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on Railroad Avenue, utilize the basement and a bit of the garage space, and build a <br />residential unit above the business so he can live and work in the Downtown area as he <br />grows older. <br />Charles Huff, applicant and project architect, stated that this project is a little different in <br />that it has three stories as a single unit. He noted that there are similar projects, one on <br />Vineyard Avenue and another on Railroad Avenue, both of which have two stories <br />above the bottom floor. He indicated that this is not a new concept; it is also a single <br />unit but located a little closer to Main Street. <br />Mr. Huff stated that he put up story poles to provide the neighbors the opportunity to see <br />the scale of the proposed house, with the very top of the pole indicating where the ridge <br />would be. He added that this would also help the applicant from having to come back <br />before the Commission for a second work session. <br />Mr. Huff indicated that he had contacted the resident renters at the back of the <br />proposed site, who expressed concern about the scale and mass or the project. <br />Mr. Huff stated that they are flexible and can move the house away a bit from the back <br />unit. He added, however, that reducing the proposed project to two stories would <br />decrease the height only by four feet. He noted that the concept of building three -story <br />structures on a case -by -case basis came through years ago, and that the third story of <br />this proposed building would be encapsulated in the roof itself, similar to that at the <br />Rose Hotel with dormers popping out of the roof. He added that they were following <br />these guidelines in terms of developing along that concept; however, those same <br />guidelines handcuff them to having a bottom structure that tapers in as it rises, which <br />conflict somewhat with Spring Street's Mission Revival architecture of one story with a <br />flat roof. He stated that following that concept would result in a two -story building with <br />walls that go straight up, similar to those seen along Spring Street. He noted that <br />because he did not think this was proper, he sorted out the items in terms of what he felt <br />staff considered a Mission Revival structure and emulate everything on the one -story <br />basis of the Spring Street homes which following the guidelines of three stories within <br />the roof. <br />Mr. Huff noted that the proposed building meets all the criteria of height and Floor Area <br />Ratio (FAR) within the Downtown zoning district. He stated that because the building is <br />set far back from Spring Street, driving down Spring Street makes the house appear <br />almost the same height as the one -story residences along the front of Spring Street. He <br />added that from Main Street, the house would be among trees. He noted that they had <br />set back the structure on the property to a point where its height could basically be <br />diminished. <br />With respect to parking, Mr. Huff stated that because it is a smaller site, they are able to <br />deal with parking in terms of some minor issues, such as taking out the one parking <br />space that is difficult to get into, as they are far above the parking requirements on that <br />site. <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, March 23, 2011 Page 4 of 21 <br />