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building additions. Lifestyles change and with homeownership there are certa'm rights. She <br />acknowledged neighbors have the right to comment on a change, but it bothered her that this <br />sometimes causes a rift in a neighborhood. People have differing opinions on designs. She <br />reiterated people have a right to changes in lifestyle and the right to add on to their homes. She <br />did not support an ordinance that would say a person could not add onto their homes in certain <br />neighborhoods. She supported the appeal. <br /> <br /> Mr. Brozosky was undecided. The General Plan states the character of neighborhoods <br />should be preserved. There are also zoning regulations for this neighborhood. He did not feel it <br />was fair for a homeowner to check all the regulations which indicated they could expand their <br />homes and then go to Council and be told the right is taken away. At the same time, he <br />understood the neighbors view that there is an existing neighborhood which was expected to <br />always be single-story. He felt if this second-story application is not allowed, then Council <br />should change the zoning for this neighborhood, so these applications don't keep coming <br />forward. He did not like pitting neighbor against neighbor. He could not see any area for <br />compromise in this application. <br /> <br /> Ms. Hosterman agreed this was a very difficult situation. She has tried to weigh both <br />sides of the issue. The original homeowners have a reasonable expectation that the <br />neighborhood character would be maintained, based on the original CC&Rs. She was sorry <br />those CC&Rs had expired. On the other hand, it is unfair for Mr. Siner to bear the brunt of that <br />by purchasing the home in 1986 and not knowing the CC&Rs existed. It is important to support <br />homeowners' rights to expand as families grow or elderly members come home for care. She <br />recognized the need to maintain a mix of housing stock in the community, which allows for new <br />families to move in who might not be able to afford a three or four thousand square foot home, <br />but might be able to afford a smaller home. She drove to the neighborhood to see the Siner home <br />and the neighborhood. The model of the proposed expansion appears to be very large and she <br />tends to support the Planning Commission decision, but she did not want Mr. Siner to feel his <br />rights had been completely set aside. She hoped he could review the design to reduce the mass <br />and still be able to accommodate his family's needs. <br /> <br /> Mayor Pico felt a key factor was the proximity of the Siner house to the Karo house. He <br />did not feel the two-story addition was in keeping with the neighborhood and he would like to <br />take action to modify the zoning for this area so this problem does not occur again. The original <br />property owners in the development had certain expectations. <br /> <br /> It was moved by Mayor Pico, seconded by Ms. Hosterman, to deny the appeal of the <br />Siners and support the Planning Commission decision. <br /> <br /> Mr. Brozosky felt the neighbors did not want any second story houses; even if it was less <br />massive. He did not want to tell the Siners to make it smaller and have the neighbors still not <br />like it. He felt the best solution would have been to have had the neighbors request a zoning <br />change when the CC&Rs expired. Unfortunately, that did not happen. <br /> <br /> Mayor Pieo reiterated his belief that the only solution was to change the zoning. He felt <br />that was in keeping with the fights of the people who bought in this neighborhood years ago with <br /> <br />Pleasanton City Council 14 07/15/03 <br />Minutes <br /> <br /> <br />