By LESTER CHANG
Residential home developer Matthew Kansky found out smaller is better at a Sunnyvale City Council meeting last week.
At its Feb. 11 meeting, the council voted against his proposal for eight homes at the corner of Fremont and Pome avenues, saying they were too large and too many for the quiet neighborhood.
Kansky agreed and said he would ask the Planning Commission to take a look at a revised project calling for six homes.
He said he wanted to move the business venture along and asked whether the council would approve the revisions. At the same time, he said, he would work out the details with the planning commission.
Mayor Stan Kawczynski and Councilman Landon Curt Noll rejected the request for approval, noting that the changes are significant and need to go through a public hearing.
Kansky said he wanted to work with residents to resolve other concerns about the project, including traffic and a wall surrounding the homes.
The Planning Commission denied the original proposal on Jan. 13 because of concerns similar to those raised by the council. Kansky subsequently appealed the decision to the council.
Kawczynski said he wanted to see the wall go, noting that "walled communities are, I believe, out east in Aspen, Colo.--some places like that."
Kansky told city officials he wanted the wall for reasons of privacy and aesthetics but would be willing to work something out.
Before anything is done, the city should do something about traffic flow on Pome Avenue, said Lois Grant, who lives near Kansky's property.
"People avoid lights on Mary [Avenue] and come barreling down Pome. And when you add more homes down at the end [of the street], we are going to get more traffic, Grant said. "More traffic means the quality of our air is gone. The quality of our life is being diminished."
Margaret Copley, another resident in the area, said the plan for six homes "is much more realistic" and praised the council for denying the larger project. "I do think it is a right step in the right direction," she said.
The project would provide garage space for 16 cars and street parking for four. Residents, however, were concerned that there might not be enough street parking when parties and gatherings are held in the new subdivision and surrounding area.
In his initial plan, Kansky proposed homes ranging from 2,100 to 2,500 square feet on three-quarters of an acre. The two-story homes would have had three and four bedrooms.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, February 19, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.