Hidden Dragon plagued by four issues

12/11/2014

Spurred by close scrutiny and virulent opposition to almost 9,000 square feet of proposed new development on the site of a dilapidated monastery in Inverness Park, Tim Westergren, the owner of the music streaming service Pandora, is pursuing further studies to submit to county planners to prove his projects merit.

Locals packed the Inverness Yacht Club last Wednesday to air their fears to the Inverness Association and representatives of Mr. Westergren and his wife, Smita Singh, who bought 135 Balboa in 2008 and recently completed their formal application to the county for a coastal development permit and design review. Comments on Wednesday evening centered on four topics: the proposed removal of 46 trees, the size of the planned second unit, the possible effects of the propertys water well on neighboring wells and the size of the overall project, which includes 14 bathrooms.

Around 10 or so people spoke publicly at the meeting. Nick Whitney, the president of the Inverness Association, which hosted the event, asked the crowd to signal their agreement with comments voiced by attendees on the four core concerns. Each time he asked, close to every hand in the room shot up.

Chris Stanton, who is managing the project with his East Marin-based Inverness Construction Management, responded to some complaints, but said he and a partner were there to listen so they could respond more fully at a future meeting. The owners themselves announced they would not attend because they were not prepared to make a formal presentation to the community without the additional studies and data that should be ready in early January.

Once all the materials are received, the county will schedule a hearing with the Planning Commission. A ruling could be appealed to the Board of Supervisors; if that panel also approves it, the project could also be appealed to the California Coastal Commission. (However, Wade Holland, the planning commissioner for West Marin, said on Wednesday that it was highly unlikely that the commission would hear an appeal of a home.)

The proposal

Hidden Dragon, L.L.C. has proposed a 5,494-square foot home; a 335-square foot garage; a 750-square foot second unit; a 1,316-square foot art studio; a 294-square foot meditation hut and pool house; a 673-square foot garage for the second unit; a 16,000-gallon swimming pool and two 5,000-gallon water storage tanks, totaling 8,927 square feet of new structures. (According to planner Heidi Scoble, that number is the building area. The floor area is 8,254 square feet because county code allows the applicant to omit the garage for the second unit in that tally.)

There are eight designated bedrooms in the application, but opponents argue there are 17 potential or functional bedrooms if a study, exercise rooms, meditation rooms and rooms in the art studio are included.

The sleek, modern two-story home sports flying roofs and a mixture of glass and wooden walls; a deck off the master bedroom hangs in the air above the descending knoll. The house is built into a hill, which obscures the lower level from the south view, according to the plans. The caretakers house is on the northern edge of the property, near Balboa.

Continue reading here:
Hidden Dragon plagued by four issues