CCMIN060110 - Laserfiche WebLink

Mr. Dolan said staff does make assumptions on what will be built on the lots, which do have slopes. He said it is a challenge to do a visual simulation for a house that is yet to be designed. In terms of what the heights would be, the architect shared that he did not assume any height limitation, but just his impression on what type of home would work on each lot. The slopes did naturally restrict the size of the homes, and very few approached the maximum square footage in the approval documents. Councilmember McGovern said she would like Council to consider sending the houses back to the Planning Commission for review. There are different size building envelopes, very steep slopes, she has no idea what the grading plan is, no idea how large each house will be, and she does not know what each design will look like. Also, homes are currently proposed to be reviewed by the Zoning Administrator. To her, the homes are on very unique lots with unique sites, and she would ask that because she cannot see what would be approved, she asked to send each house back to the Planning Commission, have them review it and determine whether the homes fit on the property, and she would feel comfortable approving it. Mr. Fialho suggested Councilmember McGovern add Planning Commission review and approval of each home site as a condition of approval. Councilmember Sullivan said he has similar concerns, especially on the West Foothill Road Overlay District. He walked up on the property, looked where Lots 1 and 2 homes would be, and he thinks the houses will be very visible and he does not think the photo montages are accurate, as the homes are 5,000 square feet and it is unknown as to how high they are. Also, where the photos are taken from are not the most visible locations, especially for lots 3 and 4. The most visible for 3 and 4 is at the faculty entrance to Foothill High School. There are no trees, it is a straight shot, and the power lines runs through the two lots up the hill. He also noted homes could be up to 9,200 square feet if the garages were included. Regarding the 30 foot height required in the West Foothill Road Guidelines, when he was on the Planning Commission, they spent a lot of time looking at them through several meetings about whether guidelines make sense. They received public feedback and one important issue was the 30 foot height limit. For the City to now change this to 40 feet and have the houses step up the hill very visible is not a good precedent. The guidelines have been important in the City for a long time. The Pleasanton Ridge and those homes along Foothill Road have been very important for a long time as to how houses get built there. He questioned how to make a 9,000 square foot house on excess of a 30% slope, and maybe the answer is that it is too big. Councilmember Sullivan questioned if the Fish and Wildlife Service have to grant permits in the process, and Mr. Dolan said they and other federal agencies have no permitting authority in this area because the City is not moving the creek. Councilmember Sullivan said he still thought this was a pretty strong statement not to further investigate. He questioned why houses could not be built in the flatlands adjacent to where Lemoine Ranch is in a similar manner. Mr. Dolan said there are several geotechnical issues along Foothill; one is a fault that runs diagonally along the front. There are also several landslides, and he presented a map of the building pads originally proposed in the 6 lot proposal, areas determined to have geologic issues, and areas of the landslide in the corridor which has been more precisely mapped. He said there is a small area away from the fault line and outside of the landslide area, where 1 or 2 lots could fit. City Council Minutes Page 13 of 16 June1, 2010