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Commissioners split over fairness of applying 50% demolition threshold to 309 Tamalpais project
Summary
Commissioners debated whether the project’s size and demolition (staff estimated >50%) justified denying the variance under precedent; one commissioner said consistency required denying relief while majority favored reuse of the existing foundation and neighbor support, resulting in a 4–1 approval.
Discussion at the March 24 meeting turned to an established municipal threshold: if demolition exceeds 50% of exterior surface area, the work is treated as new construction and is expected to meet all development standards. Staff told commissioners the application exceeds that demolition threshold, which led Commissioner Macros to argue that granting a variance would be unfair compared with other recent applicants who did not receive similar relief.
Commissioner Macros said granting the variance to a project that effectively doubles the house size would set an inconsistent precedent. "It's a matter of fairness," Macros said, urging the commission to apply the 50% rule consistently. Other commissioners — including Commissioner Goff and Chair Kevin Skiles — countered that this lot’s topography, low street visibility, reuse of foundation, and neighbor support made the variance reasonable in this case. Commissioner Sringle and Commissioner Gasparick likewise said the intrusion was modest and could be allowed without substantial neighborhood impact.
The commission ultimately weighed the programmatic benefits of reusing site infrastructure and limiting additional hillside disturbance more heavily than uniform application of the demolition threshold in this specific instance. The motion to approve the variance carried 4–1; the dissenting member was Commissioner Macros.
