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Design Review Board approves variances for Round Hill remodel after neighbors raise view and parking concerns
Summary
The Design Review Board approved two variances and a CEQA categorical exemption for a remodel and addition at 238 Round Hill Road after the applicant revised plans to reduce northern massing. Neighbors urged further pullbacks, privacy treatments and controls on construction parking; the board approved the draft resolution unanimously.
The Tiburon Design Review Board on Dec. 5 approved two variances and a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) categorical exemption for a remodel and addition at 238 Round Hill Road after the applicant revised upper-floor massing to address neighbor concerns.
Architect Cedric Behringer of Behringer Architecture said the redesign pulls part of the second-floor mass back about 5 feet, reduces north-facing bathroom glazing and adds a smaller roof element and a modest roof deck intended mostly for balance of fenestration. "We did meet the timelines that were laid out by the planning department," Behringer said, noting the team revised plans quickly after the board's November review.
The project increases the reported floor-area ratio to 0.4399 and requests a lot-coverage variance (applicants reported a 15.5% request where 15% is allowed). Behringer told the board the additional square footage largely results from interior reconfiguration (a larger laundry and reworked bedroom footprint) and that the changes were made "for the neighbors' benefit." He also said the team will limit exterior lighting and work with neighbors on construction parking and a pre-construction meeting with the contractor.
Neighbors emphasized remaining concerns about view blockage, massing and construction parking. Michael Bokay, a neighbor at 240 Round Hill, said the recent design changes were "in the right direction" but urged a further pullback of the upper-bedroom wall or removal of the proposed small front balcony, saying that even two or three feet could materially reduce the perceived massing. Jolie Ettamad, of the Heritage and Arts Commission, said her primary concern was worker parking during construction: "That part of Round Hill is quite narrow…and it gets really very uncomfortable to come and go." Patricia Rosenberg, representing neighbors at 48 Norman Way, objected separately to a fence proposal on a consent calendar item as not keeping with neighborhood aesthetics.
Board members discussed potential mitigations. One member asked whether the small bedroom window facing the neighbor could be converted to a transom or frosted glass to reduce direct sightlines; Behringer said the applicants would be open to such conditions. Several board members said the primary massing pullback made a "significant" difference and that the applicant had responded to prior direction. A board member noted ceilings (9-foot first floor vs. 10-foot second floor) and said trimming a foot would be a minor gesture but not likely to materially change neighbor impacts.
After discussion the board voted to approve a draft resolution finding the requested variances could be made and that the project is categorically exempt from CEQA. The motion to approve the draft resolution and variances passed unanimously among members present.
Votes at a glance - Adoption of minutes (Nov. 21, 2024): motion to adopt carried (recorded as unanimous among members present). - Consent calendar (CC142 Norman Way — fence): adopted with a majority; one board member abstained because they were not at the prior meeting. - 238 Round Hill Road: board approved draft resolution to grant two variances and a CEQA categorical exemption (unanimous among members present).
The board closed the hearing after adopting the draft resolution and adjourned for the year; members said staff would return with final resolution language and conditions that may reflect privacy treatments raised at the meeting.
