At the Jan. 11 meeting of the Saratoga Planning Commission, three home designs were reviewed. While the commission approved all three, concerns were raised about homeowners pushing the limits allowed by city regulations.

The commission heavily scrutinized one design in particular. The Ma family, residents at 14360 Paul Ave. for six years, requested the approval of a design to expand its home to accommodate its growing family. The Mas want to demolish their one-story home and construct a two-story home with a basement in its place.

The design was approved after a review of privacy concerns by neighbors; however, commissioners Mike Uhl and Jill Hunter voted against approval.

"Mike and I voted against the Mas' design because we knew it would pass," Hunter said. "But I would like to see in the future the staff consider telling the applicants that their houses should be shorter on smaller lots."

The gross lot size of the Mas' property is 5,162 square feet, which is small for Saratoga. The maximum proposed height of their design is 25-feet, 6-inches, just under the maximum height allowed by the city's zoning codes.

"We seem to automatically allow 26-foot high houses on any size lot," Hunter said. She said on a two-acre piece of land, a 26-foot tall house isn't much of an issue. But on lots 7,000-square feet or less, maximizing the height of a home can give a neighborhood a tightly packed appearance.

"I would like to see the height of the building be proportional to the size of the lot," Hunter said. "You can have a very nice house at 22, 23 feet."

She said her vote was not against the Mas' design, but a statement to the city staff to look into the issue of tall houses going onto small lots.

Commissioner Linda Rodgers agreed that tall, bulky houses were a concern. "We don't want rows of houses tightly packed together," she said. "I'm more concerned about whether they impede someone's view of the mountains or if the design interferes with someone's privacy. That's a balance we have to strike."

"We want people to maximize their enjoyment of their property as long as it doesn't negatively affect the privacy concerns or the views of the neighbors, and so long as it doesn't change the character of the neighborhood," she said.

Rodgers said there are advantages to two-story homes on smaller lots. "People want larger houses, and on a small lot a one-story layout means there will be less green space. Putting on another story allows for more grass and trees on the property."

Another issue raised at the meeting was whether poles with orange netting, called story poles, should be required when a new house is being built. The story poles enable neighbors to view the outline of a proposed home before it is constructed. Members of the commission stated that the story poles are particularly useful for homes being constructed on hillsides, and that requirements for story poles should be reviewed by the city in the future.