Habitat for Humanity Four New Dwelling Units
ENT-2024-0032
Summary of Most Pertinent City Wide Single-Family Residential Design Guidelines:
• DG.II.A.1.b – Integrate new single-family residential developments into the surrounding environment. Find a balance between new and older homes that respects both interests.
The project site is located at a place where single-family homes and multi-family developments border one another. The project applicant is proposing a two story with an architectural style influenced by the colors and materials typically found throughout the neighboring single-family homes, including earth toned blues, greens and reds, horizontal lap siding, board and batten siding, and composite shingle roofing. • DG.II.A.1.c – A walkway from the front door to the street can be welcoming. Each of the four units is proposed to have a walkway connecting to the public sidewalk. • DG.II.A.1.d – New dwellings should have a strong relationship to the street. The residential buildings relate to the street through first-story architectural elements such as pathways, landscaping, trellis elements and entries.
• DG.II.A.1.e – Set back garages or de-emphasize garages from the front of the dwelling.
Garage doors are not set back and face the public right-of-way. The applicant proposed a quality wood door design that incorporates trim and glazing to create more visual interest. • DG.II.A.1.h – Design and orient buildings so that sunlight directly enters the home during some part of the day year-round. The four units are separated into two buildings.
Doing this allows each unit to have windows on three elevations, providing sunlight to enter each unit year-round.
• DG.II.A.1.i – Direct line-of-site between dwelling units, specifically bedrooms and bathrooms should be minimized. The buildings have been staggered, and windows place appropriately, so as to minimize sight lines between neighboring units. • DG.II.A.1.m – Projects should be designed to minimize impervious surfaces and incorporate landscape elements to reduce runoff. Pervious pavements can help to reduce runoff. The project uses pervious pavers and landscape areas to treat stormwater in accordance with City standards.
• DG.II.A.1.n – Stormwater impacts need to be addressed in the early stages of project design as they often have an impact on site design. The project has been reviewed by the City Engineering Division and found to be in compliance with stormwater treatment measures.
• DG.II.A.3.a – Architectural elements of new residential buildings should be designed to reduce the mass of large structures and provide a pedestrian scale to the buildings. The residential buildings relate to the street through first-story architectural elements such as pathways, landscaping, trellis elements and entries. Projecting window bays, varied materials and textures, and complementary colors helps to reduce the visual massing.
Habitat for Humanity Four New Dwelling Units
ENT-2024-0032
• DG.II.A.3.d – Rooflines and pitch of new residential buildings and additions should be harmonious and consistent with the building as well as to surrounding development. The proposed roof pitch and rooflines are harmonious with the surrounding development, consisting of 2:12 pitches and gabled ends.
• DG.II.A.3.e – The scale of the building should relate to the pedestrian with complementary ground floor elements including, but not limited to, canopies, porches, awnings, and through the use of varied pavement surfaces. The proposed elevations incorporate architectural features such as varied setbacks, roof heights, trellis structures and materials to create articulation and variation that helps to minimize the appearance of bulk and provide a more pedestrian scale.
• DG.II.A.5.b – Individual expression is encouraged while still maintaining balance with the surrounding neighborhood. The project design combines building forms, siding materials, and exterior colors that are common throughout the surrounding neighborhood, in a unique and individual way.
• DG.II.A.5.d – Structures should be visually and architecturally pleasing by varying the height, color, setback, materials, texture, trim and roof shape, and landscape. The project architecture includes a variation of heights, colors, setbacks, materials, textures and landscaping.
• DG.II.A.5.f – Buildings should include architectural details that may include, but not limited to: porches, bay windows, balconies, railings, fascia boards, and trim to enhance the character of the building. The proposed elevations incorporate architectural features such as varied setbacks, roof heights, trellis structures and materials to create articulation and variation that helps to enhance the character of the building. • DG.II.A.5.g – Building materials and colors should enhance the neighborhood and be compatible to the neighborhood. The building incorporates materials, such as fiber cement siding and board and batten siding, and colors, such as earthy green, beige, and blue tones, that are common throughout Pleasant Hill’s residential neighborhoods. These materials and colors would complement the surrounding neighborhood while being combined in a unique, contemporary fashion that creates a visually interesting project. • DG.II.A.5.h – No building façade should consist of an unarticulated blank wall or an unbroken series of doors. Each elevation of the project is articulated using architectural features such as projecting window bays, varied setbacks, and trellis structures. There are three garage doors along the south elevation, however they do not appear as an unbroken series of doors due to the treatment of exterior siding and trim. • DG.II.A.5.j – Architecture should treat the structure entirely and finish appropriately on all sides of the building to provide continuity. The project architecture incorporates an attached trellis structure at the corners of the structures.
Habitat for Humanity Four New Dwelling Units
ENT-2024-0032
• DG.II.A.8.a - Landscaping should be an integral part of the overall site design. The project’s landscape architect has designed a cohesive landscape plan that would address all publicly visible areas, including the front, side and corner side yards. The landscape plan would unify the four dwellings and complement the architectural design. The plant selections use an appropriate scale and include drought tolerant species. The landscaping should create and inviting and comfortable environment for the residents. • DG.II.A.8.i – Native, drought tolerant plant materials and other plant species which are well adapted to local climatic conditions should be strongly considered as they can preserve water resources and can better achieve compliance with the City’s water efficient landscape requirements. The project proposes a combination of native, droughttolerant plant species that should do well on the site while also satisfying the City’s Water Efficient Landscaping Ordinance (WELO).
• DG.II.A.8.c – The design of fences and walls in the front yard should create a visual openness. Fences and walls that isolate the front of the dwelling from the streetscape are strongly discouraged. There is one proposed fence located in the front and corner side yard. This fence will be three feet tall and use wire mesh. Landscape vines will be allowed to grow onto the wire mesh, providing a level of privacy without isolating the private patio space from the streetscape.
• DG.II.A.8.e – Vertical elements, fence height changes, or change in plane should be incorporated into the design of fences and walls especially for long runs. The proposed wood privacy fencing includes vertical posts every six feet. • DG.II.A.8.g – Fences and walls taller than 3 feet are prohibited within all vision triangles (street corners and driveway entrances). The project plans do not include any obstructions within vision triangles.
• DG.II.A.12.b - Lighting should be located and designed to minimize glare and spillage onto adjacent properties and should be consistent with the maximum allowed foot-candle levels cited in Section 18.55.140b of the Zoning Ordinance. The project uses exterior lighting that is downward facing to reduce glare and preserve the night sky. The project will be conditioned to provide a photometric plan and reviewed for compliance with the City’s provisions for light levels on adjacent properties. • DG.II.A.12.d – Light fixtures should be compatible, in-scale, and placed appropriately on the building. The lantern-style wall sconces, and low profile landscape light bollards, are compatible with the project design and placed appropriately on the building and in the landscape areas. Lights are limited to the first story only and along walking paths to enhance safety and security.
Habitat for Humanity Four New Dwelling Units
ENT-2024-0032
• DG.II.A.12.e – Exterior light fixtures should incorporate full cutoff fixtures designed and installed so that no emitted light will break a horizontal plane passing through the lowest point of the fixtures. All fixtures are full cutoff.
• DG.II.A.14.a (i) – Reinforce prevailing neighborhood home orientation and entry patterns. The proposed site plan maintains the setback pattern of the immediate vicinity by placing the dwellings’ front yard along the Woodsworth Ln. frontage, in alignment with the front yards of neighboring single-family homes to the east and multi-family homes to the west.
• DG.II.A.17 – Building “green” is an environmentally responsible construction technique that continues to be accepted and demanded, not only in the region, but for the nation.
Building responsibly provides benefits for people and the environment in the name of preservation of natural resource, reduced impacts on the environment, and long-term lower maintenance and utility costs. As in the staff report, the applicant is proposing a number of “green” building methods, including designing the homes to be net-zero energy, GreenPoint rated, with PV solar arrays, EV charging capabilities, a thermally superior envelope, electric appliances, advanced framing techniques, 40-year, cool roofing, durable, low maintenance fiber cement board siding, drought tolerant landscaping, reduced hardscape, and on-site rainwater treatment.
Summary of Single-Family Objective Design Standards
• ODS.II.A.2.a (i) – Projects with two or more structures shall be staggered with a minimum two-foot variation measured from the front setback with the intent of providing a varied street elevation. varied so that front setbacks of adjacent homes and garages differ by a minimum of two feet and a maximum of six feet. The project includes two structures that are staggered with a four foot variation, and thus in compliance with this ODS.
• ODS.II.A.2.b (i) – Residences shall have a front entry sited from parallel to within 45 degrees of parallel, to the street. Units 1 is in compliance with this ODS. Units 2, 3 and 4 have front entries that are 90 degrees to the street. Therefore, the applicant is seeking relief from this ODS.
• ODS.II.A.2.b (ii) – Front entries shall include a covered projection (porch) with a minimum area of 20 square feet, as measured from the supporting elements. Porches may be a combination of projection and recess but shall not be completely recessed within the building footprint. At minimum, the entry doorway shall be covered within one foot of either side of the door and three feet of the face. A porch may encroach a maximum of 20 percent into the front setback. Each unit provides a covered entry great than 20 square feet, and each door is covered within one foot of either side of the door and three feet of the face.
Habitat for Humanity Four New Dwelling Units
ENT-2024-0032
• ODS.II.A.2.b (iii) – Vehicle charging facilities shall be housed within a garage or screened from view from the street by a fence or landscaping. Each unit will provide vehicle charging facilities within a garage.
• ODS.II.A.3.c (i) – Above-ground utilities, transformers, and other mechanical equipment placed between the front or street side of a residence and a public street or vehicular or pedestrian accessway, shall be screened from view by a fence, wall, or landscaping. The project plans to not show any above-ground utilities between the front or street side yards. The project would also be conditioned to comply with this ODS. • ODS.II.A.3.c (ii) – Excluding solar panels, roof-mounted equipment shall be hidden from view from the public street behind roof peaks or parapets. There is no roof mounted equipment other than solar panels.
• ODS.II.A.3.c (iii) – Utility and mechanical equipment shall not obstruct pedestrian pathways. All pedestrian pathways are clear of utility and mechanical equipment. • ODS.II.A.4.a – Structures shall be vertically (height) and horizontally (depth) articulated along the front elevations. Vertical articulations shall include a change in total height of a minimum of two feet, or a change in roof pitch or form, or the inclusion of a gable or dormer, and such articulation shall occur at intervals of a maximum of 15 feet.
Horizontal articulations shall include a change of wall plane by a minimum depth of two feet at intervals of a maximum of 20 feet. Both structures include vertical and horizontal articulation in compliance with this ODS.
• ODS.II.A.6.a (i) – Second floor balconies shall not be positioned along any side elevation within 20 feet of the adjacent property line. The project does not include second floor balconies.
• ODS.II.A.6.a (ii) – If used, shutters shall be sized to cover 100 to 105 percent of the window and match the exact window shape. The project does not include shutters. • ODS.II.A.6.b (i) – Accessory structures shall be constructed of the same materials, colors, roof type as the primary structure. The project does not include accessory structures.
• ODS.II.A.6.b (ii) – Windows shall be recessed by a minimum of two inches from the wall plane or shall include wood, metal, or engineered wood trim with a minimum width of three inches and minimum depth of three-quarters of an inch. Windows include wood trim with a minimum three inches and depth of at least three-quarters of an inch. • ODS.II.A.6.b (iii) – Single family subdivisions with two or three units shall provide a minimum of two-color schemes. Single family subdivisions with more than three residential structures shall provide a minimum of three-color schemes and shall not use a single-color scheme on more than 40 percent of the residential structures. Structures Habitat for Humanity Four New Dwelling Units
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shall incorporate a color scheme that contains a maximum of four distinct colors per building. A color scheme is defined as (body one and/or body two, trim, and a contrasting accent color). Adjacent structures shall not use the same color scheme. The project would include three color schemes on four units, split between four units. Each color scheme consists of four or less distinct colors.
• ODS.II.A.9.a – New development shall plant a minimum of one tree along the street frontage. Trees shall be a minimum box size of 24 inches at the time of planting. The development would plant three trees, with a box size of 24-inches, along the street frontage.
• ODS.II.A.9.b – The front yard shall not exceed a maximum of 50 percent of pavement or hardscape. The front yard consists of approximately 60 percent of pavement or hardscape. Therefore, the applicant is seeking relief from this ODS. • ODS.II.A.9.c – Runoff shall be detained on-site prior to discharging to any creek or storm drain facility. Outfalls shall be used to discharge water to creeks. The Engineering division reviewed the project and found the proposal in compliance with City standards. • ODS.II.A.9.d – All areas not occupied by structures or pavement shall be landscaped.
Landscaped areas shall consist of plantings, lawn/turf, mulch, or bark. Artificial turf may be used if it and its substrate is permeable and has a minimum pile height of 1.25 inches.
All public-facing areas not occupied by structures or pavement are landscaped with plantings, mulch and bark. The private rear yards on lots 2, 3 and 4 will be landscaped by the owners.
• ODS.II.A.11.a – Walls and fences shall not be placed in the street frontage(s) in hillside areas (with a project site greater than an average of 15 percent slope) and along scenic corridors. This ODS is not applicable to the project.
• ODS.II.A.11.b – Front yard fence pickets shall be separated by a minimum width equivalent to 50 percent of the width of the picket. Front yard picket fences are not included in the project.
• ODS.II.A.11.c – Chain-link fences are prohibited. Chain-link fences are not included in the project.
• ODS.II.A.13.a – All entryways, porch areas, pedestrian pathways, and gates shall include lighting for safety and security. Lighting shall be fully shielded, directed downward (not above the horizontal plane), and shall not spill onto adjacent properties.
Light fixtures shall be a maximum of eight feet from the ground plane. Lighting shall use light emitting diodes (LEDs) with a maximum temperature of 3000 kelvins. Second floor accent lighting is prohibited. A photometric plan shall be provided to show compliance.
All project lighting has been reviewed and found in compliance. Furthermore, the project Habitat for Humanity Four New Dwelling Units
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will be conditioned to provide 3000 kelvin LED lighting, and a photometric plan indicating compliance with City lighting standards.