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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/14/1979VARIANCE AND PERMIT COMMISSION `. Town of Los Altos Hills 26379 Fremont Road Los Altos Hills, California MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING Wednesday, March 14, 1979 Reel 77, Side 1, Tr. 1, 001 to 238 Chairman Lachenbruch called the meeting of the Variance and Permit Commission to order in the Council Chambers of the Town Hall at 6:35 p.m. ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Lachenbruch and Kuranoff. Commissioner vanTamelen arrived at 6:39 p.m. Absent: None Also Present: City Engineer/Planner John Carlson, Secretary Ethel Hopkins APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: On the motion of Commissioner Kuranoff, seconded by Commissioner Lachenbruch, the Minutes of the meeting of January 24, 1979 were L approved as submitted. Both Commissioners voted for approval. Commissioner vanTamelen \r had not yet arrived. PUBLIC HEARINGS: 1. LANDS OFnd'8 'UFileovNVAR.7056-79, 26595 Anacapa Drive, Request for ecommeation Appra on Request for Variance from Sideyard Setback for Swimming Pool Background information on the above request was contained in Mr. Carlson's staff report of March 14 where approval of the request was recommended. The public hearing was opened for the discussion of the item. Mr. Far Ap licant, discussed reasons for selecting the site of the pool and noted tat t ere were no objections by neighbors and no visualimpact problems with the proposed location for the pool. He requested that the variance be recommended for approval. Paul McMullen Architect 50 Curtner Avenue, Campbell, reviewed reasons for the pool location, noting the need to divert ground water away from the home and terrace area, and the need to relievepressure on the wall area of the terrace by locating the pool in an area requiring a variance of setback. Commissioner Lachenbruch noted that the issue was not where the best location for the pool might be, but whether a hardship existed and whether the situation involved was unique and therefore necessitated the granting of the variance. 4✓ Commissioner Kuranoff noted that the design and pool location were good solutions to the problem of preserving trees in the area. The public hearing was closed, and discussion returned to the Commission VARIANCE AND PERMIT COMMISSION MINUTES - March 14, 1979 Page two 6 PUBLIC HEARINGS: (continued) 1. LANDS OF FAROUDJA, File #VAR. 7056-79: (continued) Mr. Carlson noted there were no conditions for the variance, as the Site Development Committee could take care of the request. I MOTION SECONDED AND PASSED UNANIMOUSLY: It was moved by Commissioner Kuranoff, seconded by Commissioner vanTamelen and approved unanimously to recommend approval of the Lands of Faroudja variance request, File #VAR. 7056-79, as the request was a minimal one, and the proposal a well-designed conclusion to what could be a problem area. Commissioner vanTamelen asked that it be noted that the proposed pool will be built into a very steep slope, and that the Site Development Committee should become aware i of the extremely precipitous site of the pool and condition it accordingly. 2. LANDS OF ALHOUSE, File #BSA 6110-78, Manuella and Scarff Way, Paul Nowack and Associates, Engineers, equest for Recommendation of Approval of Building Site Approval Requeat Background information on the above request was provided by the Staff Comment Sheet of March 14 prepared by Mr. Carlson. Commission discussion followed on the methods of removing the one foot reserve strip adjacent to Scarff Way and whether the fifty foot right-of-way should be required for the cul-de-sac area. Thereafter the hearing was opened to the public. Paul Nowack, Engineer, 220 State Street, Los Altos, questioned the desirability of Condition 1.6, stating that the path would ut routed through an area of dense trees and would be an invasion of privacy for the property owner. Carol Gottlieb Pathway Committee, spoke for the pathway request but requested that it be a dedication of path area only until another route on the Scarff property can be obtained. She also requested that the path be an all-purpose path. William Alhouse, Owner, discussed the difficulty of routing a path through the eucalyptus trees, the invasion of privacy, and whether horses or path users would actually use a meander path through the trees. Mr. Alhouse also drew attention to the safety problem for path uses at the Manuella curve area. The public hearing was closed, and the following motions passed: MOTION SECONDED AND PASSED UNANIMOUSLY: It was moved by Commissioner vanTamelen and seconded by Commissioner Kuranoff that the five foot pathway easement in Condition 1B be required of the property owner. Commissioners noted for the record that the path requirement in Condition 1B is to be abandoned if a ten foot path can be obtained on the Scarff property or if an alternate route is made available. MOTION SECONDED AND PASSED UNANIMOUSLY: It was moved by Commissioner vanTamelen and seconded by Commissioner Kuranoff to recommend approval of the Lands of Alhouse, File #BSA 6110-78, with conditions as amended. VARIANCE AND PERMIT COMMISSION MINUTES - March 14, 1979 Page three PUBLIC HEARINGS: (continued) 3. LANDS OF SOARES, File #BSA 6111-78, Almaden Court, Municon Consulting Services, Inc., Request for ecommendation of pproval of Building Site Approval Request Background information on the above request was provided by Mr. Carlson's staff I report of March 14. As there were no Commission comments, the hearing was opened to the public discussion. Ghulam Nabi 946 Warren Way, Palo Alto, owner of Lots 1 and 2 adjacent to the Lands of Soares, questioned whether ���e septic tank drainfield on the Soares property would limit his ability to provide a drainfield for the residence he plans to build. He noted that the Health Department would permit him to build only one house on the two lots, and he wanted to make sure that he would not be hindered in providing an adequate drainfield for this residence. i Both Commission and staff asked that Mr. Nabi's question be a part of the record. It was also suggested that the geotechnical report might respond to this question. Carol Gottlieb, Pathwa Committee, discussed the lack of pathway connections to Natoma Road from maden Court, ut noted that the Pathway Committee was waiting until other property came in for development to request connecting pathways. 1 Barry Roth, Municon Consulting Services, 260 Sheridan Avenue, Palo Alto, ementedasked o that e t e 6 soils report for maden ourt su division a used and Supp fir' satisfy Condition 1.A. j11! Mr. Carlson, however, noted that the 1966 soils report for Tract #4392 was a general report for the whole subdivision. He requested a separate report on the foundation for the proposed dwelling and asked that this report also address the drainfield area. The public hearing was closed, and the following motions passed: PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To amend Condition lA to include 'drainfield' after "...grading," on line three. MOTION SECONDED AND PASSED UNANIMOUSLY: It was moved by Commissioner Kuranoff and seconded by Commissioner vanTamelen to recommend approval of the Lands of Snares, File #BSA 6111-78, with conditions as amended. ADJOURNMENT: There being no new or old business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned by Chairman Lachenbruch at 7:40 p.m. on the motion of Commissioner vanTamelen seconded by Commissioner Kuranoff. Respectfully submiteed, Ethel Hopkins Secretary