PC 091113 - Laserfiche WebLink

With respect to the required setback for the carports, Commissioner O'Connor inquired what a 50 -foot setback would do to this development. He noted that there are quite a few parking spaces along the west side and inquired if there is another place on the site to locate those parking spaces. Ms. Soo replied that the applicant would have to change the carport to uncovered surface parking spaces with no structure. Commissioner O'Connor inquired if all the parking spaces would be accommodated with the 50 -foot setback if the spaces were uncovered. Ms. Soo said yes. She added that it is the covered parking structure that would encroach within the 50 -foot setback. Commissioner O'Connor inquired if staff has had any preliminary discussions with the applicant about trying to take some of the lower units in the front on West Las Positas Boulevard and changing those to put lower structures on the back. He noted that there is a mix of unit heights up front and that Buildings A and B are not all four -story. Ms. Stern replied that was correct; Building A has some three stories. Commissioner O'Connor stated that if the developer took five units and made Building A all four -story, the developer could take those five units from the rear building which has seven units above two- stories tall. Ms. Stern explained that there is a restriction related to the neighbor on the west side where the Design Guidelines talks about stepping back some of the stories on that side. She added that it is potentially possible to relocate some of those three stories to get more two stories in the back. Brian Dolan stated that staff will look into that to address Commissioner O'Connor's concern to try and help the neighbors in the rear. He noted that staff has two concerns: (1) the reference made by Ms. Stern regarding the commercial neighbor next door, who was very pro- active during the rezoning and attended a lot of meetings and made sure that the restrictions be built into the standards for the specific site. (2) This is a more general concern that if the front is loaded with four stories, that has a certain presentation to the street that would be of concern if the entire frontage was four stories. He reiterated that staff will definitely look at this and see if there is a better balance. Commissioner Allen inquired if there is a possibility of doing any underground -type parking to reduce the height of the buildings. She indicated that she is not sure if there are any creative things that have been done in other developments that might be possible here. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, September 11, 2013 Page 5 of 27