Design Review Board approves one‑story home at 180 Hienda Drive after discussion of privacy, vegetation and fire mitigation

The Tiburon Town Design Review Board on May 21 adopted the draft resolution approving a new single‑story residence at 180 Hienda Drive after extended presentation and public comment on privacy, vegetation removal and fire‑safety mitigation.

Architect Craig Roberts (Hard Howit) described a design that emphasizes a low profile, one‑level living area with a walk‑out basement, stepped massing and extensive landscape mitigation. He said the proposed main house measures about 4,900 square feet of living area, the highest roof point measures roughly 27 feet from the walk‑out basement subbase (under the 30‑foot limit), and overall lot coverage is well below the maximum allowed. Roberts told the board the team worked with Tiburon’s fire department to add a required turnaround on Hienda Drive and to provide a water‑storage and pump system; the transcript references adding an "additional 5,000" unit of water storage and a powered pump and generator for fire response (the record does not specify the storage unit in liters or gallons and the plan set will provide technical detail).

Neighbors raised privacy and visual‑scale concerns. Pablo Erodando (177 Avenue Dearra Flores) and Danny Friend (179 Avenue Flores) said story poles and cleared slopes made the poles look larger in the bare site than the finished project would feel with proposed plantings. Friend asked the board to require that the home be pulled back, that rear glazing and terraces be reduced and that existing mature vegetation be preserved or replaced to preserve privacy. Applicants said they cleared to the fuel‑management extent required by the fire consultant during demolition and that replacement drought‑tolerant, low‑fuel planting is proposed inside the property line; they also emphasized the house’s one‑story orientation and committed to low‑level, down‑lighting and blackout shades on interior glazing to limit nighttime spill.

Board members reported site visits and emphasized the project’s mitigation measures: stepbacks, lower rooflines, proposed tall screening trees in the foreground and a planting plan to rebuild screening after construction. Several board members said story poles on cleared sites can exaggerate perceived bulk and noted the distance between properties (hundreds of feet in places) and the applicant’s proposal to add 20–30‑ft trees as screening. On balance the board found the project consistent with hillside guidelines and the design objectives for minimizing massing and preserving views. The draft resolution was moved, seconded and adopted with no recorded opposition.

The resolution approves the design review as drafted; building permits, fuel‑management plans and any additional fire‑department requirements remain subject to separate administrative review and permits.