July 6, 2016. Since Los Altans are fretting about precedents for 62 feet building height being established by the 4880 El Camino development plan, perhaps we should consider precedents for a building’s rear setbacks and firelanes established by the recent Colonnade development. The reason: let’s ponder what is sensitive to rear neighbors, and what is economically feasible.
FYI: This topic is spread across three posts. You are at Part 2.
Part 1 – Council Meeting June 27, 2016 Summary/Action/Analysis
Part 2 – An Aside: 4880 El Camino Plan vs. Colonnade Development
Part 3 – Minutiae of Public & Council concerns June 27/ Diagrams, Photos
Look at the Existing Colonnade Development
Colonnade is the El Camino apartment/condo complex between Whole Foods and the new Bevmo store. Elder hint: It’s where Marie Callender’s and the Los Altos Master horticultural nursery used to be.
The key point about Colonnade is that Lennar Homes developers made significant changes to its early plans for very tall, 3-story, free-standing townhomes that would abut Chester Circle single family homes. [As LosAltosPolitico remembers it.] Seeing the townhomes plan, homes owners on Chester circle asked for more height privacy. What was apparently built instead of the tall, free-standing homes was a greater number of shorter, two-story attached condos, not over 20 feet to the roof deck, 25 feet to the ridge. See Colonnade Figure 1.
Colonnade Satellite Map
Compare the Colonnade development to the proposed 4880 El Camino…rear setbacks. In both projects, the 4-5 story construction is kept 100 feet plus distant from rear neighbors.
Colonnade Figure 1
The Rear part of Colonnade has two story condos under 25 feet, with no windows facing to the single family homes on Chester Circle. The El Camino 4 story apt. building part of Colonnade is over 100 feet from the Chester homes. The white home in the center of this photo is on Chester Circle.
Colonnade Figure 2
Two rows of the Colonnade condos are over 30 feet from the rear fence abutting Chester Circle. Two other rows of condos have only a 10 foot setback. There are apparently no windows or only tiny windows looking at Chester.
Colonnade Figure 3
The 4-story Colonnade apartment building (white in center) stands over 100 feet from rear neighbors… namely from the Chester Circle single family homes.
Colonnade Figure 4
Here is the private lane –a turn off of the City’s Sherwood Street — that leads to the Colonnade condos private cul-de-sac. The Colonnade 4 story apt. building is on the left, over 100 feet from most neighboring single story homes.
Colonnade Figure 5
The Colonnade apt. building, view from the rear – is leased in its entirety by Stanford university for its employees – it is 4 stories
Colonnade Figure 6
Because of itsits much larger land area, the 4 story apartment could be designed with an interior courtyard, guaranteeing courtyard views for most living units.
The developer of 4880 El Camino said they tried to buy the 4-5 adjoining parcels in order to do a design more like the expansive Colonnade or like Dahlin Groups’ large projects at 100 First Street or 960 S. San Antonio. Lalahpolitco: Sadly no owners near 4880 El Camino were ready to sell. Mohr Clocks is not ready to retire. Jack n Box is corporately owned. The developer says they have spent a year to create the current plan and had about 30 meetings with staff, neighbors and/or the Planning Commission. The 4880 El Camino plan has passed through City Staff and the Planning and Traffic Commission with a 6-1 vote. To see the merits of and concerns about the 4880 plan, read the Part 3 post.
Colonnade Figure 7
The Colonnade two-story condos abut the side neighbors on Sherwood [this photo] and the side neighbors at Los Altos Square [not shown] with only 10 foot set backs from the property line
This topic is spread across three posts. End of Part 2 – Go To
Part 1 – Council Meeting June 27, 2016 Summary/Action/Analysis
Part 2 – An Aside: 4480 El Camino Plan vs. Colonnade Development
Part 3 – Minutiae of Public & Council concerns June 27/ Diagrams, Photos
