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Home My WebLink AboutTC Res 2017-04-05 RESOLUTION NO. 07-2017 A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF TIBURON GRANTING AN APPEAL BY ANDRINA AND KENNETH WELTER OF THE DESIGN REVIEW BOARD'S APPROVAL OF SITE PLAN AND ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW APPROVAL FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLING, WITH VARIANCES FOR REDUCED FRONT SETBACK, EXCESS LOT COVERAGE AND EXCESS BUILDING HEIGHT, AND A FLOOR AREA EXCEPTION, ON PROPERTY LOCATED AT 77 EAST VIEW AVENUE (ASSESSOR PARCEL NO. 060-105-92) WHEREAS, on October 20, 2016 the Design Review Board held a public hearing on a Site Plan and Architectural Review application (Files # DR2016104, VAR2016033, VAR2016034, VAR2016035 & FAE2016011) filed by Clinton Yee for the construction of additions to an existing single-family dwelling, with variances for reduced front and side setbacks, excess lot coverage and excess building height, on property at 77 East View Avenue ("Project"); and WHEREAS, at that hearing,the property owners at 81 East View Avenue, Andrina and Kenneth Welter ("Appellants"), and neighboring residents at 75 East View Avenue raised concerns about the Project's view and privacy impacts from the proposed additions and the overall mass of the Project. The Design Review Board shared these concerns, stating that the house was too large and too wide, and would have privacy impacts on the Appellants' home. The Board continued the application to the December 1, 2016 meeting; and WHEREAS, on December 1, 2016 the Design Review Board held a public hearing to review revised plans for this Project. At that meeting, the Appellants and neighboring residents at 75 East View Avenue continued to raise concerns about the Project design and also questioned the accuracy of the site survey. The Design Review Board determined that not enough had been done to reduce the size of the house and requested more articulation to the design and better compliance with the Hillside Design Guidelines. The Board continued the application to the January 19, 2017 meeting; and WHEREAS, on January 19, 2017 the Design Review Board held a public hearing to review revised plans for this Project, which proposed demolition of more than 50% of the existing structure, reclassifying the application as construction of a new single-family dwelling for zoning purposes. The application also included variances for reduced front setback and excess building height. At that meeting, the Appellants expressed concerns about loss of privacy and view blockage issues stemming from the Project; and WHEREAS, the Design Review Board determined that the revisions to the Project design addressed the potential view and privacy issues, and voted 2-1 to conditionally Town Council Resolution No. 07-2017 04/5/2017 Page 1 of 4 approve the Project, with an added condition of approval reducing the width of the upper level of the house by two feet by pulling it further away from the Appellants' home; and WHEREAS, on January 30, 2017, the Appellants filed a timely appeal of the Design Review Board's decision to the Town Council; and WHEREAS, the project application consists of Files # DR2016104, VAR2016033, VAR2016034, VAR2016035 & FAE2016011, on file with the Town of Tiburon Community Development Department. The official record for this Project application is hereby incorporated and made part of this resolution. The record includes, without limitation, the Staff Reports, minutes, application materials, and all comments and materials received at the public hearings, and WHEREAS, on March 1, 2017, the Town Council held a duly-noticed public hearing on the appeal, during which testimony was heard and considered regarding the Project and the Design Review Board's review of the application; and WHEREAS, after hearing all testimony and receiving all documents in the record, the Town Council disagreed with the conclusions of the Design Review Board regarding this Project, and granted the appeal. The Town Council determined that the Project would be inconsistent with the guiding principles for Site Plan and Architectural Review, the Hillside Design Guidelines, and other relevant provisions of the Zoning Ordinance, as follows: 1. Section 16-52.020 (H[2]) of the Tiburon Zoning Ordinance states that in order to approve a Site Plan and Architectural Review application, the Town must consider"the location of proposed improvements on the site in relation to the location of improvements on adjoining sites, with particular attention to view considerations, privacy, location of noise-generating exterior mechanical equipment, adequacy of light and air, and topographic or other constraints on development imposed by particular site conditions." The Town Council determined that the project design would create substantial privacy, light and air impacts on the Appellants' property. The privacy of the Appellants' home would be significantly impacted by the proposed upper level deck, which would allow occupants using the deck of the proposed dwelling to view into the Appellants' master bedroom. The upper floor of the house would be too large when viewed from the Appellant's home, resulting in excessive building mass in close proximity to their residence and potential light and air blockage to south-facing windows of their home. 2. Goal 1, Principles 1 & 9 of the Tiburon Hillside Design Guidelines, encourage projects to "cut [the] building into [the] hillside to reduce effective bulk" and to "excavate underground or below grade rooms to dramatically reduce effective bulk, provide energy efficient and Town Council Resolution No. 07-2017 04/5/2017 Page 2 of 4 environmentally desirable spaces." The Town Council determined that the design of the proposed house did not adequately step into the steep hillside of the subject property and was not designed to reduce its effective bulk in accordance with these guidelines. 3. Goal 3 of the Tiburon Hillside Design Guidelines encourages projects to "preserve existing views as much as possible," and Goal 3, Principle I encourages applicants to "locate all new dwellings so they interfere minimally with adjacent buildings." Goal 3, Principle 7 (D) of the Tiburon Hillside Design Guidelines states that view blockage of "important objects in the view (Golden Gate Bridge, Belvedere Lagoon, Sausalito, Angel Island) is more difficult to accept than blockage of other, less well-known landmarks." The Town Council determined that the encroachment of the upper level of the proposed house into the southern viewshed from the living room and master bedroom of the Appellants' home was inconsistent with these principles. 4. Section 16-52.030 (E) of the Tiburon Zoning Ordinance states that findings must be made to approve a variance, including the finding that "the granting of the variance will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other properties in the vicinity." The Town Council determined that this finding cannot be made, as the Project design would create substantial privacy impacts which would be injurious to the Appellants' property. 5. Section 16-52.020 (I[4{a}]) of the Tiburon Zoning Ordinance states that findings must be made to approve a floor area exception, including the finding that "the applicant has demonstrated that the visual size and scale of the proposed structure is compatible with the predominant pattern established by existing structures in the surrounding neighborhood." The Town Council determined that this finding cannot be made, when the applicant has not met its burden demonstrating that the visual size and scale of the project design as currently proposed is consistent with the predominant pattern established by other homes on Corinthian Island. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Council of the Town of Tiburon hereby grants the appeal of Andrina and Kenneth Welter of the Design Review Board's approval of the application (Files # DR2016104, VAR2016033, VAR2016034, VAR2016035 & FAE2016011) for Site Plan and Architectural Review approval for construction of a new single-family dwelling, with variances for reduced front yard setback, excess lot coverage and excess building height and a floor area exception, on property located at 77 East View Avenue, and denies the application. Town Council Resolution No. 07-2017 04/5/2017 Page 3 of 4 PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the Town Council on April 5, 2017, by the following vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Doyle, Fraser, Fredericks, O'Donnell, Tollini NAYS: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None 01ZI lalAV JIM F Ek, M YOR TO F TIBURON ATTEST: � f LEA STEFA I, TOWN CLERK Town Council Resolution No. 07-2017 04/5/2017 Page 4 of 4