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Commission approves demolition and rebuild at 30 San Rafael with bulkhead and tree conditions
Summary
The commission approved design review, demolition, a variance and a recommendation for a revocable license for a new single-family residence at 30 San Rafael Avenue, conditioning approval on a tree-protection plan for a mature magnolia and requiring the applicant to resolve bulkhead details with the Lagoon Property Owners Association and the building official before a building permit is issued.
The Belvedere Planning Commission approved a multi-permit project at 30 San Rafael Avenue that includes demolition of the existing residence, construction of a new two-story single-family home, variances for side and rear yard encroachments, and a recommendation that the City Council grant a revocable license for private improvements in the public right-of-way.
Staff described the project site (a 6,774-square-foot lot with an existing 2,284-square-foot house) and said the proposed two-story design would raise the finished floor roughly 3 feet to meet FEMA AE flood-zone requirements. Staff recommended adoption of an initial study/mitigated negative declaration, noting mitigation measures addressing cultural and tribal resources (including on-site archaeological monitoring and coordination with the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria).
Applicant Andy O’Brodig and architects Mark Thomas and Tuan Lu presented plans showing a 3,176-square-foot (staff figure) to 3,190-square-foot (motion language) two-story home with revisions to garage overhangs and proposed new bulkhead work along the lagoon. Commissioners and staff clarified that setback measurements in Belvedere are taken from eaves/overhangs rather than wall faces, which accounts for some measurement differences in the plans. The applicant confirmed the garage walls remain in the same footprint and that the encroachment is driven by increased overhang.
A key point of contention involved bulkhead work and the lagoon interface. Ken, a representative of the BLPOA (Lagoon Property Owners Association), called during the meeting and said an earlier email and conversation had described a single bulkhead replacement with no added fill; he later learned the plans show an additional bulkhead at the property line to support a proposed deck and said BLPOA would object to a second bulkhead in the lagoon waters. The applicant and architect responded that they plan to rebuild the existing bulkhead in place, build a second bulkhead at the property line to support the deck, and leave the void between the two bulkheads without fill; they also agreed to meet on-site with the BLPOA after the first of the year to review details.
Commissioners raised neighbor concerns about a large second-story hallway window facing an adjacent property and about the removal of a mature magnolia tree shown in the plans. Several commissioners recommended retaining and pruning the magnolia and requiring a tree-protection plan during construction rather than removing the tree. The commission added conditions requiring (1) retention of the magnolia with an approved tree-protection plan and (2) resolution of the bulkhead plan with the BLPOA and the building official prior to building permit issuance.
On motions offered later in the meeting, the commission adopted the initial study/mitigated negative declaration and approved design review (with the tree and bulkhead conditions), granted demolition permits, approved the variance to allow the garage encroachments, and recommended the revocable license for private right-of-way improvements, all by affirmative vote.
Next steps: The applicant will coordinate with BLPOA and the building official to finalize bulkhead location and design; staff will ensure tree protection measures are in place and that regulatory-agency requirements identified in the MND are satisfied before building permits are issued.
