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05-02-2007 DRC MinutesCITY OF ORANGE DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE FINAL MINUTES 2 May 2007 Committee Members Present: Jon Califf Donnie DeWees Craig Wheeler Joe Woollett Staff in Attendance: Leslie Aranda Roseberry, Planning Manager Robert Garcia, Associate Planner Sonal Thakur, Assistant Planner Sharon Penttila, Recording Secretary Committee Member Absent: Bill Cathcart Administrative Session - 5:00 P.M. The Committee met for an administrative session beginning at 5:00 p.m. The meeting adjourned at approximately 6:36 p.m. Regular Session - 5:30 P.M. City of Orange -Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes for 2 May 2007 Page 2 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Opportunity for members of the public to address the Design Review Committee on matters not listed on the Agenda. No public attendees addressed the Design Review Committee on matters not listed on the Agenda. REVIEW OF MINUTES: Apri14, 2007 Committee Member Woollett made a motion to approve the minutes of the April 4, 2007 meeting with revisions as noted. SECOND: Craig Wheeler AYES: Jon Califf, Donnie DeWees, Craig Wheeler, Joe Woollett NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: Bill Cathcart MOTION CARRIED. REVIEW OF MINUTES: April 16, 2007 Committee Member Woollett made a motion to approve the minutes of the April 16, 2007 meeting. SECOND: Craig Wheeler AYES: Jon Califf, Donnie DeWees, Craig Wheeler, Joe Woollett NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: Bill Cathcart MOTION CARRIED. CONSENT ITEMS: All matters that are announced as Consent Items are considered to be routine by the Design Review Committee and will be enacted on by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of said items unless members of the Design Review Committee, staff or the public request specific items to be removed from the Consent Items for separate action. 2. DRC No. 4208-07 - EARTHLINK WI-FI FACILITY A proposal to install and operate a new wireless telecommunications facility on a SCE tower. West of East Queens Drive Staff Contact: Robert Garcia, (714) 744-7231, rgarcia@cityoforange.org DRC Action: Recommendation to Planning Commission City of Orange -Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes for 2 May 2007 Page 3 Committee Member DeWees made a motion to approve the following item by consent, subject to the recommendations in the Staff Report and Community Services Department landscape plan check comments with an additional condition requesting the enclosure of the mechanical equipment be vinyl coated security fencing with smaller mesh. SECOND: Jon Califf AYES: Jon Califf, Donnie DeWees, Craig Wheeler, Joe Woollett NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: Bill Cathcart MOTION CARRIED. City of Orange -Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes for 2 May 2007 Page 4 1. DRC No. 4149-06 - RONEY TWO-STORY ADDITION A proposal to construct a new second story on an existing single-family residence. 735 North Russell Drive Staff Contact: Sonal Thakur, (714) 744-7239, sthakur@cityoforange.org DRC Action: Preliminary Review Sonal Thakur, Assistant Planner, provided a project overview consistent with the Staff Report. She explained the existing FAR of the subject residence is .35 and the proposed second story would reach the maximum FAR of .6. Ms. Thakur commented that staff was concerned with the project having too much mass and too much height which would overwhelm the single-story neighborhood. One of the recommendations to alleviate this problem was to eliminate some of the bathrooms on the second floor and make some of the rooms larger with increased height. Alan Roney, owner of the home, explained they have owned the house since 1976. They are very concerned with the value of the neighborhood and he was glad that there is a Design Review Committee to watch how things are built in the neighborhood. This upgrade is something they have been planning for years so it's more livable. They did read the Design Review Guidelines and the Infill Residential Guidelines. He felt they comply with all the guidelines except with the height of the home which will be higher than others in the neighborhood. This is the sixth house in the track to add a second story. They have discussed this with their neighbors and the consensus was they had no concerns. Mr. Roney had the neighbors put in writing the fact that they were not opposed to the second story but encouraged and welcomed the remodel. Regarding the two bathrooms upstairs, one would be shared by the two younger children and the oldest would have her own. Mr. Roney explained there are medical reasons restrooms are needed in very convenient parts of the home and they do have such a medical condition in the house. They have inset all the second floor walls except at the backyard. Genie Roney explained they have complied with the request to widen the garage by a foot even though it will be an extra expense. Dean Elliott, designer, mentioned under the guidance of staff they requested an Administrative Adjustment in January. He said the applicants were willing to go through the expense and effort to make this home change the complexion of two-story development in the neighborhood. The Public Hearing was opened. Carol Stout the neighbor who would be most affected by the project, said everything the Roney's have done over the years has been impeccably done. She couldn't see anyway the project would affect her. Committee Member Califf noticed they were proposing to raise the plate height on the ground floor, which would require reframing on the ground floor. He asked how they planned on raising from an 8 foot to a 9-foot plate. Mr. Elliott explained that the engineer recommended that he City of Orange -Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes for 2 May 2007 Page 5 design a post and beam structure that would set on top so the existing plate would fasten to the beam on top and then the floor would go on top in order to affect very little change to the downstairs. Committee Member Califf mentioned that this was a very good example of why there are the infill residential guidelines and why second-story additions now have to come before the DRC. They have been trying to encourage people when they increase the mass that they make sure it is pushed back. Personally he felt it's not necessary to set the sides back in a foot. He was inclined to see the front of the second story further back. He wondered what was going on with the fireplace. He thought it would look better if it came down and it was wider so it looked like a traditional fireplace. His main concern was the overall height and the desire to see it set back further, diminishing the mass of it from the street. He did not have a concern with the bathrooms. Mr. Roney explained that all the windows would be solar, dual paned, tinted glass vinyl windows for the whole house. Committee Member DeWees was only slightly concerned with the mass of the building but more so with the height of it. He suggested keeping an 8-foot plate which would decrease it by two feet. He questioned why there was a 5 and 12 pitch on the slope of the roof. Mr. Elliott said that some of the homes on the street are 5 and 12 and it would best blend with the neighborhood. Committee Member DeWees stated he would pull it down to 4 and 12. His other suggestion was to relocate a closet. He would like to see on the plans specific information on the plate height and materials when they come back. He questioned the use of the bay windows. Committee Member Califf stated that he doesn't always agree with the recommendations to step the sides of the house in one foot as has been provided to applicant in the past. Committee Member Woollett stated it was stretching it by putting in a huge second floor on the home in this neighborhood. He didn't feel there was a need fora 9-foot plate on the first floor with a 9-foot on the second floor. He felt by approving this project it would invite other second stories in the neighborhood. He would mitigate it by using 8-foot plates, sloping ceilings on the second floor, and a 3 and 12 pitch. He stated this was why the ordinance had been put in place. Committee Member DeWees said the DRC had to consider the cumulative effect to the neighborhood. If everyone used 9-foot plates this would result in changing the character of the neighborhood over the years. Chair Wheeler shared the sentiment of the other Committee Members. He was not opposed to a second floor but the second floor needed to be pushed back, the plate on the second floor needed to be brought down to 8 feet and he would compromise on the 9-foot plate downstairs especially if the roof pitch was brought down. Another big problem he saw on the project was the parking. The two-car garage was undersized. He'd like to see at least a full 20' x 20' garage so at least two people can park in it. He would also like to see more off-street parking and asked that when they come back would they dimension the drawings a bit more to ensure the areas are correct. He wanted Ms. Thakur to determine whether the FAR should include the second floor volume. City of Orange -Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes for 2 May 2007 Page 6 To recap Chair Wheeler's suggestions: Improve parking Lower the roof pitch Lower the second story plate Push the front back as far as possible Possibly going to higher windows on the second floor to increase privacy Mr. Elliott could see a common denominator concerning the roof pitch, the upstairs plate line and the idea that the front could be pushed back and the sides could be widened. He wanted to know if the sides should come out flush and the Committee indicated they preferred that both sides be flush. Chair Wheeler wanted more detail on the garage and entry doors in the front. Committee Member DeWees questioned the railing on the deck. Mr. Elliott felt the railing unified the look. Committee Member Woollett stated that it was a great idea for the applicants to come to them at this stage of development. Ms. Roney was concerned with the parking situation since they can't even push the trashcans through now. Chair Wheeler was asking them to at least look at getting better parking with creative solutions with at least a full garage for two cars. Mr. Elliott asked how they would feel about a 9-foot plate height only in the back on the second floor. Committee Member Califf felt that was the place to do it. Mr. Elliott didn't feel the 3 and 12 pitch on the ceilings would look very good. Chair Wheeler suggested using tray ceilings. Committee Member Woollett made a motion to continue DRC No. 4149-06. SECOND: Donnie DeWees AYES: Jon Califf, Donnie DeWees, Craig Wheeler, Joe Woollett NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: Bill Cathcart MOTION CARRIED. City of Orange -Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes for 2 May 2007 Page 7 3. DRC No. 4218-07 - MCKHANN RESIDENCE A proposal to construct a new second story deck that may potentially have privacy issues with the adjoining neighbors. 2911 East Lake Hill Drive Staff Contact: Sonal Thakur, (714) 744-7239, sthakur@cityoforange.org DRC Action: Final Determination Sonal Thakur, Assistant Planner, provided a project overview consistent with the Staff Report. She mentioned the existing pool had been removed and would be replaced with a new one. There is a 13-foot separation between the existing homes. Staff had concern with the privacy of the home on the left. Lane Curtis, architect, explained they are trying to add an upper level deck and the only issue may be one of privacy. There were no public comments. Committee Member Woollett had no problem with the project. Committee Member DeWees mentioned there was almost twenty feet from where people would be gathering and the windows on the adjacent home. Committee Member Califf mentioned that additional landscaping would be the friendly thing to do. Chair Wheeler's only concern was the fact that the style of the rear balcony was so different from the front of the house. Committee Member Califf wanted to add a condition to encourage additional planting along the wall. Committee Member DeWees made a motion to approve DRC No. 4218-07 subject to the conditions in the staff report and a provision that they consider a landscape buffer to the adjacent residence. SECOND: Craig Wheeler AYES: Jon Califf, Donnie DeWees, Craig Wheeler, Joe Woollett NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: Bill Cathcart MOTION CARRIED. City of Orange -Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes for 2 May 2007 Page 8 Committee Member Woollett made a motion to adjourn to the next regular meeting on Wednesday, May 16, 2007. SECOND: Jon Califf AYES: Jon Califf, Donnie DeWees, Craig Wheeler, Joe Woollett NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: Bill Cathcart MOTION CARRIED.