3A Public Hearing 2007 0904 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Excerpt of the Minutes of the Regular Meeting for the City Of San Leandro Planning Commission July 26, 2007 I Item 6: Public Hearing a). Matter of PLN2007-00036; Vesting Tentative Map 7919 for a residential for-sale project located at 15101 Washington Avenue. The approved project (PLN2006- 00043) includes 24 modular-constructed townhouses at 15101 Washington Avenue. The site is zoned RM-1800 Residential Multi-Family Zoning District, Assessor's Parcel Numbers 80H-1515-008-02, 15101 Washington Avenue; 15101 Washington Ave. LLC (applicant and property owner). [Barros]. Environmental Status: This item is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per CEQA Guidelines, Article 19, Section 15332, as an in-fill development project. Planner III Sally Barros presented the project, which was reviewed by the Board of Zoning Adjustments and received entitlements in January, and required minor variance for landscape setback in the rear of the site, a parking exception for a tandem arrangement, and a site plan review for project design. The applicant has filed for a grading permit. The site, which previously housed the Jokers Bar and (legally) 22 residential units, including 19 trailers and three homes, backs up to neighborhoods of single-family residences on the west and north, apartments to the south, and the Greenhouse Marketplace across the street. The project includes two rows of 12 units, each with 1,285 square feet of living space, two bedrooms and two baths. The entire structure will sit over a podium garage, with individual tandem parking for two cars beneath each unit with indoor access. In addition to the unit parking, the project includes 10 surface parking places for guests (four more than the required six). The garage podium creates an elevated courtyard, which contains common areas as well as private patios. Ms. Barros explained that both the modular construction and the green design are innovative. The units are not manufactured homes, but modular units that will be built off-site, over a period of about one month in a Riverside factory, and then delivered and stored until the foundation is poured and ready for assembly of the units. The period of construction will take only four to six months rather than approximately 18 months for a project of this size constructed onsite. Modular construction is also efficient in terms of materials use and less disruptive to nearby neighbors. Nationally recognized architect Michelle Kaufmann Designs has incorporated passive solar elements, with efficient heating and lighting, natural ventilation that includes clerestory windows, certified wood and sustainably created finishes, ratings by stopwaste.org's GreenPoints system, and possibly even onsite stormwater storage. The fairly modem design, appropriate to the commercial corridor, uses wood paneling and stucco, and building bays to add architectural interest. The tentative map, essentially for a "single-lot subdivision," shows proposed parcel lines, utilities and connections, and allows it to be a for-sale development. In closing, Ms. Barros said that staff suggests that the Planning