26 Baltimore Avenue approved 4-0 — with frosted windows and a fence pushed back two feet

The week's most contested decision came at 26 Baltimore Avenue, where the Planning Commission closed out a continued hearing and approved demolition of the existing house and construction of a 3,262-square-foot two-story residence with an attached 691-square-foot ADU and a 356-square-foot garage, plus below-grade space. It took a stack of discretionary approvals to get there: design review, a slope use permit for 400 cubic yards of cut and fill, a variance for 40.4% lot coverage where 40% is the max, an FAR exception for 0.49 floor area ratio where 0.4 is allowed, and fence height exceptions for an 8-foot fence on the eastern property line and a 6-foot fence along the Monte Vista frontage, where 3'6" is the limit. Staff recommended approval under a Class 2 CEQA exemption.

“It's it's like 15 in tall a metal fascia. So it's really going to be in our face and we look at it out of all of our windows. It's just kind of unfair.”— Frank Lobon, neighbor at 16 Baltimore, on the fence

Neighbors came with two specific grievances rather than general objections: the east-facing windows and the fence. Frank Lobon of 16 Baltimore said the windows look straight down into his backyard, dining area and living room and are objectionably large; he was harsher on the fence and its tall metal fascia. Carrie Bogardis of 32 Monte Vista called the structure ominous and looming from the sidewalk. Another neighbor, a former house designer, said it was ironic to hang a plaque celebrating the neighborhood's heritage while approving a house like this, and asked the city for more informative design guides.

Architect Jared Pulsky noted the team had already answered the commission's earlier direction — "we were told please bring your FAR back into conformance not including the ADU square footage, which we did" — and volunteered obscure glass on the two east-facing corner windows. Commissioner Swisser said he disliked the fence intensely, reaching for the adage that good fences make good neighbors.

The vote was 4-0 (Hull, Wagstaff, Campbell, Swisser; one commissioner absent), with two added conditions: the two east-facing corner windows must be frosted or otherwise obscured, and the Monte Vista fence must be stepped back two feet with more light and transparency in its top two feet. It is a fair summary of how Larkspur design review tends to end — the project gets built, and the neighbors get the details.

Commission recommends looser SB 9 rules — not by choice, but because the state says so

On a 4-0 vote, commissioners recommended the City Council adopt an ordinance rewriting Chapter 18.100, the city's rules for SB 9 two-unit developments and urban lot splits. The rewrite isn't local ambition; it's compliance. As staff explained, new state law means the city "can't apply any more restrictive regulations to these subdivisions and new home developments than apply to any other single family development." The draft imports the city's T3 objective design standards — porches and stoops, wall height limits, and a 15-foot front setback in place of the standard 20 feet — and would exempt certain ministerial housing projects from appeal and rehearing under Chapter 2.50.

The lone public comment was the week's most affecting. Matt Papovich, on Zoom, told the commission his grandparents moved out from the city in 1959 and bought a house here for $35,000, and that the median Larkspur home now runs a little over $2 million. He asked commissioners to keep families like his in mind. One commissioner countered with the practical worry — parking, since the rules require just one space per residence and none within a half mile of transit. The chair said the city is in danger of losing people it wants living here, and that good things can come from more housing units.

The motion found the amendments consistent with the General Plan and sends them to Council. Commissioners also flagged a cross-reference error on page 7 of the draft, in section 18.100.040, which should point to 18.100.070.

Halfway to a new library — and half the books aren't coming along

Public Works Director Julian Skinner told the Library Board the new Larkspur Library at the Commons on Rose Lane is about six months into a 12-month construction schedule with contractor Alton Construction, under a permit issued in March. Contractor completion is projected for March 2026, with doors opening around April 2026. Total project cost is roughly $17.5 million, drawn from library grants, the Commons Foundation, Measure G/C funds and general fund reserve. The building will open with eight EV charging stations, wired for eight more, rooftop solar sized to offset its electricity use, and a separate battery-backed array so it can serve as a clean-air center during outages. A staff parking lot on the "sliver parcel" across Rose Lane went to Bowman Landscape.

“A book brigade... they moved 9,000 books in a couple hours... I just think it would be great for our little community.”— Chris Linhardt, Rose Lane resident

The harder arithmetic came from Friends of the Library president Diana St. James: "The new library has been designed for 20,000 books. This library has 40,000 books. So 20,000 books needed to be weeded from the collection." The weeded volumes are in a rented storage space at about $350 a month until a used book sale at Legion Hall in November, with a $5,000 goal. The Friends have already raised $25,000 through Touch Trucks for new children's books, are working toward a $35,000 annual campaign, and harbor a long-term wish for a small used bookstore.

Then there is what stays behind at 400 Magnolia Avenue. The old library's stained glass has a constituency — Library Foundation representative Sean Sullivan reported strong sentiment for bringing it into the new building — but the architect and contractor advised against installing the aging panels as structural windows, recommending they be treated as historic artifacts displayed in unprogrammed wall space. One board member's plea was to not let them disappear into a back room.

The rest of the evening was cheerful brainstorming about the move the group is calling "from Magnolia to Rose": a hand-to-hand community book brigade, a February or March "retirement party" for the old building while it's still fully operating, donor soft openings before a grand ceremonial one, docent and teen tours, commemorative library cards. No decisions were made; the board added a recurring "Magnolia to Rose" item to future agendas. A historic structures report on the Magnolia building is done, and community workshops on its future are set for Sept. 15 and Oct. 7 — with who pays for the renovation still an open and expensive question.