Saturday, March 5, 2016

Lookback at adoption of the "megahome" ordinance


Inside Bay Area/Pacifica Tribune/Jane Northrop, 5/20/10.  "City Council adopts megahome ordinance." 

Image result for Trump mega home picture
Find the right decorator,
make small nice.
Image result for Trump mega home picture
What's a megahome?
"City Council last Monday adopted a mega home ordinance, addressing a need in neighborhoods to warn people as proposals for large homes come into the Planning Department.  The ordinance will trigger Planning Commission review if a home exceeds a certain size on a lot. For a standard single-family home lot of 5,000 square feet, the review will be triggered if the proposed structure exceeds 2,800 square feet. To not be included in that square footage, the maximum size for a garage is 650 square feet. Director of Planning Michael Crabtree said over the course of last year, only one project would have triggered an additional Planning Commission review under the ordinance. He said that small number may be a factor of the downturn in the building industry in general. 

....  Sam Casillas, a Pedro Point resident, said his neighborhood has been compromised by large homes, which he called 'monster homes.'  'We are not seeing effective setbacks. These homes are energy hogs. Almost every one of these homeowners have asked for in-law units. They are virtual apartment complexes. All this drives the cost of construction up, as well. Parking is a problem. We're not taking in to consideration aesthetics and views being damaged for our neighbors,' he said."   Read article.
----------
Note:  the above link was posted at part of a comment at 8:00 a.m., 3/5/16 on the Planning Commission meeting, 3/7/16 article.

RelatedCity Council Meeting Agenda, 3/22/10, pdf pages 33. Consideration, Item 6:  draft ordinance requiring Planning Commission review of single family residences over a certain size (mega home).  City Municipal Code.

Note mega home photographs, Donald Trump, owner.  His white house from Coldwell Banker, the Haroldyn House, Greenwich, Connecticut, Huffpost Home/James Cave, 9/14/15, "Step inside Donald Trump's gaudiest mansions."  His mega-penthouse, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, 66th floor, NYC, by Sam Horine from Daily Mail/Ben Ashford, UK, 11/10/15, "Donald Trump's $100m New York City penthouse."

Posted by Kathy Meeh

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nancy Hall lays down the law!
Bad, Bad, Bad

riptide
PSD made comments in support of the oversize-home ordinance. Our goal is to support creation of a size trigger that would provide some oversight so that neighborhoods would have a chance to provide input and response to a proposed home that would be very out of character with the surrounding homes, possibly adversely affecting immediate neighbors in terms of light and spaciousness. None of us lives on an island...what we do affects all around us in our immediate environment as well as globally when it comes to Americans using a disproportionate amount of energy, creating that same disproportionate amount of pollution and greenhouse gases. The average modern home creates an enormous amount of pollution from the chemicals released in the creation and transport of materials, some of which end up in landfill as construction waste, not to mention the energy they consume, which only gets more egregious as the homes get more and more huge. This issue deserves oversight, and I think most Pacificans will welcome an opportunity to review what is about to be built next in their areas.

Posted by: nancy hall | December 22, 2007 at 11:55 PM

- See more at: http://www.pacificariptide.com/pacifica_riptide/2007/12/what-to-do-abou.html#sthash.pdQNXTSf.dpuf

Nancy Whole Energy Hall said...

Not everyone lives in a Mansion.

Anonymous said...

OMG, now Riptide is complaining because the Chamber of Commerce takes a 55% management fee out of the BID.

Who do you think manages the money, the public relations agency?
The Chamber makes all the decisions for the $850 in advertising, people!
Those are really important decisions.

Anonymous said...

Casillas has a 10,000 sqft lot and wants to expand the existing structure to 2955 sqft. I'd love me a little Nimby hypocrisy, but looking at that monster ordinance will this be a monster house? Bigger, yes, but monster? Doesn't seem to fit the description and if it doesn't, then where is the hypocrisy? Oh dear, is this personal?

Anonymous said...

If he has a 10,000 square foot lot shouldn't he just dedicate the excess land to a habitat of some sort? Isn't that the kind of 'take' you NIMBY's demand of others?
Listen and watch as the NIMBY apologists do their thing.
Disgusting HYPOCRITS all of you!
You've been exposed.

Anonymous said...

We must silence everyone who stands in the way of the Realtor Agenda!

Anonymous said...

Kangaroo court for a crime that never existed.

Anonymous said...

Anyone ever notice that once a discussion goes counter to some nobies notion of where it should be they shout "Realtor". Is Casillas a Realtor!

Anonymous said...

Well 1119, you must have missed the fifty out of town realtors storming City Hall during the rent control meetings.

Kathy Meeh said...

117, the professional organization of Realtors was at City Council to support Affordable Housing--GOOD for them! Clearly this City needs more affordable and low cost housing.
Of course, NIMBIES who are against development "in our backyard", including affordable and low cost housing, have been "storming" City Council for months-- allegedly supporting the cause of those who have been pushed-out due to high rents.

So which is it, NIMBIES? People need affordable and low cost housing, where is your political activism to make that happen? .... Still waiting....
Reality check: isn't it the case you really don't care enough about those effected, and you are just playing the public to gain sympathy and hope to affect eventual Council votes?
(The results of NIMBIES gaining Council control again could potentially terminate this City. No thanks!)

Anonymous said...

No, the realtors were there to oppose rent control. Get real.

Kathy Meeh said...

1123, yet there is no new rent control regulations, even with visionless noise organized by NIMBIES-- that is what's real.