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Ms. Decker added that on page 15 of the staff report, Mr. Otto identified the reasons why more <br />trees had been removed. She stated that 29 more trees were recommended by the arborist to be <br />removed because of poor health. The new accessory structures impacted some trees, and some <br />trees had not been previously reviewed. Trees that were likely to be removed were also included <br />in the analysis, thereby increasing the overall number of trees to be removed. <br />Mr. McGinnis stated that since the last hearing, a number of trees along the road had to be taken <br />out in connection with the Fire Department's requirement that the access road be widened from <br />1 E feet to 20 feet, grading, and the installation of a large hydropneumatic pump in the area. <br />Looking at the visuals on the trees, Chairperson Fox noted that the trees look extremely taller <br />and closer to the house than the surrounding existing trees. She inquired what the expected <br />height of the trees would be by the year 2010 and how close a tree could be to the house without <br />creating a fire hazard. Mr. McGinnis indicated that Mr. Daniel Stewart, the landscape architect, <br />would respond to the questions after the completion of his presentation. <br />Commissioner Narum inquired if the basement would be totally sunk in the ground or if it would <br />be a walk-out basement with windows. Mr. McGinnis displayed the location of the basement <br />and noted that it would be a totally subterranean basement and not awalk-out basement with a <br />natural grade exit and view. He indicated that only one portion of the basement, the caretaker's <br />unit, had a sliding door and stairs that goes up, five feet away above ground, mainly as an access <br />for fire. <br />Chairperson Fox inquired if the garage was afive-car garage. Mr. McGinnis replied that it was a <br />four-car garage with a workshop. In response to a follow-up inquiry by Chairperson Fox <br />regarding whether the workshop could be considered habitable- space and counted with the main <br />structure, Mr. McGinnis replied it was not considered habitable space because it was not a <br />conditioned space but was like a garage with a garage door. He noted that the Code requires <br />habitable space to be conditioned, including heating, and this space could never be heated. <br />Commissioner Fox inquired if staff agreed, and Mr. Otto replied that staff concurred with this <br />opinion. He added that it did not matter if the workshop was counted or not towards the square <br />footage of the house as this project does not deal with floor area ratio (FAR). He noted that the <br />total square footage of the house plus the garage are listed together and does not affect any type <br />of limit as far as what is allowed. <br />Mr. McGinnis noted that he had seen real estate for sale ads for 1,200-square-foot "estate <br />homes." He noted that as a builder for the past 36 years, he had entered the estate home process <br />market 22 years ago in Santa Barbara and has gone seen estate homes all over the world. He <br />noted that in his business, he did not consider a 2,700-square-foot home to be an estate home and <br />that most of his clients built estate homes between 9,000 and 30,000 square feet. He noted that <br />in his travels to Europe, he had hired an Italian architect and had access to all his resources. He <br />passed around and explained some materials he had brought back from Europe and described the <br />materials to be applied to the design changes to the Sarich house since the last workshop: <br />70 percent stucco with 30 percent stone walls; dark bronze-finished doors and windows from <br />EXCERPTS: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, November 14, 2007 Page 7 of 19 <br />