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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-05-1988 Planning Commission Minutes- ~ ~n Communications #2 CITY OF SARATOGA PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES DATE: Tuesday, January 5, 1988 - 7:30 p.m. PLACE: Community Center Arts & Crafts Room, 19655 Allendale Ave. TYPE: Joint Committee-of-the-Whole - Heritage Preservation Roll Call - Present: Guch, Burger, Kolstad, Tucker, Siegfried, Clay, Harris Absent: None Staff: Hsia, Calkins I. ITEMS OF DISCUSSION E. AZO-87-004 - City of Saratoga Hal Toppel, City Attorney, gave a brief explanation of the proposed amendments to the zoning code and answered questions. The Committee reached a consensus on the following changes to the proposed amendments. 1) Section 4: 15-29.050 - "No fence or wall constructed or installed within the City shall contain barbed wire unless approved by the Planning Commission, based upon a finding that the barbed wire is necessary for security purposes and measures taken, when appropriate, to mitigate any adverse impacts of such wire." 2) Section 7: 15-40.01.0(1) - "Not more than one truck, of not more than 3/4 ton capacity, and no semi-trailers, incidental to a home occupation shall be kept on a site." 3) Section 10: 15-70.060 - That the granting of the variance will not be detrimental to the public health, safety or welfare, or materially injurious to properties or improvements in the vicinity. The Commission agreed that the preceding paragraph should be added as the third required variance finding. The Commission also decided that variance finding C1 dealing with signs, should be deleted for being vague, but finding C2 should be amended to restrict granting variances to signs that will introduce an "inconsistent or incompatible visual element in the surrounding area." There being no other questions or comments, Planner Calkins informed the Commission that the proposed amendments will be scheduled for the February 10, 1988 regular Planning Commission Meeting. Committee-of-the-Whole Minutes - 1/5/88 A. DR-87-095, V-87-025 - Cartmell, 14350 Paul Ave. Planner Calkins gave a brief summary of the proposed project and the concerns expressed by the Commission at the 11/17/87 regular Planning Commission meeting and the 1/5/88 C.O.W. meeting. The applicant presented revised plans showing two second story windows along the left side elevation and stated that because these windows would be located at least 5.5 ft. above the floor level, the possible affects on privacy are reduced substantially. The applicant also explained that he had reduced the visual impact of the second floor addition by moving the rear wall in (towards Paul Ave.) by approximately 2 ft. As a result, the existing view that the property. owner to the left has of the mountains will be preserved. Adjacent property owners, Crane and Mahaffey, reviewed the plans and stated that they were tentatively satisfied with the revisions and that they appreciated Mr. Cartmell's efforts in trying to resolve their concerns. The concensus of the Commissioners was that the proposed revisions to the plans adequately addressed their concerns regarding privacy and views impacts. Commissioner Kolstad brought up the question of the parking variance to reduce the number of covered parking spaces from 2 to 1. He stated that he revisited the site and felt that there was sufficient room in the rear of the lot to construct a detached two-'car garage. Mr. Cartmell responded by indicating that he was very concerned about his future access to the easement located along his right side property line. He stated that in 1970, a court judgement required him to surrender approximately 5 ft. of this easement and he is very concerned that the use of the remaining 5 ft. may be in jeopardy. Commissioner Kolstad said that he would review the title report for the property before the next regular meeting. B. DR-87-110 - Farone, 14041 Saratoga Ave. Planner Calkins gave a brief summary of the proposed project and the concerns expressed by the Commission at its 11/17/87 regular meeting. Specifically, the Commission felt that the proposed height of the two-story home was excessive for the narrow lot and contributed to the perception of bulk, and that the proposed design was incompatible with the adjacent homes. Mr. & Mrs. McNamara, 14051 Saratoga Ave., explained their concerns which included: privacy impact and the bulky appearance of the proposed home. 2 Committee-of-the-Whole Minutes - 1/5/88 The applicant's architect, Peter Saitta, presented photographs of the neighborhood and stated that in his opinion, the proposed home would be compatible with the homes on either side of the subject lot and with the other homes in the neighborhood. He questioned staff's calculation of floor area and stated that the second story floor area was only 64% of the first floor. He asked that the Commission clarify their concerns and questioned whether there was any room for compromise. The concensus of the Commission was that the height of the home needed to be reduced to between 25-26-. ft., that there needed to be more variety in the roofline, and that impacts on privacy needed to be addressed. C. SD-87-007, DR-87-053 - Fox & Carskadon, 12029 Prospect Rd. Planner Calkins gave a brief summary of the proposed project and concerns expressed by the Commission at its 12/9/87 regular meeting. Specifically, the Commission felt that the on-site circulation was unacceptable since the parking aisle adjacent to the building's south elevaton required people to back out if all the parking stalls were occupied. In addition, the Commission was concerned about the idea of constructing a new driveway so close to the existing Union 76 station's driveway. The applicant's traffic' engineer presented information on the existinq peak hour traffic volumes entering and exiting the Union 76 station from Prospect Rd., and also the projected peak hour traffic volumes entering and exiting the project site from Prospect Rd. The traffic engineer stated that in his opinion the proximity of the two driveways will not create any unusual. traffic hazards or increase the liklihood of an accident. Regarding the on-site Circulation, the consensus of the Commission was that an additional single loaded parking aisle should be constructed to improve the on-site circulation. D. DR-87-114 - Westbrook, 20601 Lomita Ave. Planner Calkins gave a brief summary of the proposed project and concerns expressed by the Commission at its 12/9/87 regular meeting. Specifically, the Commission felt that the proposed additions contributed to the overbuilding of the lot and would create an adverse impact on privacy. In addition, the Commission was concerned with the proposed elimination of the existing turnaround area which would require the property owner to back out the long narrow driveway to the street. 3 Committee-of-the-Whole Minutes - 1/5/88 The applicant presented revised plans showing a reduction in the height and floor area of the proposed addition. In addition, the revised site plan showed the applicant was proposing to maintain the existing turnaround area. The consensus of the Commission was that the applicant had addressed their initial concerns regarding bulk, height and parking. In addition, the Commission felt that the guest house/second unit should be accessed by a stairway along the left side rather than the right side. II. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:45 p.m.