By Eliza Ridgeway

The 8-acre estate Kumar and Vijaya Malavalli are developing in Los Altos Hills got a green light from the planning commission this month in front of a mostly celebratory crowd.

“One of our hot-button issues in town right now is the issue of large homes, and here we had a project where we had a very large home with an applicant very sensitive to giving back easements, and using solar and conservation in home building, and so the size wasn’t an issue,” Planning Commissioner Bart Carey said during the Dec. 8 meeting.

The Malavallis attended the meeting with support staff, including an architect, environmentalist and tree-mover, and addressed two key issues: the fate of several large trees, including heritage oaks, on the site and the pathway proposed for the conservation easement.

Plans restrict the 17,389-foot Santa Barbara Mission-style house to one story except for a star-gazing addition on a second level. An office building, garden pavilion and bell tower as well as decorative gardens will surround the main house. Many of the neighbors who spoke at the public hearing expressed appreciation for the project’s low profile and ecological aesthetic.

The parcel included 3.54 acres of an existing conservation easement. The Malavallis added 1.25 acres to the easement, totaling nearly 59 percent of the property. They have committed to protecting a stand of heritage oaks on the edge of the construction zone.

Two neighbors on the opposite side of Deer Creek Canyon requested that several trees slated for removal be retained to screen views of the development, a move the commission supported. For the last year arborists have been caring for trees removed when the original structure was demolished.

Project architect Kartik Patel said the house was designed with the goal that, “future architecture should be green architecture.”

A pathway designated for the Malavallis’ existing easement was the primary subject of dissension. Patel and neighbors argued that the steep grade, creek and pristine condition of the easement would not benefit from a pathway, while others supported its creation. The commission voted to uphold the proposed path.

Commissioner Carl Cottrell praised the Malavallis for their collaboration with neighbors and an “outstanding job of trying to meet our town requirements.”