Residents of Lee Drive in Menlo Park are opposing a request for variances that would allow construction of a 2,600 square foot home on a substandard 4,792 square foot lot at 947 Lee Drive. They argue the large home would be dramatically out of scale with the surrounding smaller homes situated on similarly small lots. At over 50% lot coverage, the proposed home would have 2-4 times higher density than the other 7 properties on the cul-de-sac. The residents are asking the applicant to reduce the home size to be more consistent with the existing neighborhood character of small homes surrounded by trees.

1. Building
on
the
Unique
Value
of
Lee
Drive
Presenta8on
to
the
permit
applicant
for
947
Lee
Dr
and
the
Menlo
Park
Planning
Commission
By
residents
and
owners
of
Lee
Drive,
Menlo
Park
CA
May
2012

2. At
Issue:
Request
to
the
Menlo
Park
Planning
Commission
to
approve
variances
for
construc8on
of
a
2600
sq
M
home
on
a
substandard
4800
sq
M
lot
at
947
Lee
Drive
Use Permit, Variances/Whitney Peterson/947 Lee Drive:
“Request for a use permit to determine the Floor Area Limit (FAL) for a lot with less than
5,000 square feet of developable area, and for the construction of a two-story, single
family residence on a substandard lot in the R-1-U (Single-Family Urban) zoning district.
In addition, a request for variances for construction of a first story encroachment of
approximately five-feet into the required 25-foot 6-inch front yard setback, and 10-feet into
the required 20-foot rear yard setback. As part of the proposed development, one
heritage Monterey pine tree (58-inch diameter) in poor condition at the right side of the
property would be removed.
Item deferred at the request of the applicant.”

3. Impacts:
947
Lee
Proposal
• Introduces
a
residence
drama8cally
out
of
scale
with
surrounding
homes
• Seeks
to
benefit
from
the
park-­‐like
seSng
of
the
surrounding
proper8es
without
alloca8ng
the
necessary
setbacks
and
air
space
to
contribute
to
this
seSng
• Creates
a
likely
parking
conges8on
problem
in
a
very
compact
neighborhood
that
has
no
street
parking

4. 8
Residences
of
Lee
Drive
form
close-­‐knit
community
Small
parcels
situated
around
compact
cul-­‐de-­‐sac
with
no
street
parking
939
943
935
947
937
941
949
945

5. Neighborhood
home/lot
ra8os
947 Lee Dr permit applicant proposes the largest home (by
+60%) on the smallest lot in this community, with 2X to 4X
higher building density than the remaining 7 properties on
the street.
Lee Drive Address Lot Size (Sq Ft) Home Size (Sq Ft) House/Lot ratio
Proposed 947 4792 2600 54%
935 5999 1560 26%
937 5772 1340 23%
939 5772 820 14%
941 5830 780 13%
943 5830 1261 22%
945 6098 1380 23%
949 4792 830 17%

6. Lee
Drive
is
a
unique
seSng
Consis8ng
of
a
cluster
of
small
homes
on
small
lots
nestled
beneath
numerous
heritage
trees
in
a
park-­‐like
oasis.

7. The
Joy
of
Lee
Drive
is
small
homes
among
large
trees
Lee
Drive,
Menlo
Park
CA

8. Home
owners
may
choose
alterna8ves…
Different
building
density
choices
generate
very
different
living
environments

9. Big
Homes
on
Small
Lots
Property
owners
may
choose
to
live
with
higher
building
density.
This
permanently
reduces
the
space
available
to
accommodate
tree
canopies.
Chateau
Drive,
Menlo
Park
CA

10. Small
Homes
on
Small
Lots
are
needed
to
sustain
the
leafy
ambience
and
generous
tree
canopy
cherished
by
Lee
Dr
property
owners
Lee
Drive,
Menlo
Park
CA

11. 947
Lee
proposal
has
2X
to
4X
greater
building
density
than
surrounding
7
homes
on
cul-­‐de-­‐sac

12. We
respec`ully
ask
our
prospec8ve
new
neighbors
at
947
Lee
Drive
to
work
with
us
and
the
Menlo
Park
Planning
Commission
to
pursue
a
floor
area
to
lot
size
ra8o
consistent
with
the
surrounding
proper8es
and
preserve
this
unique
seSng
for
all
the
property
owners.
Thank
you
for
your
considera8on
of
our
mutual
interests,

13. APPENDIX

14. History
of
Lee
Drive:
The
original
builder
and
subsequent
residents
were
rela1ons
and
associates
of
Dr
Russell
Lee,
respected
founder
of
the
medical
group
known
today
as
the
Palo
Alto
Medical
Founda8on.
The
original
builder
of
the
neighborhood
respected
the
special
se9ng,
anchoring
the
cul-­‐de-­‐sac
under
towering
heritage
oaks.
The
Lee
Family
s8ll
owns
narrow
strips
of
land
on
both
sides
of
Lee
Drive,
with
the
intent
to
preserve
the
quaint
country
lane
for
posterity.
hep://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palo_Alto_Medical_Founda8on
hep://www.ny8mes.com/1982/01/29/obituaries/dr-­‐russell-­‐lee-­‐86-­‐physician-­‐a-­‐
pioneer-­‐in-­‐group-­‐prac8ce.html

15. Every
neighbor
on
Lee
Dr
plays
a
part
The
in8mate
scale,
the
close
quarters
and
the
shared
seSng
brings
our
neighbors
together,
in
our
homes,
in
our
yards,
and
on
our
street.
Neighbors
celebrate
the
86th
birthday
of
Joyce
Kasson,
previous
resident
and
owner
of
947
Lee
Dr

16. Small
Homes
on
Small
Lots
a
look
around
the
neighborhood
941
Lee:
780
sq
M
home
on
5830
sq
937
Lee:
1340
sq
M
home
on
5772
sq
M
lot
(13%
home/lot
density)
M
lot
(23%
home/lot
density)

17. Small
Homes
on
Small
Lots
a
look
around
the
neighborhood
943
Lee:
1261
sq
M
home
on
5830
sq
935
Lee:
1560
sq
M
home
on
5999
sq
M
lot
(22%
home/lot
density)
M
lot
(26%
home/lot
density)

18. Small
Homes
on
Small
Lots
a
look
around
the
neighborhood
935
Lee:
1560
sq
M
home
on
5999
sq
947
Lee
proposal:
2600
sq
M
home
on
M
lot
(26%
home/lot
density)
4792
sq
M
lot
(54%
home/lot
density)
Replaces
780
sq
M
predecessor