
Town Attorney:
Transcribed by:
Mary Badame, Vice Chair
Charles Erekson
Melanie Hanssen
D. Michael Kane
Tom O'Donnell
Joanne Talesfore
Laurel Prevetti
Joel Paulson
Robert Schultz
Vicki L. Blandin
(510) 337 -1558
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Item #3, 240 E1 Cajon Way
ATTACHMENT 3
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P R O C E E D I N G S:
VICE CHAIR BADAME: We are moving to Item 3, our
last item on the agenda, which is Architecture and Site
Application 5 -14 -036, requesting approval to demolish an
existing single - family residence and to construct a new
single - family residence on property zoned R -1:8.
May I have a show of hands from the Commissioners
who have visited the site? Are there any disclosures by
Commissioners? Commissioner Kane.
COMMISSIONER KANE: When I visited the site I was
approached by two residents, Mr. Grenzebach and Mr. Ross,
and Mr. Ross offered to take me on a tour of the
neighborhood. That's the extent of it.
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Thank you. Any other
disclosures? Seeing none, Ms. Savage, I understand you'll
be giving a Staff Report this evening.
JENNIFER SAVAGE: Thank you. Good evening,
Commissioners.
The Applicant is proposing a two -story structure,
and within the immediate neighborhood it would be the only
two - story. Exhibit 10 is a map provided by the Applicant
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that shows two -story structures in the vicinity, but
outside the Applicant's immediate neighborhood.
The second part of the proposal is a proposal to
exceed the maximum floor area ratio. The reason the
Applicant is exceeding the floor area ration is due to some
space on the second story. On his plans, on sheet A -4,
there are two areas marked as "Attic" and "Exempt Area,"
however, pursuant to our Town Code for the definition of
attic, because there are areas of that second floor that
are over 7' in height, everything down to 5' counts, and
thus those two areas do count towards floor area ratio.
This results in the Applicant's need to request to exceed
the floor area ratio. It also results in the largest home
in the immediate neighborhood in terms of square footage
and FAR.
In terms of architecture, the current plans
reflect the recommendations of the architectural
consultant, but it still is the only two -story in the
immediate neighborhood.
Staff recommendations denial, because it would be
the only two -story in the immediate neighborhood, it would
be the largest in terms of square footage and floor area
ratio, and Staff could not make the findings for their
request to exceed the FAR.
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There is a Desk Item before you this evening. It
does contain letters of support from surrounding
neighborhoods.
This concludes Staff's presentation, and Staff is
available for any questions.
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Thank you, Ms. Savage. Do any
of the Commissioners have any questions of Ms. Savage?
Commissioner Kane.
COMMISSIONER KANE: Why is the attic space
designated on the Applicant's plan not being exempted?
JENNIFER SAVAGE: It is not exempt because it's
on the second floor, where a portion of the second floor at
some point and in many areas is over 7' in height. Our Town
Code says that if at any point the area is over 7',
everything down to 5' counts towards floor area.
COMMISSIONER KANE: And is on the same level with
the second floor?
JENNIFER SAVAGE: Correct.
COMMISSIONER KANE: Thank you.
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Commissioner Talesfore.
COMMISSIONER TALESFORE: I have a question just
as a reminder. Garages are usually 450? This is 600?
JENNIFER SAVAGE: Are you asking what is the
typical size for a two -car garage?
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COMMISSIONER TALESFORE:
Yeah, a
two -car
garage.
JENNIFER SAVAGE: For a
two -car
it would
be 440.
COMMISSIONER TALESFORE: Thank you.
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Any further questions? Thank
you, Ms. Savage.
We will now open the public portion of the public
hearing and allow the Applicant five minutes to address the
Commission. I will now call Dmitry Lebedenko to the podium,
and you will have five minutes to speak.
DMITRY LEBEDENKO: Good evening. Let me take a
quick second to acknowledge and thank Planning Commission
members who have been able to do a site visit and observe
our story poles that outline our proposed residence.
I would like to recap the work we have done to
date in our efforts to become in compliance with the
Planning Department's recommendations.
On July 1, 2014 our consulting architect has
given the following recommendations: On this picture you
can see that the following feature was recommended to be
removed, the eave of the roof was recommended to lowered,
and the first floor level was recommended to be lowered to
the finished grade.
In consideration of these comments and working
with our architect, we modified our design to accommodate
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the feedback. Subsequent to making these changes the
consulting architect reviewed them and gave the full
recommendations, specifically to change the design of the
dormers to a shade configuration, and to reconcile interior
architecture with exterior massing. Upon completion of the
second review we modified the design in compliance with the
second recommendations, and on this picture you see the
final recommendation from the consulting architect and our
proposed design.
We believe that our current design has benefited
greatly from the feedback of the consulting architect, and
as a result this should be approved for the following
reasons:
Reason one, it maintains the existing character
and design of the neighborhood. As you can see on this map,
there are plenty of two -story homes that are close by.
Our proposed design preserves the architectural
style of the neighborhood at large and is consistent with
General Plan recommendations. The predominant style in the
neighborhood is ranch style with gabled roofs, with asphalt
shingles being the common material for the roofs. Siding is
being used as an exterior material, as you can see on the
property across from the proposed site. There are a variety
of roof shapes and pitches in the close neighborhood.
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The third reason is that the height profile of
the proposed construction matches adjacent homes. The first
floor level is level with the grade; there is no step when
you approach the house and enter the front door. The lower
eave of the roof is also consistent with adjacent homes due
to the extension of the roof to match the eave line with
the neighbors.
We're proposing a house in a family oriented
neighborhood where children regularly play, and we consider
this family - friendliness to be the'most important factor in
(inaudible) of our neighborhood, so our new home should
meet the needs of the area.
We collected signatures from neighbors from the
immediate neighborhood, as well as those who live on the
street. We received comments like, "Excited about the
remodeling," and, "Looking forward to the finished
project," and everyone agreed this would improve the
quality of the neighborhood.
This is not just a comfortable house; it is going
to be built using one of the most environmentally friendly
methods using insulated concrete forms. I brought a sample
here. IC is hollow foam blocks that are stacked in the
shape of walls, reinforced with steel rebar, and then
filled with concrete. They provide superior structural
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quality and insulation that reduces the heating and cooling
systems by 50W.
This will be a comfortable house for a great
family neighborhood. It will be safe, environmentally
friendly, and long lasting. It will far exceed the existing
General Plan requirements in terms of environment and
sustainability matrix. Thank you.
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Thank you, Mr. Lebedenko. Do
we have any questions for Mr. Lebedenko? Commissioner
O'Donnell.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: I just have one
question. Could you lift that sample and put it on the
table? It's hard to see here. Is the outside material
Styrofoam?
DMITRY LEBEDENKO: Yes, it's a sandwich made of
two layers of Styrofoam that provides the superior
insulation. The steel rebar goes in the center here, and
then this is poured with concrete, so this can withstand...
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: What goes on the outside
of the Styrofoam?
DMITRY LEBEDENKO: I would say the surface can
accept either siding or stucco. The interior is covered.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: You said you were going
to have siding, I thought?
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DMITRY LEBEDENKO: Correct.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: And how is the siding
adhered to the Styrofoam?
DMITRY LEBEDENKO: There are certain points where
you can attach exterior layers to the plastic webbing, and
there are certain points marked on the exterior here that
have a high degree of adhesion to the fasteners.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Assuming you had two
stories, the two stories would be faced all the way around
with Styrofoam, to which would be applied some form of
siding?
DMITRY LEBEDENKO: On the exterior, the furthest
on the exterior layer will the siding. Then there will be
also a weatherization layer applied that prevents the
moisture from penetrating the house.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Thank you.
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Any further questions?
Commissioner Hanssen.
COMMISSIONER HANSSEN: I see that your petition
states that the house is 2,500 square feet, but from the
Town's perspective it's listed as over 3,000 square feet,
and I'm just wondering if you considered any other
alternate designs with your architect for a somewhat
smaller house? Because it's significantly above the code
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floor area ratio, did you consider other designs or
something a little bit smaller?
DMITRY LEBEDENKO: When choosing how to position
the square footage, we placed as much as possible on the
first floor while staying away from the drip line of the
300 year old oak tree. We put a few rooms upstairs trying
to make the second floor look small. This shape was fitted
best with a gable roof, which is common in the
neighborhood, and therefore our choices were to reposition
the square footage on the second floor, or change the
ceiling heights in order to satisfy requirements for the
attic to be exempt.
The reason we're asking for the space in the
attic is that instead of vaulting the ceiling and heating
up the space, wasting energy, we'd rather ask for storage
where we could place mechanical systems and items for long-
term storage, the reason being that if we vaulted the
space, then instead we would have to locate that storage
somewhere else in the house and reduce it. I would argue
that this size is average size for a family that has
several kids.
COMMISSIONER HANSSEN: So basically you're saying
no, you didn't consider a smaller design, but for the
reasons that you stated?
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DMITRY LEBEDENKO: Smaller in terms of living
Iarea?
COMMISSIONER HANSSEN: For this house to be in
compliance with the floor area ratio, it would have to be
roughly 2,500 square feet, and it's stated in your
application it's 3,122.
DMITRY LEBEDENKO: Right.
COMMISSIONER HANSSEN: So all I was asking is did
you consider any designs that actually made it 2,500?
DMITRY LEBEDENKO: We would like to have 2,500 of
living area, and with this design we almost accidently
acquired an extra 600 -plus square feet of attic space,
which we thought would be exempt, but late in the
application we found out that it cannot be exempt,
therefore we started to think what to do about this.
So alternatives to this would be while keeping
the living area at 3,500 square feet for a comfortable
house, we can change the layout of the attic so it wouldn't
be a floor area.
vaulting of the space would be one proposal.
A second would be to turn the rooms 90- degrees so
that they stretch along the house's axle; this would reduce
the space for the attic.
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Looking at that, I concluded that the size of the
windows in the bedrooms upstairs would be reduced and the
windows would be very high in the air, up way high above
the floor. Currently all the bedrooms upstairs have regular
size windows so they receive plenty of natural light.
Something that just occurred to me is that our
ceiling height in those bedrooms is between 7 -10', because
we were planning to vault the bedrooms to match the
roofline, but if we limited that to below 71, and this is
going to be kids' bedrooms, then maybe the attic that we
claim to be exempt does become exempt. The policy would
apply in that case, but in that case, the ceiling will be
at 7' in the bedrooms. Another possibility.
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Any further questions?
Commissioner Erekson.
CHARLES EREKSON: I guess I'd like to follow up.
I want to be sure I'm getting what you're doing correct,
because I have the same basic question that Commissioner
Hanssen had.
If I understand correctly, you're trying to
achieve 2,500 square feet of space on the first and second
floor?
DMITRY
. Correct.
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CHARLES EREKSON: You're going to tear the
I existing house down, correct?
DMITRY LEBEDENKO: Yes.
CHARLES EREKSON: So you're starting over from
scratch. You chose a house design that has 1,698 on the
first floor and 802 on the second floor to achieve your
2,500. You could have chosen a different ratio between the
two floors, and you chose a house design that added another
roughly 650 square feet on the second floor of "countable"
space, and then you are also planning on a basement area
that's 1,700 square feet, which will be with 9' ceilings,
as I understand, so clearly is occupy -able space. So while
it doesn't count toward the standards, I'm talking about
what you're really achieving. If my math is correct, you're
achieving a house with something like 4,200 square feet of
occupy -able space, the Town's standards aside for the
moment. I don't believe that there are very many other
houses in the neighborhood that have basement space.
DMITRY LEBEDENKO: Correct.
CHARLES EREKSON: So you're placing what would
appear to me to be a really large, out of proportion house
in a neighborhood where the typical large house, before
it's remodeled, is about 1,500 square feet in that whole
area.
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DMITRY LEBEDENKO: In the immediate neighborhood,
which would be a house across the street.
CHARLES EREKSON: Right, in the immediate
neighborhood, and that's what the Town's standards call for
us to... But even if I go beyond and if I defined the whole
neighborhood as what I can enter onto that, there are not
very many, if any, 4,200 square foot houses in that area.
So you need to help me understand how it's
compatible with that neighborhood, whether you define it as
the immediate that we're obligated to evaluate the house
from, or even if you expand it, because I drove the whole
area, I even went outside the boundaries, and it seems to
me that this is a size of a home that would be more
appropriate in a different neighborhood in Los Gatos, but I
want you to help me understand.
DMITRY LEBEDENKO: Let me explain our thinking
about the basement first. When we did the soils test it was
determined that our foundation has to have really deep
footings, which would be about 5 -6'. When we asked how much
extra work it would be to make it a basement, we were told
that it's probably going to be a reasonably small amount
that we can afford. Then we assumed that if we have to
satisfy the engineer's requirements for the foundation, we
might as well invest in a basement.
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At this point I have estimates from three
different parties. one has been an engineer, the others
have been builders, and while builders are promising this
to be affordable, the engineer indicates that this basement
might cost as much as the whole structure above the ground.
At this point we don't have an official engineering
estimate.
We would like to request a basement, because our
foundation will excavate so much soil —maybe it will, maybe
it will not —but if engineers determine that this will be
cost prohibitive, then we will just go with the regular
foundation and we will be left with 2,500 square feet of
living space on the first and second floor.
Going beyond the immediate neighborhood, there
are several houses that are larger than 2,500 square feet,
and I am considering an area of about a 900 -foot circle
from our property. I've prepared pictures of two -story
homes in the area, and I can show them; I have a booklet.
And you have photographs as well.
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Any further questions for the
Applicant? Seeing none, thank you, Mr. Lebedenko, you may
sit down now.
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We
will
now invite
comments from members
of the
public,
so I
will
be calling
Neil Grenzebach to the
podium.
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You will have three minutes to speak. When you see a yellow
light, you'll have 30 seconds left. Red, it's expired.
NEIL GRENZEBACH: Good evening, Commissioners.
I'm Neil Grenzebach; I'm the next -door neighbor to the
north. I have a two -car garage, so we don't have to need
any extra parking, so I'm all set for parking. That's a
joke, okay?
Anyway, I'm here representing myself and Bill
Ross, who couldn't make it; he's the neighbor to the rear.
You mentioned the large imprint on a reasonably
small lot. The other factor that may not be obvious is that
their lot is 2' higher in elevation than mine and Bill's,
so everything that goes up is emphasized more by 2'.
The other factor is that I'm looking at the
plans, and the lady here worked out the math that the first
floor has 10' ceilings, and I've got 7110" on my ceiling,
so if the ceiling were lower to the first floor, the
imprint as far as skyline would be reduced.
The other factor that Bill and I had was the
drainage with all the digging that has already been
mentioned. How is it going to be drained?
The third item is that we have a giant oak tree
back there that probably was there when de Anza rode
through from New Spain, and I can imagine over the decades
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it's been trimmed a little bit, but the drip line is
probably not fair to the tree, because the tree has been
downsized, but the roots (spreads arms wide), so I would
imagine that the roots are going to be cut up to some
extent by any digging.
More pursuant to my needs on the north side is
that there's a window in the second floor that the owner
and I have discussed, and it was my understanding it was
going to be about 5 -5.5' from the floor, narrower, like
15 ", and 6' wide, which is what I have in my property. He
can look at it, but based on the math that the young lady
did, it's going to be 3.5' off the floor and 4' wide. It
was also supposed to be opaque, kind of like a bathroom
window, so you couldn't look down into my yard, and that's
not mentioned either. So the window has been changed from
what I was promised to what's there. Now, I don't know if
that's going to be finalized or not, but that's basically
our concerns.
So I'm through. Any questions?
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Any questions, Commissioners?
Commissioner Talesfore.
COMMISSIONER TALESFORE: I just wanted to be
clear about the window that you were referring to. You said
it was supposed to be up 5', but tonight...
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NEIL GRENZEBACH: Yes, the young lady here did
the math with a ruler, saying it appears to be about 3 -3.5'
from the floor.
COMMISSIONER TALESFORE: Instead of the 5' that
you thought it was going to be?
NEIL GRENZEBACH: Right, so it's higher and
shorter. I've got a window right next door that is about
this high, and about 6' wide. It lets a lot of light in.
Anyway, it's higher, narrower and wider for light.
COMMISSIONER TALESFORE: Okay, thank you.
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Any further questions? Seeing
none, you may sit now. Thank you. We will now allow the
Applicant to come back up to the podium for three minutes
to add any additional comments about the application.
DMITRY LEBEDENKO: First, I would like to address
the ceiling height. In response to the consulting
architect's suggestions we lowered the house by 3.5' by
adjusting the ceiling heights between the first and second
floor in such a way that one would still be able to walk up
the stairs to the second floor, and we lowered the roof
pitch. If we change any of those parameters, then all
others have to change, and in most of the cases the overall
height of the house would be taller.
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I can address the window next. It probably is a
change due to the roof shape with a snub corner being
removed, and we are prepared to either remove the window,
position it differently, or resize it, and it's definitely
going to be opaque glass, so you will not be able to look
through it.
The oak will definitely be impacted by the
construction. By estimate of the arborist about 25% of the
root system will be impacted, and they consider 30% being
critical, and 25% is something that can be mitigated.
Essentially the arborist, as I understand, will have to be
present during excavation to observe how the roots have
been treated.
Drainage is being planned in front of the
property. There will be retaining pits for the water that
runs off of the roof to be accumulated on the property
instead of going into the street.
And the 2' difference, we did the survey in 2013
and I requested the surveyor to calculate the difference in
the floor height between our house and the property in the
back of us, and they determined that the difference of the
floors was 1', but there is a definite jump near the fence,
which makes it look like there is a difference of 2'. I
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admit we're higher by a foot, our property, than the
neighbors.
I think I commented on all the issues raised.
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Thank you. Any questions for
the Applicant? Seeing none, you may sit down.
We will now close the public portion of the
public hearing and ask the Commissioners if they have
questions, comments or a motion? Commissioner O'Donnell.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: My comment would be that
when you go out there and drive the neighborhood, that is a
fairly large street without a single double -story house on
it. This would be the first, and I'm sure it would not be
the last. One, we're not supposed to do that, and two; I'd
hate to see it happen, so I could not support this.
And then as far as the FAR is concerned, and as
far as the ceiling height of the 600 square foot attic, the
attic I think could be easily remedied, and I'm surprised
that it hasn't been easily remedied, but it wouldn't make
any difference to me, because I could not support a two -
story house there.
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Commissioner Hanssen.
COMMISSIONER HANSSEN: After seeing all the
comments from the neighbors, I wasn't as concerned about
the aspect of the two stories, but it seemed to me in
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driving through the neighborhood and looking at the plans
that this house is just to big for the lot.
I think the architect can do better and come up
with a design that comes within the floor area ratio and is
truly a 2,500 square foot house that will have less impact,
and depending on how that might happen, maybe the two -story
thing would even look better as well, but I can't support
this either.
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Thank you, Commissioner
Hanssen. Commissioner Kane.
COMMISSIONER KANE: As I mentioned earlier, I was
treated to a walking tour of the neighborhood. I'm trying
to think, Commissioner O'Donnell, I saw one two -story
house. There's a fairly new house down on the corner of E1
Cajon and the cut - through street that's just an enormous
house and doesn't fit with the rest of the neighborhood.
That's a shining example of what the Residential Guidelines
talk about when they talk about maintaining the character
of the neighborhood. We have an example of one that doesn't
seem to do that.
These houses were built in 1959 and a number of
them have the same floor plan. The Applicant's floor plan
is shared by other houses that I looked at: 3 bedrooms, 2
bath. I was shown houses that have been remodeled and
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upgraded, and they're one -story houses. So there are
alternatives to a two -story house in this neighborhood.
Other neighbors have explored those alternatives.
But if it needs to be said for those of you who
saw it, that tree is extraordinary. I think the arborist
report said 300 years. It's what, 52" in diameter? I'm not
going to support anything that does anything to those
roots, so that's a sticky wicket. But it is an
extraordinary tree, and what do we talk about, Heritage
trees? Is this one of those? If it isn't, it should be. Fix
that.
So I feel similar to other Commissioners. This is
a case where Staff has given advice consistent with the
Residential Design Guidelines and it would appear that that
advice has not been followed.
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Thank you. Any further
comments? Commissioner O'Donnell.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: With reference to the
two - story, the one thing I would say is over a long period
of time I have watched what happens to neighborhoods when
you put a two -story in. I have seen neighborhoods totally
change. So it is true, I guess if you really try you could
say well we could do a two - story, we could do this, and we
could do that. But my experience has been once you let a
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two -story into what is otherwise a one -story neighborhood,
it does not stop.
What I understand our role to be is we look at
the defined neighborhood, and clearly the defined
neighborhood is single stories. I only make that point
because I think we all kind of agree it's too big for the
lot. I certainly am concerned about that oak tree too, but
I just throw that out for consideration perhaps in other
matters, that you make one change on a two -story in a
neighborhood and I can almost guarantee to you that in ten
years you will have a number of two -story houses. Most of
us have seen that happen, and I just call it to your
attention.
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Commissioner Kane.
COMMISSIONER KANE: I'd like to point out the
definition of immediate neighborhood. Six or seven years
ago Mr. Paulson, the Director of Community Development, Ms.
Talesfore, and myself toured sections of the Town with the
Town Architect, Larry Cannon. Larry stood in front of one
house and looked across the street, and I believe it was me
who said, 'Two- two -five, Larry." And he went, `Yeah, that's
right." So the immediate neighborhood definition, found on
page 11 of the Residential Design Guidelines— without a
credit or footnote, it's a terrible thing —is two- two -five,
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meaning if you stand in front of the subject house it's two
houses to your left, two houses to your right, and the
corresponding five houses across the street. I applied two -
two -five today, as other Commissioners did, and all of
those houses are small houses, one - story, 1959 (inaudible);
maybe one exception, one has been modernized. But that's
the immediate neighborhood and that's what I'd like to
preserve and find a way to communicate to the Applicant to
get something similar to what other people have done when
they've upgraded their homes.
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Thank you. Commissioner
Talesfore.
COMMISSIONER TALESFORE: I cannot support this
either. I would say to stay within the FAR, and if you were
so inclined to think about a redesign, that it would have
to be pretty special. It would have to really be in
keeping... I would avoid long ridge beams and a lot of
windows with... Try to simplify what you're doing if you redo
this. But I couldn't support the square footage in this
house in this neighborhood.
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Commissioner Kane.
COMMISSIONER KANE: I'd like to make a motion to
support the Staff recommendation and deny Architecture and
Site Application S -14 -036. I cannot make the findings, and
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a number of very important points are in conflict with the
Residential Design Guidelines.
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Seconded by Commissioner
O'Donnell. Any further discussion? Are we ready for a vote?
All in favor? Passes unanimously. Mr. Paulson, are the
appeal rights of the actions of the Commission on this?
JOEL PAULSON: There are appeal rights. Anyone
who is not satisfied with the decision of the Planning
Commission can appeal the decision to the Town Council.
Forms are available in the Clerk's Office. There is a fee
for filing the appeal, and the appeal must be filed within
ten days.
VICE CHAIR BADAME: Thank you.
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