Mill Valley planning panel approves Redwood Lodge renovation, grants variances and tree removals

The Mill Valley Planning Commission on Feb. 11 voted 5-0 to approve design review and tree removal permits for the Redwood Lodge property (addresses: 144, 160 and 178 Corte Madera Avenue and 9 Eldridge Avenue) and to grant variances allowing a lower-level conversion at 9 Eldridge that expands a legal nonconformity into the 30-foot creek setback and exceeds the city height limit by 3.75 inches.

Commission staff had recommended denying the variance applications while approving most design-review elements and tree permits. Lorraine (planning staff) told the commission she could not support the variance, saying staff's analysis and the findings in Exhibit A did not support permitting new encroachments into the creek setback. "Staff cannot support the variance for the reasons outlined in the staff report," Lorraine said during the presentation.

The commission moved to approve the project after extended discussion about trees, historic preservation and construction options. The approved project package includes a modest new basement conversion at 9 Eldridge (the applicant's plans call for a 1,679-square-foot lower-level addition and other interior changes), a 20-square-foot addition at 144 Corte Madera and a 173-square-foot bedroom addition at 9 Eldridge. Architect Michael Heacock, the project presenter, urged commissioners to weigh the site's historic value in their decision: "Why tear down one house in Mill Valley that somebody is kindly offering to preserve and make habitable?" he said.

Why it mattered: the property, known as the Redwood Lodge, contains multiple historic-era structures clustered among redwood trees and sits immediately adjacent to a creek. Page & Turnbull prepared a historic evaluation that, according to staff, found the rehabilitation plans "comply with the standards for rehabilitation and do not create a substantial adverse impact" to the resources. At the same time, several trees on and around the site are in close proximity to structures and utilities; the…