The Danville Planning Commission did not have a quorum at its meeting Tuesday night so no decision was made about reconsidering an application by SkyVilla to build a home on a major ridgeline.
The commission had rejected the application of SkyVilla in August because the companyís design for home on a major ridgeline was still too large, said Planning Commissioner Rene Morgan.
The developer made changes to the design for a smaller home and submitted the application for another review by the Planning Commission at its meeting Tuesday. However, some of the members who were present at the August meeting were not there this week so there was no quorum to reconsider the application.
The matter has been rescheduled for the next Planning Commission meeting, on Tuesday, Sept. 26.
ìIf the majority of the commissioners who were present at the Aug. 15 meeting vote to bring it back for reconsideration, we will look at it freshly,î said Planning Commissioner Steve Condie on Wednesday morning.
Jeff Britton, manager of SkyVilla, has already gone through four lengthy study sessions, seeking the Planning Commissionís guidance to get his application approved. SkyVilla owns a parcel of 10 acres, which contains a major ridgeline, on Lawrence Road in east Danville off Camino Tassajara.
A Danville ordinance urges developers not to build homes on major ridgelines for aesthetic reasons. However, the ordinance has an exception that enables people to build a home on a major ridgeline if it is the only feasible location, said Danville Principal Planner David Crompton.
The commissioners spent long hours deliberating the application in past study sessions looking for the best possible area on the site that least violates the local ordinance, Condie said. The issues were where the house would be built and how it was designed, he said.
The commissionersí specific views have changed over time, he added.
SkyVilla’s engineers found that the only possible site on the 10 acres to build is on the major ridgeline because it is the safest and most practical site for building. Moreover, Crompton said town staff recommended that building on the major ridgeline was best in this case.
The commissioners had suggested several months ago that SkyVilla scale back its design. At that time, before the August meeting, Britton removed one of six garages and a wing from the design.
Nonetheless, the home was still enormous, said Planning Commissioner Rene Morgan.
“Our concern was the size. We suggested to them that they downsize the home,” said Morgan about the August meeting. She added that the developer did make the design smaller, but it was not downsized enough.
After last month’s meeting, Morgan said SkyVilla’s attorney contacted members of the commission and told some of them the applicant would make the design smaller and would resubmit his plans at the meeting Tuesday.
Britton said he respects and wants to work with the Planning Commission
to move his application forward.
