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Commission grants setback exception for turret addition at Elizabeth Circle
Summary
The commission approved PLN26-007 to add a 154 sq ft second-floor turret at 14 Elizabeth Circle and made a specific exception to section 18.5.5.0.20.c, finding the design results in a more desirable development; approval was unanimous among present commissioners and is subject to the 10-day appeal period.
The Larkspur Planning Commission on May 26 approved a second-story turret addition at 14 Elizabeth Circle (PLN26-007) and explicitly found the project met the code exception allowing relief from the corner-lot setback requirement.
Staff explained the property lies in a planned development (PD) with different development standards and noted the existing home sits 6 feet from the street where the R-1 corner-lot setback is 10 feet. Strict application of the code would have required altering the design; staff asked the commission to consider whether to grant an exception under municipal code section 18.5.5.0.20.c, which allows the commission to grant deviations when a proposal results in a more desirable development in relation to the general plan.
Owner Matt Sandrick told the commission he had obtained Cape Morin HOA approval and signatures from immediately adjacent neighbors and provided maps showing an HOA-managed common area that increases the effective distance to the street. Commissioners debated whether to treat the matter as a pure exception under the cited code provision or to interpret the PD standards differently; an attorney-member noted the commission’s authority to grant exceptions when the development is demonstrably more desirable.
A motion to approve PLN26-007 and to make the exception under section 18.5.5.0.20.c passed 3-0. The approval is subject to standard conditions and a 10-day appeal period during which interested parties may file the required form and fee with the city clerk.
