15 ATTACHMENT 9 - Laserfiche WebLink

Tom Pico discussed the Vineyard Corridor Specific Plan, which he was instrumental in developing as a City Councilmember and Mayor. He noted that he would not discuss the original staff report in detail but did not believe it was as even-handed as it could have been. He was appreciative of the opportunity to discuss those issues with staff. He stated that the Plan was designed to provide flexibility through the PUD process. The Specific Plan included language, such as: the site development standards may vary; the guidelines are intended to be flexible; minor variations may be permitted to the residential development standards; and that the hillside residential uses must be located within the designated development areas, as generally depicted on the land use map. He stated that the Specific Plan clearly indicated that the location should be as generally depicted. He believed that the chosen site is within those guidelines. The applicants also felt strongly that the site indicated by the dot with the number 1 is in a site that is not conducive to development. These homes were estate-type homes that were not intended to be 2,000 to 3,000 square feet; the lots were meant to be a minimum of 40,000 square feet. Mr. Pico noted that they sought direction in two specific areas: whether the chosen location at the top of the knoll was generally acceptable, and the nature and type of structure to be placed on the site. He believed that the conflicting guidelines in the Vineyard Corridor Specific Plan presented a problem for the applicants. Table 4-2 discussed building aone-story limited height flat pad structure at this elevation. The original report contained a comment from staff stating that the type of structure should conform to the site topography by stepping buildings up or down hillsides. The property as graded and developed would have the top of the house 10-20 feet below the existing height of the ridge. The house as designed is a two-story house with a very low profile and a lot of articulation. The height limit in the Specific Plan discussed a 25-foot height limit for asingle-family home, as well as a 30-foot height limit for a step pad or another type of home. This particular house, with the exception of the cupola, which occupies a very small portion, would be 28 feet tall. He believed that 60 trees would be removed for the project, about 16 of which were heritage trees. Mr. Pico believed this house would be an attractive amenity for the City and that it would not be a Hayward Hotel-type building perched on the top of the hill. He believed there was enough flexibility in the Vineyard Avenue Corridor Specific Plan to allow this home to be built. He inquired whether aflat-pad home with multiple stories would be acceptable, or whether the Commission would rather see a design stepped up the hill. He noted that they tried to design the Specific Plan with the intent to have flexibility so that it would not need to be amended. There have been several instances where people have tried to add more units or do other things; the City has not reopened the Specific Plan so far. He noted that the project architect was an internationally famous architect who specializes in building estate homes around the world. John McInnes, project architect, noted that he first met with the applicants in October, 2001. They had requested that he create a magnificent European villa that they would love to live in and that the City would love to have. He reviewed the history of this application and added that he designed custom estate homes. He noted that the initial designs were generally the same as what is seen at this point. He noted that atwo-story design eliminated a lot of area on the pad and that there was less area to make a pad. In addition, a variety of articulated roofs are designed. The ridge below the cupola is just over 28 feet above the main floor, and it consumed less than three percent of the entire roof of the house. At that time, Brian Swift did not object to the 2'/2 feet and that the proposed 27%2 feet could not be visually distinguished from below. He also liked the variation of the roofs. He wanted the applicants to revise the access off of EXCERPTS: PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES, September 28, 2005 Page 2 of 6