11 ATTACHMENT 8 - Laserfiche WebLink

In response to an inquiry by Chairperson Fox regarding the average size house when the applicant designed the visuals for the website, Mr. Interbitzen replied that it was done with 7,500-8,000-square-foot houses. He believed the EIR analysis used 10,000-square-foot houses. Mr. Pavan stated that he believed the EIR visual simulations used 6,600 square feet; staff would confirm the sizes used. Chairperson Fox inquired how the applicant envisioned noticing neighbors outside of the noticing radius but still able to see the house. Ms. Decker noted that was a City process and not governed by the applicant or design guidelines. Staff would certainly include larger areas if there seemed to be impacts and would evaluate that on a case-by-case basis such as is done for other projects. Mike Fotheringham, landscape architect, described both the open space guidelines and resident lot guidelines in detail, as well as the landscaping plan and mitigation tree location. Miles Berger, project architect, Berger, Detmer, Ennis Architects, noted that their goal was to develop design guidelines that would augment the Pleasanton planning process in such a way that they would describe the elements of compatibility of design that would be required of the houses to be designed in the future, as well as establish an architectural review board. That board would be composed of design professionals and neighbors within the development, and eventually run by the HOA. This board would be responsible for implementing the design guidelines. The CC&Rs would require all projects to be approved by the Oak Grove architectural review board before they are eligible to be submitted to the City. He noted that there would be deep setbacks, and the garages would be set back farther than other facades on the building; the houses would not be allowed to align with one another, and the land form would be followed. He believed that FAR was a very good tool and that his own experience in serving on architectural review boards and planning commissions demonstrated to him that the FAR alone will not guarantee a compatible design, flow with the site, or be articulated properly. They tried to add elements that would enhance the process and allow the architectural review board to say that a certain square footage was not automatically allowed and that the design criteria must be met. In response to an inquiry by Chairperson Fox regarding the height of the homes, Mr. Berger confirmed that the houses would be limited to a maximum of two stories at any given point; no element of the house may be three stories. He provided an example on the overhead showing how only two stories would be visible. He noted that Oak Grove was designed around the heritage trees, keeping the grading to a minimum and with a natural look. He displayed the building envelopes and displayed and discussed the key aspects of the residential guidelines and the housing prototypes. Mr. Fotheringham displayed and discussed the on-site development standards. He noted that bubbler irrigation would be used and that zones around the properties would follow fire management guidelines. He noted that there would be an emphasis on the streetscape in front of the house, with minimum lawn, and would use native and naturalized shrubs throughout the EXCERPTS: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, June 13, 2007 Page 10 of 19