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paseo area provides a usable space for residents, thus compensating for the small portions of the buildings which do not meet the minimum building-to-building separation requirements. Therefore, staff supports this exception. 4. Planter Strips (page 20, Standard A4.1 Internal Street) -- A minimum four-foot planting strip is required on each of the street. The proposed site does not include a planting strip on the west side of Building 16or the northern end of Building 9. Comment: An open space area is proposed between Buildings 14 and 15. The elimination of the planting strip on the west side of Building 16 helps to maximize the open space area. Staff finds this an acceptable tradeoff. Except at the northeastern corner of Building 9, a planting strip is proposed along the east side of the building and the street. Staff finds it acceptable for this small area to deviate from the standard. Therefore, staff supports this exception. 3. Proposed Development o Site Plan The proposed project complies with the Standards and Guidelines except in the areas noted above. The parking has been positioned to minimize its visibility from West Las Positas Boulevard and the adjacent properties. Staff finds that the street layout would efficiently facilitate vehicular and pedestrian circulation within the project site. The parallel parking would provide convenient parking to visitors and guests. The proposed common areas are located to be conveniently accessible by residents. The size of the proposed tot lot area and common green space area would be adequate to serve the project site. Two-story buildings would be located along the southern and western boundaries to minimize the buildings' mass and bulk on the surrounding neighbors. Overall, staff believes that the proposed site plan and positioning of the buildings are appropriate for the subject property. o Floor Area Ratio The Housing Site Development Standards and Design Guidelines indicate that there is no FAR applicable to residential developments. o Open Space/Amenities The proposed project contains several outdoor amenities: a children's play area, open green area, and barbeque picnic area. Pedestrian walkways connect residential buildings throughout the site. As proposed, the project would include 44,769 square feet of group open space on-site. The Standards and Guidelines require a minimum of 300 sq. ft. of group open space per dwelling unit (94 units x 300 = 28,200 sq. ft.). Therefore, the project complies with the open space requirements. The Standards and Guidelines do not require private open space to be provided for each unit. Eight two (82) of the ninety four (94) units would Summerhill Housing Group Planning Commission Page 13 of 28