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Chris Schlies, 699 Peters Avenue, Suite B, said he had heard a number of policy points <br />that could be debated and realized this is a very difficult decision for the Council. There have <br />been comments about trends and problems in a San Jose neighborhood. Also comments about <br />impacts on diversity, newcomers who are changing neighborhoods, loss of affordability, old <br />residents vs. new residents, etc. This is a case about one family wanting to change their house, <br />not the world. Until there is a General Plan review, he felt Council must decide on a case-by- <br />case basis within existing zoning rules. He felt the major considerations are impacts. In this <br />case, they are not great. There is no impact on sun because the Crofton house is north of the <br />Diaz house. There is no impact on views. There is no view of Mt. Diablo, or a park, etc. There <br />is a little bit of sky that would be lost. Compared to other considerations, he felt this was a <br />minimal impact. Privacy is an issue often discussed, but that was not raised at this meeting. The <br />impact most talked about is mass. That is fairly vague and undefined. The plans of Mr. Aufder <br />Maur allow the Croftons the space they need with very little impact on the footprint of the house <br />and works well with the original architecture of the house and fits the neighborhood. He did not <br />feel the addition dramatically changes anything and does not warrant denial of the plan. <br /> <br /> Mrs. Diaz did not feel there had been any compromise and she and her husband are being <br />asked to accept a massive addition. Mr. Diaz agreed it was a massive addition. He felt the <br />Croftons could get the space they needed with a single-story addition. He said Mr. Crofton had <br />sent a memo promising to minimize impacts and to make sure he was comfortable with his plans. <br />He has not kept his promise. <br /> <br />There were no further speakers, and the public hearing was closed. <br /> <br /> It was moved by Ms. Ayala, seconded by Mr. Brozosky, to adopt Resolution No. <br />03-088, denying the appeal and approving design review approval under Case PADR-279. <br /> <br /> Mr. Brozosky said this is difficult and he was trying to see if anything could be changed. <br />He felt if the top story were moved, it would not look as good. The house is already two-stories <br />and there are other second-story additions in the neighborhood, so it is consistent. Trees will be <br />added and that will help. He was concerned that the air conditioner compressor not be moved <br />closer to the Diaz house. He wanted to find some noise mitigation for that. <br /> <br /> Ms. Hosterman felt there was a huge distinction between the Siner application and this <br />application. The last one had to do with a reasonable belief the character of a neighborhood <br />would be maintained forever. Here there is a couple who wants to add to their home to <br />accommodate a growing family. The house is in a neighborhood of equally sized homes. She <br />believed the Crofton plans are terrific and will be an addition to the neighborhood. She realized <br />there would be an impact on the Diazes but did not feel it would be as great as they think. She <br />referred to the issue of mass and felt that was subjective. She felt the Crofton plan fit the <br />neighborhood and supported the Planning Commission action to approve the proposal. <br /> <br /> Mayor Pico felt this was significantly different from the Siner proposal. In the first <br />proposal, it was changing the character of the Rosepointe neighborhood. When one talks about <br />mass, he felt the Siner house in relation to the Karo house, really did appear massive. The <br /> <br />Pleasanton City Council 19 07/15/03 <br />Minutes <br /> <br /> <br />