Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Wrong numbers: An incorrect building application submitted for this house at 1198 Nevada Ave. is now the subject of a complaint filed against the architect.
Homeowner files charge over wrong numbers on house plan
Architect insists incorrect lot size on application was an honest mistake
By Chantal Lamers
A Nevada Avenue resident has filed a complaint with the California State Board of Architects against an architect who submitted incorrect information for a proposed remodel of a home at 1198 Nevada Ave. in Willow Glen.
Architect Sal Caruso, a former San Jose planning commissioner, submitted the plans to the San Jose Building Department for the home in late July. Permits to remodel the home were pulled by building officials on Aug. 8, after a handful of neighbors discovered the plans didn't mesh with San Jose design-law guidelines.
In the complaint, filed on Aug. 16, Willow Glen resident Lisa Schon asked the board to suspend or revoke Caruso's architectural license because permits submitted to the city of San Jose listed inaccurate square footages that made the proposed design exempt from additional scrutiny, including a public hearing.
In the project application filed with the city building department, Caruso said the size of the lot was 10,272 square feet. Santa Clara County Tax Assessor records, however, put the lot size at 5,500 square feet.
Caruso says one of his employees penciled in the wrong lot size. He denies any wrongdoing.
"This was an honest, human error without any intention of malice," he says. "This error, performed by one of my employees of my company, was on the records for approximately one week. We found the error and corrected it. The original house, as permitted, will not be built," he says.
Caruso says he went to the building department when he caught the mistake. City officials say they were already aware of the error at that point.
Don and Doreen Araki, who own the house, hoped to build a 3,737- square-foot home on the lot. However, under the 8-month-old monster-house ordinance, the size of the home is capped at 2,475 square feet.
The city design law states that a home occupying between 45 percent and 65 percent of its lot size is required to conform to specific design guidelines, based on the surrounding neighborhood. A home that is more than 65 percent of its lot size must undergo the full design-review process that includes a public hearing.
City building officials say because the incorrect information was listed on the application, neither the public hearing nor design review process was required.
Nearby residents, including Craig Hoffert, believe there may have been other misinformation on the permit.
The permit request completed by Caruso stated there would be an 826-square-foot addition and some remodeling on the home.
But Nevada Avenue residents began asking questions after they found out that a renter living in the house had received a 30-day notice to vacate the residence because it was going to be demolished.
Hoffert says because Nevada Avenue is a street where homes are often under construction, neighbors were curious why they never received notice about the demolition.
Believing that the house was scheduled to be demolished, neighbors checked the plans on file with the city.
The existing home is a one-story structure with a partial second-story addition. The planned expansion would have included completing the second story and expanding an 826-square-foot addition into the backyard. The final product would be an Italian-style stucco home.
If the home, that sits on the corner of Nevada and Newport avenues, had been remodeled, the front door would have been moved to face the Newport side.
Hoffert says many residents who want to remodel or rebuild homes in the area often have to jump through hoops to get it done. Hoffert, a three year resident of the street, says he thinks everyone should abide by the rules of the so-called monster-house ordinance.
Hoffert says he and other Nevada Avenue neighbors are also upset because Caruso submitted documents stating that the existing home is about 3,123 square feet. However, Hoffert and a handful of other homeowners on the avenue estimate the actual size of the home is closer to about 1,900 square feet.
Caruso denies that the home was going to be demolished.
Hoffert says the house at 1198 Nevada Ave. is a hot topic on the street. "You see people and it's the first thing that comes out of their mouths," he says.
Hoffert says neighbors are just waiting to see what happens with the property. "I'm very interested in what happens with it now. It's become such a stink."
Vicki Wilk, California Architect Board enforcement officer, says it can take from six months to a year to complete an investigation, depending on the amount of information that needs to be collected. "There are a whole degree of things that could happen," she says.
Depending on the degree of the violation, Wilk says architects could be slapped with anything from a warning, citation or, in a worst case scenario, a referral to the state Attorney General's office.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
