Tiburon council remands 700 Hawthorne remodel to Design Review Board after neighbors warn of view loss

The Tiburon Town Council voted to remand three appeals of a design-review approval for a remodel at 700 Hawthorne Drive, instructing the Design Review Board to evaluate alternatives to the proposed height increase and to strengthen the evidentiary record on view impacts.

Sam Bonifacio, an associate planner, told the council the application proposes additions that would add 794 square feet to the existing one-story house and requested variances for new fencing; the Design Review Board approved the project in May with conditions, including a reduction in interior ceiling height to 9 feet 6 inches and modification of landscaping along Rock Hill Road. "This application proposes additions to an existing 1 story single family residence that's located at 700 Hawthorne," Bonifacio said during the staff presentation.

Three neighboring property owners—Kamran Shirazi, Ryan Lee and Dr. Neda Shafagi—argued the approved changes would block their uphill "slot" views and said feasible alternatives were not fully considered. Ryan Lee, who recently moved into 699 Hawthorne, said the applicant's plan increases living area by about 800 square feet — "That's a 45% increase for their current existing home square footage" — and that raising ceiling and roof heights would impact the sole room in his house that looks toward Richardson Bay. Dr. Shafagi told the council she and her family have lived at 705 Hawthorne for decades and said the change would be "a permanent scar," adding that an appraiser told her the impact "could be upwards of $500,000, if not more."

Eric, the applicant, disputed the scale of the claimed impacts and said he sought to minimize effects on neighbors where possible. He told council members that excavating and altering foundations to "go down" would be costly and, in his view, not economically feasible: "I'm not gonna put a bunch of money into an old house that, it's not even about return on investment," he said, defending the need for higher ceilings to make the remodel livable.

Council discussion centered on two narrow process and evidentiary issues: whether the DRB adequately evaluated feasible alternatives (such as lowering finished-floor heights or 'slicing off a corner' of the addition) and whether the visual evidence in the DRB record — story poles, photos and elevations — clearly showed the project's likely impact on primary view corridors. The mayor recommended remanding the matter to the DRB "to focus on those requirements" and to strengthen the record. The council adopted the motion; the roll call recorded Councilmember Fredericks — Yes; one member recused; Vice Mayor Nick Farr — Yes; Mayor Wellner — Yes.

The remand means the DRB will revisit the application with specific direction to examine view-preserving alternatives and to improve the visual evidence provided to decision-makers. Staff said any changes from the DRB could return to the council for further review or resolution.