Eight three-story homes proposed across from the downtown library would need a height exception

A corner lot across Bernal Court from the Pleasanton Library would trade a vacant 912-square-foot house for eight three-story homes under a plan the Planning Commission reviews Wednesday, Nov. 18.

The project at 379 Bernal Court and 4884 Harrison Street needs several approvals, starting with a change to the Downtown Specific Plan. The plan now caps homes in residential districts at 30 feet and two stories, and the site's current mixed-use designation allows buildings up to 36 feet but only two stories.

Staff propose relabeling the two parcels as high density residential and letting them reach 36 feet and three stories, with the exception written into the plan for these two addresses only.

The homes would stand 35 feet 10 inches tall. City records cited in the staff report put the neighboring house on Bernal Court at about 17 feet and the apartments next door on Harrison Street at about 18 feet, meaning the new buildings would rise more than 15 feet above them, something a downtown design policy discourages.

Staff say the narrow 19-foot-wide units, front porches, balconies and varied rooflines in a "Modern Farmhouse" style soften the bulk, and recommend approval.

Smaller garages, fewer units

Each home, from 1,809 to 2,482 square feet, would get a one-car garage reached from a new driveway on Harrison Street. City code normally requires two parking spaces per single-family home with at least one in a garage; the developer, Amrut Group LLC, is asking for a project-specific standard, saying bigger garages would add bulk and cut density.

All 15 trees on and along the 0.37-acre site would be removed and 21 planted.

The lot has a history. A 46-unit apartment project, all for low-income households, was previously approved there, and the city counted those 46 units toward its state housing target. Because eight market-rate homes would replace them, staff checked the city's remaining housing sites and concluded they still hold room for about 264 more lower-income units, enough to cover the gap.

At eight units, the project falls below the 10-unit threshold of the city's inclusionary housing rule and would pay affordable housing fees instead.

Notices went to owners and tenants within 1,000 feet, and staff had received no public comments when the report was published. The commission's vote is a recommendation; the City Council makes the final decision.

On the same agenda's consent calendar, commissioners will consider letting the Lexus dealership use the former Acura of Pleasanton site at 4355 Rosewood Drive as a 164-space vehicle storage lot after the vacant dealership building is torn down.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chamber, 200 Old Bernal Ave., and streams on the city's YouTube channel.

Sources

pleasantonca.api.civicclerk.com

pleasantonca.api.civicclerk.com