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To the editor:
On Oct. 10 at the Santa Cruz City Council meeting, the council will hear an appeal regarding a large home design permit that was issued for a proposed dwelling in our (supposedly) R-1 single-family-home zoned neighborhood.
The permit for 925 Windsor St. was approved, despite objections from over 70 neighbors with deep concerns that it fails to adequately meet Santa Cruz’s large-home code (§24.08.450, §24.08.430) guidelines. These guidelines are intended to protect single-family neighborhoods from visually dominant, obtrusive developments, out of character in size, scale, architecture and privacy with the existing neighborhood.
Its 28-foot height, 3,570-square-foot size and 1,737-foot second story dwarf all surrounding homes. Its two 22-inch-deep second-story insets are insufficient in number, depth and length to adequately interrupt its massive, long, tall walls.
Approval of dwellings that fail to meet large-home codes invites replacement of existing smaller homes with dwellings grossly out of character in size, architecture and scale with the homes in existing single-family neighborhoods. Over time, this threatens to transform not just our Seabright single-family neighborhood, but all existing single-family neighborhoods from that of relatively quiet, private, sun- and sky-view-rich environs into large-scale, urban-style environs.
All city residents may attend or write letters to voice their concerns.
Dorie Melville
Santa Cruz
Find a more recent letter to the editor from Melville on this topic here.