REPORT TO THE ZONING ADMINISTRATOR
SUBJECT
Title
USE PERMIT: For an Approximately 7-Foot 9-Inch Tall Fence in The Front Yard of a Single-Family Home (Eichler).
Location: 657 Vanderbilt Drive (APN: 202-07-001)
File #: 2019-7917
Zoning: R-1
Applicant / Owner: James Ismail (applicant and owner)
Environmental Review: Class 3 Categorical Exemption relieves this project from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) provisions.
Project Planner: Shila Bagley, 408-730-7456, sbagley@sunnyvale.ca.gov
Report
BACKGROUND
Description of Proposed Project
The applicant is proposing to remove the exiting front yard fence and construct a new fence, which will have the same height as the existing fence. The proposed fence is 6 feet in height, measured from finished grade, and 7 feet 5 inches in height measured from top of the curb (TOC) on Vanderbilt Drive, since the property slopes up, resulting in a 1-foot 5-inch grade difference between TOC and finished grade. Since the property is a corner lot, the height of the front fence is also measured from Sesame Drive, which has a slightly higher grade difference. Therefore, the fence is 7 feet 9 inches in height measured from TOC on Sesame Drive.
The proposed fence has a setback of 15 feet 5 inches from the front property line, which is intended to provide a larger private front yard space as desired by the applicant. See Attachment 1 for the Vicinity and Noticing map, Attachment 3 for the Site and Architectural Plans, and Attachment 4 for the Use Permit Justification Form.
Previous Actions on the Site
A staff-level permit was approved in 2019 for construction of an 8-foot tall fence (over a 2-foot 6-inch tall retaining wall) in the reducible front yard of the subject single-family residence. Additionally, in 2016 City Council approved a rezoning request for a Single-Story Combining District for 45 homes bounded by Torrington Drive, Sesame Drive, Vanderbilt Drive and Hollenbeck Avenue, which includes the subject property....
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