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, , � , �n � V� �Xj�1;'�' ��1.�' ��D� � ,� Melanie Curtis �� 'rD�'� � �� l From: Melanie Curtis Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2008 10:29 AM To: jsonnek@charlescudd.com Cc: Mary Drazan; 'mike.drazan@toro.com'; Evelyn M. Turner; Lyle Oman Subject: Drazan - Building Permit#2008-00292 Attachments: Defined Building Height Handout.pdf John For the past few days, Evelyn and I have been reviewing the building plans for the Drazan's building permit. We are trying to make sense of a couple issues. 1. 30' height limitation;and 2.2'/story limitation Height: We walked through the building plans with the existing and proposed surveys and are able to calculate the height within a foot +/-of 30'. However, it appears there have been a few changes to the plans since your meeting with Evelyn about the building height. Most of those changes are cosmetic and don't affect the height,with the exception of the 2"�story window above the front entry. I believe the window is an architectural feature, and not a real window, but because it looks like a window it changes where the height measurement. In order to comply with the 30'height requirement the window must either be removed or chanped to appear similar to the louvered area above the garage or some other non-window feature. 2'/:story: The lowest level of the proposed home is defined as a`story'and not a'basemenY therefore the top level of the home must meet the definition of'half-story' in order to comply with City Codes. The City Code definitions of Basement, Story&Half-Story are as follows: Basement means that portion of a building that is partly or completely below the existing ground level. A basement shall be considered as a story for purposes of determining the number of stories in a building,when the finished surface of the floor above the basement is more than six feet above the existing ground level for more than 5o percent of the basement's perimeter.The perimeter of the basement does not include portions of the house or garage that do not have a lower level but are merely"unexcavated".Artificially raising the grade adjacent to the foundation of a structure(by filling or by a combination of filling and retaining walls)above the surrounding natural terrain shall not be allowed as a method for converting a defined story to a defined basement, regardless of any other benefits to the property of such action.Finished grade that increases more than one foot from existing ground level shall be considered as artificially raising the grade.However,artificially raising the grade when such action merely restores a previously excavated site to its original natural grade may used as a method for converting a defined story to a defined basement. Hal f story means the uppermost floor of a building in which(i)the intersection of the exterior wall and the roof is not more than three feet above the floor elevation,and(ii)not more than 6o percent of the floor area within the exterior walls of the uppermost floor exceeds five feet in height as measured from the floor to the rafters. Floors exceeding these parameters shall be deemed a full story. Story means that portion of a building included between the upper surface of a floor and the upper surface of the floor or roof next above. It is measured as the vertical distance from top to top of two successive tiers of beams or finished floor surfaces and,for the topmost story,from the top of the floor finish to the top of the ceiling joists or,where there is not a ceiling, to the top of the roof rafters. A story that meets the definition of a "basement" shall be considered as a basement and not as a story for purposes of determining the number of stories in a building. According to our review,the top floor may exceed the limitation of 60%floor area(of the area directly below)with+5 feet ceiling height. Please review the definition and provide an analysis of the top floor illustrating compliance with the definition. Including specific cross- sections and floor area analysis will make the calculation clear. Our analysis indicates that the flat roof area,the full wall height along the north side of the house where the staircase is as well as the dormer on the north side extending fully to the exterior wall may be resulting in the half-story calculation problems. It is my understanding that during your discussion with Evelyn about the home's height calculation you were provided the definition for a half-story and you indicated that your draftsperson had an understanding of this calculation. Evelyn indicated that she did not go through your half story plan with you at that time. Perhaps that would have been beneficial. Hopefully modifications may be made to the plans to comply with this requirement. Additionally, please provide a"top down"view of the roof so that we may have a clearer understanding of the roof system. 1