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Published on 11/17/1997 All articles from this issue

Residents appeal 2-story remodel OK'd for street

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue

Town Crier Staff Writer

Exercising their last resort, Cindy Sidaris and her Camellia Way neighbors went to city council and appealed the approved remodel design for a house on their street.

"It's a hulking monstrosity," Sidaris told the council at its Nov. 10 meeting. "It meets code for setbacks but not for neighborhood compatibility. It will be an eyesore."

The council dead-locked 2-2 on the issue and continued it to its December meeting.

The Architectural and Site Control Committee, which considers all two-story plans, has reviewed the design three times between July and October, and finally approved them Oct. 15.

But Sidaris and 25 other families on the 31-house street aren't happy. Residents fear what one called an "over-built remodel" that will change the character of the neighborhood.

Sidaris and her neighbors don't mind remodels. Most of the 1950s ranch houses on Camellia Way have been redone.

They don't object to a second-story addition. Several of the one-story 2,500-square-foot houses on Camellia Way sport a second story that was added on.

They want something they feel would be sensitive to the ranch-house character of the street.

They want the size of the second story reduced to minimize the bulk of the new plans. They want fewer design elements.

Ken and Amy Chen just want to get on with their remodel. According to neighbors, they are a three-generation family that needs more room.

Their plans would increase the 2,400-square-foot house to 3,439 square feet, the maximum floor area allowed for the 9,825-square-foot lot.

Each time their plans went to the architectural and site committee, the Chens made changes, trying to respond to neighborhood concerns.

They eliminated an arched second-story picture window to reduce the glazing "to an acceptable level."

They changed the stucco exterior to a brick face on the first story and horizontal wood siding for the second.

They reduced the chimney width and modified its stucco and tile accent to brick.

But plans still include a tile roof on a street with wood shake. The plans still include "seven roof lines, four window designs, two wall finishes and a statement garage door - with those funny little windows in it," Sidaris said.

The city's design guidelines call for "neighborhood compatibility." For "consistent neighborhoods," and Camellia Way is one of those, city staff said, remodel plans must show "design sensitivity" to the neighborhood - the design should fit in with what's there.

And what's there, Sidaris said, are houses with "brick accents, a roof line with two or three elements, a garage door that blends in - the kind so you don't even see it - and a single window design."

Mayor Francis La Poll agreed with the neighbors. "This house is not a consistent design for this street," he said.

Councilwoman Kris Casto did not. She said she is "OK with the design.

"The applicant has read the design guidelines."

The one thing everyone agrees on: the city's residential design guidelines don't work.

At the city's conflict resolution workshop Nov. 12, city staff, planning commissioners and the city council agreed to begin a review of the residential design guidelines.

The Chen's plans are scheduled to be considered again by the council at its Dec. 16 meeting.