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the fire mitigation plan, tree preservation and mitigation, and environmental reports and mitigations with lot- specific development standards. Maximum Building Height The West Foothill Road Corridor Overlay District of the Pleasanton Municipal Code covers the subject property including the proposed modification of the approved development plan. A copy the Overlay District is attached and the project's implementation of the development standards of the Overlay District was discussed earlier in the Planning Commission staff report. Section 18.78.070D of the Overlay District states that, "The maximum height for any structure shall be 30 -feet, measured vertically from the structure's lowest to highest points excluding chimneys, etc." The Overlay District specifies a 30 -foot maximum building height measured from the structure's lowest to highest points. The applicant requested that staff consider using a sloping plane method to measure the building heights for these sites due to their steep topography so that the buildings' form and massing will match the site and to reduce the potential site grading. Staff was prepared to support the applicant's request believing the Overlay District provided the flexibility to do so for unusual development sites within the district. However, staff revised its recommendation to reflect the Overlay District's height standard. The Commission concurred with this change and conditioned the development accordingly. After the Commission meeting, staff and the applicant reviewed the implementation of the Overlay District's height standard to the four building sites and believe that it will restrict the design flexibility for these sites as well as increase the amount of grading and site re- contouring that will be required for these sites. For this reason, the applicant requests the City reconsider the sloping plane method to measure building height for these building sites. Staff concurs with the applicant's request. Although the Overlay District's 30 -foot height limitation is effective in reducing the visual impact of tall buildings, it can also lead to increased grading and potential impacts to trees, topography, and building bulk due to flat pad grading. For sites having significant topography, the application of the sloping plane methodology can result in the building form following the sites' terrain vertically and /or horizontally through a series of half -to one story steps, concentrating the building mass into a relative smaller footprint. The sloping plan method may result in a cumulative building height that exceeds 30 feet. For this reason, staff recommends an absolute maximum building height of 40 feet measured from the lowest to highest points of the building. For the Yee proposal, the slope plane method will also use sloped roofs and stepped patios. Figure 14, on the following page, is an example of a "stepped" house design using and is the overall design goal for the lots of this development. Item 6.b., PUD- 87- 19 -03M Page 25 of 37 April 28, 2010