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8.A. - Page 138 <br />elements provide for greater flexibility in design, but also leave the end product open to <br />interpretation and/or broader policy direction. <br />The 2010 General Plan addresses this policy question by incorporating policies such as <br />Policy BE -8.3, which states, "address oversized and out -of -scale residential <br />development, including appropriate neighborhood building scale and compatibility." The <br />General Plan also identifies specific programs to help further these policy directives. In <br />this instance, Program BE -1 directs Community Development staff to amend the Zoning <br />Ordinance and Map in a variety of ways. Included in the list of amendments is the <br />direction to establish FAR limits on residential development. FAR limits may vary based <br />on neighborhood typology context, and site-specific conditions including slope. <br />In August 2011, the City Council formally directed staff to study the topic further, <br />develop applicable zoning regulations, and bring the matter back to Council following <br />Planning Commission input. In October 2011, the Planning Commission held a Study <br />Session to consider an amendment; however, during the Study Session, a significant <br />amount of residents (both in the incorporated and unincorporated portions) of the <br />Emerald Hills neighborhood were opposed to the proposed amendment. As a result, <br />efforts to address hillside development via a specific hillside ordinance were tabled <br />while the City considered other methods of addressing the matter, as discussed below. <br />The General Plan, under Program BE -17, Design Guidelines, directs staff to incorporate <br />the topic of appropriate hillside development into the broader single-family residential <br />discussion in the context of design review. Staff and consultants are currently working <br />on the first portion of community engagement to begin a broader discussion of design <br />and FAR as applied to all sloping lots in the City. In the meantime, however, the City is <br />obligated to process and consider the merits of this current project application, even <br />though that other process is still pending. <br />Regarding the specifics of the Laurel Way project, the 2011 master planned <br />development permit is comprised of a 4.75 acre residential development, construction of <br />a private roadway connecting to existing private streets, extension of city utilities to the <br />residential lots, and construction, maintenance, and installation of retaining walls and <br />parking areas along the new street (extension of Laurel Way), and a <br />conservation/drainage easement serving the hillside development. The project also <br />contemplates construction of 16 new residences, each subject to the review and <br />approval of an individual Planned Development permit (which must be consistent with <br />the Master PD permit). As previously mentioned, the following table provides a <br />comparative analysis between the 2007 project and 2011 project including, project area, <br />number of residences and home sizes. <br />_ <br />Project Area <br />2007 PCS_ <br />5. i Acres <br />_ 2011 PD <br />4.75 Acres <br />Total No. of Lots <br />20 Lots <br />18 Lots <br />Total No. of Residences <br />18 residences, <br />16 residences <br />Proposed Max. Floor Area: <br />APN 057-301-250 <br />4.400 SF <br />3,900 SF <br />APN 057-301-260 <br />4,280 SF <br />3,900 SF <br />