PC 052108 Special Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

Commissioner Olson stated that to improve the FAR and maintain the same number of units, the square footage of the units should be reduced. He noted that given the parking problem, the current FAR was probably too high. Commissioner Fox would like to see the size of the houses be 1,200 to 1,800 square feet instead of 1,650 to 2,050 square feet, which would lower the 70-percent FAR. She noted that instead of making the smaller lots 2,300 square feet, they should be smaller to go with the smaller-sized houses. She would like to see some of the units be single-story to accommodate seniors who did not want to have two stories. Chair Blank noted that the Planning Commission was not addressing architecture at this point. Commissioner O'Connor noted that rather than discussing averages and because the information was not included on the staff report, he would rather use the applicant's list of square footages. He noted that the FAR seemed to range from 52 percent to 71 percent and that he believed those FAR's were still too high. He noted that there were several ways of dealing with that and that if several lots were eliminated and the size of the homes was to be reduced, space could be freed to decrease the FAR. He noted that these were fairly sizable units and that a smaller square footage may cost less to build and would be more affordable. He indicated that he would like to see the square footages come down to allow for increased setbacks and guest parking and for the FAR's to come down. Chair Blank agreed that the FAR was too high, given the parking and other issues the Commission had discussed; however, he stated that he did not want to dictate how the applicant would accomplish lowering it. 7. Will the proposed architecture be acceptable? Commissioner Narum believed that the proposed architecture was acceptable. Commissioner Olson believed that the proposed architecture was acceptable. Commissioner Fox noted that on the elevations, there were several styles of garages, some with and some without windows. She noted that she would like all of the garages to have windows to be able to monitor that two cars could be parked in the garage, because otherwise, people would fill their garages up with a lot of extra stuff. She noted that these elevations looked similar to the Standard Pacific homes near Trenery Drive. She further noted that the front elevation on page DR-4 had a small window that appeared to be barred. She inquired whether it was a decorative window or whether that would prevent someone from crawling out of a window in an emergency. Ms. Decker replied that those windows were decorative only and that the actual egress windows would be larger to meet the Building Code. Commissioner Fox noted that on the other elevations, she noted that some of the elevations appeared to be bright white such as on DR-6. She added that they did not have color samples at this point. She would like to see some one-story homes. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, May 21, 2008 Page 17 of 26