3B Public Hearing 2006 0905 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY CLERK'S OFFICE August 2, 2006 AUG - 7 2006 City of San Leandro San Leandro City Clerk City Hall 835 E. 14th Street San Leandro, CA 94577 CITY OF SAN LEANDRO RE: PLN2005-00063; Major View Preservation/Site Plan Review and Height Exception Dear Sir or Madam: My name is Edward Carter and I, along with Jimmie Thompson, own the home at 2895 Marineview Drive in the Bay 0 Vista neighborhood. I am writing to express two concerns related to the tentatively planned project on Darius Way, which includes a 10,679 square-foot main home. While the proposed project doesn't directly affect our home on Marineview Drive, the concern we have is the precedent that will be set if the project is approved in the current proposal for both the height exception and size of the main home. Like other Bay 0 Vista residents, we bought our home in large part because of unobstructed, pristine views between the San Mateo and San Francisco Bay bridges. By granting the height exception for the Darius Way project, the homeowners in the neighborhood may decide to build up and can use the precedence of this project as a way to obtain approval for their height exception. This action will start the trend of view encroachment, which will lessen the appeal of the Bay 0 Vista hills. Since the average home size in Bay 0 Vista is 2500 square feet, this action may also start the trend for homeowners to start building their own "monster houses", by doubling their homes' sizes. Even if homeowners were to start doing this, the most they could build out is by adding another 2500 square feet at best, which still wouldn't compete with the proposed home on Darius Way. Because of this, approving the home size for the project could lessen the values of all of the other homes in the Bay 0 Vista area. The second concern we have has to do with how residents affected by the project learned of the proposed plan. It has come to my attention that the project in question has been in a planning phase for at least a year, with involvement of the Bay 0 Vista Homeowners Association. I've attended several of the Homeowners Association meetings since becoming a resident in 2004. I do not recall the subject of this project being discussed at previous meetings. In reviewing staff notes from the June 28, 2006 Homeowners Association meeting which make several references to the Darius Way project, it became apparent that I was not present at this meeting. I wasn't aware of a meeting scheduled for this date and after talking with several neighbors, it appears they weren't aware of this meeting either. I'm interested in knowing who was present at this meeting, and why I wasn't invited. I will reserve judgment until I find out the facts. In closing, please give serious consideration to the concerns indicated above. We take great pride in our home ownership and the beautiful neighborhood where we live, with its pristine views of the Bay. We would hate to see all of this compromised by the precedent