Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-09-1997 Planning Commission minutes~~ ~,ANNING COMMISSION MINUT]• APRIL 9, 1997 City Council Chambers, 13777 Fruitvale Avenue Regular Meeting Chairwoman Kaplan called the meeting to order at 7:30 p. m. Roll Call Present: Abshire, Bernald, Kaplan, Murakami, Patrick, Pierce, Siegfried Late: None Absent: None Staff: Interim Planning Director Walgren and City Attorney Fabian Minutes - 3/26/97 COMMISSIONERS PATRICK/PIERCE MOVED TO APPROVE THE MARCH 26, 1997 MINUTES WITH THE FOLLOWING AMENDMENTS: - Page 3, paragraph 2, correction of Commissioner Bernald's name. - Page 9, paragraph 6, line 1, replace the word "odd" with "~I. " - Page 12, paragraph 2 amended to read: "Commissioner Bernald said that a.~r at( thy`gl~ie~sI~s~i~t~~eu~ar : apd~~ vt~::~i~':s~tua~~~ she a reciated staff 1; ........................ ..., PP and their professionalism tr~i~e~t~~:~- at last ~igl~'~~eeting. r she said that she attended the March 17 Sa?~av, Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting. She informed the Commission that efforts are being made to iastull cer# the Juan Bautista de Angeles Natural Historiird trail connection ... " THE MOTION CARRIED 5-0-2 WITH COMMISSIONERS MURAKAMI AND SIEGFRIED ABSTAINING. 9ra1 Communications No comments were offered. Report of Posting Agenda Pursuant to Government Code 54954.2, the agenda for this meeting was properly posted on April 4, 1997. Technical Corrections to Packet Interim Planning Director Walgren informed the Commission that Public Hearing Item 2, page 5, the paragraph under the subheading "Conclusion," had numbers transposed (states 1,241 square feet, should read 2,141 square feet). PLANNING COMMISS~T MINUTES APRIL 9, 1997 PAGE - 2 - CONSENT CALENDAR PUBLIC HEARING CONSENT CALENDAR 1. SD-96-005, UP-96-004 & V-97-003 - EITZEN, END OF OLD OAK WAY OFF PIERCE RD. ; Request for Tentative Parcel Map approval to subdivide a 31.1 acre hillside parcel into four individual lots of 5.6, 2.6, 2.4 and 2.2 net acres. Approximately 17 acres would be dedicated as open space. Use Permit approval is requested to allow the four lots to be clustered together, thus allowing the open space dedication. Variance approval is also requested to allow a potential future Lot 3 structure to be located on a City identified Major Ridgeline -more restrictive building height limits are applied to ridgeline lots. The property is located within a Hillside Residential (HR) zoning district (cont. to a date uncertain at the request of the applicant. Notices will be published and mailed to neighbors announcing a new hearing date; City review deadline is 8/5/97). Chairwoman Kaplan stated that she was going to recommend that this item be tabled and that the applicant be required to resubmit an application. City Attorney Fabian said that either action would be acceptable under the Permit Streamlining Act (either table the item indefmitely or table and require the resubmittal of an application). Interim Planning Director Walgren informed the Commission that this item would be scheduled for a determination before the August 5, 1997 Permit Streamlining Act deadline. COMMISSIONERS SIEGFRIED/PIERCE MOVED TO APPROVE PUBLIC HEARING CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM 1 BY MINUTE ACTION. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). City Attorney Fabian was excused from the remainder of the meeting. PUBLIC HEARINGS 2. DR-97-015 - WONG; 21252 CHADWICK CT.; Request for Design Review approval to construct a new 2,141 sq. ft. deck pursuant to Chapter 15 of the City Code. Design Review is required to allow the under-story of the deck to be 13 feet above grade where 5 feet is the maximum permitted. The subject property is 2.8 acres, located in an HR zoning district. Interim Planning Director Walgren presented the staff report. He said that staff could make the necessary findings to recommend approval of the deck and the five foot under floor exception. He informed the Commission that correspondence was received from Alexander E. Barkas, 13245 Padero Court, expressing concern that the deck would be encroaching on the use of his rear property. He said that this concern was taken into consideration at Tuesday's site visit. • • PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES APRIL 9, 1997 PAGE - 3 - Commissioner Abshire asked if the deck was reduced to the five-foot maximum allowed, what would be the total area of deck remaining? Planner Walgren responded that there are portions of the deck at the comer where it is highest off the natural grade where it could not meet the five foot underfloor standards. This deck area would have to be to eliminated, resulting in approximately 50% of the deck being eliminated. The area exceeding the five feet underfloor standard was identified as being the deck area located on the right corner of the residence. Chairwoman Kaplan opened the public hearing at 7:40 p. m. Jason Bowman, landscape architect, requested Commission approval of the deck as designed as it meets setback and lot coverage requirements. He said that the height exception is proposed to the northeast comer of the master bedroom area, family room and kitchen area. Chairwoman Kaplan noted that the northeast section of the property is flat. She asked if the property owner considered opening out onto the garden area rather than to have a deck between the home and the garden area? Mr. Bowman responded that the way the home is oriented, it is sitting on the building setback line. Commissioner Murakami asked if the deck could be designed to be tiered? Mr. Bowman responded that the house steps down and then wraps around the fireplace area. From the edge of the fireplace, the deck drops down to grade. David Leitzer, 21000 Comer Drive, informed the Commission that he resides to the north of this property. He requested that the Commission enforce the current codes as the request would impede his view and privacy. He felt that the house should have been sited to satisfy the height requirements of the terrain. Carl Barnes, general contractor, said that the deck would be nestled among the trees and that it would be difficult to see from down the hillside. He said that the house was sited on the lot to accommodate the other neighbors on the hillside. Mr. Bowman said that at time of design submittal, the preliminary landscape plans were not completed in time to include the structural drawings. At the time of approval of the home, the deck was shown but that it was not considered as part of the residence. As the deck was not approved at time of home approval, the deck was required to go through the design review process. He said that the north side of the home is heavily wooded with existing coast live and blue oak trees. As the trees mature, the deck will be fiurther screened. He said that the deck was designed to include open balusters as well as solid balusters so that the deck would not look so big (minimize the effect of the deck). In response to Commissioner Bernald's question, Mr. Bowman said that discussions have not occurred with his clients regarding the possibility of eliminating the deck area that wraps around the master bedroom where its height is the greatest. His client's intentions were to have the deck looking out and to walk around it to service their property. • • PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES APRIL 9, 1997 PAGE - 4 - Commissioner Bernald asked if the deck could be cut back and designed structurally to have it attached to the house, eliminating the piers (cantilever the deck out)? Mr. Barnes responded that piers would be required due to the height of the deck. Chairwoman Kaplan said that at the site visit, the Commission informed the applicant's representatives that plantings could not occur under the deck because it is an area located in a fire zone. Also, there would have to be elimination of some existing brush around the home. COMMISSIONERS PIERCE/PATRICK MOVED TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AT 7:50 P.M. Commissioner Abshire said that the home is located in a sensitive area from the stand point of the ground below. Therefore, he could not support a 13-foot deck. He said that he could support a deck of a maximum of five feet. Commissioner Patrick said that she could not support the request for the following reasons: she could not make the findings to approve the deck; one is not supposed to use plantings to obscure an architectural feature that is not liked; the fact that 16,000 square foot lot coverage is being proposed; and the fact that the deck has both open and closed areas. Commissioner Murakami concurred with the comments as stated by Commissioner Patrick. He said that he could not support the 13-foot height deck because it would stand out from the valley below. Chairwoman Kaplan concurred with the comments as expressed by her fellow Commissioners. Interim Planning Director Walgren informed the Commission that should the applicant redesign the deck to eliminate the northeast corner and scale it back to a deck of a height of no more than five feet, it would not have to return to the Commission for approval. COMMISSIONERS SIEGFRIED/PATRICK MOVED TO DENY DR-97-O15. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7-0). 3. DR-96-069 - PINN BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION, INC.; 20865 SARATOGA HILLS ROAD; Request for Design Review approval to construct a 3,876 sq. ft. one- story home on a vacant lot. The property is Lot 7 of the Trinity Place Subdivision, and is 13,417 square feet. The subject property is located in an R-1-12,500 zoning district. Interim Planning Director Walgren presented the staff report. Chairwoman Kaplan opened the public hearing at 8:00 p.m. Chuck Bommarito, Pinn Brothers Construction, provided the Commission with a colored rendering of the proposed home. He stated his concurrence with the staff report. • • PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES APRIL 9, 1997 PAGE - 5 - Commissioner Murakami asked if this design was similar to the three other designs proposed in the subdivision? He stated that the design lacked originality and that it was disappointing to see the same design repeated again. Mr. Bommarito responded that the subdivision proposes two street scapes; one of a stucco-look and the other uses stone and wood. He said that the base floor plans of the homes are similar. Commissioner Bernald stated that the Commission approved the previous design because it was a change in design from what was seen before. Commissioner Pierce said that the Commission liked the use of the design once but that it would not like to see it as a recurring design. COMMISSIONERS BERNALD/PATRICK MOVED TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AT 8:04 P.M. Commissioner Siegfried said that the home was nicely designed, it meets all the design requirements and that it would fit in with the development. Commissioner Pierce said that he did not have a problem with a couple of homes looking alike. Commissioner Patrick stated that she appreciated that the home was not designed to use stucco. COMMISSIONERS SIEGFRIED/BERNALD MOVED TO APPROVE RESOLUTION DR-96- 069. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 4. DR-97-008 - METZLER; 12181 MELLOWOOD DR.; Request for Design Review approval to construct a 1,071 square foot, one and two story addition to an existing one story home on a 9,750 square foot lot pursuant to Chapter 15 of the City Code. The site is located in the R-1-10,000 zoning district. Interim Planning Director Walgren presented the staff report. He informed the Commission that staff could not make the necessary findings in terms of architectural compatibility, building mass and style, and privacy protection to approve the application. Staff recommended denial of the request. He informed the Commission that two letters attached to the report were received from area neighbors. One letter was anonymous. The other letter was signed by the neighbor locate directly to the back of the property who has stated the same concern as identified by staff and also expressed concern that the second story master bedroom windows would be an impact on the use, the enjoyment and privacy of their backyard area. Chairwoman Kaplan opened the public hearing at 8:06 p.m. • • PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES APRIL 9, 1997 PAGE - 6 - John Metzler, applicant, informed the Commission that the size of the original home was about the same size of that of a mobile home and that he wanted to add living area for three individuals. He said that the addition was sited to the rear so that it is hidden by the trees in the neighborhood. He did not believe that you could see the metal roof from the street. He said that the design is that of a California bay style home and that it is not a Spanish or Tudor style home. He requested that the wall arrangement be retained. He said that he would agree to use different exterior material. He said that the master bedroom is being isolated as much as possible to alleviate his wife's allergy problem. He would agree to opaque the second story windows or raise the height of the windows to address the neighbor's concerns. He said that the report states that there are not many two story homes in the neighborhood and no history of upgrades. He said that he could furnish a packet of information that has a history upgrades that have occurred in the neighborhood. Chairwoman Kaplan noted that Mr. Metzler has indicated that he would be willing to redesign the addition. She asked if Mr. Metzler would like to have this item continued to allow him the opportunity to redesign? Mr. Metzler said that he would like to hear the Commission's comments. Leonard Siemek, 12191 Mellowood, stated his opposition to any second story addition in the neighborhood. He said that the existing homes were built -for privacy. He said that there are eleven homes that have increased in size (800 to 900 square foot additions), none of which have destroyed the structure of the neighborhood nor required second story additions. He opposed taking away privacy, light or sun from one individual to give to another individual. Amy Chang, 12171 Mellowood, representing her parents, expressed concern with privacy, obstruction of natural sunlight, and concern with the duration of construction. She suggested that the Metzlers use their rear yard to construct an addition. Mr. Metzler informed the Commission that the CC&Rs state that the height of the home is not to exceed two and a half stories. He did not believe that he would be shadowing the neighbor's property. He said that he understood the concern of neighbors relating to the privacy associated with the use of their hot tub/swimming pool. However, he said that this concern was not an active concern as the hot tub and swimming poor are not being used. COMMISSIONERS MURAKAMI/SIEGFRIED MOVED TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AT 8:22 P.M. Commissioner Abshire said that he understood the neighbors' concern with the maintenance of single story homes in the neighborhood. He said that two story additions were ones that need to be considered as they will be one thing that the City will be seeing more of. In this case, he felt that the design proposed was different from that of the neighborhood. He did not believe that the design would fit in with that of the neighborhood. Therefore, he could not support the design of the second story addition. • PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES APRIL 9, 1997 PAGE - 7 - n Commissioner Patrick said that the second story addition is located in the middle and felt that shadows are already shed. She did agree that privacy may be an issue but that a second story addition would not contribute to the privacy issue. She said that she was not opposed to the second story. However, the windows to the rear may need to be reconfigured. She liked the design but that she could not make the finding that the design would be compatible with that of the neighborhood. Commissioner Pierce said that this is a nice neighborhood with a lot of character. He said that he would have a real concern about approving two story homes without benefit of a neighborhood meeting to see if the neighbors would support second story additions. He did not like the design because it does not fit in with the neighborhood and therefore could not support it. Commissioner Siegfried said that he did not like the proposed design in this neighborhood as it does not fit in. He said that he was not necessarily opposed to a two-story home if it is carefully designed to fit in with the neighborhood. Commissioner Bernald agreed that the design was an exciting one that would fit elsewhere in the community but that it was not an appropriate one for the neighborhood. She felt that the second story windows would need to be addressed. Commissioner Murakami felt that the design was an original one but did not believe that it fit in with the neighborhood and that it would be more suitable in a rural setting. He said that he could not support the design of the second story addition. Chairwoman Kaplan concurred with the comments as expressed by her fellow Commissioners. She said that she liked the design of the second story addition and but that she would like to see it located elsewhere in the community. COMMISSIONERS PATRICK/SIEGFRIED MOVED TO REOPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING. Mr. Metzler asked the Commission would approve a second story addition if he agreed to redesign? Commissioner Siegfried said that in order for him to approve a second story addition, it would need to be designed to be compatible with the neighborhood. Commissioner Murakami said that he was not opposed to a two-story addition. He said that the design of the second story would have to be well done as the lot is large enough to accommodate a single story expansion. BY CONSENSUS, THE COMMISSION CONTINUED THE PUBLIC HEARING TO MAY 14 WITH REVISED PLANS DUE TO PLANNING STAFF FRIDAY, MAY 2. • PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES APRIL 9, 1997 PAGE - 8 - • DIRECTOR ITEMS No Director items were reported. COMMISSION ITEMS 1. Appointment of New Commission Chair & Vice Chair Chairwoman Kaplan stated that it was a pleasure to serve with her fellow Commissioners. She accepted nominations for Chairperson. Commissioners Murakami/Siegfried nominated Commissioner Patrick as the Commission's next chairperson. Commissioner Patrick was unanimously (?-0) elected as the Commission's Chairperson. Chairwoman Patrick opened the floor to nominations for Vice-chairperson. Commissioners Siegfried/Abshire nominated Commissioner Kaplan as Vice-chairperson. Commissioner Kaplan was unanimously (7-0) elected as the Commission's Vice-Chairperson. Interim Planning Director Walgren said that Commissioner Kaplan did a superb job as the outgoing chair and commemorated her year of service as a Chairperson with a plaque. COMMUNICATIONS ri en 1. "The Role of the Planning Commissioner" 2. City Council Minutes dated 3/18; 3/19; 3/25/97 3. Planning Commission notices for 4/23/97 C~ Council ADJOURNMENT -There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:33 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 23, 1997, EOC Conference Room, 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, CA Respectfully Submitted, Irma Torrez Minutes Clerk IT'~PC040997.SAR