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Architectural panel sends Kaweah Hills house back for restudy after neighbors and commissioners press for stronger site response
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Summary
The Palm Springs Architectural Review Committee voted 3–2 on Feb. 18 to send back a proposed 2,350‑sq‑ft hillside home on Kaweah/Kalia Hills Drive for more detailed schematic plans and sections after discussion about massing, driveway geometry and solar impacts. The applicant provided solar and view studies and said the neighbor supports the proposal.
The Palm Springs Architectural Review Committee voted 3–2 on Feb. 18 to send a proposed single‑family residence on Kaweah/Kalia Hills Drive back for additional schematic study, citing concerns about how the current design responds to the steep, manufactured hillside.
Staff summary and earlier ARC direction noted the applicant produced sun and massing studies to respond to requests from the committee. Alex (staff) told the panel the sun studies showed “roughly an equivalent impact on the neighboring house during the winter solstice time” whether the house was built as submitted or as a stepped massing suggested by the committee.
Applicant Zachary Green, who presented on behalf of homeowners Signe and James Sterner, told the committee the solar analysis and neighbor outreach supported the design as submitted. “We did a solar study and we determined that no matter if it was a stepped project ... there's a negligible difference in the impact on the neighbor's solar facilities,” Green said, adding the northern neighbor had been shown the study and indicated support in writing.
Commissioners pressed for a stronger demonstration that the building would sit sensitively on the lot. Vice Chair Walsh argued the packet contained only basic massing and asked for schematic floor plans and sections calling out finished floor elevations, existing grade and roof heights so the committee could evaluate how the building meets the site constraints. Commissioners also raised driveway slope, motor court placement and the effect of any moved garage apron on neighbor solar exposure.
Neighbor Lillian Gold, who lives uphill from the site, told the committee she was disappointed that renderings had not included an image of her home and said she had not been contacted for a view study. “None of the renderings even show a bit of my house,” Gold said. “I wish you would have reached out to me. I'd like you to come and see what I see.”
After discussion the committee passed a motion to restudy the project, asking the applicant to return with schematic floor plans linked to sections and the massing alternatives previously shown. The motion passed on a 3–2 roll call, with Elliott, Rosemond and Walsh voting yes and Dylan and Castro voting no. The item will return to the ARC for further review.
Next steps: the applicant will provide the requested schematic materials and site sections for the ARC's next review; no approvals were granted on Feb. 18.
