SR 06:247 - Laserfiche WebLink

DRAFT addition onto his property, He believed the applicants' FAR was actually more than 45 percent and that his own lot was approximately twice the size of the applicants', He noted that he was able to fit three bedrooms in his own house, which was 22 feet high, compared with the applicants' 21-foot high house, He disagreed with the applicants' assessment of the garage and attic being described as simply storage space, He noted that the applicants' basement was three feet above-ground and added to the height of the building; he believed that should be included in the FAR, He agreed with Ms, Lutman's concerns for her privacy, He had been excited when he heard a contractor (Mr. Boyce) would be moving in next door to him because he agreed that the house needed work. He would like the house to be lower by lowering the height of the roof and with a 40-percent FAR. He understood that some of the people attending the applicants' open house might have thought the house was for sale, Rick Padilla, 873 Concord Street, spoke in opposition to this project He enjoyed the architectural beauty of Second Street and believed this project was oversized for its lot He believed the addition could work for the neighborhood with a 40-percent FAR. He noted that the garage was a huge building and seemed more like a warehouse; he beli(:ved it was inappropriately sized for the lot Jill Copeland, 443 Saint Mary's, noted that she had lived at 415 Abbie and that they had received a variance without asking for it She was asked to remove two feet from her house to achieve an FAR below 40 percent, which she believed made her house look odd, She noted that she was not allowed the extra square footage and believed the same should apply to the applicants, She believed the garage could be made smaller. Grace Lutman, 4524 Second Street, spoke in opposition to this project and noted that her daughter had spoken earlier. She was very concerned that the project needed a height variance, an FAR variance, and a width variance, She had met with the applicant for over a year and noted that her concerns remained the same, She was concerned that her tree would not survive the proposed excavation near the garage, She liked the heritage tree, and she did not want to tear it down because the arborist said it was a poor specimen, She emphasized that her objections to the project were not personal, but she was very concerned about the size of the project for the lot She did not believe the retaining wall would be strong enough for the hill behind it She was very concerned about the lack of privacy to her backyard, as well as the shadowing of her yard, She noted that she was the most affected by this project and asked that it not be approved, She noted that with respect to the list of approved setbacks and height variances on page 6 of the staff report, all those residents had asked for only one variance each; she noted that this applicant requested three variances, She added that the resident at 415 Abbie Street did not ask for a variance, Michael O'Callaghan, 125 West Neal Street, spoke in support ofthis item, He noted that he was speaking as a private resident, not as a member ofthe Pleasanton Downtown Association, He noted that he was on a task force that was examining streamlined permitting in Pleasanton, He noted that the staff report was exhaustive, more so than what was normally seen in similar applications, He would like the Planning Commission to take heed of that report and support the staffs position on this project He noted that he built the house next door (4558 Second Street) and lived there for ten years; it is now occupied by Mr. Boag, He noted that he would have been happy if the applicants' addition had been built when he lived there because he believed it would have enhanced his EXCERPTS: PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES, September 27, 2006 Page 4 of8