Planning commission clears demolition, variance and ADU use permit for 81 Belvedere Ave., adds conditions

The Belvedere Planning Commission on Jan. 14 approved entitlements for a demolition and rebuild at 81 Belvedere Avenue, granting design review, a variance to exceed the municipal height limit within the first 40 feet of the street, and a use permit to allow an attached auxiliary dwelling unit (ADU) to exceed the 1,000-square-foot ministerial limit. Approvals passed with conditions requiring the applicant to reduce skylight size, submit a revised exterior lighting and landscape plan for review by the planning commission chair and staff, and revisit the location of a proposed street-facing trash enclosure.

Staff told the commission the project would demolish the existing 3,427-square-foot two-story house on a 15,300-square-foot parcel and build a new 4,784-square-foot principal residence plus a 1,165-square-foot attached ADU beneath a street-level garage/carport. The proposed design places a garage/carport at the front property line; one portion of the proposed roof over the garage measures 29 feet 10 inches above street level, about 1 foot 10 inches above the 28-foot height limit for the first 40 feet of the street line. Staff wrote that granting a variance…