A Jan. 28 San Jose planning director's hearing was the first opportunity for the developer and neighbors to present their issues publicly.

DeRose wants to build a two-story, single-family residence, with a single-car detached garage in the front of the property. The home is to be designed in a Spanish Colonial Revival style.

Palm Haven Restoration Committee Chairman Mike Borbely said he was concerned that a garage in the front of the house would impact the heritage of the neighborhood, whose homes were built between 1913 and 1947 with detached garages at the back.

"Very few have up-front garages," Borbely said. "It would be more street work than landscaping."

Borbely added that because Palm Haven homes are designed with their utilities located in the back, without a 10-foot easement on the side, utility workers would have to enter the property through neighbors' backyards.

Richard Luker, whose backyard faces the lot's south side, said if the proposed plan was approved without the 10-foot setback on the south side, as recommended by Palm Haven's Conditions, Covenants and Restrictions, utility workers "would have to drive through my rose garden" to access DeRose's backyard.

DeRose, a real estate agent, bought the property after several buyers backed out because of "fear of neighborhood problems," he said. Now he is having to work through those very issues.

North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association Director Dan Erceg, who also spoke at the hearing, said the design's main problem was that it didn't blend in with the vintage neighborhood. He was concerned about setting a precedent for future developments that would conflict with the nature of the historic Palm Haven area.

Jeannette Coran, the architect for the developer, said the application followed planning-requirements setbacks for front and back and that PG&E could access the property without disturbing adjacent neighbors. The utility company does not need a 10-foot easement to do the work, Coran said.

"The Conditions, Covenants and Restrictions are not enforceable," Coran said. "What is enforceable are current planning requirements."

She said she drew plans with a side driveway and detached garage behind the house, but that they required removing a historic palm tree and a box elder tree that shades two neighboring yards. And she redesigned the garage to look like a carriage house.

Coran said that the development team understands the "compulsion" to address the concerns of the lot's adjacent neighbors, but, she noted, it is an odd-shaped lot.

Because of the volume of letters and public concern addressing this particular project, the planning department decided to continue the hearing, scheduling it for further discussion on Feb. 11 at 10 a.m.

The hearing will be held at San Jose City Hall, 801 N. First St., in Room 205. For more information, email alison.hicks@sanjoseca.gov.