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GHAD all of the open space lands. However, the next page stated that an easement would be <br />granted to the Tri-Valley Conservancy. <br />Mr. Inderbitzen believed that their presentation addressed many of the concerns and noted that <br />he would be available for further questions. He believed the comments that were derogatory <br />towards the staff, implying that the staff intentionally misrepresented the issues to the <br />Commission or anyone else, did not deserve a response. <br />Chairperson Fox noted that the EIR stated that the house prototypes had an average size of <br />6,700 square feet, and "based on the same lot size, it was estimated that a 25-percent FAR for the <br />proposed Oak Grove development would yield houses with an average size of 6,192 square feet." <br />She noted that the staff memo noted an average house size for the 25-percent FAR seemed to be <br />in excess of 10,000 square feet and requested clarification of those numbers. Mr. Inderbitzen <br />noted that it would be hard to discern the answer at this time and supposed that the analysis was <br />performed based on the 98-lot project, with a smaller average lot size. He indicated that the <br />response in the Final EIR discussed the building envelope and that it may be that the square <br />footage of the building envelope was averaged to arrive at a different FAR for use in the visual <br />analysis. He noted that there may not be enough information in the Final EIR to know how to <br />interpret the response because it referred to the average size at one point. He was unsure whether <br />he could conclude from that comment that it mattered in the context of the Final EIR and EIR of <br />the visual impacts under the criteria in the General Plan. <br />In response to an inquiry by Commissioner O'Connor regarding whether the developer would <br />want a home averaging 6,000 square feet, Mr. Inderbitzen replied that their analysis began with a <br />project with no FAR limitation on very large lots (one acre and larger). They expected that <br />purchasers would want to build large homes on the high-end, custom lots. The price of the lots <br />would demand that they put enough square footage on the lot to justify the expense. To that end, <br />they initiated their own visual analysis and modeling based on 7,500-square-foot houses alone, <br />with no out buildings and accessory structures. He noted that the issue was not just the square <br />footage compared to the lot, but how the house fit the lot in its setting and how it dealt with bulk, <br />massing, setback, texture, and articulation. They proposed a compromise with staff for a <br />25-percent FAR with a cap of 12,500 square feet, which would be the equivalent of a 25-percent <br />FAR on a 50,000-square-foot lot. The predominant size of the lots was in the <br />30000-45,000 square foot range. Staff proposed a 20-percent FAR, deleting the <br />12,500-square-foot cap. He suggested that they can move forward comfortably with staff's <br />recommendation of a 20-percent FAR, and a 10,000-12,000-square-foot cap on the largest lots. <br />He did not believe it made sense to argue over the seven to nine lots that could exceed <br />10,000 square feet under that model. He proposed that in the event a cap was placed on the <br />largest lots, the proponents be allowed to demonstrate that they could exceed the cap up to the <br />fu1120 percent and still meet the intent of the guidelines as well as satisfying staff and the <br />Planning Commission. <br />THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS CLOSED. <br />Chairperson Fox noted that because of the late hour, the Planning Commission could continue <br />this item to the next meeting, deliberate based on the available information, or request that staff <br />EXCERPTS: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, June 13, 2007 Page 18 of 19 <br />