PC 101007 - Laserfiche WebLink

consider providing a 28-foot road width on the private road which would provide parking along one side of the road and a two-way access. Commissioner Olson disclosed that he met with Dr. Yee and looked at the property. He noted that the road went through a private gate and swung down into Foothill Road; he inquired whether it would be possible to run the road straight out to intersect with Equus Court, resulting in one entry and exit from Foothill Road. Ms. Decker replied that was one of the alternatives considered with the original approvals; staff would continue to look at that as a way of reducing exits onto Foothill Road. She added that would be a viable alternative. Commissioner O’Connor disclosed that he visited the site and met with Dr. Yee. He recalled that some of the building pad areas were not very flat, and while he would like to see some clustering, he did not know whether that would be possible with the existing pad configuration. Ms. Decker noted that the very steep terrain may be requested to be terraced in the future that might include retaining walls, landscaping, and accessory structures to be installed. She added that the plans were not at that stage yet. She noted that the sites were not intended to be next to each other, but the City was interested to know if the Planning Commission would rather have the developable areas become the actual lots and provide a portion of the site as dedicated open space. The existing road was located above the Calaveras Faultline. She noted that staff would examine wildlife management plans for the site as well as Fire Department requirements. Acting Chairperson Blank understood that a project this small did not require a traffic study. He indicated that he was interested in studying the safety aspect of this proposal and inquired about the difference between a traffic study and a traffic safety study, which did not address circulation, volumes, and level of service to the same degree. Ms. Decker replied that staff was finding that the issue of traffic safety was coming up more often. She noted that a traffic study addressed volumes, circulation, etc., and that this project was too small to warrant a study because the request is only for six lots. She noted that the same discussion had taken place with the M.T.O. work session. Staff noted that the traffic patterns on Foothill Road resulting from the developments were an important subject to examine and that development had increased with more exits onto Foothill Road. In response to an inquiry by Acting Chairperson Blank regarding the number of homes planned for the Merritt property, Ms. Decker replied that the preapplication identified 85 homes with one existing home. The density is 1.67, which was consistent with the City’s requirements. Acting Chairperson Blank disclosed that he had traded numerous phone calls with Mr. Yee in an attempt to set up a meeting, but they were unable to meet. THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS OPENED. Brad Hirst, applicant, displayed a detailed PowerPoint presentation describing the history, scope and layout of the proposed project. He described the path of the faultline, and noted that every lot was located above the faultline. He commented that he did not have a problem moving the lot lines to the road and out of the faultline setback area. He noted that the Fuller-Frades were in PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, October 10, 2007 Page 9 of 21