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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBetty EgbertFrom: Linda Holman <lindahh6@sbcglobal.net> Sent: Sunday, December 15, 2024 6:27 PM To: David Crompton <DCrompton@danville.ca.gov> Subject: Letter from Betty Egbert to the Town Council ***CAUTION*** THIS EMAIL WAS NOT SENT FROM DANVILLE STAFF This email originated from outside of the Town of Danville and was not sent from a Town Staff member! Do not click on links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Hi David, Please circulate this letter from my mom to the Town Council in advance of the Tuesday meeting. Thank You. To The Town of Danville Town Council, I have previously submitted similar letters to the Design Review Board, Planning Staff, the Planning Commission, but now that this process has moved on to you all at the Town Council, I wanted you to understand my position. My name is Betty Egbert. I own the home at 447 El Rio Road Immediately adjacent to and above the 425 El Pintado project. I am 92 years old. I was 18 years old when my husband and I built my home in 1950 on this property. It was part of a larger piece of land belonging to my husband's parents. Ultimately, my in-laws lost their home thru eminent domain when Hwy 680 was constructed thru their property. Now, THIS project that is proposed, is being built on THEIR property that was taken away from them. I have lived here for 74 years. I know you all think that this is a good place for this project. It's next to 680 and more noise and congestion will be more easily concealed. However, for myself and my immediate neighbors who live here, you are "taking" our property values, our views and our privacy. Currently, I have views of the surrounding hills and Las Trampas Ridge...and sometimes on a clear day ...even the Livermore Mountains. If this project is constructed, at its proposed height of four (really five) stories, I will lose all of that. I will have a monster building looming over me...with windows from multiple units and stories looking directly into my home. I will need to live with my blinds closed for any privacy and even if I open the blinds, the building will block the sunshine from my windows. At nighttime, the lights from the multiple stories and units reflecting into my home will be blinding. This is the current view from my windows and front yard. My home is one story. (I have no backyard). This view will be replaced with a building towering 30' - 40' ABOVE my main (and only) floor. In reviewing the Architectural Drawings 09/10/24, I find it interesting that on the Project Profile (page 2), it states "three main stories that step up and down are nestled into the hillside" "step up"??...that's a nice play on words instead it's actually FIVE stories as the "basement" floor hovers ABOVE "average grade". See the photos below from the Applicant's Statement or look at the Height Analysis and Basement Grade Level Diagram On A003 and you will count FIVE stories above ground. This is the current view off my porch: All of the redwood trees are being removed. Instead, this is what I will look at: This project wraps around my entire property. If you look at the developers renderings, you would believe that this project is far away from my home and screened by many trees. This is the reality. Refer to the "Existing Tree Plan" showing all the trees to be removed...almost all. The redwoods in the picture above are being removed. Any new trees to be planted would take many, many years to reach a height and width to even begin to effectively screen the lower floors of the project. I'm dismayed to read that under the FINDINGS OF APPROVAL. Tree Removal Permit. It states: 2. Visual effects. Removal of seven (7) Town -protected trees will not significantly affect off-site shade or adversely affect privacy between properties due to the site's topography, the other trees that would remain, and the locations of the trees in relation to other properties. The developer has no plans to accommodate the required planting of 94 trees onsite in lieu of the 7 protected trees removed. And there is nothing in place to accommodate the loss of "unprotected" trees which as you can see from the picture above have incredible value to myself and other adjacent property owners. In addition, what about the trees on adjacent properties. How will you protect the trees on my property. ..specifically the cedar trees on my property located on the northwest side? Will you require a security deposit to ensure the trees on MY property are not damaged as a result of the deep excavation into the hillside? There is a large mature oak (#331 or #38 depending on the different plans) growing on the slope below my home, two feet off my property line (See attached picture showing tree in relation to property line stake.) I am requesting that this particular tree be allowed to remain. Leaving that one tree would significantly screen the impact of this project on my living space in that area. In addition, removing it will most likely damage the roots of my cedar trees (cedar branches are shown next to the oak in each picture below) causing the loss of those trees as well and the little screening I have in place. -� ;, _`.. J •-f- f 410.2. ;7. lenjoy watching asmall family of falcons that nested in and hunted from the existing redwood trees. How will you accommodate the nesting site if these trees ainto be removed? As stated in our Appeal, The Transportation Impac Study (aslimed tithe Executive Summary on Pages i thru Page iii) states several timeG "Senior housing facilities consist of different characteristics than the standard residential land uses and typically generate far fewer daily trips. Most trips generated by senior housing facilities are from visitors and staff, rather than the senior residents themselves" . This false statement implies that this project is more along the lines of an assisted living facility. The Transportation Impact Study and Parking Analysis were based on this erroneous premise rather than on a standard market housing for 55 and over. The developer himself stated at the Planning Commission Meeting that there are no planned onsite staff. And....since it has not been established with any certainty that these "55 and over" units will remain "55 and over" (even if deed restricted) as there are no solid restrictions in place to prevent the owner of the unit from leasing/renting their unit to larger, younger families, while remaining the owner of record. The Transportation Impact Study and Parking Analysis need to reflect that this project may, in fact, be standard market housing and the corresponding car trips per unit need to be factored in. For the health and safety of the project residents, surrounding property owners and community members that travel this route, a new Transportation Impact Study needs to be performed that reflects an ACCURATE analysis of the project. The Parking Analysis does not address where the overflow parking will be routed. Using the premise that this is an "assisted living" situation, the Parking Analysis (Parking Demand) states: "Parking demand was reviewed to determine the peak demand for a senior housing use, rather than multi -family or single-family uses which are expected to generate a greater parking demand. This results in a peak parking demand of 66 parking spaces for the proposed 99 -unit senior housing facility. A summary of the peak parking demand is provided in Table 9. This is not even close to accurate! While the project proposes 198 parking spaces. The Town's code would require 212. What is the accurate number of parking spaces required for the true nature of this project. Where will the excess parking will be? Will owners/visitors/service workers circle endlessly waiting for a spot to open up or instead park on the already impacted adjacent roads {El Pintado and El Cerro and smaller streets El Rio, Adobe and Dolphin). An ACCURATE Parking Analysis needs to be performed and mitigation measures need to be required to address the parking shortfall and safety issues. We previously reached out to the developer to make some minor concessions (See #1-#8 below) to offset the impact of this project on the quality of my life Not only am I expected to tolerate this massive building looming over my home, but also suffer through the months/years of construction and all the noise, dust and disruption that goes with it. 1. The developer will immediately establish the existing property corners through a certified land surveyor, prior to development processing and place new corner monuments if they are not found. At the recent visit to my property, the Design Review Board had questions about the property lines, trees being removed and even seemed confused about the location and height of the project relative to my home. The property corners need to be established before any more planning decisions are made. While a survey was done, not all property corners have been established. 2. Prior to construction, a construction fence shall be installed on the property line, between the project and my property, to deter trespassing, damage to my property, construction debris and dust. 3. Prior to final occupancy certification, the developer shall build an eight foot tall residential wooden privacy fence, similar to other development standards in the area, the entire length of my property, between my property and the project, but on the project side of the property line, and they shall be responsible for its maintenance. When transferred to the Homeowners Association or the Property Management Co, the maintenance shall be incorporated into their annual budget as a line item expense. 4. The developer shall plant twelve foot high trees, on twelve foot centers, all along their side of the property line between the project and my property. 5. The developer shall plant 10 sixteen foot tall trees of my choice and location on my property. Drip irrigation shall be provided by the developer for the first three years until the trees have become established. If any die during that three year period, they shall replace them. 6. If my windows need to be cleaned of dust during construction, the developer will pay to have a qualified company and window washer come and clean them at my request, to be done in a timely manner, until the project has received final occupancy certification. 7. If the exterior of my house needs to be cleaned of dust during construction, the developer will pay to have a qualified company come and clean my house at my request, to be done in a timely manner, and cover the cost of any water used for the cleaning, until the project has received final occupancy certification. 8. Consideration should be given to building up and leveling the slope on the bottom of my property with material excavated from the project site. This addition would provide me some privacy from the lower floors of the project and the height increase would allow the privacy fencing and trees planted to have a greater impact in buffering me from the project. Any drainage or retention impact to the project, as a result of change in slope, would need to be mitigated on the project side by the developer. Any material placed shall be done to engineering compaction standards. Below is the developer's response to our requests (as per the Applicant's Statement to the Planning Commission): "We have engaged with neighbors along El Rio Drive who have expressed concerns about our Project and we have had multiple discussions with two neighbors (447 and 471 El Rio) about the possibility of voluntarily providing some plantings on these neighbor's properties to help partially screen their views of our project. It is important, however, to reiterate that there is no requirement nor obligation to perform any improvements nor may the Town condition our project's entitlements on any such improvements. The neighbor's primary objections were over the 4 story building but as outlined above, the 4 stories is allowed "by right" by virtue of the February 6, 2024 zoning revisions enacted by the Town Council." So no trees....just "the possibility of some plantings". This could be a few shrubs....even though the developer themselves includes pictures of expansive mature trees added to my property in their renderings to make the project seem less intrusive. I am requesting that the Town Council, include with any conditions of approval, our mitigation requests (as outlined above). It's enough of an insult that I'm being asked to endure this monster, but I should not have to spend my own $$ to mitigate the damage. I recognize that you are mandated by the State to add additional housing to the Town: however rather than just rubber stamping this project, please do your due diligence and hold this developer to the highest standards allowed by law....task your planning department and attorneys with ensuring you have safeguarded the health and safety of the community. There is nothing small town about this project and, even within the constraints mandated by the State, you can still strive to honor the 2030 General Plan and "carry forward the long-term vision of reinforcing the Town's unique small town character, preserving its history and scenic beauty, and protecting the community's outstanding quality of life." I invite any of you to come join me on my front porch and put this project into real perspective rather than trying to understand my concerns from a piece of paper. Respectfully, Betty Egbert 447 El Rio Road Danville gE TOTAL BLDG PERIMETER PT GRADE • 1,112. SLOG PERIMETER .181..116 .50 7% O BASEMENT -GRADE LEVEL DIAGRAM O7,IGN.T4NALYSIS SECTION BELOW GRADE DATUM FOR GARAGE = 387' SEE DIAGRAM 83 PENTHOUSE ROOF LEVEL MAIN ROOF / LEVEL4 &I� _—_—_—_ 42fi-0'�1 h 5 401LO'� P =.'-019 E� } --393'ABU S.LEVB3s 01' V LEVEL1 ia, o, B PER ZONING CODE 9245.10 LAND USE AREAS: BUILDING HEIGHT SHALL MEAN THE DISTANCE MEASURED FROM THE AVERAGEGRADE LEVEL OF THE HIGHEST AND LOWESTPOINT OF FIN GRADE. �oNEM NL E t�,.4EESET.oE i OAVERAGE GRADE PLANE DIAGRAM r 4 Architecture c !CA094t05 Tel 415 775 . 8748 425 EL PINTADO SENIOR HOUSING 425 EP Investment, LLC ISSuARLE DATE MEM REVISIONS DELTA DATE REVISION STAMP np HEIGHT ANAYLSIS SHEET HO A003