Design review committee recommends remodel with deck articulation in Moss Beach

The San Mateo County Design Review Committee on March 13 recommended approval of a major remodel at a three-story house in Moss Beach, asking the applicant for small design adjustments to the front decks to reduce the appearance of massing.

County staff presented the application for a remodel at 2100 (street name not specified) in Moss Beach (APN 037086080), describing interior and exterior changes including expanding usable space on the third floor by converting a gambrel roof to vertical walls and a low-hip roof, replacing damaged garage construction, modifying side decks and adding a spiral stair at the rear. The remodel reduces the garage footprint and reduces some lot coverage; staff recommended the project be found exempt from environmental review under CEQA Guidelines section 15301(a) for minor alterations to existing structures. Jonathan Brunn is listed as the project planner and the application was deemed complete Feb. 11, 2025.

The applicant’s architect explained the principal change is to convert the third floor’s canted (gambrel) walls into vertical walls to increase usable living area on that top level; the architect said the remodel also replaces red brick at the lower-level exterior with stone veneer and introduces more glazing on the ocean-facing elevations. The applicant said water intrusion and prior limb damage had degraded the existing garage, which will be demolished and rebuilt on a slightly smaller footprint to comply with lot coverage rules.

Committee members discussed the third-floor massing at length. One committee member said the new vertical walls make the top floor appear boxier even if the remodel reduces overall floor area and coverage; another member argued the revised roof and glazing will improve the house’s seaside character. The applicant’s team and county staff said further structural reductions to the third-floor footprint would be technically difficult and costly.

To address the committee’s visual concerns, a motion passed recommending approval with a condition to modify the front decks’ corners: the committee requested 45-degree corner treatments on the southwest corners of both levels’ front decks to add articulation and reduce the continuous horizontal plane. The committee also recommended the applicant consider roof articulation (extending or maintaining a gable element) and material or color adjustments to break up the top-floor plane. The motion passed on a roll-call vote (Mark Denn: yes; Moshe Porter: yes).

County staff will include the committee’s recommendation and the CEQA exemption citation in the administrative record that accompanies the formal county decision. Because the committee’s action is a recommendation, staff and the project planner will finalize permit conditions and any technical reviews (drainage, structural) during county permitting processes.