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Board conditions limit potential conversion of garage/basement into living space
Summary
To prevent the ADU approval from becoming de facto additional dwellings, board members placed explicit conditions: finished living space may not exceed 1,600 sq ft, and basement and above-garage spaces must remain unfinished; grading changes discussed likely remove a walkout basement.
Board members expressed concern that previously shown garage/attic and basement configurations could later be finished and effectively expand the ADU beyond approved living space. During deliberation, members agreed to conditions to keep basements and attic/above-garage areas unfinished so they do not count toward the permitted finished-living total.
One board member noted that anticipated grading and foundation adjustments would eliminate the proposed walkout basement's windows and reduce risk of future finishing. "That plan is not gonna work," a member said when discussing the current elevation and the need to lower the design into the hillside. The motion to approve the variance included language preserving the ordinance's living-space definition and limiting finished living area to 1,600 square feet.
The board clarified that the ADU ordinance does not prohibit garages or unfinished space but that the approved variance governs only finished living area; the applicant withdrew a parallel special-exception request after the conditions were agreed.
