Lafayette planning commission approves hillside home at 1133 Sierra Vista Way over neighbor objections

The Lafayette Planning Commission on Monday voted 4–1 to approve a hillside development permit, related permits and a variance to allow construction of a two‑story single‑family home at 1133 Sierra Vista Way.

Staff presented the application for HDP 6 24, saying the project would construct a roughly 2,300‑square‑foot residence (including a 489‑square‑foot garage), remove 14 trees, and require grading of about 750 cubic yards of soil. The applicant requested a variance to reduce a secondary frontage setback along a private right‑of‑way (Sessions Road) to 2 feet, 11 inches and to allow a parking space to encroach into that setback. Staff recommended the commission find the project exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and adopt Planning Commission Resolution PC‑2025‑06 to approve the project subject to conditions.

The applicant, property owner Nancy Pedno, described buying the lot in 2023 with previously approved plans and said she assembled a new design and team after approvals lapsed. Structural engineer Hien (Hien) Nguyen and contractor Ken McClure said the current plans largely reuse previously approved plans with modest changes: corner cuts to improve interior layouts and an additional 2 feet of…