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developnzeiit standards; and that the hillside residential uses must be located within the designated dcvelopnzent areas, zas generally depicted on the laird use nzap_ He stated that the Specific Plan clearly indicated that the location should be as generally depicted- He believed that the chosen site is within those guidelines. The applicants also felt strongly that the site indicated by the dot with the number 1 is in a site that is not conducive to develop~nent_ These homes were estate-type homers that were not intended to be 2,000 to 3,000 square feet; the lots were meant to be a minimum of 40,000 square feet. Mr. Pico noted that they sought direction in two specific areas: whether the chosen location at the top of the knoll was generally acccptabloy and the nature and type of structure to be placed on the site. He believed that the conflicting guidelines in the Vineyard Corridor Specific Ylan presented a problem for the applicants- Table 4-2 discussed building none-story limited height alai pad structure at this elevation- The original report contained a comment fro~ri staff stating that the type of structure should conform to the site topography by stepping buildings up or down hillsides. The property as graded acid developed would have the top of the house 1 0-20 feet below the existing height of the ridge- The house as designed is a two-story house with a very low profile and a lot of articulation. "i'hc height limit in the Specific Plait discussed a 25-foot height limit for asingle-family honk, as well as a. 30-foot height limit for a step pad or another type of home. This particular house, with the exception of the cupola, which occupies a vary striall portion, would be 28 feat ta1L He believed that 60 trees would be rctrioved for the prof act, about 1 G of which were heritage trees. Mr. Pico believed this house would be an attractive amenity for the City and that ii would not be a Hayward Hotel-type building perched on the top of the hill. He believed there was enough flexibility in the Vineyard Avenue Corridor Specific Plan to allow this home to be built- He inquired whether aflat-pad- home with multiple stories would be acceptable, or whether the Commission would rather see a design stepped up the hill- He noted that they tried to design the Specific Plan with the intent to have flexibility so that it would not Head to be amended- Tl2ere have bean several instances where people have tried to add triore units or do other things; the City has not reopened the Specific Plan so far- 1-ie noted that the project architect was an internationally famous architect who specializes in building estate homes around the world- John McInnes, project architect, noted that he first rnet with the applicants in October, 2001. They had requested that he create a rn agnificent European villa that they would love to live in and that the City would love to have. He reviewed the history of this application and -added that he designed custom estate homes. He noted that the initial designs were generally the same as what is seen at this point- He noted that atwo-story design eliminated a lot of area on the pad and that there was less area to make a pad. Tn addition, a variety of articulated roofs arc designed- The ridge below the cupola is just over 28 feet above the main floor, and it consumed less than three percent of the entire roof of the house- At that lima, Brian Swift did not object to the 2%m feet and that the proposed 27 %z fc ct could not be visually distinguished from below. He also li)<ed the variation of the roofs- He wanted the applicants to revise the access off of Vineyard Avenue and to work with the Fires Department to sec if the old road could be used, using PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES September 28, 2005 Page 6 of 14