PC 051315 - Laserfiche WebLink

Tony Adams, Applicant and Property Owner, stated that they have a colored rendering somewhere. Mr. Weinstein explained that the building actually went through some relatively recent design modifications and that it was possible that staff did not get a colored rendering after those latest design changes were made. Commissioner O'Connor inquired if there will be a stucco overlay with the blocks going away. Mr. Weinstein said yes Commissioner Piper expressed concern about the square footage of the single - family residence which seems really large for that particular part of the Downtown. Mr. Weinstein replied that staff had similar concerns when the application was first submitted, and staff did work with the applicant to reduce the square footage slightly, but more importantly to increase the architectural interest of the building. He explained that when staff looks at building massing, they compare the square footage of the project site to what the Zoning Ordinance allows in this zone. He added that a floor area ratio (FAR) of 300 percent is allowed on this property per the zoning regulations, and this project is resulting in something like 48 percent FAR. He agreed that the building does appear big, but the site allows for a lot of building construction on the site. He indicated that based on the improvements and design that as well as the FAR requirements, staff felt this is an appropriate building size for this site. Commissioner Piper stated that residential would be 40 percent FAR and inquired if that was correct. Mr. Weinstein replied that the City has different floor area ratio requirements depending on its residential zone, so it could be 40 percent to 50 percent for a typical residentially zoned property. Commissioner Piper inquired if it is consistent with other homes. She commented that it may be consistent with those on St. Mary's Street to the west but not necessarily right around that area. She noted that this is not necessarily a big concern of hers but that it just seems like a pretty big house for that spot. Mr. Weinstein agreed that it is a big house for the lot, but it does not nearly exceed the zoning regulations. He noted that there are a lot of houses of different sizes farther west through the Downtown, and there are some historic houses on Division Street that probably have relatively low FARs, and there are others whose FARs are probably close to or exceeding this. He added that there is a diversity of massing in this part of the Downtown, and the trend now, generally speaking, is to have bigger houses on smaller lots. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, May 13, 2015 Page 22 of 32