Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Commission approves second-story addition, ADU conversion and parking variance at 109 Jordan Ave with privacy and screening conditions
Loading...
Summary
The commission approved variances and design review for a second-story addition and parking arrangement at 109 Jordan Ave, allowing one on-site parking space plus two off-site spaces via a revocable encroachment on a 30-foot ‘paper street.’ Commissioners conditioned approval to add privacy screening and set limits on the deck projection and required replacement planting per fire-safety guidance.
The San Anselmo Planning Commission voted April 6 to approve variances and design review for a second-story addition, parking variance and a junior accessory dwelling unit (JADU) at 109 Jordan Avenue, subject to conditions addressing privacy screening and tree replacement.
Staff said the project seeks relief from a 12-foot street-side setback (requesting 6 feet 2 inches) and to allow only one on-site parking space where three are typically required, relying on a proposed revocable encroachment permit to provide two additional parking spaces within a 30-foot-wide paper street (a recorded but undeveloped right-of-way). Staff recommended the project be deemed categorically exempt from CEQA and found the proposal generally consistent with the General Plan and R1 zoning aside from the requested variances.
Commissioners and staff spent substantial time on parking logistics on the steep paper street, the feasibility of tandem arrangements, and privacy impacts to an adjacent property at 105 Jordan. Planning staff and the applicant explained that the existing garage would be converted into a JADU and a new one-car garage would be built lower on the lot; the town’s public works department could issue a revocable encroachment permit for uncovered parking within the paper street so long as no permanent structures are built.
Architect Tristan Warren and homeowner Lindsey described the design choices, explained tradeoffs driven by the lot’s 29.8% slope and substandard size (approximately 5,625 sq ft), and said they had been discussing privacy treatments with the neighbor. Lindsey said the owners proposed a vertical wood slat privacy screen for the lower-level deck and were open to adjusting the upper-deck railing material to reduce sightlines. The applicant also offered to pull back a corner of the upper deck in discussion and to add the vertical screening, and staff proposed requiring replacement, fire-resistant plantings per Ross Valley Fire Department guidance for removed vegetation.
After deliberation the commission approved the project with conditions requiring: (1) a privacy screening detail on the south elevation (extend the lower-level screen up to 42 inches above the deck finish), (2) the upper deck corner be set back from the on-site fence per the dimension discussed (measured from the fence as shown on the drawings), (3) replacement landscaping consistent with the fire department’s defensible-space requirements, and (4) standard construction management and building permit sequencing. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. The commission noted the decision is subject to a 10-day appeal period.
