Old Mill Rd. Project Closer to Green Light

The Design Review Committee asked for plate height adjustments and a tweaking of the front door for a home proposal at 1560 Old Mill Road, but seemed satisfied with the other adjustments made for the project’s second hearing last week.
The large two-story home, which is slated to include a non-enclosing wall, pond and fountain in the front yard, a subterranean garage and an elaborate backyard with a pool, spa, fire pit and other amenities that is complemented by foliage, is otherwise looking at approval at the July 5 meeting, if the DRC members are satisfied with the requested changes.
“It just jumps out at you much more than the home immediately to the north,” said committee member John Dustin at the Wednesday, June 7, meeting.
The plate height for the proposal is 12 feet for the first story and 10 feet for the second story, which is allowable per the city’s rules but is believed to magnify the size of the home compared to others on Old Mill Road.
“It makes the whole house seem larger in mass and scale,” said Vice Chairman William Dietrick. “It just appears tall and it’s up on a knoll, so it’s going to appear even taller.”
Other committee members felt the height of the home was acceptable, with alternate Committee member Chris Huang pointing out the tree shelter along the street would shield much of the home from view and committee member Kevin Cheng pointing out the street had several other larger homes.
“It is a large house, but there are a lot of large homes [in the legal and general neighborhood],” Cheng said.
Committee member Corinna Wong had echoed audience concerns about there not being a fence near the ramp for the subterranean garage, but the architect Alex Chang said the applicant was amenable to installing a fence along the property line near the driveway.
Cheng and Chairman Frank Hsu first advanced a motion to approve of the project as-is, but Dietrick, Dustin and Wong opposed that. A final motion to continue the project and ask for reduced plate heights and changing the glass front door received unanimous approval.
In other business:
• The DRC voted to continue the hearing for a proposed two-story prairie-style home at 1476 Kensington Road after members determined the proposal was too ambitious by adding a large home with a significantly different style from the traditional homes in the neighborhood. The Committee received numerous letters from neighbors who opposed the project as proposed.
• Exterior changes for an ongoing project at 1526 Cambridge Road that was previously approved were, again, approved unanimously on the condition that the front door remains the way it was originally proposed.
• A reroofing of the home at 1500 Kensington Road with Decra shake steel roofing material was unanimously approved on the condition that low profile ridge caps are used.
• A one-story addition at 2725 Monterey Road was unanimously approved without condition.