Forest Character: Residential Design Guidelines 1.1 through 1.4 state “existing significant upper canopy and understory trees should be preserved”, “Locate new construction to minimize impacts on established trees”, “Protect root systems of all trees to be preserved”, and maintain “a forested image on the site.” In addition, it is the policy of the City Forestry Department that new construction should be at least six feet from significant trees.
There is only one existing tree on site, a Japanese maple in the front courtyard, which has been rated as not significant by the City Forester. The City Forester is requiring one upper canopy and one lower canopy tree to be planted on-site. The applicant is proposing to plant one pine and one oak to satisfy this requirement. The City Forester is also requiring that there be at least 3' of clearance between the new proposed front wall and the 6" oak tree in the right-of-way in front of the property. Staff has drafted Condition of Approval #1 reflecting this requirement.
Privacy: Residential Design Guideline 5.1 requires that designs, “Organize functions on a site to preserve reasonable privacy for adjacent properties. Locate windows and balconies such that they avoid overlooking active indoor and outdoor use areas of adjacent properties. Screen patios, terraces and service areas.”
Staff does not anticipate a privacy impact to the neighboring property to the south, as the neighbor’s lower-floor kitchen window and lower-floor master bathroom window are located entirely below the fence line. The project site has one upper-floor master bath window that faces the south neighbor but it is offset from the neighbor’s first-floor kitchen window. Furthermore, while the south neighbor’s lower-floor master bathroom overlaps with the windows on the project’s proposed stairwell, the stairwell is located 14' back from the property line and is not a gathering area so staff does not anticipate a privacy impact to the south neighbor from the proposed windows.
In regard to the privacy of the neighbor to the north, the applicant is proposing a second-floor balcony, located in the interior patio, facing west. The walking surface of the balcony is partially screened by the first story roof to the north of the balcony. In addition, the balcony is located 22 feet back from the north property line. For these reasons, the balcony will have minimal impact on the privacy of the neighbor to the north.
The north neighbor has expressed concerns that the project’s first-floor north-facing windows may impact the privacy of her dining room windows (refer to Attachment 5). The north-facing windows of the project are small and are located between 6' and 7.5' above the floor level. Since these windows are high above the floor, and primarily used for light, they should not pose a significant privacy impact. There are no upper-floor, north-facing windows proposed. Staff has not identified any privacy impacts to the north or south neighbors as a result of this project.
Views and Solar Access: Design Guideline 7.3 states that designs should “Preserve open spaces and access to light between properties. Designs also should preserve reasonable solar access to neighboring parcels. Designs should protect and preserve the light, air and open space of surrounding properties, when considered cumulatively with other buildings in the neighborhood.”
The north neighbor has expressed concerns that the proposed second story addition will block solar access to two high windows located near the roof gable of the neighbor’s living room (refer to Attachment 5). Additionally, the north neighbor is concerned that the northwest portion of the proposed new residence and chimney will block light to her dining room windows.
Staff viewed the staking from the neighbor's living room (see photographs in Attachment 2). The high windows currently offer a view of the sky. The staking and flagging indicates that the 21' tall second story for the proposed new residence will be visible and may cast a shadow on these windows. Additionally, while the second floor is set back 11’-5” from the north property line, (15’-5” from the north neighbor’s high windows), the positioning of the second floor could negatively impact solar access to the north neighbor’s high living room windows.
In regard to solar access to the north neighbor’s dining room windows, the portion of the proposed residence adjacent to the windows is a single-story living room which will be 15 feet in height, 3’-9” from the north property line and will have a 19' tall chimney which is not shown staked and flagged. Staff has drafted a condition that the applicant shall stake and flag the chimney prior to final details review. While the roof height of the proposed living room is modest, the proximity to the property line and chimney in this location could negatively impact light access to the north neighbor. Staff has drafted a condition requiring the applicant to study the potential solar impacts to the northern neighbor. The Commission could require specific design modifications if it feels there is a potential impact.
Additionally, the south neighbor has submitted a letter (included in Attachment 5), stating a concern regarding light access to the windows of his residence that face north, including a first-floor kitchen window and a first-floor master bathroom window that are located below the level of the fence, 4 feet from the property line. Additionally, the south neighbor is concerned about light access to a second-story obscure glass window located at a stairwell approximately 7 feet back from the property line (see photographs in Attachment 2). The Commission will have the opportunity to evaluate the potential impacts during the Tour of Inspection, and may require design modifications if necessary.
Mass & Bulk: Residential Design Guidelines 7.1 through 7.7 encourage a building’s mass to relate “to the context of other homes nearby,” and to “a human scale in its basic forms. Presenting a one-story height to the street is encouraged."
The architect has designed this residence with a large front setback and outdoor activity areas in the front yard and interior courtyard. The second-story element of the residence is located in the middle of the lot (50 feet from the front property line) and 11’-5” from the north- and 10’-7” from the south-side property lines, which locates tall building walls back from the setbacks and property lines. Approximately 80% of the floor area is located on the ground floor and the peak roof height of the second story is 20’-11", which is 3 feet lower than the 24' maximum.
One issue regarding height and mass identified by staff is that the rear portion of the residence is located in the rear 15' of the property and thus must be less than 15’ in height. A portion of the first-story roof ridge on the rear west elevation exceeds the maximum height allowed by 3 inches. Staff has included draft condition requiring that the height be lowered to meet the requirements.
A second issue is that the preliminary volume calculations provided by the architect indicates that the project exceeds the allowed volume by 2.9% or 853.5 cubic feet. Staff has included a condition requiring that a volume study by the City’s consultant be conducted prior to final details review.
A third issue is that the residence does not fully comply with Design Guideline 7.7, in that the two-story element is at the front of the building and the design does not present a one-story height to the street. However, staff notes that the two-story element is set back 50' from the front property line, which minimizes the building mass presented to the street. The Planning Commission could require the applicant to revise the design by placing the two-story element at the rear of the residence. This would place first-story building elements at the front of the residence and may resolve some of the potential solar access issues to the neighboring properties. In order to relocate the two-story element the building would need to be shifted forward in order to meet the 15' rear setback requirements for a two-story structure.
Building & Roof Form: Residential Design Guidelines 8.1 through 8.5 state that “building forms should be simple. Roof forms should be composed of just a few simple planes. Avoid complex roof forms that call attention to the design or add unnecessary detail”. The Guidelines emphasize using “restraint” and “simplicity” in building forms.
This project achieves appropriate scale and form by use of one- and two-story elements in a U-shape. The cedar shingle gable roof has a 5:12 pitch, with several front and side-gabled roof lines. While there are several rooflines visible on the front east elevation, the building form does not appear overly-complicated from the front elevation. Finally, the modulation of the building elements helps to reduce height and break up walls surfaces. The projects meets the objectives of building and roof form.
Wrought Iron Gate at Courtyard Entry: Residential Design Guideline 9.2 and 9.3 advise that, “Design features that increase the visual prominence of the building should be avoided. Add details to relieve blank surfaces and achieve a scale compatible with the building's forms and its architecture. Appropriately sized chimneys, overhangs, windows, doors, dormers, porches, entries and decks can be used to reduce scale and achieve a well-integrated design. Making any of these elements over-sized can exaggerate the building's scale and should be avoided.”
The applicant is proposing an 8’-3” tall wrought iron gate set in a 10’-6” stucco archway or wall as an entryway into the exterior courtyard on the south elevation. The gate and wall are set back from the south property line by approximately 17.5'. The applicant is proposing this gate and wall as an extension of the wall of the building. Since the wall and gate are located behind the property’s setbacks, the standard 6-foot height limit for gates and walls does not apply. However, staff is concerned that the gate is too tall and out of scale with the residence. Staff has drafted Condition of Approval #6 requiring that the wrought iron gate at the courtyard be reduced to 6 feet in height and the total height of the stucco entry archway be reduced to 8 feet in height to bring the gate and entry feature more in-scale with the size of other entries on this property.
Finish Materials: Design Guideline 9.5 encourages the use of natural materials such as wood or stone in conjunction with stucco.
The applicant is proposing a stucco exterior for the residence. Staff notes that a large area of this residence is composed of stucco since most of the windows are a modest size. Additionally, the applicant is not proposing any natural materials such as stone or wood siding on the residence. In order to reduce the amount of stucco on this residence, staff has drafted a condition requiring the applicant to incorporate natural materials into the design to break up the plain stucco walls and to visually differentiate the residence from adjacent stucco residences.
Alternatives: Staff has included findings that the Commission can adopt if the Commission accepts the overall design. However, if the Commission does not support the design, then it could continue the application with recommended design revisions.