Laserfiche WebLink
Councilmember Cook-Kallio said the square footage may be two-story or spread out and she <br />asked if the heights were consistent with those used for the average. Ms. Gale said the <br />maximum height was used, so they were showing the worst case. It is a complex site so not <br />every lot is situated at the same elevation above sea level and therefore it is relative to the <br />finished floor elevation and they used the grading plan, which has been submitted to the city. <br />Councilmember McGovern said her point is if we know exactly what the square footage by FAR <br />and the chart is supposed to have, she would have appreciated seeing the possible size of a <br />house that could be on any particular piece of property. She said in Carmel they have story <br />poles on sites where one can actually see the square footage, and she felt that mass was of <br />concern to many people. <br />She said the EIR talks about residential and clustering of development in the actual General <br />Plan of 1996. She did not believe it talked about multiple clusterings and felt the City has <br />changed this definition somewhat by now talking about clustering around courts. Mr. Iserson felt <br />there were different interpretations of this--what his interpretation of the General Plan is that the <br />rural density residential allows one house for every 5 acres. So, you do not necessarily have to <br />have 5-acre lots with one house on each lot spread out on an entire site because then you <br />would be developing on some very steep and other impacted areas. Although, clustering <br />creates smaller lots than 5 acres you still have the same overall density when the entire site is <br />considered, but by putting them on little clusters you could avoid development on the most <br />impacted portions of the site. Staff interpretation is that the project conforms to this. <br />Councilmember McGovern said she sees fingers that are reaching out into an open space and <br />because of the need for more roadway, they take up much more of the sensitive areas. When <br />she looks at the map and EIR and it talks about development on steep slopes, there are 17 lots <br />that say they are developing on steep slopes. She expressed environmental and sensitivity- <br />related concerns of the project and if clustering had occurred in one area, there may be less <br />impact to the environment and the wildlife habitat. <br />Councilmember McGovern voiced concerns about earthquake fault lines and asked if <br />homebuyers are provided this information in their purchase of the lots. <br />Mr. Iserson said there are a number of disclosures required of the project, he was not sure this <br />was one of them, but it could be added if it was not included. He felt that both seismic hazards <br />from earthquakes and landslides were closely studied in the geotechnical report and mitigated <br />and the Council is able to add this as it deemed necessary. He said that in addition, the <br />Geological Abatement District (GAD) will be set up as part of the development that requires the <br />site to be maintained, that slopes be repaired and retaining walls and drainage be handled <br />appropriately, which will act to inform those purchasing the lots that there are geologic issues <br />with the site. <br />Councilmember McGovern felt the areas are sensitive, said these things are part of the <br />mitigation, but all of these items are happening at the map stage which means they could <br />change, and she wanted the City to have the maximum flexibility to make changes in conditions <br />of approval. <br />Mr. Iserson said he did not necessarily think that the requirement for more design level <br />geotechnical reports at the tentative map stage would result in changes to the PUD <br />development plan in terms of the actual lots themselves. Those further studies will be more <br />detailed geotechnical in soils analysis that will be looking in a much more comprehensive and <br />detailed way at grading and citing of houses on lots in order to make sure the construction <br />methods are the safest. He felt this level of analysis will not have an effect on the layout or <br />City Council Minutes 9 October 2, 2007 <br />