Zoning administrator approves two-story house at 1847 Fallen Leaf Lane after neighbors raise privacy, kitchen layout concerns

Zoning Administrator Stephanie Myers approved a design-review application on June 3 to replace a one-story house at 1847 Fallen Leaf Lane with a new 3,253-square-foot, two-story home following a short public hearing.

Senior Planner Sean Gagos told the hearing that the project would demolish the existing structure and replace it with a contemporary two-story residence that retains three protected trees and adds eight new trees and additional landscaping. "The item before you is a design-review application for a new two-story house at 1847 Fallen Leaf Lane. The project would demolish the existing one-story house and replace it with a new 3,253 sq ft two-story home," Gagos said, and recommended approval subject to findings and conditions.

During public comment, a nearby resident who identified herself as Savanna raised multiple concerns about the house's kitchen layout and privacy impacts from windows and exterior panels. She questioned whether a pantry cooktop and several windows facing the neighbor's lot would allow intrusive sightlines and increase noise. Myers asked speakers to state their names and addresses for the record and invited the design team to respond.

Designer Yaffe, representing the owners with colleague Tom, said the secondary cooktop in the pantry is intended for light preparation while the main kitchen cooktop will serve primary cooking needs. "The cooktop in the pantry... it is a cooktop," Yaffe said, and explained that the presence of an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) and a junior ADU (JADU) in the house increases the number of required cooktops: code requires a cooktop for each accessory unit. Yaffe added that kitchen and pantry windows were reduced in size and lowered to narrow proportions and that a fence and proposed landscaping would help block views into the pantry from the neighbor's lot.

Myers said she had reviewed the plans, findings and recommended conditions of approval and noted that the landscape plan contemplates significant privacy screening. She concluded that the project meets applicable zoning requirements and single-family residential design guidelines and approved the project. Myers also urged neighbors to discuss questions with one another to resolve remaining concerns and adjourned the meeting at 4:11 p.m.

The approval was processed by the zoning administrator without a separate roll-call vote; the staff report and recommended conditions remain the official record of approval.