Ross ADR endorses 21 Glenwood renovation and additions with guidance on retaining walls and screening

The Ross Architectural Design Review (ADR) Group unanimously recommended that Town Council approve the design review and demolition permit application for 21 Glenwood Avenue, which proposes interior and exterior renovations, additions and a new pool house and includes a request for a demolition permit because the work affects more than 25% of the residence’s exterior walls or coverings.

Roberta (Town staff) described the project as adding a family dining area on the main floor, a second-story addition, a basement addition and a new pool house totaling 2,347 square feet of new floor area. The proposal calls for removing existing siding and re-cladding the house with clear-stained yellow cedar shingles, retaining and patching slate roof where possible, and updating a guest house and tea house with new windows and limited interior remodeling. Roberta noted that a demolition permit is required when alterations affect more than 25% of a residence’s exterior walls or coverings.

Steven Sutro, the project architect, walked the ADR through the site plan, describing adjustments intended to consolidate massing, reduce paved pool patio area and confine most new hardscape and the pool-changing room to the buildable area of the lot. The landscape designers said they plan to convert an asphalt area into lawn, add parking, retain existing productive garden beds where feasible, and add plantings for screening. They also said two trees (one large oak flagged by the arborist as unhealthy) would be removed; other removals reflected the fire marshal’s recommendation to clear vegetation under certain size thresholds for defensible space.

Members praised the overall architectural approach while flagging several concerns. Multiple ADR members noted the proposed pair of stepped retaining walls in front of the garage — each roughly 4.5 feet tall (stacked to about 9 feet vertically) — and asked the team to ensure the walls are designed to allow meaningful planting and screening so the neighbor downhill is buffered. Neighbors likewise asked for clarifying details about the walls, the extent of tree removal and a construction management plan addressing truck traffic and safety for pedestrians, walkers and cyclists on Glenwood.

One ADR recommendation was to work with neighbors on the downhill corner to refine planting and screening; the architect and landscape team said they would add screening and revise details. The ADR also recommended minimizing visible flat-roof appendages and harmonizing small new elements with the outbuildings’ character where possible. The ADR’s vote to recommend approval will be forwarded to Town Council along with the noted design recommendations and requests for further mitigation details concerning retaining walls, screening and construction management.