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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/14/19934�r Minutes of a Regular Meeting APPROVED Town of Los Altos Hills PLANNING COMMISSION Wednesday, April 14, 1993, 7:30 P.M. Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road cc: Cassettes #7-93 (2) 1. ROT T CALL AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Planning Commission meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. Present: Chairman Pahl, Commissioners Cheng, Comiso, Ellinger, Schreiner, Sinunu & Stutz Staff: Linda Niles, Town Planner; Lam Lonberger, Planning Secretary ( Chairman Pahl asked that the meeting be adjourned in memory of Wallace Stegner, a bV longtime resident of the Town, who passed away on April 13th. Mr. Stegner was a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, founder of Stanford writing program and a hard working conservationist in his hometown of Los Altos Hills. 2. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR Persons wishing to address the Commission on any subject not on the agenda are invited to do so now. Please note, however, that the Commission is not able to undertake extended discussion or take action tonight on non-agendized items. Such items will be referred to Staff or placed on the agenda for a future meeting. None Items appearing on the Consent Calendar are considered routine and will be adopted in one motion, except for any item removed for separate consideration elsewhere on the agenda. The Chairman will ask the Commission and the audience for requests to remove these items. None Planning Commission Minutes APPROVED April 14, 1993 t Page 2 M 4. REPORT FROM THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF APRIL 7.1993 4.1 Planning Commission Representative. There was not a representative from the Planning Commission. Ms. Niles gave a report on the meeting stating that the clarification of the Council direction regarding the Hall project was discussed. The Planning Commission was provided a copy of the schedule for attendance to the City Council meetings. IT 4.1 LANDS OF PERING, 27744 Via Ventana; A request for a Site Development Permit for a Landscape Plan. Ms. Niles introduced this item stating that she did not have anything to add to the Staff Report, however, she did provide the Commissioner with a letter from a neighbor. OPENED PUBLIC HEARING Ching Su, representing Mr. Ho, 28610 Matadero Creek, stated that they had concerns over the two story garage and submitted a letter to the Planning Commission and 4W photos from their property. They had not had an opportunity to review the landscape plan. A plan was provided to them for their review and comments would be accepted after their review. Ching Su stated that their property was on the market for sale and prospective buyers were looking for privacy. They expressed concern at looking at the garage. She asked if the planting could start immediately. Commissioner Schreiner discussed the height of the shrubs and the relationship of the plantings to the neighbors. Mrs. Pering had stated that the three trees were available for planting now and she would be doing most of her own planting. Commissioner Schreiner also discussed the line of shrubs as shown on plan. Commissioner Stutz discussed the elevation and the type of trees and shrubs to be planted. The Perings do not want to screen their own view and felt that planting below 30' would not serve any benefit. Commissioner Stutz suggested adding a live oak where the 30' setback line crosses the 40' contour. Commissioner Ellinger discussed the pathway that runs from the cul-de-sac and the well used path. He asked if the applicant had plans to improve the path that runs along the sewer easement. Ms. Niles will check on the previous conditions of approval regarding the pathway requirements. Commissioner Ettinger asked the applicant if the screening addressed their privacy from the pathway. Mrs. Pering stated that she had Planning Commission Minutes APPROVED April 14,1993 Page 3 ow tried to place the screening in such a way so that people walking up the hill would see more shrubs than garage. CLOSED PUBLIC HEARING Commissioner Comiso was concerned with the screening of the garage from off site. She would like to see the garage screened from up above. She felt that a view from the garage was not necessary and she would like to see this softened into the landscape. She would like to have the Perings state exactly what would be planted there as she felt it was important to hide the two story facade on this hillside and felt it could be accomplished with very few trees. She did not want to tell the Perings what type of trees they preferred. Commissioner Comiso would like any type of trees that would grow tall, planting at the 43' level so it should be something around 15'. She suggested red -lining the plan and working with Staff regarding the type of trees and shrubs. Commissioner Ellinger agreed with Commissioner Comiso and added that he felt that the trees should be an evergreen type tree. Commissioner Stutz stated that just planting shrubs by the garage would take too long to grow. She suggested two trees; one in the middle of the garage and one on the western edge of the garage where the fruit trees are located. 4 MOTION SECONDED AND PASSED: Motion by Commissioner Comiso and seconded by Commissioner Ellinger to approve the application adding two trees and two shrubs, evergreen, to screen the garage to grow at least 15' tall and drought tolerant. AYES: Chairman Pahl, Commissioners Schreiner, Simmu, Stutz, Cheng, Comiso & Ellinger NOES: None This item will appear on the City Council consent calendar for April 21, 1993, 5.2 LANDS OF BEN-ARTZI, 27800 Via Feliz; A request for a Site Development Permit for a Pool, Spa, Deck, Landscape, Hardscape and Lighting (continued from the Site Development meeting of March 9, 1993). Ms. Niles stated that there was nothing further to add to the Staff Report. Commissioner Stutz questioned the item in the Staff Report on page 2, paragraph 3, regarding lights proposed to be placed on the entry gate pillars that are 6' stucco with concrete caps. She asked when they had gone to 6' pillars for entry gates as she felt they always restricted them to 54". It was her understanding that if they went to 54", they had to put the lights on the side and not on the top. She could not find any record of Planning Commission Minutes APPROVED April 14, 1993 Page 4 4 where they ever exceeded 54". Ms. Niles will check into a possible policy change. Commissioner Stutz felt that they needed to be consistent. Commissioner Schreiner stated that the drawing showed there would be a wood post and three rail fences similar to the existing fence to demarcate the property line. It appeared that it will be fencing in the 10' existing path. Ms. Niles stated that the fencing cannot go across the pathway easement. Chairman Pahl stated that when they pulled this application, one item he wanted discussed was the theory of a two story house not being larger in mass than a one story house of the same square footage (Jones' Law). Mr. Owen was prepared to answer this question. OPENED PUBLIC HEARING Bob Owen, 445 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos, stated that he did not know if the application was pulled because of landscaping or because of the volume of the house. This does present a problem because they are trying to start the swimming pool and the tennis court. His understanding was that if there was not a ruling, they could proceed with both. He asked if there was a possibility of starting the swimming pool. Ms. Niles explained the 10 day appeal period to Mr. Owen. The pool had been approved, however, the location had been changed. The whole Site Development Committee application had been pulled by the Planning Commission for review. Chairman Pahl stated that only the landscape plan was to be pulled and not the pool or tennis court. Ms. Niles stated that the pool they are asking for now was not the pool location that was approved on the Site Plan at the Site Development Committee meeting. The pool was moved to be directly up against the conservation easement and that was a concern because they have had other projects that put their outdoor activity right up against the conservation easement, and then they expected to be able to encroach into the conservation easement. The change in the pool location could have been approved at the Site Development level. Since the Commission was clear that they would like to hear only the landscaping, she will check with the City Attorney to see if the pool, etc. could proceed. The Commission agreed that only the landscape plan was intended to be heard. Mr. Owen, in answer to Chairman Pahl's previous question, stated: cubic feet on the one story house would be 119,247 c.u. and cubic feet on the two story house would be 91,622 c.u. He felt that on a second floor roof, it is actually lower than a one story roof so the volume was really in the roof. M Planning Commission Minutes April 14,1993 Page 5 APPROVED Chairman Pahl asked Staff to direct a letter to Council regarding the above figures. Commissioner Schreiner felt that one of the main concerns regarding the Ben-Artzi house was that it would present a three story facade when looking at it. What has actually happened, even though it is a one story from many views, it is almost a two story; the basement being visible. This determined the need for the landscape plan. Mr. Owen stated that in the Site Development meeting they had addressed the landscaping and they have made a number of modifications that satisfied everyone at that meeting. Commissioner Schreiner stated that she was at the Site Development meeting and they did not have the conditions of approval or any of the previous minutes at that meeting. That Committee was not aware that the conditions of approval required a 3 to 1 ratio as far as replacement of the trees that were removed. Mr. Owen felt that they had more like a 5 to 1 ratio. Commissioner Schreiner's main concern was that they were requested to put in 24" boxes and that was addressed a number of times throughout the minutes (March 4, 1992). What she thought they had was one 24" box and the rest of the trees in 15 gallons. Mr. Owen stated that they felt 24" boxes were not a problem and that was what they had planned on using. Commissioner Schreiner had no problem with the 4 number of trees, only the size of the trees Commissioner Stutz stated that she had a written statement from Peter Shaw stating that larger trees do better. Commissioner Schreiner stated that the Pathway Committee requested an additional 10' and the applicant was asked initially in the November 6, 1991 meeting if the applicant had any problem with an additional 5dedication. Mr. Owen said the applicant did not at that time. Ms. Niles stated that she walked the path with Carol Gottleib and Carol thought the extra 10' as shown on the Plan was all that was needed in addition to the 10' on the other side of the property line so it was a total of 20'. Mr. Owen stated, with regard to the pillars, that they had positioned them back far enough that the 6' height is allowed. The pillars should conform to code with the lights on the side. Peter Shaw, Landscape Architect, discussed different size trees, the expected growth rate, and the tree variety, specifically deodora and live oaks. He felt that a combination would be good because it looks better if they are not all the exact size when they go in. ( A general rule for requesting box size trees to be used to mitigate quickly was discussed, and Mr. Shaw felt that it was the planting technique that was more important Planning Commission Minutes APPROVED April 14, 1993 [ Page 6 then the plant size. He felt that there was not much difference between 15" and 24" box size, however, if you go to 36" or 48" or larger, the specification for how it is planted and supervised was definitely more important. The question was raised that if he were to screen a property as soon as possible and was going to plant one tree only and would want this tree to grow as large as possible and as quickly as possible, what size would he use. Mr. Shaw answered 24" box size. He also discussed the cost of different size trees. It would cost around $10,000 to move a 24" established tree, or $200 to plant a 24" box and $1,200 to $1,500 for a 48" box, installed. Fran Stevenson, 26989 Beaver Lane, discussed pathways and that there was a problem with water coming out of this property and running down onto the path. It appears to her that it may be a spring and runs onto the middle of the path. It was suggested that Staff check into the water problem. CLOSED PUBLIC HEARING Commissioner Comiso discussed the landscaping, the two half alive trees and the need for low screening to mitigate the pool for the neighbor. For mitigating the pool and the house down below, the 10' shrubbery works well. Ms. Niles stated that the Site Development Committee did add the low planting and some tree planting further down the slope so that would insure that the 10' spread would cover all the way down and up to help screen not only the pool area but part of the facade of the house from the lower neighbors. There was another question regarding the view from across the valley and she felt this would also help mitigate this view. Commissioner Ellinger asked if it were wise to have some tall plants put in. He understood the close -in mitigation was a goal, however, the view from across the valley compels some tall growth as well. He would prefer a blend. MOTION SECONDED AND PASSED: Motion by Commissioner Ellinger and seconded by Commissioner Sinunu to uphold the Site Development approval with a mix of half 24" box and half 15" box evergreen trees. AYES: Chairman Pahl, Commissioners Comiso, Ellinger, Schreiner, Sinunu, Stutz & Cheng NOES: None This item will appear on the City Council consent calendar for April 21, 1993. Commissioner Ettinger suggested having something in writing regarding Peter Shaw's previous comments regarding tree size and their growth. It was mentioned that Mr. Planning Commission Minutes APPROVED April 14, 1993 ( Page 7 Shaw had made a presentation before the Planning Commission over a year ago which was also very helpful. 5.3 LANDS OF HALL, 26070 Newbridge Road; A request for a Site Development Permit for a New Residence (continued from March 24, 1993). Ms. Niles stated that she had nothing further to add to the Staff Report. Commissioner Stutz stated that at a previous meeting the Commission asked that a Type IIB Path on La Paloma be added into the conditions of approval. This will be condition #13. OPENED PUBLIC HEARING Mark Sandoval, 8856 San Antonio Road, Los Altos, Architect, was available for questions. Chairman Pahl discussed the basement issue and stated that the Uniform Building Code, 1991, requires an exterior exit out no higher than 44" so that would be either a doorway with a stairwell out or a window. Mr. Sandoval stated that it could also be a garage door. Chairman Pahl asked if you could have one garage door and a 10,000' 4W house behind it. Mr. Sandoval stated that there were certain limitations as far as the actual area of a particular occupancy and in a case where it is a garage it would also depend on what type of garage, commercial versus residential. Chairman Pahl asked what if it were a garage, storage, shop, future bath, laundry room. Mr. Sandoval stated that basically what they have heard was non habitable space so it would comply with the amount of area allowed. In other words, if it is non habitable space, your one garage door is sufficient for the entire area. If there was a bedroom and bath rather than a shop, etc., behind the garage, this would be a habitable area and requires egress and smoke detectors. Commissioner Schreiner discussed the area in the basement were they have under floor space and asked if it was dug out. Mr. Sandoval stated that this area was crawl space. She also stated that at the Council level there was some concern regarding the height of the two story element. Mr. Sandoval was not aware of this as there is a two story house presently on the site. Julie Hall, 26070 Newbridge Road, stated that the existing house is 26' 3" and the proposed house is 27' and the existing house has been there for 75 years. The second story that they have proposed for the new home is actually smaller than the second story that now exists. On the existing house, the second story space is a bedroom and a 4, bathroom. On the proposed house, the second story space will be a loft and a Planning Commission Minutes APPROVED April 14,1993 Page 8 4 bathroom to be used as a study, so the space would be used periodically rather than constantly. Mrs. Hall had provided the Commission with letters of support from their neighbors and there were a number of neighbors who would have been present in support of their application. CLOSED PUBLIC HEARING MOTION SECONDED AND PASSED: Motion by Commissioner Ettinger and seconded by Commissioner Comiso to approve with the recommended conditions, adding #13 requiring a Type IIB path on La Paloma. AYES: Chairman Pahl, Commissioners Stutz, Cheng, Comiso, Ellinger, Schreiner, & Simmu NOES: None This item will appear on the City Council consent calendar for April 21, 1993. 5.4 LANDS OF HANSEN (lot 1), 11801 Francemont Court; A request for a Site Development Permit for a New Residence, Pool and Cabana (continued from March 24,1993). Ms. Niles stated that was nothing further to add to the Staff Report. OPENED PUBLIC HEARING Chuck Bommarito, Menlo Development, agreed with all the conditions of approval presented in the Staff Report and was available for questions. Commissioner Schreiner stated that in the previous meeting the Staff requested that they consider re -orienting the house in order to allow a 10' walkway around the house and asked if they had considered this request. Mr. Bommarito stated that they had looked at the possibility, however, there is a door on the plan for a laundry room access that would have to be closed off and they would prefer to leave the home exactly where it is positioned. Chairman Pahl stated that one of the concerns he had was that the door into the conservation easement was screaming for access. He suggested a new condition adding a deed restriction to alert a potential buyer that there would be no development in the conservation easement. Commissioner Stutz suggested adding to condition #9 "The property owner shall ` provide the Town with photographs of the existing conditions of the roadways, pathways and conservation easement prior to issuance of building permits." Planning Commission Minutes APPROVED April 14,1993 Page 9 Chairman Pahl thought this suggestion should be added to future conditions whenever they deal with a conservation easement. CLOSED PUBLIC HEARING MOTION SECONDED AND PASSED: Motion by Chairman Pahl and seconded by Commissioner Ellinger to approve with the recommended conditions of approval, with the addition to condition #9 and adding condition #17 requiring a deed restriction alerting potential buyers that there would not be any development within either the setback areas or conservation easements. AYES: Chairman Pahl, Commissioners Cheng, Comiso, Ellinger, Schreiner, Simmu & Stutz NOES: None This item will appear on the City Council consent calendar for April 21, 1993. Brief Break 8:55 p.m. 5.5 LANDS OF DZAU, 12101 Dawn Lane; A request for a Site Development Permit for a Second Story Addition. Ms. Niles informed the Planning Commission that the nearest sewer connection was 3,000' away. Commissioner Schreiner asked Staff if there were any recommendations from the Pathway Committee and if there was a path on Elena. She also asked if there was a basement involved and Ms. Niles responded no, not in connection with the remodel and that perhaps the applicant could address this question. Commissioner Stutz stated that there was a path on Elena in this particular area that was on the other side. Although this is a very heavily traveled road in Town and they have tried to get a path on both sides of the road, she thought there was only one property that actually had a path on this side of the road which was on the right hand side of the road as you travel towards La Barranca just before you turn down to La Barranca. On that property, they do have a path which comes down along the side lot line and cuts across the front of the property. There are about four properties between this property and the Dzau property. It was suggested by the Commission to take a path and holding it in abeyance, taking a dedication but no installation. OPENED PUBLIC HEARING Planning Commission Minutes APPROVED April 14,1993 Page 10 4 Lance Johnson, 520 Aragon Blvd., San Mateo, applicant's representative, stated, with regard to the basement question, that there was a small basement adjacent to the garage which is under the main frame of the house. CLOSED PUBLIC HEARING Commissioner Schreiner felt that this addition would fit in very well and looks well placed. Her only concern would be that the Staff was concerned about some mitigation regarding landscaping and she felt that Staff could handle this issue. MOTION SECONDED AND PASSED: Motion by Commissioner Comiso and seconded by Commissioner Cheng to approve the application as outlined by Staff with a change to condition 5 to ask for a dedication of a path rather than an installed path. AYES: Chairman Pahl, Commissioners Sinunu, Stutz, Cheng, Comiso, Ellinger & Schreiner NOES: None This item will appear on the City Council consent calendar for April 21, 1993. 5.6 LANDS OF RAFFETTO, 14380 Manuella Road; A request for a Site Development Permit for a Pool, Pool House, Tennis Court, Garage, Landscape and Driveway Relocation. Ms. Niles stated that there was nothing further to add to the Staff Report Peter Shaw, Landscape Architect, applicant's representative, stated that he agreed with all conditions as stated in the Staff Report. Commissioner Schreiner discussed the 25' road right-of-way dedication and that there did not seem to be any difference in the figures in net acreage. She asked Mr. Shaw if this 25' dedication would bring this under 1 LUF. Ms. Niles stated the LUF is 1.0 after the dedication. Commissioner Schreiner asked if this property was in a flood zone and it was felt that it was not in a flood zone. Commissioner Simmu asked Mr. Shaw about the phrase "future expansion" and if there was something in the future planned regarding this residence. Mr. Shaw said this was a possibility. There might be single story add-ons to the main residence in the future and the applicant had designed the overall plan to allow additional MFA in the future. Commissioner Comiso asked what exactly his relationship was to this project. Mr. Shaw stated that he was the landscape architect and had worked on the elevations on `, the structures, however, he would not be doing the structural drawings for the Planning Commission Minutes APPROVED April 14, 1993 Page 11 4 structures. He also did all the site planning. Commissioner Comiso stated that she had a hard time visualizing this piece of property in relationship to what was presented. She discussed the scaled down tennis court and her concern regarding the siting of the buildings on this piece of property in relationship to the neighborhood. She felt that it looked like the piece of property was used to put everything they could on it without any relationship to flow. She felt that there was going to be a lot going on two streets with the house tucked back almost like the garage. She would not like to see in the future someone saying that they would need a variance for a front walk because no one knows where the front of the building is or where the front door is. She felt that the front was not the front and the back was not the back. Mr. Shaw stated that the applicant will be requesting an address change to De Belle. He felt that this was a low key property, all single story and not visible from either De Belle or Manuella. Also mentioned was that the tennis court was recessed 2' currently. Commissioner Comiso stated that this would take Mr. Shaw's best landscaping efforts to hide this away so no one knows this is here. Also she was worried about the sound produced. Commissioner Pahl stated that architectural features should not dominate the landscape. He had a concern regarding the tennis court on Manuella which is a very heavily traveled street in Town. He asked if the tennis court site could be lowered a few feet to keep some openness. He understands there will be a 6' chain link fence around the tennis court but this will dominate Manuella. He asked Mr. Shaw if he were willing to drop the tennis court by 2' and perhaps use some of that fill or cut to make a mound or berm around the tennis court, which would reduce the overall appearance of the tennis court and it would start to mold into the ground. Mr. Shaw stated that with the landscaping that they have planned with shrubs along the tennis court edge and shrubs at the property line and with the trees, this would solve the concerns. The trees will be at least 6' when installed. Commissioner Pahl requested a drawing or a rendering of the project from Manuella of what the project would look like in two years. Commissioner Comiso suggested a landscape plan to be submitted now. The conceptual plan submitted is only 75% complete per Mr. Shaw. Ms. Niles stated that the option for the Commission to consider was whether or not the conceptual plan addresses all the mitigation necessary, if it does, they could approve it the way it is with the final to be allowed. If they feel that the conceptual plan does not address all the mitigation necessary, they would want to keep the condition that requires the landscape plan to return. Planning Commission Minutes APPROVED April 14,1993 ( Page 12 Commissioner Ellinger asked why the pool was at the intersection of two roads and why was the pool cabana and the garage all in a straight line. He asked if they could build a cabana and pool that are better integrated so this is not so linear. Mr. Shaw felt that this condition was due to the setbacks which were established 25 to 30 years ago. Chairman Pahl suggested to continue, not for a re -design, but for a completed landscape plan and some sketches of what off site views are going to look like on this project; Manueba and De Belle street level. CLOSED PUBLIC HEARING MOTION SECONDED AND PASSED: Motion by Chairman Pahl, seconded by Commissioner Comiso and passed by consensus to continue the application to April 28, 1993 for an elevation plan from street level from both streets, and a completed landscape plan with sketches. This motion was accepted by the applicant's representative. This item will appear as the first item on the April 28th Planning Commission Agenda. 6. NEW BUSINESS None 7. OLD BUSINESS 7.1 Discussion of the Housing Element of the General Plan continued. This item will be continued to the April 28th meeting starting at 6:00 p.m. A disk was provided to Commissioners Ellinger and Sinunu of the Housing Element Draft. Commissioners Comiso and Sinunu will not be attending this meeting, however, Commissioner Sinunu will provide an updated disk to Ms. Niles. 8. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF MARCH 24. 1993 MOTION SECONDED AND PASSED: Motion by Commissioner Comiso, seconded by Commissioner Sinunu and passed by consensus to approve the March 24, 1993 Minutes. 9. REPORT FROM THE SITE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETINGS OF MARCH 30 APRIL 6 AND APRIL 13 1993 9.1 LANDS OF THOMPSON, 13730 Wildflower A request for a Site Development Permit for a landscape plan. Approved with conditions. ohw Planning Commission Minutes April 14,1993 Page 13 APPROVED 4 9.2 LANDS OF BATTLE, 27472 Altamont Road; A request for a Site Development Permit for Planting only. Approved with conditions. 9.3 LANDS OF BYERS, 12997 Cortez; A request for a Site Development Permit for a landscape and lighting plan. Approved with conditions. 9.4 LANDS OF LONG, 14060 Baleri Ranch Road; A request for a Site Development Permit for a pool. Approved with conditions. ffil 0 WTTI P7• It Nlu The meeting was adjourned by consensus at 9:45 p.m. in memory of Wallace Stegner. Respectfully submitted, LaniLonberger Planning Secretary