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<br />DRAFT <br /> <br />balcony, thereby negatively affecting their privacy. He stated that they consider this house to be <br />their home rather than a rental unit and that they lived in the house from time to time. <br /> <br />Mr. Stanton then presented his concerns regarding the project and handed the Commissioners <br />with a list of these concerns, which is included in the staff report as Exhibit D, He indicated that <br />his main concerns were the balcony and the big windows on the second story, He stated that the <br />suggestion to plant trees on a four-foot space would not be sufficient because the trees would <br />need to grow 16 feet tall to address the privacy issue and it would take many years before that <br />could occur. He added that the roots of the 16-foot tall trees would also spread out considerably <br />and cause damage. <br /> <br />Mr. Stanton stated that the floor area ratio stated on pages A-2 and A-3 do not correspond to the <br />living space and noted that the drawings were not complete and had mistakes, <br /> <br />Jim Rhoades, 3227 Anastacia Court, stated that most of the issues brought up by the appellants <br />were addressed at the Zoning Administrator hearing and that he thought they had been resolved <br />at that time, He noted that the trees would take away all the privacy concerns and added that he <br />had approached eight of the neighbors, including the Stantons' next-door neighbor to the north, <br />and all of them were receptive to the remodel. <br /> <br />Cheryl Bates, 3227 Anastacia Court, fiancee of Mr. Rhoades, stated that, with respect to the <br />Stantons' concern regarding privacy issues, they had talked to the Stanton three years earlier to <br />put a lattice up on the fence to provide privacy, as they could see into the Stantons' living areas <br />by just standing on their own backyard and living room, She noted that the Stantons did not <br />agree to the lattice. She added that they had lived in the area for eight years and that the Stanton <br />house has had renters for at least six years, She continued that the proposed balcony would be <br />overlooking a trellis on their property and would be looking directly into the Stantons' backyard <br />or living areas. She stated that they have raised their son in this neighborhood and would like to <br />make improvements for a growing family, as they plan to stay and live in this neighborhood that <br />they love. <br /> <br />Robert Sweeney, 1469 Naples Way in Livermore, explained that the windows on the <br />second-floor are standard second-floor bedroom windows that would provide egress for getting <br />in and out of the bedroom. He noted that the balcony is a full four feet out and nine feet wide but <br />that it is a radius balcony with not much square footage and can fit probably one chair. He added <br />that the balcony comes out of the master bedroom, not the bonus room, and would serve as a <br />private retreat rather than a place for a lot of people, <br /> <br />Commissioner O'Connor requested Mr, Sweeney to explain how the balcony would be looking <br />out on the trellis than on the backyard. He inquired if the trellis is below the balcony, <br />Mr. Sweeney replied that the trellis is located below the balcony, eight feet out from the <br />building, and the balcony is four feet away from the trellis, which blocks the view downward <br />from the balcony, <br /> <br />Commissioner Fox inquired how high the turret was, Ms, Mendez replied that the peak height of <br />the turret is 31,5 feet; however, per Code, it is measured from the medium ground level to the <br /> <br />DRAFT EXCERPTS: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, July 26, 2006 <br /> <br />Page 2 of 4 <br />