Millbrae development design review stumbles

But with a presentation light on specific elements such as the amenities and some building configurations, commissioners shared their frustrations over an inability to give informed input.

“We don’t have a design to give you feedback on,” said commission Chair Maureen Davis, according to video of the meeting.

Commissioner Catherine Quigg offered a similar perspective.

“Give us an idea of what it will look like,” said Quigg, following a presentation from Muzzi which shared the larger illustration of the site but offered few images depicting exact plans of the residential, commercial and retail project.

Commissioner Anders Fung called on Muzzi to develop some depictions of how the project may look from the street, to which the applicant suggested it is likely too early to anticipate such a vision.

Muzzi is proposing to build 444 residential units, approximately 290,000 square feet of office space and about 35,000 square feet of retail space in three towers near the intersection of Millbrae Avenue and El Camino Real. The project was approved by the City Council earlier this year, and is moving through the design review process in advance of construction starting.

The examination of the Serra Station project came weeks following the Planning Commission hosting an extensive discussion on the fine design plans of a nearby mixed-use proposal on BART land.

During a study of the Republic Urban project, proposed to include 150,000 square feet of offices, nearly 30,000 square feet of retail space, 400 new housing units and a hotel abutting the city’s train station, commissioners analyzed elements such as proposed art installations, landscaping approaches and other fine points.

For his part, Muzzi said he has been too engulfed in the development application and approval process too spend time crafting similar renderings of his project.

“I’ve been too involved in the other stuff to make a decision on the art,” he said.

In the absence of the material sought by commissioners, a discussion developed over the ongoing effort to assure Muzzi’s project does not impede on the building height limitations for large projects abutting neighborhoods.

Talks between Muzzi and the DuCote family, who own a home adjacent the Serra Station site, have apparently fallen apart in recent months as the two sides struggle to reach a consensus regarding potential mitigations.

According to city regulations designed to limit homes from exposure to shadows cast by nearby towers, Muzzi’s project could not be approved as initially designed due to proximity to the DuCote property.

As a result, he amended his project to shrink the size of the top floor, which he said diminished its marketability since the units in the upper stories would likely collect the most income.

Still hopeful to build the units as designed, Muzzi suggested officials might consider amending existing zoning in the surrounding neighborhood, which would free his project from abiding by the shadow regulations.

Such a proposal has been repeatedly opposed by the DuCotes, who claim Muzzi abandoned discussions over ways to possibly limit the threat to their quality of life.

“It has been an awful process,” said Christina DuCote, who blamed Muzzi for talks between the two parties dissolving.

As a result, commissioners encouraged Muzzi to reconvene discussions in an attempt to reach an agreement that works for both sides. Short of that effort though, commissioners expressed frustration with their inability to address the degree of specificity they had hoped for going into the meeting.

“We didn’t do the study session we envisioned,” said Davis.

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