REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
File #: 2016-7779
Location: 635 Toyon Avenue (APN:213-10-028)
Zoning: R-0
Proposed Project: Design Review to allow a new second-story addition of 1,584 square feet to an existing one-story single-family home resulting in a 3,285-square foot home (2,613 square feet living area, 251 square feet of covered balcony, and 421 square foot garage) at 53.4% Floor Area Ratio (FAR). Existing unpermitted carport in the rear will be removed and the unpermitted garage conversion to living area will be reverted.
Variance from SMC 19.34.045 and 19.34.080 to allow reduced second story front (19 feet six inches where 25 feet is required) and side yard (5 feet 6 inches where 7 feet is required) setbacks.
Applicant / Owner: Future Vision Remodeling / Abhay Gangadharan
Environmental Review: Categorical Exemption, Class 1, Section 15301.
Project Planner: Shetal Divatia, (408) 730-7637, sdivatia@sunnyvale.ca.gov
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
General Plan: Low Density Residential
Existing Site Conditions: One-story single family home with an illegal garage conversion and carport in the rear.
Surrounding Land Uses
North: Single family home (across Columbine Ave)
South: Single family home
East: Single family home (across Toyon Ave)
West: Single family home
Issues: Second story setbacks and design
Staff Recommendation: Deny the Variance and the Design Review based on the Findings in Attachment 3
BACKGROUND
Previous Actions on the Site: The existing residence was constructed in 1956. A Variance (Permit #1975-0206) was approved for a 6-foot fence in the front yard; and two Tree Removal Permits were approved in 2002 (Permit #2002-0123, 0639).
Description of Proposed Project
The site is a corner lot located on the northwest corner of Toyon and Columbine Avenues. The applicant proposes a new 1,584 square foot second story addition to an existing 1,701 square foot home resulting in a total of 3,285 square foot two-story home on a 6,154 square foot lot in the R-0 zoning district. The proposed addition results in 53.4% Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and 27.6% Lot Coverage. The proposal also addresses and rectifies two unpermitted situations at the site:1) reverting the garage from living area back to a two-car garage and; 2) removal of the carport/shed in the rear yard and related site modifications. The proposed house will have five bedrooms and bathrooms.
The proposed first floor includes interior remodeling to reestablish the two-car garage that was illegally converted to living area and an addition of a stairway to access the second floor. The proposed 1,584 square foot second story will be located right above the first story and does not meet required second story front and sideyard setbacks and requires a Variance.
The project will have 2,613 square feet of living area, a 421-square foot garage and 251 square feet of covered balcony on the second story resulting in a 53.4% FAR. Design Review approval is required for the additional floor area and second floor to evaluate compliance with development standards and with the Single Family Home Design Techniques. Planning Commission review is required for FAR exceeding 45 percent.
A Variance is required for projects that do not meet Sunnyvale’s Zoning Code requirements. The applicant is requesting a reduced second story front setback at 19 feet 6 inches where a minimum of 25 feet is required and a reduced left side sideyard setback of 5 feet 6 inches where a minimum of 7 feet is required.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
A Class 1 Categorical Exemption relieves this project from the California Environmental Quality Act provisions. Class 1 Categorical Exemptions include minor additions to an existing single-family residence.
DISCUSSION
Applicable Development Standards
The project meets most of the City’s development standards as noted in the Project Data Table. It does not meet the second-story front and sideyard setbacks and requires a Variance.
• Site Layout: The site is a corner lot and is 63 feet wide and 95 feet 11 inches deep and 6,154 square feet in size. The existing house has an L shaped footprint with an approved pool in the front yard behind a fence. The proposed second story would be located right above the existing first story with no additional setback. It does not meet the second story front and sideyard setbacks. A two-car garage and a driveway will provide access at the left side of the property’s frontage.
• Lot Coverage: The proposal does not alter the existing 27.6% lot coverage and is below the maximum 40% allowed for two-story homes.
• Parking/Circulation: The project will revert the unpermitted living area back to a two-car garage, and two unenclosed parking spaces will be provided on the driveway as required per SMC 19.46.060. The applicant would also remove an unpermitted carport in the rear yard that has access from Columbine Avenue.
• Landscaping and Tree Preservation: The existing site does not contain any protected trees (tree trunk measuring 38 inches or more in circumference); No trees are planned to be removed.
• Solar Access: SMC 19.56.020 states that no permit may be issued for any construction which would interfere with solar access by shading more than 10% of the roof of any structure on a nearby property. The project plans demonstrate that the shading would comply with this requirement as it will not shade any existing structures on the neighboring properties.
Variance
Sunnyvale Municipal Code (SMC 19.34.045 and 19.34.080) requires that the second story have increased setbacks from that of the first story from the front and side property lines. The proposed second story front setback will be 19’6” where a minimum of 25 feet is required. The existing first story front setback at 19 feet 6 inches is less than the minimum 20 foot required and is considered legal non-conforming setback. The plan also does not meet the minimum required 7-foot setback on the sideyard on the south side. Meeting these requirements would result in the second story being smaller than the first story which is intended to help break up the mass of the structure and provides for architectural articulation and neighbor privacy. Staff is not able to make the Variance Findings to support the requested Variance for reduced second story setbacks. A discussion on the Findings is in Attachment 3. The applicant has provided justifications for the Variance in Attachment 6.
Floor Area Ratio
The proposed 1,584 square foot second floor addition almost doubles the size of the house. The proposed 3,285 square feet would result in a 53.4% FAR that exceeds the 45% FAR threshold for staff review and requires Planning Commission approval.
The average FAR for the neighborhood including the Toll Brother homes is 39%; and that without the Toll Bother homes including only the older portion of the neighborhood is 32% FAR. The current highest FAR in the immediate block of the subject site is 49% at 663 Toyon Avenue which is 3 properties south of this site.
The proposed 54.3% FAR is within the range of homes in the broader neighborhood (Ponderosa neighborhood including the Toll Brothers homes). The Toll Brothers homes range from 50-59% FAR. The nearby two-story homes in the older ranch neighborhood are approximately at 50% FAR. The “neighborhood” considered for the higher FAR project at 663 Toyon Avenue in 2013 did not include the Toll Brother homes in the Planned Development combining district.
Design Guidelines
Sunnyvale Single Family Home Design Techniques provides guidance on design for additions and new single family homes. It places emphasis on neighborhood compatibility by evaluating the scale, bulk and architectural features of proposed projects. It defines neighborhood as those properties on both block faces (both sides of the street) within the same block and immediately adjacent blocks.
The current architecture of the home is one-story ranch. The immediate vicinity primarily consists of one-story ranch homes that were developed in the 1950s. There are also two 2-story homes in the immediate vicinity.
A block south of the project is a newer planned development (R-0/PD) neighborhood of 51 two-story homes built by Toll Brothers in 2013. This planned development neighborhood consists of all two-story homes with gross floor areas ranging from 3,516 s.f. to 3,575 s.f. (averaging 3,536 s.f.) and floor area ratios ranging from 50 to 59% FAR (averaging 58% FAR). This block of Toll Brother homes is located within the “neighborhood” as defined by the Single Family Home Design Techniques. In staff’s opinion, the Toll Brother’s site is a stand-alone infill project and does not set the architectural tone for the rest of the neighborhood and does not provide an appropriate neighborhood context for this project’s architectural style, mass and bulk. The average FAR for the older ranch homes like the project site is 32%.
Balcony and Privacy Impacts - The proposal has a balcony feature along the front that overlooks the street. Although this feature is not expected to impact adjacent neighbor’s privacy this large spanned balcony is not a common architectural feature in this neighborhood. The windows on the stairway facing the back yard covers a large portion of the entire wall and is an unusual feature for a house and more common for a commercial building. Staff is concerned about the impact of these windows especially the nighttime lighting on the adjacent neighbor on the rear.
Regardless of the FAR, the proposed design of the house does not meet Sunnyvale’s Single Family Home Design Techniques. The proposed second story sits directly above the first story and does not meet minimum second-story setbacks; has straight two-story vertical walls with no visual breaks on three sides. It also includes design elements that are not compatible with this residential neighborhood such as a large expanse of the balcony along its frontage, patio doors as garage doors, lack of any front entrance feature or door, many windows in the stairwell, and 9 foot plate height for the first story combined with a 10-foot plate height for the second story. Collectively these aspects result in a project that does not meet the Design Guidelines. A detailed list and discussion of these guidelines is included in the Findings section in Attachment 3.
Staff encouraged the applicant to consider significant changes to the project, however the applicant felt strongly about their current proposal and wanted to move forward to a hearing without making additional changes. The applicants letter and Justifications are located in Attachment 6.
Conclusion
In staff’s opinion, after taking the Design Techniques into consideration, the proposed design of the house does not meet the City’s guidelines in that the second story element and the higher FAR are too large and not adequately designed to be compatible with the neighborhood.
Staff is not able to make the required findings for the Variance and the Design Review permit - Findings (Attachment 3). If the Planning Commission is able to make the required findings, staff recommends that the project be subject to the recommended Conditions of Approval located in Attachment 4.
FISCAL IMPACT
No fiscal impacts other than normal fees and taxes are expected.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Notice of Public Hearing
• Published in the Sun newspaper
• Notice board with proposed project elevation and streetscape posted on the site
• 136 notices mailed to property owners and residents within 300 feet of the project site
Staff Report
• Posted on the City’s website
• Provided at the Reference Section of the City’s Public Library
Agenda
• Posted on the City’s official notice bulletin board
• Posted on the City’s website
Public Contact: Staff has not received any correspondence or phone calls from neighbors at the time of writing of this report. See Attachment 1 for a map of the vicinity and mailing area.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Deny the Design Review and Variance.
2. Approve the Design Review and Variance with Conditions of Approval in Attachment 4.
3. Approve the Design Review and Variance with modified Conditions of Approval.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Alternative 1 to deny the Design Review and the Variance based on the Findings in Attachment 3.
Staff
Prepared by: Shetal Divatia, Senior Planner
Approved by: Gerri Caruso, Principal Planner
ATTACHMENTS
1. Site, Vicinity and Noticing Map
2. Project Data Table
3. Recommended Findings
4. Recommended Conditions of Approval
5. Neighborhood Two-Story homes and FAR Table
6. Applicant letter and Justifications
7. Proposed Site and Architectural Plans