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8.A. - Page 249 <br />8.A. - Page 7 <br />development of the project, taking into account the maximum home sizes which would <br />be allowed under the City's Zoning Code. Even if the number of lots currently <br />participating is reduced by three, that reduction would not result in any new <br />environmental impacts. While the circumstances are a bit unusual (given the fact that <br />the lots were previously created and are now under multiple ownerships), the <br />preparation of the EIR successfully achieves the Council's prior policy direction and <br />should simplify future City consideration of actual development applications. <br />The fact that there is not a pending project application would not, by itself, prevent the <br />EIR from being certified. However, as noted earlier, staff is recommending that the <br />appeal be granted on more limited grounds to fix the two items described above. <br />Home Sizes <br />While not directly relevant to the current appeal, City staff also requests Council <br />direction regarding one additional issue. There has been some debate regarding the <br />appropriate home sizes for the development. The Project, as originally proposed by the <br />applicant and as analyzed in the EIR, proposes home sizes ranging from 3,240 to 5,120 <br />square feet (with an average size of 3,965 square feet). The EIR also analyzes a <br />reduced home size alternative, with home sizes ranging from 2,000 to 3,432 square feet <br />(with an average size of 2,479 square feet), representing a reduction in house sizes of <br />almost 60 percent. (All square feet calculations include garages.) <br />The applicant is advocating for the larger home sizes. Those sizes, as proposed, are <br />consistent with the City's existing Zoning Code, which allows for Borne sizes having a <br />total footprint area that is up to 40% of the total lot area. (Thus, for example, for Lot no. <br />1, the applicant has proposed a home of 4,400 square feet, which is 40% of the lot's <br />11,000 square foot area.) <br />The EIR alternative (°B") proposing smaller home sizes was based upon a methodology <br />similar to what is utilized in other Bay Area Peninsula cities having hillside <br />developments. This methodology was developed based on a survey of those other <br />cities. Based upon that survey, staff has developed an adjusted slope density formula, <br />which would reduce the maximum allowable home size by a percentage based upon the <br />overall slope of the lot, but with a minimum floor area of 2,000 square feet. This formula <br />is shown in Table 1 below: <br />