Architectural Review Board - October 16, 2025

Board seeks design changes before 145-townhome plan returns

The Architectural Review Board called for revisions to a 145-unit, for-sale townhome proposal near the Baylands, focusing on housing variety, affordable-unit distribution, grading, exterior materials and family amenities. The review was an initial study session, and the board made no recommendation or approval because environmental review remains underway.

The roughly 11-acre plan would demolish four commercial and office buildings and construct 65 three-story buildings with 97 attached and 48 detached townhomes. Nineteen homes, or 13%, would be deed-restricted for households earning no more than 60% of area median income. Staff said builder's-remedy constraints limit the city's review to applicable objective standards.

Members questioned concentrating the deed-restricted units in attached three-bedroom townhomes, with none in the detached units. Staff said the affordable homes must be geographically dispersed but do not have to be spread among different housing types. The board also urged the applicant to study duplexes, improve usable side yards and add a children's play area and community gathering space. The applicant said a multifamily component was likely infeasible but agreed to revisit duplex options and amenities.

The site would be raised about 3 feet to move it out of the floodplain, requiring removal of all existing trees. Retaining walls could reach about 6 feet near the project entrance, with lower walls around much of the perimeter. Members requested clearer grading and wall details, a more muted palette with less black-and-white contrast, and more consistent control joints, cladding and material transitions. The applicant said it would revise the design and return.

Board recommends wireless pole plan with concealment conditions

The board recommended approval of a proposal to modify a city streetlight pole at 1661 Page Mill Road for wireless equipment, subject to conditions intended to reduce the installation's visibility. The disconnect switch must be fully concealed in an underground vault whose cover is no higher than the adjacent grade.

The conditions also require all three radios to be mounted at the same elevation, as high as technically feasible on the existing pole, with the bottom of the lowest shroud at least 12 feet above the sidewalk. An alternative arrangement would be allowed only if the common-height configuration is not technically feasible, and the radios must face away from the street.

Board members said the revised design still lacked sufficient visual and technical detail, including views of the shroud's rear opening, cable routing, pole dimensions and alternate layouts. The applicant said it could change the radios' orientation but that placing them at one elevation could require larger or multiple cable openings and further structural review. The proposal would remove the existing equipment cabinet and install three convection-cooled radios and two antennas.

A United Neighbors representative opposed the side-mounted design, arguing that a ground cabinet would be less conspicuous, and disputed the application's processing timeline. Staff said revised calculations placed the equipment below the 28-cubic-foot threshold and under a 60-day review period; the commenter argued that a 90-day period should apply.

Primary sources

Watch the meeting on YouTube · Read the official meeting agenda