Glenn Avenue residents Michael and Linh Bauer want to replace their two-story Tudor with a 3,355-square foot home designed in Old World architectural style. The majority of Glenn Avenue homes range in size from 1,500 to 2,000 square feet and are fashioned in the English cottage and Tudor architectural styles, neighbor Michael Williams said.

"The house would fit on an acre lot but not on this street," Carolyn Avenue resident Edesa Bitbadal said. Bitbadal and Williams' properties border the Bauer lot.

However, the Bauers said they have designed their home with neighbors in mind. The couple eliminated a bedroom from their plans in line with the San Jose building department's advice. They also invited their Glenn Avenue neighbors to review the plans and a model of the house in June. Michael Bauer said the feedback was positive, and that the couple received five letters of recommendation.

But neighbors to the rear, on Carolyn Avenue, and a few Glenn Avenue residents who could not make the June meeting, only recently learned of Bauers' plans. The city notified the neighbors that the single-family home permit for the Bauer house was scheduled for a planning director hearing on Oct. 19, but letters from neighbors protesting the project delayed the hearing until Nov. 2.

"It was delayed in hopes that we could work with the applicant and the neighbors and reach some sort of compromise that both sides would be satisfied with," San Jose planner Ed Schreiner said.

The Bauers' proposed design for their 6,500-square-foot lot requires a public hearing because the home's size exceeds city guidelines. The guidelines state that a house can not exceed 45 percent of the floor to area ratio. The Bauer design equals 51 percent. Michael Bauer said the difference is a mere 300 to 400 square feet.

At least seven families are opposing the house, based on size and privacy. Along with Bitbadal and Williams, Victor and Mariana Giacolone said the new home's 500-square foot rear deck would also affect their privacy, allowing the Bauers to peer into their neighbors' yards and bedrooms.

"It's too big and this deck's totally unacceptable," Victor Giacolone said.

While several neighbors have made additions to their homes, neighbors said the additions were constructed in a way that blended with the street. Neighbors who oppose the Bauers' plans hope they will scale down the house and balcony.

"We understand their concerns and we're gonna take it very seriously,"said Bauer, noting the house sits 44 feet away from his rear neighbors' properties. The required setback is 25 feet.

In order to allay neighbors' worries, Bauer is committed to planting four 15- to 17-foot trees within the next two weeks, which he believes will sufficiently block the view. He's also willing to pick out trees with neighbors, such as evergreens, to create year-round privacy. Each tree, Bauer said, costs from $2,000 to $5,000.

For others, the house is less about privacy and design than it is about an unwanted trend in Willow Glen. Louise Selman, who has lived near the Bauer house since 1940, said another large house has significantly decreased privacy in her backyard and afternoon sunlight.

"Recently our quaint neighborhood has been assaulted by people who have come here for the peace and tranquility, but who want to change our quaint neighborhood into a sterile ... subdivision," Selman wrote in a letter to the city, opposing the new home.

However, Bauer is optimistic about his new home's design and its compatibility with the neighborhood.

"I think it's going to be one of the most beautiful houses in Willow Glen," he said. "It's just slightly larger than what's allowed."

The San Jose Planning Director hearing on the Bauer residence at 1174 Glenn Ave. will take place on Nov. 2 at 9 a.m., in the new San Jose City Hall chambers, 200 E. Santa Clara St.