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would go back to the proposed units behind it. She incicated that preserving the house <br /> would be greener than demolishing it. <br /> Ms. Bourg stated that Craftsman homes are currently very popular and have been for <br /> years. She presented three periodicals on 1900 Craftsman homes: American <br /> bungalows, Arts and Crafts homes, and the Revival homes. She noted that she sees <br /> houses like these listed on the market, and, if fairly priced, they are purchased <br /> immediately. She commenced that she would think that the profit derived from a <br /> renovation would be greater than that of one unit. <br /> Ms. Bourg then cited a passage from page 39 of the Downtown Design Guidelines <br /> (DTDG) of May 2006, under Multi Family Zones: "Duplexes or triplexes located behind <br /> single-family homes are preferred over large-scale structures to maintain the small town <br /> character of Downtown neighborhood's and to retain the single-family residential <br /> streetscape." She then read from page 61 of the DTSP, under Historic Preservation: <br /> "The rich character of Downtown Pleasanton stems from its abundance of historic <br /> buildings that have been constructed over the past 150 years. The architectural styles, <br /> small town scale of buildings, and tree-lined streets all combine to create a setting <br /> unique to Pleasanton." Lastly, she read from page 76, #22: "Discourage the demolition <br /> of single-family homes which exceed 50 years of age. The replacement of any <br /> single-family home should be compatible with the neignborhood scale and architectural <br /> style." <br /> Ms. Bourg then thanked staff for their assistance with the neighbors. <br /> Mr. Martin stated that he has been at all the hearings for this project and listened to the <br /> passion and emotion surrounding the old home. He agreed that Pleasanton does have <br /> a rich history. He indicated that he lives in a home that was built in the 1940's and <br /> added that while it is a publ c benefit to everyone, it can be a burden to the owner. <br /> Mr. Martin noted that the City has a good method that requires an expert to evaluate the <br /> structure and arrive at a recommendation, and this procedure should be given some <br /> deference. He stated that in this case, the report concludes that the house does not <br /> rise to the level of recognition as a historic structure. He asked the Commission to <br /> weigh this in its decision. <br /> With respect to parking, Mr. Martin stated that the project has a good ratio with <br /> 59 parking spots for 13 homes, seven of which are for guest parking and 26 are <br /> uncovered. <br /> Regarding shading, Mr. Martin stated that ironically, the removal of the Deodar cedar <br /> trees might improve shading. He added that they tried to be sensitive to this issue when <br /> they proposed an open space area adjacent to the PV panels on the neighboring <br /> property. <br /> EXCERPT: PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, Feoruary 9, 2011 Page 7 of 18 <br />