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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 3.3 SupplementalRECEIVED Planning Commission February 1, 2009 FEB 2 2009 Art: David Keyon, Associate Planner TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS Los Altos Hills Town Hall 26379 Fremont Road Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 Re: Notice of planning Commission Public Hearing LANDS OF LIEU, 27755 Edgerton Rd #166-08-ZP-SD-GD My family has lived in this neighborhood since the early 1960's and my husband and I presently live at We appreciated the fact that the new owner of the lot in question, Mr. Tim McKeegan, took the time to tell us about his plans for construction. However, based on his explanation, several concerns remain: 1. Concern for the health and beauty of the oak trees is perhaps uppermost in our minds. As we understand his plans, entry to the house will be from Ursula Lane and the construction will require removal of 8 large oak trees. This is to provide a tum around space for the fire department and for the footprint of the house itself. It seems that both a smaller house, and entering from Edgerton would alleviate the removal of many of the large oak trees that affect the Ursula Lane residents' views. 2. We understand from Mr. McKeegan that the fire department requires a tum around for fire trucks at the proposed house because of it's distance from the present fire hydrant on Ursula Lane. None of the nearby existing houses have such a tum around. Wouldn't it be more sensible to locate an additional fire hydrant on his property? This would avoid the requirement for a tum around space, which in tum would avoid removal of some of the beautiful trees. In addition and very important, this would give more fire protection to those living lower on Ursula Lane, and reduce the amount of concrete cover which is better for the environment. 3. We have great concern about the health of the large tree that is adjacent to the proposed new start of the drive. We have personally taken it upon ourselves to have this tree checked and have removed soil which was left against the tree when trenching was done previously for pipes. We have already lost several large oaks on Ursula Lane. The utmost protection for hanging branches and the roots of this tree should be required for any building and transport near this tree. 4. The removal of many of these oaks alters our view and that of other residents on Ursula Lane. We will look directly into the garage area of the new house. The new owner, Mr. McKeegan has verbally offered to plant landscape trees of our choosing to block our view, and at the location we choose on his, or our land. Because the loss of these large oak trees affects us all, we feel that a landscape plan that accomplishes this, should be required for issuance of the building permit. In summary, we understand that this is a difficult lot for development but nearly 5000 square feet is a very large house given the restrictions of this lot. That seems exacerbated by the fire department's requirement for a turn around area resulting in removal of heritage oaks and additional concrete, both of which are a disappointment to us. We respectfully submit these comments for your consideration. Sincerely, Patricia Spector and David Mans Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 RECEIVED FEB 2 2009 TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS January 31, 2009 Planning Commission David Keyon, Associate Planner Los Altos Hills Town Hall 26379 Fremont Road Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 RE: Proposed site development permit for 27755 Edgerton Road, 9166-08-ZP-SD-GO, dated January 23, 2009 Dear David: I am writing in response to your notice dated January 23, 2009 regarding the proposed site development permit for 27755 Edgerton Road, #166-08-ZP-SD-GD. My wife, Kimberly and I, along with our two daughters and golden retriever, reside at which immediately borders the proposed site development lot to the north. We have been residents in Los Altos Hills since 2004 and in the past 5 years have come to appreciate all of what characterizes living in Los Altos Hills including its natural beauty, extensive open spaces and the desire of its resident's commitment to protecting its limited natural resources. Having reviewed the site development proposal for 27755 Edgerton Road, visualized the proposed structure's on-site wooden frame and speaking once to Mr. McKeegan on by telephone on January 28, 2009, 1 have the following concerns regarding the site development proposal: Practicality - my understanding of the 27755 Edgerton Road Lot is that it has been owned the the Liu Family for over 30 years and throughout that period the Liu's have entertained selling it a number of times - in fact, in just the past 5 years, the property has been represented by no fewer than 3 different realtors who have each approached us, including the Lius, about whether or not we were interested in purchasing the lot or knew of any friends who might be interested - each conversation ended in a similar disappointing way in that the lot demonstrated significant constraints to building with respect to its steep slope, unstable soils, difficult accessibility from either Edgerton Road or along the narrow pan -handle along Ursula Lane and a myriad of other natural hazards (ie, water runoff gorge along the entire northern border and rampant poison oak) - the realtors conveyed that a number of engineers and architects, based on the original MDA calculation provisions, which all of the existing homes on Ursula Lane were held accountable to when constructed, incorporating net lot size, average slope and lot unit factor less than unity (1.0), the largest structure that could be built was only 1600 sf, hardly making any investment in developing worthwhile - I understand a recent MDA calculation revision now allows a standard maximum floor area of 5000sf regardless of the net lot size, average slope and lot unit factor Massive Scope of the Proposed Structures - any new proposals for she development should take into consideration current existing structures and lot layouts such that proposed structures are ideally centrally placed in an uncrowded fashion within the lot and ultimately fit harmoniously with its surroundings, rather than "sticking out like a sore thumb" - there are currently 4 homes with Ursula Lane addresses 27343 Ursula Lane: lot size 1.5 acres, home 4,607 sf 27330 Ursula Lane: lot size 1.4 acres, home 4,537 sf 27299 Ursula Lane: lot size 1.8 acres, home 3,069 sf 27271 Ursula Lane: lot size 2.1 acres, home 3,200 sf - as such, the average lot size on Ursula Lane is 1.7 acres and the average home is 3,853 sf - the proposed site development permit for this 2.1 acre lot with a net lot area of 1.9 acres is for a 4,921 sf home with a 852 sf basement totaling 5773 sf I understand the 852 sf of basement space is not applicable, but massive nonetheless at 4,921 sf 1/3 - the obvious impact of the massive scope of the proposed structure represents several standard deviations larger than what is currently existing on the cul-de-sac and would neither be congruent or appear harmonious with the current homes along Ursula Lane - the proposed driveway off of Ursula Lane appears impractical and unnatural any attempt to "shoehorn" a driveway along the narrowest possible pan -handle portion of the property creates a bizarre 7 -shape" path with two 90' turns within 20 feet of each other, making it hardly accessible to large delivery or fire trucks without going off road at tangents that come within inches of a number of century old majestic heritage oaks, not to mention, already encroaching upon their drip lines which puts them in constant harms way - in other words, "just because you can build it, doesn't mean you should build it" Removal of Eight Century Old Majestic Heritage Oaks - as with any construction project on undeveloped sites, the removal of trees is unfortunately a reality and euphemistically falls under unintended "collateral damage" - however, in a community that prides itself over its natural beauty and ardent protection of R limited natural resources, such as century old majestic heritage oaks, as spelled out in the Conservation Element of the Los Altos Hills General Plan the removal of these century old majestic heritage oaks cannot be taken lightly or deemed easily replaceable many of us, I don't think, would be willing to wait a century for the new oaks to grow into place - the proposal to remove eight of these century old majestic heritage oaks, many of which have multiple secondary trunks, each reaching over 50 feet high, seem excessive and unacceptable - in fact, several slated for removal, are located along the approach from Ursula Lane and currently act as the primary natural privacy screens that would actually help to soften the impact of a large structure as stipulated in the proposal Intrusion of Privacy - as the neighbor immediately adjacent and below, we are specifically impacted by the full view we would have of the towering nature of the massive proposed structure, staring directly down onto the approach of our entry driveway - additionally, we are impacted because the proposed structure is in direct line of sight view from the most private spaces of our living quarters the windows of our master bedroom, the windows of our master bathroom and the windows of the our master toilet closet the proposed massive structure would sit front and center and be in my direct line of sight off the master suite - in fad, it is the current views of the rolling hillside, water gorge and trees outside of these particular windows that greet us every morning and night which we have come to treasure over the past 5 years, having played a critical role in our decision to purchase our home and reinforces our decision, on a daily basis, to have made Ursula Lane in Los Altos Hills our home - given the significant elevation above the water runoff gorge, I am doubtful that any landscaping would be able to soften the impact of the proposed towering impact of the proposed structure - a tree planted on my property would have to be over 100 feet tall to even reach the footprint of the proposed structure elevation Exploration of Alternative Plans It is certainly is not our intention to prohibit Mr. McKeegan from developing the site on 27755 Edgerton Road. I suspect your office processes many claims with dubious or questionable justification. However, given the massive scope of the site development proposal and its immediate impact on our appreciation of our property, privacy and its views, I feel that our concerns outlined above are fully justifiable and would appreciate if you and your Planning Commission would recommend the following: - reconsider any and all alternatives to maintain the main entry of the 27755 Edgerton Road lot off of Edgerton Road where the property was originally planned for and zoned given that the majority of the property line borders on Edgerton Road as opposed to the current proposal which appears to be an over crowded attempt to enter along its narrowest panhandle outlet to Ursula Lane - reconsider any and all alternatives to relocate the proposed structure centrally along the lot to maintain an even spacing amongst the immediately bordering property's homes and keeping it out of direct line sight view from current existing homes on Ursula Lane as it would also contribute to an "overcrowding effect" 2/3 reconsider any and all aftematives that would propose a smaller footprint elevation with perhaps a larger basement to encompass all of Mr. McKeegan's needs while meeting the visual impact that would be more harmonious with the current properties and homes along Ursula Lane reconsider any and all alternatives that would spare any century old majestic heritage oaks that are currently functioning as privacy screens between bordering property's homes in exchange for removing other oaks more centrally located on the lot that would not affect any of the bordering property's privacy and views To this effort, we would gladly volunteer our time to meet with Mr. McKeegan and his architects and engineers at a mutually convenient time to assist in any way possible to arrive at a common goal of a mutually pleasing plan that would meet all of the concerns and sensibilities of all the parties involved. Sincerely, Felix and Kimberly � e Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 3/3