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File Number: 18-126 <br />shadows created at three different times throughout the day on the Winter Solstice, Spring <br />Equinox, Summer Solstice, and Fall Equinox. <br />In the morning, the Project casts a shadow northwest towards San Leandro Boulevard and Parrott <br />Street, shadowing San Leandro Boulevard, Parrott Street, and its own frontage. Around noon, the <br />building casts minimal shadows, mainly shadowing its own front yard along Parrott Street and the <br />adjacent Parrott Street neighbor’s driveway. By mid-afternoon, the building casts a shadow over <br />its own podium courtyard and the neighbors to the east in the winter, spring, and fall, with minimal <br />shadowing in the summer. The Project casts the longest shadows during the Winter Solstice, <br />since the sun is at its lowest angle at this time of year, and shorter shadowing during the summer <br />months. <br />From morning to midday for most of the year, the applicant’s submitted study demonstrates the <br />Parrott Street Apartments will not impact the appellant’s building or front yard and that the <br />shadows cast on the appellant’s front yard are mainly from the appellant’s residence. In <br />mid-afternoon for much of the year, the Parrot Street Apartments will cast shadows eastward over <br />the adjacent appellant’s residence and front yard. <br />For comparison, the applicant has also submitted a study to identify the impact of shadows cast <br />by a shorter apartment building. This scenario on a hypothetical building that is one story shorter <br />(equivalent to a 10 foot reduction) demonstrates that the shadow lengths and coverage would be <br />very similar. The applicant has noted to staff that the current massing and position of the five-story <br />building is the best possible design for minimizing the impact of shadows. <br />Aside from established daylight plane requirements and building height limits, there are no <br />policies or code requirements that require new development to preserve access to sunlight for <br />existing adjacent buildings. As the downtown has a variety of single and multi-story residential <br />and commercial buildings in close proximity to one another, attention to landscaping, setbacks, <br />massing and building design are the primary means to improve the interface between buildings of <br />varying size and density. <br />Daylight Plane <br />The boundaries between certain residential and commercial zoning districts have a daylight plane <br />requirement intended to minimize the impact of shadows from taller adjacent buildings. The <br />Project is not subject to a daylight plane requirement because it is not located on a zoning district <br />boundary. Both the Project site and the appellant’s residence are zoned DA-4, Downtown Area <br />District, which has a maximum height limit of 60 feet. All of the properties on the block are subject <br />to the same development standards. <br />Applicable General Plan Policies <br />As mentioned in the staff report (PLN17-0061), the proposed multi-family residential Project was <br />found to be in conformance with the General Plan, Downtown TOD Strategy, and Zoning Code <br />and was approved by the Board of Zoning Adjustments without need for any variances or <br />exceptions from the development requirements applicable to the subject property. Below is a list <br />of the pertinent General Plan goals and policies that support and pertain to the Project’s approval: <br />Page 4 City of San Leandro Printed on 3/13/2018 <br />10