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Planning commission approves renovation at 255 LaSalle with condition to revise garage design
Summary
The commission unanimously approved a renovation of a historic LaSalle Avenue house, but commissioners required revisions to the front‑setback garage (rotate roof axis/lower pitch or equivalent measures) with those changes to be reviewed and approved by staff.
The commission unanimously approved the design review permit for a renovation and partial reconstruction at 255 LaSalle Avenue, finding the project consistent with applicable design and preservation policies and CEQA exemptions. The applicants presented a restoration of a 100‑year‑old house, new site landscaping and a move of the garage from the rear to the front setback to free backyard space.
Commissioners praised the restoration work but pressed the applicants on the proposed front‑setback garage massing and roof slope. "The garage somehow becomes a bigger element than the rest of the house ... it's looming on the street," one commissioner said, urging alternatives to reduce the garage's visual bulk. Commissioners discussed options including rotating the garage roof ridge, lowering the pitch, adding dormers or additional articulation, or pulling the garage form into a less prominent composition.
The commission approved the application with the conditions listed in the staff report plus an explicit condition directing the applicant to revise the garage roof axis and lower the pitch subject to staff review; the motion included CEQA findings (Class 1 and Class 3 exemptions) and passed unanimously. Staff and the applicant will return revised garage details for staff level review per the condition.
