PC 01/08/97 - Laserfiche WebLink

Mr. Taeb advised that site and visual analyses were not done with the original PUD. They hired a consultant to do this, and found there are mitigations to the problems that will retain the beauty of the area, as well. ~ Cathy Merrill, 245 Front Street, San Francisco, addressed the concerns regarding color palette, materials, maximum size and maximum height and the associated mitigations. Regarding the approved color palette, they determined that the approved colors were more inclusive than the applicants' originally thought. There were a number of other tones and intensities available. Mr. Martinez is agreeable to the color palette; they would like to reconfirm with staff the exact approved colors. The height of the homes was discussed. Originally, Mr. Martinez wanted a 5 foot height increase similar to Oak Tree Farms. Ms. Merrill commented there is a pad differential on most of the lots, half of them have a sixteen foot differential. She also noted they do not want this development to look like Golden Eagle with massive houses; Ms. Merrill wants to empower and add flexibility to the Overlay District guidelines. She spoke of the difficulty of siting large homes on pie-shaped lots. In this development, the houses will get pushed to the far end of the lot. She advocated using the topography of the lot and stepping up or down the house accordingly. Commissioner Wright asked what as to the average lot slope. Mr. Taeb stated the average is an 11 foot difference in the lots. Ms. Merrill stated that 9 of the 14 lots have an 18-26 foot differential inside the building envelope. ~ Gerald Thomas, 27933 Via Ventana, Los Altos Hills, is an adjacent developer and home owner to the Moller project. He is supportive of the Moller development. He urged the City to provide maximum flexibility to the Moller developers. He feels a Spanish style house is one of the most suitable designs for the California foothills. Hilde Harper Chan, representing Presley Homes, stated they fully support the requested flexibility in the Moller development. Mary Adamson, 4603 Lakewood Street, agrees with staff's recommendation to disallow most of the requested modifications. While she understood the applicant's desire to express their creativity, she believes the buyers should have had an understanding of the restrictions placed on the lots at the time of purchase. The current grading and destruction of trees has resulted in unsightly changes, in her opinion. The less development visible to Foothill Road, the better. Ms. Adamson appreciates the standards currently in place and hopes the Commission will stand firm. Debbie Smith, 7800 Flagstone Drive, encouraged the Commission to retain the current guidelines and not set a precedence in this matter and to preserve the ridgelands and views by denying this request. In rebuttal, Mr. Martinez agreed that generally speaking one should know what one is getting involved in. However, they were the first to purchase the Moller custom lot sites. Going through the process, they have found out the difficulty of complying with the established guidelines. He is committed to having a house built and has been working for months to accomplish this. On the ~ Planning Commission Minutes Page 8 January 8, 1997