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Design review board directs staff to return resolution limiting roof height and plantings for 700 Hawthorne remodel
Summary
The Tiburon Town Design Review Board on April 2 directed staff to return a resolution for a remodel at 700 Hawthorne Drive that would modestly lower the proposed roof, restrict outside‑fence plantings to four feet maximum maturity, and require the chimney/flue meet minimum code height after neighbors argued the project would intrude on established view corridors.
The Tiburon Town Design Review Board on April 2 agreed to send a proposal for the remodel of 700 Hawthorne Drive back to staff with conditions aimed at protecting established view corridors while allowing the homeowner to proceed with interior improvements.
Neighbors pressed the board to require alternatives that avoid raising rooflines above the existing neighborhood datum. "My concern is not really with the building itself, but with the proposed way that the building is being put forth and with the impact on a very long established primary view corridor from our home," said Neta Shafagi of 705 Hawthorne, who urged the board to "build down instead of build up." Several other nearby homeowners reiterated that a roughly 2½–3‑foot increase at the corner and a 3½‑foot outward push of an existing wall would materially diminish water and ridge views from primary living spaces.
The applicant, who identified himself as Eric, said the design team had tried to minimize impacts: "we very much don't feel like we're asking a ton for the remodel that we want to do," he told the board, and noted some roof planes would remain at existing heights while solar panels would be relocated to lower roof areas so the net increase at certain points would be limited. In public comment, technical speakers suggested building down into existing underfloor space could allow 10‑ft ceilings without raising the roof, while the applicant and board members noted lot slope and existing crawlspace conditions make excavation complex in portions of the house.
After extended public comment and on‑site visits by board members, the board discussed a set of compromises: remove or significantly reduce a large photinia planting on the Rock Hill side to open sightlines; require any new planting outside the property fence to have a maximum mature height of four feet; require the final flue/chimney not exceed the minimum code height; and reduce roof/ceiling height modestly (the board floated lowering roof height by 6 inches so finished ceiling heights would be about 9 feet 6 inches rather than the applicant's proposed 10 feet in portions of the remodel).
A board member moved to direct staff to draft a resolution approving the project with those conditions; the motion was seconded and the board approved it with one member voicing opposition. Staff told the public the revised resolution and any modified plans will return to the board at a future hearing (staff indicated opportunity to review a draft resolution at the May 7 meeting). The board also noted that plans had been routed to Caltrans earlier in the review and that Caltrans had not objected to the fencing question that triggers the variance review.
What happens next: staff will prepare a resolution and revised findings that reflect the board's conditions and will post the item for the board's next regular hearing; neighbors and the applicant may review the draft and propose amendments before final action.
