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Commissioner Piper commented that she wished there were more examples of grading from other homes in the area because it sounds like a good majority of them are over 40 percent. Referring to the aerial photo of Golden Eagle Farm, Mr. Landolf noted that if the house and the driveway were removed, the grass that looks like landscaped area is a graded area, and a good portion is probably over the 40- percent grading limit. He stated that he does not know the mechanics of how that actually happens, but it seems like that is what happened. Commissioner Nagler inquired, assuming the grading is allowed, what the impact on the backyard and the rest of the property would be if the house were rotated. Mr. Landolf stated that the landscape architect worked hard to make a nice, usable space in the backyard, and any change to it would use up space in that backyard. Commissioner Nagler noted that changes are obviously possible in this case Mr. Landolf said yes. Commissioner O'Connor noted that the area to the right side of the house looks like a natural area with all the trees and is not being touched a lot. Mr. Landolf said yes. He added that there is an area above, basically the top of the lot and the left hand side of the lot, that are also staying as is. THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS CLOSED. Commissioner Nagler stated that, first of all, it is a fabulous house and congratulated the applicant for being able to build such a dream house. He indicated that as he was reading through the materials and beyond the brief statement that the architect made, he was unclear about the compromises that may have been made along the way to get the actual design before the Commission today. He added that he does not believe he had adequate information to be able to vote to recommend approval of the construction of this house. He explained that it may very well be that the placement of the house on the property, its orientation, its orientation to the street, to the topography may actually be the best it can be, but what he personally cannot tell is what the impacts and the trade -offs would be between rotating the house a bit, presumably satisfying some of the obviously heart-felt opinions of the neighbor, and how much more grading that would imply and the impact of that grading; and to allow the Commission to make a straight -up sort of decision or recommendation based on what the best possible use of the property is; how close one can come to creating a good- neighbor situation to protect the current next -door neighbor and to allow this house to be constructed because it is certainly appropriate to the neighborhood. He reiterated that he does not feel enough information has been presented for him personally to be able to support the construction. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, March 25, 2015 Page 8 of 27