On Riviera Circle, a 4,526-square-foot rebuild wins approval — 18 inches shorter, and still bitterly contested

The longest fight of the week was at 334 Riviera Circle, where the commission approved design review to demolish a one-story house of roughly 2,580 square feet and build a 4,526-square-foot two-story residence in its place. The project — applicant Eric Leighton for owner Josh Rufer, Project No. PLN25-047 — had been continued from May 26 and came back trimmed: plate heights down about 18 inches, gable ends swapped for hips, ridge lowered from roughly 29.5 feet to 28. Staff recommended approval with a Class 3 CEQA exemption.

“There is still a compromise to the privacy, to the light, to the views, to the openness... this house absolutely has no consideration. Its design doesn't contemplate anybody's real needs except for its owner.”— a next-door neighbor at 334 Riviera Circle, in public comment

Commissioner Brock did the arithmetic out loud: "So what I was trying to struggle with is the plates dropped a foot and a half, but the roof slope changed to 5 and 12, so by my calculations it's a foot below on the ridge." Rufer kept it personal — "The house we got is just a little too small for our family growth" — and said the family had made reasonable concessions.

The neighborhood did not speak with one voice. Keith Pollock of 165 Riviera Circle said the house "seems reasonable" and would "bring value to the neighborhood"; Peter Andrew Skvich of 28 Via Labresa also backed it. Steve Horn of 321 Riviera Circle did not: "The revision submitted is not sufficient for the neighborhood. The mass, height and lot coverage are excessive." Others raised water displacement from less permeable ground, a lost Mount Tam view, and a second story that looks down onto the deck at 340 Riviera Circle.

The commission approved it 4-0, with one commissioner recused as a neighbor. Commissioner Liam noted the commission had asked for two feet of height reduction and got 18 inches but could still make the findings; Chair Swisser said he could support it and was sorry for those impacted. It is the week's clearest illustration of where Larkspur's design review line currently sits: revisions matter, but not infinitely.

25 Onyx Court gets its floor area exception — and loses its roof deck mid-hearing

Owner Armand Ruiz asked for design review at 25 Onyx Court for a covered porch, an enlarged bay window and a 325-square-foot roof deck above an existing ADU, along with a floor area ratio exception allowing 0.362 (2,869 square feet) where 0.297 (2,395 square feet) is permitted. The added area comes from converting a crawl space into an office and expanding the bay window (Project No. PLN26-009). Staff recommended approval with a Class 1 CEQA exemption.

"Our goal is to optimize the existing space with the exception of that front porch and the big window," Ruiz said. Neighbors came with a different agenda. Mara Pacetti of 21 Onyx Street described construction noise that has been near continuous for years and said the ADU had run as a consistent short-term Airbnb rental. A neighbor named Lauren asked commissioners to deny both the FAR exception and the deck, saying the property "still functions like a revolving rental." Derek Brown described loud music; Larkspur resident James Holmes, on Zoom, argued roof decks magnify the impact of second stories.

Ruiz said an early mistake had been corrected as soon as the city issued a warning and that the property now complies with the 30-day minimum rental rule. Then, mid-hearing, the architect simply gave the deck away, telling commissioners they would accept a condition removing it. Chair Swisser moved to bar the roof deck while approving the FAR exception, and the commission approved the project 5-0 with that condition.

Almenar Drive addition approved as drawn after an argument over five windows

The third hearing turned on glazing. At 386 N Almenar Drive, architect Alex Chen sought a 648-square-foot addition to a 2,814-square-foot home for owners Kevin and Hana Schwaba — 130 square feet at the lower level, 520 at the second story, all at the rear (Project No. PLN26-013). Staff recommended approval with a Class 1 CEQA exemption and no required window changes.

“We believe that the current plans do not meet this condition and instead create a significant and unreasonable loss or interference with the privacy in our backyard... the number of windows which face into our yard have increased more than 100%, from 2 to 5.”— Kita Whitten Keller, 378 N Almenar Drive

"We love it here. We want to grow. We want to stay here," Kevin Schwaba said. Neighbor Lisa Gleby saw no harm to the block. The downhill neighbors at 378 N Almenar did, telling commissioners the windows facing their yard rise from two to five. Chen countered that the real increase was 31 square feet of glazing — 51 percent, not 100. The owners said they had shifted the dining room window toward mature hedging and would add shades; Commissioner Brock floated raising the dining room sill.

The commission declined to condition the windows at all. "I don't want to add in conditions of frosting windows, 18 inches up or anything like that," Commissioner Natasha said, and the project was approved 5-0 as presented in the staff report.

A $32,000 electric mower, a PG&E ask about Diablo Canyon, and a long list of homework

Wednesday's Climate Action Forum was mostly a working session, and its most concrete item was a lawn mower. Staff reported a John Deere-affiliated manufacturer has offered roughly $6,000 off an electric ride-on mower, bringing the price to about $32,000 before tax, to replace gas mowers in the city fleet. Because charging infrastructure has to be built either way, Council liaison Sarah Margulies floated buying two, potentially by reallocating an existing $30,000 budget line plus surplus Forum funds for FY 2026-27. Members were supportive but wanted numbers first: Tom asked about the capacity factor, Katie wanted the county analyst's emissions analysis and lifecycle costs, and staff member Shannon noted the battery is rated for eight hours but delivers about four real hours before overheating forces a cool-down. No vote was taken.

“I am I'm interested in potentially... if you're going to buy one and they have some that they're trying to move, let's see if we can get a better deal for two.”— Council liaison Sarah Margulies, on the electric mower purchase

The Forum also got an unusual visitor request. PG&E government affairs representative Mark Van Gorder asked the panel to host a presentation on — or endorse — a "Diablo Canyon 2045 Coalition" push to extend the plant's operation from 2030 to 2045. The answer was essentially: wrong room. Paul Silva warned against diverting the Forum from its Larkspur mission, David said any pro-extension speaker should be matched by an opponent, and Tom supplied the counterargument that nuclear is a non-emitting source of more than 2,000 megawatts. Consensus leaned toward sending the topic to a larger venue like the Marin Conservation League.

Silva also pitched a statewide, bottom-up native-plant landscaping campaign, launched after AB 1573 was gutted in Senate Appropriations. Mayor Andre had suggested the Forum vet it. David recommended starting with a resolution rather than an ordinance, citing the climate emergency resolution adopted unanimously three years ago from an informal resident group. Margulies proposed agendizing it for the Forum's August meeting, with a Council trip possible the third week of August.