22 ATTACHMENT 05 - Laserfiche WebLink

PLANNING COMMISSION WORKSHOP On July 24, 2013, the Planning Commission held a workshop to review the applicants' plans to subdivide the existing lot and to create two new hillside home sites with a 16-foot wide private access road. The applicants also presented three alternatives for site layout, including an alternative with three new home sites. The Commission reviewed the information and provided the following comments: Site Layout. After review of the alternate site layouts, the Commission, in general, supported the site layout proposed by the applicants as the Commission felt that the proposed site layout would have the least disturbance to the surrounding area and would leave the existing hillside the most natural looking without removal any of the heritage-sized oak trees. Two of the Commissioners felt that the proposed lots could be designed closer to each other to minimize the visual impacts of the upper lot. They felt that the building pad for Lot 2 could be lowered so that the home on Lot 2 would not be at the top of the hill. The Commission also discussed the future home site "blobs" as shown in the land use map of the VACSP. The consensus from the Commission was that there is some flexibility with the "blobs" and that they were conceptual rather than specific. The Commission wanted to make sure potential visual impacts would be mitigated through design. As such, the Commission requested the applicants to explore options to lower the proposed upper building pad. Road Alignment. The majority of the Commission supported the proposal road alignment as they felt that it is sensitive to the existing hillside and would give some separation between homes. One Commissioner would like see the road coming around the west side of the existing site. The Commission did not have any objection to the proposed road being a private road. Building Height. The proposed design guidelines include stepping/split-level design for the future hillside home on Lot 1. As such, the maximum vertical height for a steped-design home from the grade to the peak of the roof would be 40 feet. The maximum vertical height for a non-stepped design home would be 30 feet. The Commission supported the step design as it is more environmentally sensitive. One commissioner commented that the stepping design could give the houses a taller appearance; however, the visual impact could be mitigated, and stepping design would require less grading to the hillside. Maximum Floor Area. The Commissioners did not have concerns regarding the proposed maximum of 8,500 square feet of habitable/living space and a maximum of 10,000 square feet of total building area (including the home, garage, and all accessory structures on the subject envelope). The Commission found the proposed total square footage was acceptable considering the sizes of the lots and when compared to the square footage and Floor Area Ratio of the existing homes on Silver Oaks Lane. PUD-84 Planning Commission Page 6 of 23