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Commissioner Olson inquired how FAR relates to mass and whether it more truly relates to footprint. Mr. Dolan replied that it relates to total floor area. Commissioner Pentin noted that front yard setback was originally 23 feet and now it is 20 feet. He inquired where 23 feet came from and if it was it established as such for many years or if this is something the City just wants to do in order to push the house farther back from the street. Mr. Dolan replied that he did not know the evolution or history behind this change and he referred the question to Steve Otto. Mr. Otto replied that the Municipal Code had a 20-foot front yard setback in the 1960's, and he understands that given cars were getting larger, the City bumped the setback an additional three feet in order to handle these larger vehicles. Commissioner Pentin noted that side yard separations have also been reduced from ten feet to eight feet and asked Mr. Otto if this is something that was also set in the past. Mr. Otto replied that he does not recall the actual evolution or thought behind setting 10 feet between two one-story homes and 17 feet between one-story and two-story homes. Commissioner Pentin questioned the significance of a variance and inquired if three feet or two feet are really big variances or if a variance should not really be done for five inches. Mr. Dolan explained that the findings for variances are difficult to make, and they are based upon some certain limitations such as some special circumstance of the property which is not necessarily man-made. He stated that the lot for this proposed project is big, and the limitations of what is left over on one side of the property is a man-made condition. He noted that some people refer to this property as two lots, and the applicants are trying to place a medium-sized house on a very small lot, when in reality, the applicants are expanding a second home to be a medium-sized home on an existing lot that already has another medium-sized home. He added that what is being considered a tiny width is actually a wide width, and the current home makes what is left on the one side look pretty narrow. Commissioner Pentin referred to the letter from Peter MacDonald which talks of street-oriented design. He asked Mr. Dolan if that would put the house closer to the street with a porch in front, and if this is something that is not uncommon in the area. Mr. Dolan replied that there is a trend in PUD developments where houses are creeping up closer to the street to increase walkability, and porches are being created to promote EXCERPT: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, APRIL 13, 2011 Page 8 of 15