TOWN STAFF REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
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Discuss, consider, and act to make a recommendation to the Town Council regarding a request from Bernal Homes, Inc. to deviate from certain building aesthetic, design, and material standards contained within the Entrada Design Guidelines (Deputy Town Manager Jason Alexander, AICP, CEcD)
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STAFF: Jason Alexander, AICP, CEcD, Deputy Town Manager
BACKGROUND:
The development standards for Entrada --- as adopted by Ordinance No. 703 (zoning) and Ordinance No. 760 (design guidelines) --- are intended to deliver a visually harmonious and aesthetically pleasing mixed-use development within the center of the Town of Westlake.
In particular, the development standards are derived from architectural and urban design vernacular common to towns and villages in Spain. As such, the development standards reinforce a palette of exterior finish materials that are primarily indigenous to Spain and other European nations bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The palette of exterior finish material primarily includes cast stone, stone, and stucco; and brick, wood, and other materials are either to be limited in use or contemplated for architectural merit.
Bernal Homes, Inc., the Developer, is requesting a deviation from the material requirements for exterior walls as contained in the design guidelines for Entrada because the stone used above the second story is not capable of structurally supporting cast stone, stone, or other material with similar characteristics and properties for the construction of a five-story mixed-use building on Lot 1, Block N, within Entrada.
This is due to the selected coursing and patterning --- as well as the cut of stone (i.e., thin). Further, stucco, because of its weight, would also not be supported structurally by the cut of stone. This deviation would apply to projections at openings for doors and windows, including sills, lintels, and balcones (i.e., Juliette balconies).
In a letter prepared by the structur...
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