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Proposal would put 8 homes on a vacant lot near I-280
Plan includes extra parking, open space
By Kate Carter
A vacant plot of land in northern Willow Glen could soon become home to eight new townhouses, and the planning department says its proximity to Interstate 280 won't make the residences too noisy.
The planning commission last week unanimously recommended that the 0.7-acre triangular lot south of Interstate 280, off Northrup Drive, be prezoned for planned development. The city council will review and approve the prezoning in the coming weeks.
The developer, Blackwell Brothers Construction, which also owns the site, could begin construction next spring, to be completed in summer 2003.
The site is now unincorporated, as are the adjacent single family homes north of Paula Street and just south of the proposed development. The vacant lot must be annexed into the city before it can be developed, and the prezoning is preliminary to the annexation process, which could take another few months, planner Britta Buys said. She added that some of the nearby county residents also expressed interest in joining the annexing application.
The eight attached single-family homes would face south and have small backyards along Interstate 280. They will front onto a new drive off Northrup Drive. A triangular open space would be landscaped on the western corner of the development, at the edge of the drive's cul de sac. The southeast corner of the site would include an eight-car parking lot, with perimeter landscaping.
The central six of the row of homes would be three stories and two, one on either end, would be two stories with third-story lofts.
Each home would have a two-car garage. With the eight-spot parking lot, the site would provide 24 parking spaces, two more than required.
At the April 25 hearing, Commission Chair Jay Ross said he was concerned about the noise level in the homes and backyards because of their proximity to the freeway. Senior planner Carol Hamilton replied that the noise level inside the homes will be mitigated by the design and construction materials. She said the exterior noise level is higher than recommended, but that it only exceeds health and safety limits at the third floor, and that noisy backyard space is preferable to none at all.
Blackwell told The Resident that the townhomes' residents would likely prefer to open their third-floor windows only on the side that doesn't face the freeway.
He said the homes would probably sell for about $550,000.
Rick Crosetti, aide to District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager, said that, at the March 7 community meeting, neighbors were mostly concerned about sufficient parking, as well as other issues unrelated to the development. He said that most neighbors are pleased with the proposed design, which would include pitched roofs and decorative exterior elements, as well as its replacing the unattractive empty lot.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
