334 Riviera Circle teardown slips again — neighbors talk drainage, windows and a year of nail guns

At 334 Riviera Circle, the owners are asking for Design Review to demolish an existing 2,586-square-foot, one-story house and replace it with a 4,526-square-foot, two-story residence. The hearing had already been continued once from the May 12 meeting. It was continued again Tuesday: with only three commissioners present — Chalmers, Campbell and Swisser — the commission lacked the quorum to take it up, and the item was pushed to June 9.

“if it's built the way they're proposing to build it, they have windows that are going to look down onto our patio, our deck, which has a hot tub where we enjoy privacy.”— Sheila Marowitz, neighbor of 334 Riviera Circle, during public comment

Neighbors who had come to speak were heard anyway during public comment. Sheila Marowitz, who lives next door, said her first worry was water. "I'm adjacent to the house at 334... the reason I'm concerned is the drainage issue... their water might want to come our way," she said, asking whether that was something the commission looks into. Her second worry was sightlines from the new second story.

Her husband told the commission a large office shown in the renderings faces their house — the highest point of the build, in his description, and one he said had been characterized as bedrooms. He also said he is recovering from pancreatic cancer and that a year of construction noise, nail guns and hammering, would be especially hard to endure.

Because the item was not heard, no staff recommendation, findings or conditions were presented, and no action was taken. The design review returns to the Planning Commission on June 9.

A 6-foot setback stands: commission grants exception for turret addition at 14 Elizabeth Circle

At 14 Elizabeth Circle, homeowner Matt Sandberg proposed a 154-square-foot addition to an existing second-story turret, bringing the house to 3,273 square feet. The complication is the lot: it's a corner parcel in the Cape Marin planned development, and the addition would keep the home's existing 6-foot setback rather than the 10-foot corner-lot standard in the R1 zone. That meant the commission had to decide whether to grant a code exception under Section 18.55.020(C).

“When in Cape Marin PD, do as the Cape Marin residents do... I think it leads to a more desirable outcome; it's a really nice design and improves your house.”— Commissioner Chalmers, voting to grant the setback exception

Staff framed the choice plainly: hold the hearing, determine whether an exception is warranted, and if so approve with findings, conditions and a Class 1 CEQA exemption — or continue the item and send the design back to meet the setback. Sandberg argued the gap is effectively wider than it reads on paper. "There's an HOA common area that separates my home from Ladderman Lane, which actually creates a total space of 12 feet, over the 10-ft minimum if you include it," he said. He told the commission he had Cape Marin HOA approval and sign-offs from immediately adjacent neighbors.

Commissioner Campbell steered the discussion away from how loosely or strictly to read the code, saying the question was simply whether the 18.55.020 exception applies — and noted the alternative could create its own problems. "If the turret had been shifted back to meet the 10-ft setback, we might have design review questions because it would be a funny looking building," he said. The commission approved the design review and granted the exception, 3-0, with two members absent.