Albany City panel approves Talbot Avenue second‑story addition with windows and driveway conditions

A majority of the Albany City Planning Commission on Tuesday approved a design‑review application for a two‑story addition to a bungalow on Talbot Avenue, adding conditions to address a blank north facade and to clarify options for the property’s curb cut and driveway.

Associate Planner Mira Hahn presented the application and site context, identifying the lot as roughly 2,500 square feet with existing nonconforming setbacks and an in‑process application to legalize a detached accessory dwelling unit. Hahn said the project would add an upper floor and yield a 1,535‑square‑foot, two‑story residence with a maximum height listed in the packet as 22 feet, 11 inches, and that the proposal met the city’s objective design standards. Hahn told the commission staff recommended approval subject to the findings and standard conditions of approval and proposed an addendum to condition of approval No. 9 to give the applicant a curb‑cut alternative at the building‑permit stage.

Hahn read the revised condition aloud: building‑permit plans must either show removal of the curb cut with full restoration of curb, gutter, paving and planting strip, or may retain the curb cut only if the permit plans show a compliant parking pad with minimum clear dimensions of 7.5 feet by 16 feet and the front‑yard driveway does not exceed 7 feet in width. Hahn said the driveway option would be verified at the building permit stage.

During commissioner discussion several members raised concern that the proposed upper‑floor north elevation had no windows and could appear stark from the street. Commissioners suggested alternatives including obscure glazing, clerestory windows or at least one or two windows to provide light to the stairwell. The applicant, speaking as the owner, said the design omitted north windows principally for neighbor privacy, said the north neighbor had reviewed plans and provided positive informal feedback, and offered to consider adding windows either as a condition or during the permit phase.

One commissioner summarized a motion to approve the planning application as recorded in the meeting packet with two modifications: the staff addendum to condition No. 9 (the curb‑cut/driveway alternative) and an additional condition requiring two windows in the stairwell area on the upper north side. The motion was seconded and recorded votes were all in the affirmative. The chair announced the application approved and stated the decision is subject to a 14‑day appeal period.

The packet contains multiple item identifiers and address notations used during the meeting (examples in the record include PA2551, PA25‑051, and PA25‑051807) for the Talbot Avenue property; staff presented and discussed the project using the 807 Talbot Avenue location shown in the meeting materials. The commission also noted a related item (Item 5‑2) was continued to a date uncertain while staff and the applicant resolve outstanding issues.

The commission’s action focuses the next steps on finalizing building‑permit plans that either show curb‑cut removal or a compliant driveway, and on permit documentation for the two stairwell windows. The planning decision will be final unless an appeal is filed within the announced 14‑day appeal period.