Point Reyes Light - October 21, 1999

Planning commissioners now say Nicasio house is too huge

Changing their minds since last meeting, Marin planning commissioners on Monday rejected a revised proposal to build a controversial 8,305 square-foot, multi-structure residence near the Nicasio Square.

Commissioners had approved the large-scale plan with contingencies back in September, but split 4-3 this week against the plan submitted by Charles McBurney for his lot at 2 Nicasio Creek Rd. in the Nicasio Valley Ranch subdivision.

The application called for a 4,672-sq.-foot single-family residence with a 669-square-foot garage, a 2,022-square-foot barn and studio, a 942-square-foot workshop, and 16- by 40-foot swimming pool on the 5.37-acre property.

In rejecting the plan, the majority of commissioners agreed with members of the Nicasio Design Review Board that the project is simply too large to meet the county-approved guidelines for development in the Nicasio Village Planning Area - something that didn't seem to bother commissioners last month.

Commissioners agreed to let McBurney and his wife, Linda Bacon, revise the design again, and told applicants to shrink the main residence and to either eliminate the proposed wooden privacy fence or lessen its visual impact.

"Shrinking is the big message," said commissioner Jan Alff Wiegel. "And not just a couple of hundred square-feet. It has to appear smaller from the road."

Commissioners Paul Lusczynski and chairperson Ross Herbertson agreed that the main residence would be too imposing, while colleague Jo Julin cited several excerpts from county planning requirements she said the project failed to meet.

Ironically, county senior planner Thomas Lai, who had previously reported to commissioners that the project was not compatible with other buildings around Nicasio Square, recommended this time that commissioners approve the project. He and McBurney's architect, Kathleen Strauss, had made eight design alterations that commissioners had requested in September.

The changes, he said, were "intended to make the residence more compatible with the surrounding environment," and included:

Shifting the residential compound 13 feet to the west, increasing its setback from both Nicasio Creek Road and Nicasio Valley Road.

Incorporating the one-car garage, previously slated as a workshop attachment, inside the workshop.

Lowering the overall height of the residence by a foot and the height of the workshop by two feet.

Shifting the detached studio/barn to the west and north of Nicasio Creek Road.

Relocating the wooden privacy fence.

Devising a landscape plan to shield it from the road.

Submitting a choice of three color schemes darker than the proposed off-white.

Former county supervisor Gary Giacomini, who represents McBurney as a consultant, told the commission that he and the applicants "wholeheartedly concur with the staff's recommendations" on those changes, but jawed a bit with Alff Wiegel about the commission's misgivings about size.

McBurney, who refers to his proposed residence as "a simple farmhouse and barn," objected to the recommendation to paint the house something other than off-white. "This has gone through 10 months of review and the house has always been off-white," he said.

Of 13 Nicasio-area residents who spoke at the hearing, 10 voiced their opposition to the McBurney plan. Several members of the Nicasio Design Review Board expressed their view that the commission's decision will set a precedent for development in Nicasio for years to come.

"If we rush into this project too lightly, I think we will all be making a mistake," said Jeff Kerr, co-chair of the Nicasio board.

Ken Irving, whose family has lived in Nicasio since 1856, disagreed. "The design is very good, and I think it works," he said.

At issue among commissioners was how much square footage the project should lose. The Nicasio Design Review Board had recommended a 38-percent reduction, while the county planning staff had previously suggested something in the range of 10 to 25 percent.

Commission chair Herbertson, though, said the matter is "subjective" and did not offer an absolute figure to shoot for. Commissioner Hank Barner, who reluctantly voted in favor of the project, suggested that the commission clarify its demands. "If we are concerned with overall size, we need to give them a percentage of size to cut back," he said.

McBurney said that despite the disagreement among commissioners, he plans to revise his plan once again. "It seemed to us like it was an entirely new planning commission with new requirements," he said. "But we plan to make the necessary changes to cooperate."

Senior planner Lai said he will work with McBurney and architect Strauss to reconfigure the proposal. The revisions will go to the Nicasio Design Review Board for comment and response, he said, and then to the commission for a hearing now set for Dec. 6.

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