CCMIN021699 - Laserfiche WebLink

Ms. Michelotti said this is not an easy decision. She visited most of the concerned neighbors. She served on the Planning Commission when it rezoned the north side of Stanley Boulevard. Out of this rezoning came a wonderful Senior Housing complex. She remembers the people in the area came to the rezoning meetings and said they wanted to preserve the character of the downtown area. She believes a person should have the fight to try and design their house the way they want it to look. The other part of her tells her the design and the character of the neighborhood needs to be looked at. The problem she has with the project is the massing, the impact on the Rodondis' and the impacts to the neighbors in the back because of the length of the building. She hoped them could be some compromise on the design with the neighbors. She felt some of the concems could have been addressed during the Planning Commission process. Mayor Tarver hated making decisions where someone will win but someone will lose. He felt this is a design issue and was not comfortable getting into design issues. He would much rather have plans that everyone agreed with. He said there are strong opinions from both sides, which will continue no matter what decision is made. He looked at the property and felt the project did not fit into the neighborhood. He did recognize the investment and suggested going back and working out some of the details to limit the massing and view issues. It was moved by Mr. Picot seconded by Mayor Tarver, to deny the application (AP-98- 19, Appeal of Cases UP-98-76/Z-98-31 & Z-98-310). Ms. Michelotti suggested a substitute motion to continue the item for one month to allow the applicant to work with staff to try and resolve some of the design issues. Ms. Ayala asked Ms. Michelotti to reiterate her concerns. Ms. Michelotti said she has concems with the length of the building and its mass. She would like the building more in conformance with other homes in the area. Mayor Tarver clarified that there is an appeal of the Planning Commission's denial of the Chestnuts' application. Is Ms. Michelotti's motion to continue the item or to direct staff to work with the applicant while the appeal remains? Ms. Michelotti said her motion would be continue the item. She wanted to know what the rest of the Council wanted to do. Mr. Pico felt the Chestnuts were not interested in looking at reorientation of the house or any major changes to the design. He said the appeal needs to be granted or denied. He did not want to keep bringing people back through the process. If the appeal is denied, the Chestnuts will need to decide what they want to do, i.e. either sell the property or submit another design. Pleasanton City Council 18 02/16/99 Minutes