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Commissioner Blank noted that this is obviously still a workshop but he thinks it might be useful to actually see the property and would like to arrange for a site visit up into those areas. He noted that he drove up toward there but he did not actually get on the property. Chair Pentin stated that what he is hearing from the Commission is that man -made slopes of 25 percent should be covered by Measure PP, but maybe there is an exception in this particular case that could be considered. 4. Does the Planning Commission believe that the grade differentials between lots should be reduced with the use of split -pad lots, stepped foundations, and /or terraced lots? Commissioner Blank inquired if there is any disadvantage in doing that. Chair Pentin stated that the applicant has indicated that flat pads were best and they want that. He asked staff to weigh in on this. Mr. Dolan replied that staff is not necessarily recommending one way or another; staff just does not want the Commission to be surprised if the plan stays that way and there are retaining walls when it comes back. He noted that there was a trend at one point where staff wanted everything on a split level to try and conform the house to the grade, but the reality is, sometimes those create more prominent and more visible homes, as opposed to on a flat pad, a little bit of the house gets cut in, it sits down inside the ground a little bit, and it does not protrude as much. He added that if there are pads and they are next to each other and they step, the depth gets lost because they are next to one another and the back corner is not visible. He noted that this is a choice, and the applicant has made a proposal that will require some retaining walls, the reason for doing that being that they do not have a great deal of area to work with due to the limitation provided by Measure PP and the 25 percent. Commissioner Blank stated that he thinks it kind of comes down to a common sense thing. He noted that thinking back to some of the specific plans where two -story homes are not permitted, the Commission has had to consider and allowed single -story homes that were actually taller than two -story homes, and two -story homes that were actually shorter than the surrounding one -story homes. He indicated that it seems to him that to say "blanket" they are all going to be flat pads or they all ought to be split pads is not the right thing to do. He added that he thinks it has to be a combination based on staff's judgment and the developer's judgment about what fits best where to minimize the impact on the hills. He indicated that he would defer that to staff to work into the planning process. Commissioner Pearce agreed. Commissioner O'Connor stated that he thinks a lot of it would also depend on the topography, such that if it might be all right to grade if it's a three- or four -foot grade, but PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, March 14, 2012 Page 30 of 35