Lester Pointe subdivision builder Legacy Communities ran into a snag Monday when Union City planning commissioners would not support the company’s request to decrease the minimum garage size for the 166-lot development. Planning commissioners did agree to revised guidelines allowing Hardiplank siding on chimney surfaces.

Legacy representative Scott Schmidt and attorney Mark Forsling presented the case for decreasing the square footage of garages. Though city architectural guidelines specify a 584-square-foot minimum for two-car garages, Schmidt and Forsling requested the minimum requirement be decreased to 19 feet, six inches by 19 feet, six inches, or approximately 380 square feet.

Citing his company as the fourth to acquire the property, Schmidt said others had passed on developing theh site due to issues such as the city’s design criteria. Planning commissioners contended that the city had put considerable thought and effort into the Planned Unit Development (PUD) plan prior to adopting it. They added that the PUD Development Plan had worked well in other developments.

Schmidt acknowledged the city’s position on minimum garage size but insisted that expenses such as altering the pre-drawn design plans and other concerns would necessitate a major design change and would be a “deal breaker.”

Relating to the request to amend the requirement that chimneys should be covered with brick, stone or stucco, Schmidt said that using those materials would be cost prohibitive. He requested that Hardiplank, a widely used fiber-cement material, be allowed to be used in place of the other materials.

After their discussion of the request, commissioners voted 2-1 to allow the change to Hardiplank on chimneys but rejected a reduction in square footage for garages. The vote on that measure was also 2-1.

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