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Commission approves alterations at 3811 Eighteenth Street, directs minor roof refinements
Summary
The Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve a discretionary-review application to alter 3811 Eighteenth Street, approving garage and attic changes while directing staff and the sponsor to refine roof form and limit roof openings.
The Planning Commission unanimously approved a discretionary-review application for alterations at 3811 Eighteenth Street (case 2005.1014D), including a new entry porch and stair, a one-car garage opening at the ground floor, and raising the roof to convert the attic to habitable space.
Planning staff Tom Nguyen described the three-part proposal and told commissioners the property had been sufficiently altered that it did not qualify as an historic resource for CEQA purposes. Anthony Richardson, the project sponsor and designer, said the changes were intended to keep the family in the neighborhood while improving safety and privacy. "By the addition of the porch... that view will be completely removed," Richardson said, arguing the porch will improve privacy for the neighbor.
A nearby resident who relied on a court interpreter, identified in the record as the "Doctor requester," told the commission she opposed the project, saying it would obstruct light and air and create safety concerns. "I am against this," she said through an interpreter.
Commissioners spent much of the discussion on roof form and the number of roof openings. Several commissioners recommended retaining some of the existing hip-roof character at the front while allowing a gable toward the rear to maximize attic space. Staff and the sponsor agreed to explore modest roof-form refinements but warned that raising the ridge could trigger new-notice requirements at a later step.
A motion not to take discretionary review and to approve the project carried unanimously; the motion included an explicit direction that staff work with the sponsor on two design items: (1) roof form complexity and (2) the number of skylights/roof windows.
Next steps: staff will record the approval and continue working with the sponsor on the roof details identified by commissioners. The variance for rear-yard or other separate approvals, if required, will be scheduled in the department's variance hearings.
