| | Published June 9th, 2010
| Story Poles to Show Downtown 55-foot Height Limit
| | By Andrea A. Firth | | |
The Planning Commission meeting held on May 25th once again attracted a larger than usual crowd. Continued discussion of the recommendations for development of the downtown districts was on the agenda. And although the Commission did not plan to specifically review the building height recommendation, the issue addressed in the majority of the public comments to the Commission was about 55 feet high.
"Your job is to advance the best land use opportunities for your community," stated Ted Urban, an urban planner who previously served on the Planning Commission for seven years. "Don't get hung up on heights," said Urban, "The qualitative standards should guide our process." Urban advocated identifying the city's land-use needs, noting that housing options for young people returning to the community are limited.
The Planning Commission is currently evaluating a city task force recommendation to allow increasing the building height up to 55 feet in two defined areas of the downtown districts to encourage commercial and residential development. The task force recommends building height at the street frontage be lowered from the current 35-foot limit to 27 feet and allowing portions of buildings setback from the street to reach 55 feet based on design review and compliance with the qualitative standards.
Regarding the potential for 55-foot tall buildings in downtown Orinda, resident and former Theater Square commercial tenant Herb Brown stated, "You are about to change the whole character of the city." He added, "The last thing you want to see from a fairway is a 4-story building with balconies," referring to the possibility of taller buildings along Orinda Way across from the 16th fairway of the golf course at Orinda Country Club. Brown also questioned the placement of local developers on the city's task force and raised the need for an independent consultant to guide the development process.
"The work of the task force has been open and well-vetted. The Chamber of Commerce supports the work of the task force," countered Orinda-based architect Rick Kattenburg. "We want to see more vitality in the downtown. It is hard to keep and attract businesses in this city," he stated adding, "Many of us have been waiting a long time to see some of these changes occur."
Longtime Orinda resident John Fazel, who is President of the Orinda Senior Village, suggested that story poles be installed in the downtown areas to give residents a feel for the impact of the proposed increased building height. Members of the Planning Commission supported the idea, but there was some concern that the story poles would be interpreted as a specific building project. "There are no proposals for anything in downtown," stated Commissioner Bob Jungbluth. Ultimately, the Commission directed Planning Director Emanuel Ursu to explore the installation of story poles, and he recently confirmed that the city will install story poles on two downtown properties by mid-June; the poles will remain up for about three weeks. (See sidebar.) The Planning Commission will continue its review and discussion of the building height recommendation at its meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 22nd.
Story Pole Locations
Three story poles will be erected near the Village Court Building located at 23 Avenida de Orinda. This building is located behind the former Phairs parking lot and northwest of 1 Camino Sobrante, the building block that houses FedEx and Starbucks. A line will be tied across the poles at the height of 55 feet, and the tops of the poles will be visible when driving down Camino Pablo.
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Four story poles will be installed on the Phairs Building located at Orinda Way and Avenida de Orinda. Two poles will be attached to the front of the Orinda Way façade of the building at a height of 27 feet (currently the façade is 16 feet tall). Two 55-foot tall poles will be attached to the building approximately 25 feet back from the Orinda Way frontage. The poles will be painted red and white in 10-foot alternating increments, and the tops of both sets of poles will be connected with ribbons.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA