PC 102506 - Laserfiche WebLink

only where the "blob" was located. He noted that they had listened very carefully to the comments and concerns and tried to respond to them. He noted that when the Vineyard Corridor Specific Plan was developed, many compromises were incorporated; he was especially proud of being associated with its development and how it was moving forward. He noted that they tried to build in some flexibility wherever possible. Mr. Pico took exception to some of the wording in Mr. Iserson's memo, which he believed had the effect of amending the Specific Plan unilaterally. He noted that the word "precise" was not part of the Specific Plan and quoted page 25 with respect to hillside residential areas: "In hillside residential areas, all home sites must be located within the designated development azeas as generally depicted on the Specific Plan." He noted that the language did not say "precisely depicted," and he did not believe it should be portrayed as such. He noted that there was nothing within the Specific Plan that addressed the plan being "environmentally superior" and believed that to rely on the staff memo that says "precisely at the location of the blob" and that any variance may only be approved if it was an "environmentally superior plan" would be inappropriate and not what the Specific Plan says. He believed that if the changed language were to be used as the basis of this project, it would be a unilateral de facto amendment of the Specific Plan. Mr. Pico noted that the blob was over an existing structure and that it was not graphically accurate. He believed that it did not reflect the one-acre building site, and he did not believe the Sazich family had the desire to give up the existing residence for a barn. He did not believe the City had the right to compel the applicants to relinquish an existing residence in order to build another residence. He believed the applicants had the right to retain the existing residence, as well as to build another hillside residential estate lot on their property in the general vicinity of the blob. He noted that the 19 estate lots approved for this property and the lots at an elevation of 540 feet and above had special restrictions. John McGinnis, project architect, provided a brief history of this application and described previous iterations of this project design. He noted that the overall square footage was reduced by about 4,000 square feet, and the majority of that was from removing the guest house and barn. They planned to use the existing home and the barn to become a working barn for the vineyard. The Saziches would like a very private site and did not plan to develop the six houses below at this time, although they would like the option to do so in the future. They planned to plant vineyards as shown in the portfolio. He noted that if they raised the house and the pads, they could save 18 trees. He displayed the site plan and described the features of this proposed project. Commissioner Blank noted that he would be in favor of a two-story home if the aesthetic impact were favorable. He inquired whether that would create a precedent for another second-story add-on above 540 feet in the V ineyazd Avenue Corridor. Ms. Decker noted that the question of precedence has come before the Commission on several occasions and emphasized that each project was acase-by-case. She noted that staff did not believe that would set any type of precedent, and future applications would PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES October 25, 2006 Page 14 of 21