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Commission continues Mount Hood height-variation revision after neighbor privacy and massing concerns
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Summary
The commission continued a revision to a height-variation permit at 28621 Mount Hood Court to March 10, asking the applicant to return with design alternatives to reduce side-wall bulk and address a neighbor's privacy concerns about a new second-story window.
The Rancho Palos Verdes Planning Commission voted to continue consideration of a proposed revision to a previously approved height-variation permit for a Mount Hood Court residence after commissioners and a nearby property owner raised concerns about the proposal's bulk and a potential privacy impact.
Associate Planner Jeffrey Kim summarized the applicant's revision: a 92-square-foot second-story addition, a modified roof to a single gable form, and two new second-story windows on the west and north facades. Staff's analysis found the revised roofline and window locations would keep building height at 26 feet and remain consistent with previously approved scale and setbacks; staff recommended adopting a resolution to approve the revision and determined it exempt from CEQA.
An adjacent property owner, John Park, submitted corrected photos and told the commission the new western bedroom window would create a direct line of sight into his bedroom from the proposed second-story location. He asked the commission to require the applicant to either lower the window head by about 1 foot or use obscure (frosted) glass to eliminate the corridor into his private spaces. Park told commissioners altering his fence to mitigate the view could cost "potentially up to $10,000," and said a modest change to the applicant's window would be a more equitable solution.
Commissioners divided on whether the proposal constituted an "unreasonable" privacy intrusion and whether the change increased bulk and mass beyond the prior approval. Some commissioners said the new, flush wall and the altered roof slope create an extended 26-foot side wall that now dominates the side yard and reduces articulation; others said the house remains below the maximum height and that the distance and topography make a privacy violation unlikely.
After discussion the commission voted to continue the item to the March 10 meeting to allow the applicant to return with alternatives that could include reduced projection (a joged-in plan), additional articulation or façade treatment, lowered or obscured glazing, or a landscape mitigation solution such as a hedge or screening. The applicant accepted the March 10 continuance to develop revisions.
What happens next: The applicant will submit revised plans and supporting materials for the March 10 Planning Commission meeting. Commissioners asked staff to confirm sight-line diagrams, provide clearer side-elevation views for the record, and review potential mitigation measures for privacy and massing before the continued hearing.
