Tiburon board OKs 89‑square‑foot lot‑coverage increase for Round Hill Road cabana

The Tiburon Design Review Board unanimously approved on March 5 an 89‑square‑foot lot‑coverage increase for a Round Hill Road renovation that will reconfigure an ADU, rebuild a pool cabana and add a covered outdoor area.

Architect Cedric Banger told the board the project evolved after a December 2024 approval and subsequent construction revealed several noncompliant elements discovered during resale inspections, including drainage and pool cracks that require the pool house to be rebuilt. Banger said the current revision tucks a new cabana into a site wall, reduces a lower deck area and repositions the pool spillway so the project’s net lot coverage rises by only 89 square feet — ‘‘we are proposing an increase at 89 square feet,’’ he told the board.

Board members focused questions on how roof overhangs and slatted trellis elements count toward lot coverage. Planning staff explained the town’s historical approach: if a roof element is connected to the principal roof and extends more than four feet it typically counts toward lot coverage; open slatted screens have gray areas depending on percent open area.

Cedric Banger said the design reduces visual bulk by lowering a large retaining wall and removing a previous oversized cabana; he also reported outreach to immediate neighbors and noted a letter of support from the vertically adjacent neighbor. Several board members said those changes, together with steep site topography, supported the incremental increase. One member called the removal of the large wall a ‘‘dramatic improvement’’.

Following deliberations, a motion to adopt the draft resolution approving the lot‑coverage variance and finding the project categorically exempt from CEQA passed without opposition. The board did not receive public comments at the hearing. The applicant may proceed with permitting steps under the Community Development Department’s standard procedures.