PC 06/14/1995 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commissioner Hovingh inquired of staff regarding the original conditions of Golden Eagle Farms to have all open space trees in place before beginning construction. Mr. Plucker stated staff has been working with the developer to get the trees installed and the issue is not fully closed. Mr. Swift advised that the trees in the open area were to be to planted during Phase I. Staff then amended the condition to postpone the planting until Phase II. For various reasons, the trees were not planted, or were not taken care of and died, or the wrong landscaping was installed, etc. Mr. Swift noted that Commissioner Hovingh was correct in his thinking that the trees were not planted in the correct time frame. Mr. Modjtehedi stated that the developer's architect (Mr. Jack Byars) advised the owner that no analysis had been done to locate the building envelope for this lot and sees no problem with moving the house 20 feet further up the lot. Mr. Modjtehedi stated the house is now in line with the two existing houses on the left of this lot. Because the street in front of the lot curves downward (and the lot is larger than the adjoining lot), the designer feels the house should be in line with the existing neighbor so as not to impact the neighbor by having view access into the neighbor's bedrooms and the neighbor having view into the applicant's backyard. It is the speaker's opinion that by moving the house back, the additional landscape softens and hides the front elevation. Regarding the split level design, the speaker feels the split level house would cause an uncomfortable living arrangement for the owners. The architects have tried to design the home with the appearance of a cascading look on the outside, keeping the inside as level as possible. Furthermore, they feel the garage area should be added in the calculation of the overall change in elevation of the house. As for exceeding the 35 foot height, Mr. Modjtehedi advised there would be no problem redesigning the house to accommodate this requirement. Commissioner McGuirk inquired why Mr. Lijesen bought this particular sloped lot and is now trying to design a home which does not conform to the slope of the lot. Amos Picker, representing Mr. Lijesen, stated that Mr. Lijesen chose this lot because of its low visibility in the tract and its natural setting. Mr. Picker also commented that the developer intimated that the building envelopes were not firmed up and could be relocated. Mr. Picker also commented that an earthquake fault runs along Clover Court, and feels it is wiser to move the house further away from the fault rather than moving it closer. Mr. Picker noted that Mr. Lijesen will probably sell his lot and locate elsewhere if this application is denied. He feels Mr. Lijesen' s requests are not unreasonable and the plans have been through three reviews with approvals. He further questioned why the design reviews were even required before seeking approval from the City. Commissioner Hovingh advised staff that the culvert in question has been filled in. Staff discussed their concern regarding relocating the culvert in this area. Mr. Higdon stated that Planning Commission Minutea Page 5 June t4, 1995 .