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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-26-1986 Planning Commission Minutes CITY· OF SARATOGA PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES DATE: Wednesday, March 26, 1986 - 7:30 p.m. PLACE: City Council Chambers, 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, CA TYPE: Regular Meeting ROUTINE ORGANIZATION Present: Commissioners Burger, Guch, Harris, Pines and Siegfried (Commissioner Harris arrived at 7:48 p.m.) Absent: Commissioner Peterson (VicesChair Burger chaired th~ meeting in his absence.) Reorganization GUCH/HARRIS NOMINATED COMMISSIONER BURGER AS CHAIR. SIEGFRIED/HARRIS MOVED TO CLOSE THE NOMINATIONS. Passed 5-0. COMMISSIONER BURGER WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPOINTED CHAIR. PINES/GUCH NOMINATED COMMISSIONER HARRIS AS VICE-CHAIR. PINES/SIEGFRIED MOVED TO CLOSE THE NOMINATIONS. Passed 5j0. COMMISSIONER HARRIS WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPOINTED ·VICE-CHAIR. Site Review Committee - Commissioners Siegfried and Harris will serve. A resolution changing the meeting to 4:00 p.m. will be adopted at their next meeting. Land Use Committee·- Commissioners Burger and Guch will serve. ORAL C6MMUNICATIONS - None PUBLIC HEARINGS CONSENT CALENDAR 1. A-1175-B - J. Lohr Properties,· request for design review approval to construct a one-story, single· family residence at 18802 (lot 8) Cabernet Drive (Tr. 7655) (Referred by the 3/12/86 SRC meeting) 2. UP-537 - St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, request for use permit approval to expand the existing use to include a memorial garden at 13601 Saratoga Avenue, in the R-1-20,000 zoning district as per Chapter 15 of the City Code PINES/GUCH MOVED TO APPROVE THE ITEMS LISTED ABOVE ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR. Passed 4-0. PUBLIC HEARINGS 3. V-727 - Thomas and Holly Davies, request for variance approval for single-story additions to an existing residence to maintain a 7·.5 ft. exterior yard setback where 25 ft. is required at 14478 Oak Place; continued from·3/12/86 Staff explained the application, recommending approval of the· variance for the 7-1/2 ft. exterior yard setback and denial of the·variance for the·15 ft. garage length. The public hearing was opened at 7:38 p.m. Thomas Davies, the applicant, indicated that he had submitted a revised plan in response to the staff report, which addresses the problem of the 15 ft. section of the garage. He explained that the revision· shows the garage moved about 10 feet from.the house. Commissioner Guch gave a Land Use Committee Report, describing the· site. Discussion followed on the revised plan, and it was noted that the·variance for the garage becomes a moot issue if the revised plan is approved. P~anning Commission~ Page 2 Minutes - Meeting 6 V-727 (cont.) PINES/GUCH MOVED TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. Passed 4-0. PINES/SIEGFRIED MOVED TO APPROVE V-727 for the 7.-1/2 FT. EXTERIOR YARD SETBACK per the conditions of the. staff.report dated March 20, 1986. Passed 4-0. It was noted that this approval also includes the approval of the revised plan showing the new location of the garage. 4. A-1144 - Ken Chan, request for design review approval for a new, two-story, single family residence on a hillside lot at Lot 13, Tract6528, Farr Ranch Road, in the NHR zoning district It was directed that this matter be continued to April 9, 1986. 5a. V-725- PMS Management, request for variance and sign permit 5b. SC-2 - approvals to permit a 24 sq. ft. freestanding sign in addition to approximately '17. sq. ft. of signage which already exists for the Saratoga Walk-In Clinic. The proposed sign.is not in conformance with the previously approved Sign Program,' exceeds the total. square footage allowed for. signage and does not meet the required 20 ft. exterior sideyard setback requirement at 12224 Saratoga- Sunnyvale Road; continued from 3/12/86 It was ~irected that this matter be continue~ to April 9, 1986. 6a. Negative Declaration -'SM-28 - Richard Geno 6b. SM-28 - Richard Geno, request for site modification approval for grading and retaining walls on a slope greater than 10% and for Swimming pool' location at 21449 Tollgate Road; continued from 3/12/86 It was directed that this matter be continued to April 9, 1986. 7a. Negative Declaration - SDR-1617 - Jerry Houston 7b. A=1178 - Jerry Houston, request. for tentative building site and 7c. SDR-1617 -design approval to. construct a new. single family resi- dence at 14082 Chester'Avenue in the R-1-40,000 zoning district as per Chapters 14 and 15'of the City Code It was directed that thismatter be. continued to April 9, 1986. · 8. UP-295 - Saratoga 'Gardens Nursery,. request for the five-year extension of the use permit for Saratoga Gardens Nursery (initially.approved for 15 years with reviews. required after each 5'year period). to.operate as a nonconforming use in the R-l-12,500'zoning district at 12585 Saratoga- Sunnyvale Road, per condition A-1 of UP-295 and Chapter 15 of the City Code Staff explained the. request, noting that there had been. several viola- tions of the use permit discovered' at the time of the'on-sitevisit made by staff. They.recommended that the applicant be allowed 30 days' to comply with the conditions, at which time the use permit can again be reviewed. The public hearing was opened at. 7:45 p.m. Richard Drake, 20509 Gordon Court,~ spoke in opposition. to' any extension of the use permit. He stated that the property.was zoned residential over 25 years ago. He indicated that'the appearance of the property is not in concert with the neighborhood' and noted the following concerns: (1) There is no sidewalk'or walkway in front of the property and the dirt space between the fence and the. roadway is very poorly maintained~ - 2 - Planning Commission Page 3 '~Minutes - Meeting' 3/26/86 UP-295 (cont.) therefore making it almost impassable for pedestrians. He indicated that in rainy weather it is necessary to walk in the bike path to pass the nursery, and (2) The grounds are frequently left in a littered and unsightly condition. He noted that there is currently two large wooden pallets sitting outside the fence between the road and the gates. He added that there is also a pile of old newspapers that have been there for months. Mr. Drake urged that a plan be developed to convert this property to residential. He commented that, failing this, the conditions for even temporary continuance as a nursery should be made contingent on construction of a walkway in front of the property. He stated that he feels that the owners should be required to'maintain the property properly. A copy of the. staff report was given to Mr. Drake and it was pointed out that it does include conditions relative to staff's concerns. There was a consensus that Mr. Drake's concerns should also be given to the applicant, and'that the item be-continued for 30 days to allow the applicant to address the concerns of Mr. Drake and. staff. PINE~/SIEGFRIED MOVED TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. Passed 4-0. Staff commented that they had received' a call from the Health Department, who indicated that they were not concerned about the.barrels of weed killer that had been a concern of staff, since the barrels'were empty. It was noted that if the barrels are empty they should be disposed of. SIEGFRIED/PINES MOVED TO CONTINUE THIS'MATTER FOR 30 DAYS, to allow the applicant time to comply with the. concerns of staff and Mr. Drake. Passed 4-0. COMMUNICATIONS Written 1. Letter. welcoming Kathryn Caldwell to the Planning staff (informa- tion.only). Oral by Commission 1. Commissioner Burger gave a brief report on the City Council meeting held on March 19, 1986. A copy of the minutes of this meeting is on file in the City Administration office. 2. Vice-Chair Burger thanked the'Saratoga News for attending the meeting and the Good Government GrOup. for attending and serving coffee. ADJOURNMENT SIEGFRIED/HARRIS MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. Passed 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:57 p.m.  chuekHsie~~ Secretary YH:cd