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Commission approves Castle Hill outdoor kitchen and pool work with 8‑foot pergola condition
Summary
The commission approved an outdoor kitchen, small pool and a pergola at 34 Castle Hill Ave but required the pergola be reduced in height to about 8 feet and be painted wood to reduce visual impact from the street.
Landscape architect Gregory Sanford (speaker 16) presented the outdoor kitchen, pergola and small pool proposal for a corner lot on Castle Hill Avenue. Commissioners raised concerns that the originally proposed pergola height (10 ft 6 in) would read too tall from the street. The design team agreed to reduce height and to use painted wood for the pergola framing; the commission approved the project on that condition.
Commissioners also discussed the outdoor kitchen location adjacent to a utility easement and the role of vegetation as a buffer; staff noted easement constraints that limit site planting within the 10‑foot strip along the property line. The chair summarized the commission’s guidance: reduce the pergola height to reduce street visibility while keeping the kitchen and pool behind existing screening where feasible. "I think 8 feet is typical," one commissioner said when discussing an appropriate human scale for the pergola.
