Willow Glen, California Since 1992
City Beat
By I-chun Che The tree fight is over in Willow Glen's upscale Sycamore Glen neighborhood. At its July 10 meeting, the San Jose Planning Commission granted permission to move a fence at the southwest corner of Dry Creek Road and Sycamore Glen. The approval ended a two-month argument between the property's owners, Patrick and Becky DiManto, and some of their neighbors, who had been worried that the new fence would enclose two landmark sycamore trees in the DiMantos' yard and threaten the neighborhood's beauty and safety. The DiMantos revised the fence's design in June to address the neighbors' concerns. Neighbors said they appreciated the DiMantos' compromise and were satisfied with the modified proposal. "I like the new design," said Neil Najibi, the first resident to campaign against the DiMantos' original fence project. "It makes the two trees the centerpiece of the neighborhood." The new proposal has the two sycamore trees surrounded by stack stones instead of set behind the fence. After reviewing the new design, the city planning officials concluded that the new fence would not obstruct the view of motorists. The DiMantos said they were glad that the neighbors accepted the revised proposal. "We are happy that it's over," Patrick DiManto said. Irving Tamura, the DiMantos' landscaping architect, said the couple wanted to push out their current fence so that their daughter, Marina, who is disabled, could have more space for her sunning and physical therapy. Tamura filed a fence variance on behalf of the DiMantos on March 18. He proposed to put up a new, 6-foot-tall fence with a 12.5-foot setback from the sidewalk on Sycamore Glen, include the two sycamore trees within a larger, fenced backyard, and replace the current concrete parking area adjacent to Marina's room with landscaping. A driveway access on Sycamore Glen would also be removed to reduce the potential for accidents at the intersection with cars entering and exiting the driveway. To get feedback on the project, the San Jose Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement sent out notices to the residents within 300 feet of the DiManto residence on 1734 Dry Creek Rd. for a public hearing with its director, Stephen M. Haase, on May 8. A number of residents attended the hearing and spoke against the project. Najibi said he opposed the project because enclosing the two sycamore trees would diminish the openness of the neighborhood. Constance Gum, who lives on Mulberry Lane, said she couldn't picture exactly what the fence would be like but that she found the current appearance of the landscape pleasing, with the two sycamore trees on the DiMantos' property and the two sycamore trees across Sycamore Glen forming a gateway to the neighborhood. Some residents were concerned that the fence would obstruct the view of those driving up Sycamore from Dry Creek Road. Douglas and Winifred Cooper argued that the current fence already makes it hard for drivers to see coming traffic from Sycamore Glen because it is located on a steep hill. "The proposed fence may make it even more difficult to see oncoming traffic when turning onto Sycamore Glen from Dry Creek Road," said the Coopers in a written statement. Marissa Weinstock, whose property is next to the DiManto residence on the side of Sycamore, said she was worried that pushing out the fence and increasing its height would increase the possibility of traffic accidents. "Parking of cars is almost constant on the Sycamore side of the 1734 Dry Creek Road property, as the owner has caregivers park their cars on this side," Weinstock said. "Between these cars and the new 6-foot fence, there will be less visibility to traffic from Dry Creek Road to Sycamore Glen." Weinstock also stated that some residents within 300 feet of the DiMantos didn't receive the hearing notice. Despite the objections, Haase approved Tamura's proposal on May 10 after evaluating the proposal and determining that it would not cause any traffic hazards or hurt the integrity of the neighborhood. But according to the law, anyone opposing the project can appeal to the commission within 10 days. Najibi appealed on May 16 and Weinstock appealed on May 17. In response to the two appeals, the commission held a hearing on July 10. This time, hearing notices were mailed to residents within 1,000 feet of the DiManto residence. No one showed up to protest the variance at the July 10 hearing. The new design was also welcomed by an arborist who helped concerned residents evaluate the DiMantos' original proposal and concluded that the construction of the fence would endanger the health of the two sycamore trees. Tony Tomeo of Los Gatos Horticulture said the extreme excavation necessary to install the fence would remove half of the surface soil in which the trees have extended their roots. "Construction of the fence and landscape as planned would be extremely detrimental to the health of the trees and is consequently not recommended," said Tomeo in his three-page assessment paper. But after reviewing Tamura's modified design, Tomeo said the two sycamore trees' roots will be secured because no soil cuts more than one foot deep would be made in the mound closer than 10 feet to their trunks. "The new design is excellent," he said. With the approval of their proposal, the DiMantos said they would start building the fence sometime next year. |
Feedback, or story ideas for the Willow Glen Resident?
(Close this Window to go back to our home page.)
Copyright © SVCN, LLC. Maintained by GoGuys, Inc.