SAN LEANDRO — A proposal for six townhouses on Marina Boulevard across the street from the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Leandro has won approval from the Planning Commission.
“This impresses me as a good fit for the location,” Commissioner Richard Brennan said Thursday, when the commission voted unanimously to recommend it to the City Council.
Each three-story home would have an attached two-car garage and would be built in a “farmhouse” style with metal gabled roofs. Each also would have siding made of materials so that it looks like wood.
Four townhouses would have three bedrooms and three bathrooms; another would have four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The largest townhouse would have five bedrooms and four bathrooms.
“It’s like a layer cake,” is how city planner Elmer Penaranda described the design of the houses, which would be built where a 800-square-foot house now sits at 342 Marina Blvd.
The garage for each home would be on the ground floor, and above that would the kitchen, dining and living rooms, Penaranda said. Bedrooms and bathrooms in most of the units would be on the third floor.
The property borders a 28-apartment complex, as well as a four-apartment complex.
Some neighbors said they thought the project was too big for the 12,000-square-foot lot and that it would not reflect the neighborhood, which is made up of mostly houses.
“A horrible idea,” neighbor Richard Dillon said. “You are adding this massive structure to a nice, single-story neighborhood. And it’s going to be so out of place as you see it from the street.”
Diana Sena lives next to the property.
“Parking is going to be a really bad issue,” Sena said. “Parking is already bad enough; we get a lot of traffic. People speed right through there, especially with the boys and girls club right across the street.”
Each townhouse will be sold as a condominium and a homeowners association will manage the complex.
Along with the 12 parking spaces in the private garages, which future homeowner rules will require must be used for vehicles and not storage, the project calls for three additional parking spaces at the rear of the site.
City rules require two “covered,” or garage, spots for any multi-family unit with three or more bedrooms. With its total of 15 parking spots plus space in garages, the project meets the requirement, according to city officials.
A 24-foot-wide driveway would cut through the complex with six townhouses on each side. There would be about 420 feet of common open space.
“We are trying to bring a warm project with lush green wrapping around it,” said applicant Gordon Wong of GKW Architects.
Commission Chair Kenneth Pon said he thought the parking met the project’s needs.
“I believe the parking issues in that area have more to do with the boys and girls club when they have events,” Pon said. “That’s often when I go to the club, when there’s lots of events going on, and the existing homeowners’ usage there is also an issue (regarding parking) as opposed to the new development.”