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Tiburon design review board denies requested variances for 115 Accella Drive, approves skylight adjustments
Summary
Architects sought a 19‑square‑foot encroachment to enlarge a butler's pantry at 115 Accella Drive; after discussion the board directed staff to prepare a resolution denying the requested variances while approving changes to skylights, citing potential self‑created hardship and interior redesign alternatives.
The Tiburon Design Review Board on Jan. 29 directed staff to draft a resolution denying requested variances for an interior remodel at 115 Accella Drive while approving proposed skylight adjustments.
Architect Mohammed Sadria told the board the house—then under construction—needed an additional 19 square feet to make a planned butler’s pantry functional. He said the area in question sits within an existing setback encroachment from a prior house, is low‑ceilinged and largely hidden from public view, and therefore would have minimal public impact.
Board members pressed for alternatives that would avoid granting a variance on a new house. Several members described the requested setback change as a likely “self‑created hardship” for a project that was designed with the setbacks in mind, and suggested interior redesign options such as reallocating space from the kitchen or bar to enlarge the pantry.
After briefly reopening the public hearing to ask whether the applicant wanted a continuance, the architect noted an additional requested adjustment to skylights. The board ultimately moved to direct staff to prepare a draft resolution that denies variances for the side yard setback, lot coverage and floor‑area exception and that accepts the skylight changes. The motion passed without recorded opposition.
The board’s action instructs staff to prepare formal wording for the denial and the skylight approval; the resolution will return to the board for formal adoption as part of the administrative record and next steps on any appeals or permit routing. The applicant did not receive approval for the pantry encroachment and may choose to pursue interior redesign, apply for a different set of variances, or seek an appeal per the town’s procedural rules.
