ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:

This proposal is exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as specified in Section 15301.

PROPOSAL:

The applicant is requesting Design Review approval for the construction of a parking deck on property located at 1859 Mar West Street. Access to the parking deck would be provided via a driveway across the adjacent property at 1865 Mar West Street. The property at 1859 Mar West Street is developed with a single-family dwelling; a duplex is located at 1865 Mar West Street.

The proposed parking deck would extend to the left (west) off the existing driveway. The structure would cantilever above the front portion of the site, which slopes sharply down toward the street. Two additional at-grade parking spaces are proposed to be provided in an area between the two homes on these properties.

The proposed parking deck would extend beyond the front property line, into the adjoining Town right-of-way. As a 15 foot front yard setback is required in the R-2 zone, a variance is requested for reduced front yard setback.

A color and materials board has not yet been submitted for this project. The submitted plans indicate that the sides of the parking deck would be covered with a wood lattice, with open vertical wood railings around the edge of the deck.

Design Issues

The owner of the property at 1865 Mar West Street (the Bille Trust) have a recorded parking easement across the adjacent lot at 1859 Mar West Street (owned by Gary Lisk), a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 4. This easement allows the owners of 1865 Mar West Street to develop and utilize parking spaces on specified portions of the property ay 1859 Mar West Street. A copy of the easement has been reviewed by the Town Attorney, and the Town has determined that the easement gives the owners of 1865 Mar West Street the authority to submit the subject Site Plan and Architectural Review application for the construction of the requested parking improvements on the property at 1859 Mar West Street. Mr. Lisk has submitted a letter objecting to this request, which is also attached as Exhibit 5.

An existing parking deck is situated on the property at 1859 Mar West Street. This two-car parking deck, similar in design to the proposed deck, was built as part of the construction of a new single-family dwelling on the site, approved in 1995 (File #795142).

The proposed parking deck would have a width of 30 feet. The parking spaces for this deck would begin on grade; the deck would provide the final 14 feet of depth for the spaces. The 14 foot deep deck would extend to a maximum height of 9 feet above grade. Wooden railings 3 feet in height would be constructed along the sides and rear of the deck, resulting in a maximum structure height of 12 feet. The deck would extend 3.5 feet into the Town right-of-way.

The proposed deck would project slightly into a peripheral view toward San Francisco from a downstairs bedroom in the home at 1859 Mar West Street. Vehicles parked on the deck could further intrude into this view; with no vehicles parked on the deck, the residents at 1859 Mar West Street would look down onto additional hardscape from upstairs portions of the house.

The view from this bedroom would not be from a "ceremonial" room, as defined by Goal 3, Principle 7 (A) of the Hillside Design Guidelines. The parking deck would not block any views of important objects, as defined by Goal 3, Principle 7 (D) of the Hillside Guidelines, and would intrude only into the side of the view from this bedroom, as defined by Goal 3, Principle 7 (C) of the Guidelines. The Design Review Board is encouraged to visit the home at 1859 Mar West Street to more thoroughly evaluate any potential view and visual impacts which may be caused by the proposed parking deck.

The property owner of 1859 Mar West Street has also suggested several modifications or alternative designs to the proposed parking deck. Suggested modifications to the deck design that would decrease its visibility from this residence include lowering the deck, resulting in a surface that slopes slightly down from the driveway; reducing the depth of the deck by widening the adjacent driveway; or moving the deck to the south several feet. The adjacent property owner has also suggested that a parking structure could be buried into the hillsides either adjacent to the driveway serving these two properties or adjacent to the street; several other parking structures have been previously established along this stretch of Mar West Street. The Design Review Board should consider whether such modifications or alternative designs are necessary to mitigate any potential impacts of the proposed parking deck.

Several other properties in the vicinity have also received variances for reduced front yard setbacks, including homes at 1761, 1811 & 1879 Mar West Street (Files #27508, 27304 & 26818); 1707, 1760 & 1810 Vistazo West Street (Files #299010, 28313 & 26020); 1893 Centro West Street (File #26605); and 1808 Lagoon View Drive (File #20120).

Zoning

Staff has reviewed the proposal and finds it to be in conformance with the development standards for the R-2 zone with the exception of the previously noted front yard setback variance.

In order to grant the requested variance, the Board must make all of the following findings required by Section 4.03.05 of the Tiburon Zoning Ordinance:

1. Because of special circumstances applicable to the property, including size, shape, topography, location, or surroundings, the strict application of this Ordinance will deprive the applicant of privileges enjoyed by other properties in the vicinity and in the same or similar zones.

The properties at 1859 & 1865 Mar West Street share an unusual access and parking arrangement, with a single sharply sloping driveway serving two residences, and an easement specifying particular portions of the site to be used for parking purposes. The physical and recorded constraints of this site therefore create special circumstances which would deprive the applicant of the privileges of developing additional parking area enjoyed by other properties in the vicinity.

2. The variance will not constitute a grant of special privileges, inconsistent with the limitation upon other properties in the vicinity and in the same or similar zones.

As stated above, several other homes in the vicinity have received variances for reduced front yard setbacks.

3. The strict application of this Ordinance would result in practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship.

As noted above, the property owner of 1859 Mar West Street has suggested several modifications or alternative designs to the proposed parking deck. Several of these alternatives could result in different deck designs that reduce the encroachment of the deck into the required front yard setback. There does not appear to be a location on the site for the construction of the proposed parking deck that would comply with the strict application of the front yard setback requirement. However, the Design Review Board should determine whether the inability to construct the additional parking provided by the proposed deck would result in a practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship on the applicants.

4. The granting of the variance will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other properties in the vicinity.

As stated previously, the proposed parking deck is visible from the residence at 1859 Mar West Street, and could result in potential view and visual impacts on this home. The Design Review Board needs to consider whether these potential impacts are significant enough to be considered "injurious to other properties in the vicinity."

From the evidence provided, Staff believes that there is sufficient evidence to support the findings for the requested front yard setback variance. However, Staff recommends that the Design Review Board explicitly address the finding as to whether the denial of the requested variance would result in a practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship on the applicants.

Public Comment

As summarized previously, the Town has received written and verbal comments from Gary Lisk, the property owner of 1859 Mar West Street, regarding potential impacts that may arise from the proposed project.

RECOMMENDATION:

The Board should review this project with respect to Zoning Ordinance Sections 4.02.07 (Guiding Principles). If the Board finds the design to be acceptable and in conformance with the Tiburon Zoning Ordinance, Staff would recommend that the attached conditions of approval be applied.

ATTACHMENTS:

1. Conditions of approval

2.    Application and supplemental materials

3.    Goal 3, Principles 7 (A, B, C & D) of the Hillside Design Guidelines

4.    Parking easement between owners of 1859 & 1865 Mar West Street

5.    Letter from Gary Lisk, dated April 10, 2002

6.    Letter from Gary Lisk, dated May 28, 2002

7.    Submitted plans

1. This approval shall be used within three (3) years of the approval date, and shall become null and void unless a building permit has been issued.

2.    The development of this project shall conform with the application dated by the Town of Tiburon on March 27, 2002, or as amended by these conditions of approval. Any modifications to the plans of March 27, 2002, must be reviewed and approved by the Design Review Board.

3.    Plans submitted to the Building Department for plan check shall be identical to those approved by the Design Review Board. If any changes are made to the approved Design Review plans, the permit holder is responsible for clearly identifying all such changes when submitted to the Building Department for plan check. Such changes must be clearly highlighted (with a "bubble" or "cloud") on the submitted plans. A list describing in detail all such changes shall be submitted and attached to the building plans, with a signature block to be signed by the Design Review Staff member indicating that these changes have been reviewed and are approved, or require additional Design Review. All changes that have not been explicitly approved by Staff as part of the Building Plan Check process are not approved. Construction that does not have Design Review approval is not valid and shall be subject to stop work orders and may require removal.

4.    The applicant must meet all requirements of other agencies prior to the issuance of a building permit for this project.

5.    All exterior lighting fixtures other than those approved by the Design Review Board must be down light type fixtures.

6.    An encroachment permit shall be obtained from the Public Works Department prior to issuance of a building permit for any portion of the project located within Town right-of-way.