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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFindings and Action ReportSANTA ANITA VILLAGE ASSOCIATION ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD FINDINGS AND ACTION REPORT Date of Hearing July 10,2024 Two story new home. Project Address: 408 Cabrillo Rd Arcadia CA 91007 Applicant: Eric Tsang Owner: Kevin Chiu Calculations provided by applicant . Not verified Lot Size. 10,030 SF Allowable FAR 3,507 SF First Floor FAR 2,472 SF Second floor FAR 1,032 SF TOTAL FAR 3,504 SF. 3 FEET LESS THAN MAXIMUM NOTE: A PREVIOUS HEARING WAS HELD AND THE PROJECT WAS DENIED. THIS IS THE SECOND HEARING. DOCUMENTS UTILIZED GENERAL PLN “No development exists in isolation. Every act of construction affects and is affected by its surroundings. Every development, therefore, should be evaluated for its compatibility in terms of use, scale, and aesthetics with the surrounding neighborhood which it is located. DEVELOPMENT CODE Pursuant to City’s Development Code Section 9107.20.050, a Site Plan and Design Review in the Homeowners Association Areas may be approved only if it is found that the proposed development is consistent with the City’s adopted Design Guidelines. DESIGN OVERLAY ZONE 9102.01.010 Purpose and Intent Ensure that the scale and design of new development and alterations to existing structures are compatible with surrounding homes and appropriate to the physical characteristics of the site and the area where the project is proposed. SINGLE FAMILY GUI8DELINES All development shall comply with the spirit and intent of the design guidelines. Applicants should not assume that a project will be approved by merely adhering to the City’s minimum zoning standards and development regulations. Rather, these Design Guidelines provide additional guidance to aid applicants in the design of single-family projects in order to ensure the high-quality development desired by the City and the community. MAP OF NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT Cabrillo is one block long beginning with Drake Rd on the south and ending at Hugo Reid on the north. All home face west along the east perimeter of Hugo Reid School. A defining characteristic of this neighborhood is that all homes are single story and feature low to very low sloped roofs. Following is a map of the immediate and extended neighborhood documenting the prominence of single story homes DESIGN GUIDELINES The proposed plan is not consistent with the following guidelines: SITE PLANNING PRINCIPLES AND NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT 1. The stronger the existing neighborhood pattern, the more important it is for an applicant to reinforce and respect those existing patterns. This is a 100% single story home street characterized by low and very low sloped roofs. High pitch and almost maximum height is featured by the proposed project. Very much out of scale with the entire street. 2. Side yard setbacks, beyond the minimum required, are encouraged when a new, two-story home is proposed adjacent to an existing one- story home. Side yard setbacks are minimum in both the first set of plans and on the second set of plans. No attempt was made to widen the setbacks. 3. Building footprints should vary within the required setbacks in order to provide ample open space on a property. Ample pen space is lacking on both sides and the front . Note: The applicant stated that a goal of the project is to preserve a larger backyard while at the same proposing a maximum house. This has caused a very large home to be compressed into a smaller building envelop. This makes it impossible to achieve any meaningful or ample open space. The plan is not consistent with the following guidelines: FORMS AND MASS Proposed height and bulk should respect existing structures on neighboring properties and not overwhelm them with disproportionate size and scale. The proposed project is at max height, max FAR, and a greater ratio of the percentage of the FAR on the second floor compared to the FAR of the first floor. No 2 story home has been approved with the proposed ratio not only on Cabrillo nor anywhere in the Village. This application is not consistent with the following guidelines; FRONTAGE CONDITIONS. 1. Homes should not have significantly greater height and bulk at the front of a property than that of adjacent homes. See Forms and Mass above. Greater height and bulk than the neighborhood is a MAJOT inconsistency with this provision of the Guidelines. See Streetscape. Note: The 30 degree front encroachment plane is missing from the plans. This application is not consistent with the following guideline: GARAGES AND DRIVEWAYS 1. The garage façade should be set back from the front façade of the house to give visual prominence to the house over the garage. 1. Santa Anita Village: Garages shall not dominate the front elevation and shall be setback from the front façade or located in the backyard. The garage in the proposal is set back very little but holds up at least 18 linear feet of the front roof on the south end of the holds making it integral to the primary building mass. This does not provide visual relief to a front facing garage. Rather the garage is part of the central component (primary building area0. The garage should appear to be part of the secondary building area ( a wing) by receding in size and location. The proposed garage is inconsistent with the guidelines. The proposal is not consistent with the following guidelines: HEIGHT, BULK, AND SCALE A structure’s size and bulk should complement the predominant massing types of the neighborhood. The size, bulk and massing type (especially the roof) overpower rather than complement the neighborhood. The proposal is not consistent with the following guidelines: ROOFLINE. 1. Roof forms and pitches on new homes should be similar to those utilized on surrounding homes. The flair roof forms and steep 6:12 pitches are not found in the neighborhood nor are they similar. 2. Similar roof forms and pitches found within the immediate neighborhood should be incorporated into new home designs. Roof forms and pitches found in the immediate neighborhood are not incorporated into the proposed design. In addition the ARB considered the following inconsistencies with the Design Guidelines: Applicants pursuing the construction of a new or remodeled home should ensure that the community concerns and expectations are properly addressed within a proposal and the project is compatible with the surrounding homes in the neighborhood in which it is being proposed. Objective 3 Ensure new homes and home additions are consistent in architectural style, scale, massing, features, and quality as the surrounding neighborhood. All development shall comply with the spirit and intent of the design guidelines. Conclusion: The proposal does not address neighborhood context and is a challenge to neighborhood character and defining characteristics. As the only 2 story home proposed on the entire street greater sensitivity and effective mitigations are required. This proposal does not comply with the spirit or intent of the Guidelines. Pursuant to City’s Development Code Section 9107.20.050, a Site Plan and Design Review in the Homeowners Association Areas may be approved only if it is found that the proposed development is consistent with the City’s adopted Design Guidelines. It was moved by Laurie Thompson and seconded by Michael Lee to DENY the proposal based on the documented inconsistencies with the Single Family Design Guidelines The vote was 5 to deny and 0 to approve. Members: Laurie Thompson Patrick Hu Awny Malak Jerry Shen Michael Lee You are hereby advised that appeals from the ARB’s decision shall be made to the Planning Commission. You may be limited to raising only those issues and objections, which you or anyone else raises at or prior to the time of the Public Hearing. Appeals of the decision to the Planning commission may be made in writing and delivered to Planning Services at 240 W. Huntington Drive, Arcadia, CA 91007 with 14 calendar days of the decision accompanied by a complete application packet and 12 sets of architectural plans and the appeal fee in accordance with the applicable fee schedule.