The appeal against the city-approved plan to build a new, contemporary home at 2707 Rose Street will be presented in a hearing on April 27. The authors of the appeal have just seven minutes to make their case.

The appeal concerns the application made by Lotus founder Mitch Kapor to build a new 6,478 sq ft home, and 10-car garage, on the property he owns at 2707 Rose Street in north Berkeley. Berkeleyside broke the story of the  application on January 25. The appeal centers on whether proper procedures were followed by the zoning board.

Kapor bought the Rose Street property in 2008 for $725,000. The home currently on the site (pictured above) has been abandoned for some time and would be torn down. The lot on which it is sited is secluded and surrounded by trees. It is abutted on the south side by the elevated section of La Loma Avenue and gives onto Shasta Avenue on the north side.

Architect Gary Parsons, who wrote about the appeal on Berkeleyside in February, says: “The more we dig the more we find to object to”.

  • To read the ZAB application for the project, click here. To view drawings associated with the application, click here.
  • To read the appeal to this project, and its many letters and exhibits, click here.

Tracey Taylor is co-founder of Berkeleyside and co-founder and editorial director of Cityside, the nonprofit parent to Berkeleyside and The Oaklandside. Before launching Berkeleyside, Tracey wrote for...