Saucer-shaped home doesn’t fly with Yucca Valley Planning Commission
Attending remotely, property owner Mark Christensen presented the Commission plans for his Futura House, an elevated flying-saucer shaped prefabricated home to be built with an ADU on his parcel at 57149 Farrelo Road. The plans also showed a conveyor system from the carport to the houses that could potentially resemble a retro Jetsons-style flair.
While his blueprints appeared stylish and thoughtful, staff analysis found issue with “the structure composed of a half-inch fiberglass siding that does not extend below the bottom of the dwelling unit” due to the fact the building is raised several feet above the ground on triangular stilts. Issues were also found with the fiberglass roof that did not include tile, composite shingles, wood shakes, or any other material used in the surrounding community.
Christensen spoke in his defense:
“I had specifically asked if I could build this type of home on my property and the Associate Planner Jared said ‘given that the structure meets the various zoning and building codes stylistically it can be whatever you’d like’ So I understood that response meant that the unusual architectural style that was not going to be prohibited and as long as I meet the building requirements. So substantially, I obtained plans clearance, hired engineers and proceeded through the town’s planning review, invested lots of time and money and resources in these homes… So I just felt I had the green light to do this so here we are and I hope we can work something out,” said Christensen.
Commissioner Vasconcelos was first to say he didn’t think it complied with code, while Commissioner Stoker and Senior Planner Jared Jerome went into further detail.
“To staff, when someone does call and ask you what types of buildings can I build when the term ‘anything’ is okay, that would imply ‘anything’ that also conforms to the standards of our building code and development code. Would that be accurate?” asked Stoker.
“Yes, I think that what Mark read is accurate as far as the correspondence, which was the design, I believe… I said ‘you can build anything that meets the zoning and building codes’ and obviously these are the zoning codes. So if someone were to ask ‘can I build a flying saucer?’ hypothetically, yes, you could, as long as it meets all of our standards,” added Jerome.
Chair Thomas mentioned the importance of neighborhood continuity, and when he asked Christensen if he was planning on turning these units into a short-term rental, he said he was “planning on living in one, and doing whatever was within his legal rights to do with the other.” Senior Planner Jerome provided a reminder of the current ordinance:
“For everyone’s reference for ordinance, the state’s ordinance does not allow ADUs to be used as short term rentals. So just clarification that the main house could be used as a short term rental and the ADU could not.”
While Commissioner Noonan abstained from his vote on account of owning property near the proposed plans, Vasconselos, Stoker, and Chair Thomas voted against Christensen’s current plans for the Futura flying saucer houses.
