New house at 16 Elm Avenue would run bigger than the rules allow

At 16 Elm Avenue, owner Michael Folk wants to tear down the existing single-family house and replace it with a new two-story home and attached garage, under plans submitted by Polsky Perlstein Architects.

The design needs more than routine design review: it requires a Floor Area Ratio exception, since the proposed 3,093-square-foot house works out to an FAR of 0.21 — above the 0.19 (2,793 square foot) maximum otherwise allowed on the lot.

Because of the site's slope, the project also needs a slope use permit to move 283 cubic yards of cut and 79 cubic yards of fill.

The Planning Commission takes up design review, the FAR exception, and the slope permit together Tuesday; the agenda lists no staff recommendation or public comment yet on record.

City seeks finding to clear the way for a Palm Avenue right-of-way vacation

The City of Larkspur itself is the applicant this time: it's asking the Planning Commission to find that vacating a 3,407-square-foot portion of the Palm Avenue right-of-way, next to the property owned by Mark Barden and Doris Mitsch at 2 Palm Avenue, conforms with the city's General Plan.

Commissioners aren't voting on the vacation itself Tuesday — that decision rests with the City Council — but their conformity finding is a required step before the Council can act.

No staff recommendation or public comment appears yet in the agenda materials.