Tiburon design board to return revised plan for Maravista home after neighbors cite privacy, noise

The Town of Tiburon Design Review Board voted Tuesday to return a design for 21 Maravista Court with a condition requiring improved plant screening after neighbors raised privacy and noise concerns.

Architect Mohammed Sadria told the board the proposal would demolish the existing house and build a new home sited in approximately the same location. He said the revised design is “consistent with all zoning requirements,” is about 454 square feet smaller than the maximum allowed, and sits about 6 feet under the height limit. Sadria said the plan removes two upper-level decks, removes one bedroom and associated spaces and reduces east-facing windows in response to neighbor complaints.

Neighbors who spoke at the meeting said the revised design still places an outdoor front deck directly above and adjacent to existing front outdoor spaces at neighboring homes, creating a line of sight into bedrooms and a master bathroom. “Given the fact that their proposed outdoor living space and deck is effectively on top of ours, I can reach over the rail and hand them a stick of butter,” said Ari Fazal, a homeowner at 25 Maravista Court, describing the proximity and alleging both privacy and acoustic impacts.

Other neighbors described the cul-de-sac as unusually quiet and private, and urged the board to require changes. Kristen Fazal, also of 25 Maravista Court, said she supported a second-story addition in principle but asked for “a thoughtful redesign” to avoid patios stacked one above another and to protect neighbors’ privacy. Parker Jones, speaking for his mother, Karen Jones of 12 Maravista Court, said the front deck “is just too big” and that noise would carry to his mother’s patio.

Board members noted concessions already made by the applicants, including removal of 454 square feet of second-floor area and elimination of both upper decks. Board discussion documented technical details the applicant provided: the proposed front deck is roughly the same size as the existing front patio (the applicant said the current patio is about 600 square feet), the proposed front deck is approximately 2.6 feet higher than the existing deck, and a rear patio measures about 12 feet deep. Board members and the applicant also discussed window dimensions and sill heights: two small 3x3 clerestory windows with head height at 8 feet (sill about 5 feet) and a bathroom window with a 3-foot sill, per the plans shown to the board.

During deliberations members emphasized vegetation and screening as the practical mitigation route. Staff and the architect noted the landscape plan lists 15-gallon planting stock for the buffer; the board discussed planting at greater maturity so the screen is effective immediately. A board member summarized the condition they wanted the resolution to reflect: that plantings be installed at a maturity that provides an above-head screen when someone stands on the proposed deck.

A motion to “bring back a resolution with a condition about the state of the plants on abutting 25 Maravista” and to note the item was categorically exempt from SEQUA passed on a 3-0 vote with two members absent. The board clerk said the resolution would return at the next meeting and that neighbors could propose modifications to the conditions at that time.

The applicant repeatedly offered to work with immediate neighbors on screening, including obscure glass and landscaping; the architect also noted the proposal digs down for garage clearance rather than raising the overall roofline. Several board members said they believed the project broadly met zoning and design standards after the concessions but that specifying the planting maturity would reduce the need for a larger redesign.

The board did not approve the project at the meeting; it approved returning a draft resolution with the screening condition for final action at a subsequent meeting.