Council Rejects Land Development Projects

At a five-hour meeting in which numerous residents came to weigh in on land-use issues, the City Council rendered decisions contrary to those made by the Planning Commission and city staff.

Siding with neighbors of the currently vacant lot at 3950 Robin Hill Road, the council on Monday chose not to approve a two-story, nearly 3,000 square-foot home design.

Councilman Donald Voss drew a round of applause from residents who filled Council Chambers in opposition of the project when he cited "consistency with the Hillside Ordinance" as the main reason for denying the project a go-ahead.

Because of the property's steep 63-degree slope 3,000 square feet is too large a structure, according to council members and neighboring residents. The city's ordinance calls for a building half that size.

Emily Blaney, who lives downhill of the property, cited "stability, drainage and privacy issues" when she voiced her opposition to the project. 

"If the city council allows this project to move forward in its present configuration, you will have judged our Hillside Ordinance to be irrelevant and obsolete ... and set a very dangerous precedent for all future hillside developments," Blaney said.

Attorney Mark Feldman represents the Paredes family who own the Robin Hill property and spoke on their behalf. He said the project began the approval process in 2005 with two prior applications.

"Before they submitted their final plans to the city they actually met with the staff ... and said 'we want to make sure that this complies with the hillside ordinance and any regulations of the city," said Feldman. "We made changes based on the recommendations of your own staff members, and we've done everything possible that we could that's been asked of us by the city."

Senior Planner Fred Buss on Tuesday explained "the staff may have one view, and then the Planning Commission may have a similar or a different view, and of course the city council may have a different view altogether. We did get that house downsized through our efforts and the Planning Commission's efforts, it was just not downsized enough for the ... city council."

The council also voted unanimously to uphold an appeal challenging homeowners' plans to build a new garage and recreational vehicle parking space at 2223 Los Amigos St. Councilman Michael Davitt recused himself because he lives within 500 feet of the property.

Council members agreed that the size of the proposed garage was too big, as was the 10.5-foot in height, 31-foot long and almost 8-foot wide R.V.

"I don't like R.V. parking in our city, ... and I try to make my decisions on how would I feel if that was next door to me," said Councilwoman Laura Ohasso, who also noted "we have an ordinance that seems somewhat unclear that we need to fix."