When the ARB first reviewed our grey walls and red roof color scheme, glare was raised as a potential issue. We responded to this issue but received no comments regarding our response.
Glare was again briefly mentioned in the second ARB hearing.
Note Mirror Finish Windows
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The shaded section represents the location of the left corner of the new yet-to-be-built Caterina Hotel (11′ from the property line, and right at the sidewalk).
The wall at ground-level (behind the left side of the chain link fence) has bushes growing in front of it and is partially shaded by the wall of our stairway. The front of 4260 El Camino Real is in shade during the afternoon as it faces south-east.
The space between our building and the new 5 story hotel is only 11′ and will be partially shaded by over-hanging balconies on the new hotel. The area between the two buildings will be dark nearly all day. The sun would have to be directly overhead to shine between the two buildings.
Neither drivers nor pedestrians will have a problem with glare from the chosen grey siding.
View from the center divide of El Camino Real. The dark band at the right indicates the corner of new Caterina Hotel.
The windows are partially reflective (mirror finish) to improve energy efficiency.
The solid stairway wall (with lattice/trellis) is going to be replaced with slats to improve the visibility between the driveway and the sidewalk. It is 8′ tall and blocks any view of the building siding, that pedestrians would have.
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The leafless trees on the left side of our building were heavily pruned about 4 months ago. When they leaf out, the side of 4260 El Camino Real will be heavily shaded.
If there was any glare from this side of the building it could only affect the parking lot and only in the morning. For most of the day, this side of the building is fairly dark even when the trees are leafless.
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This picture shows 4260 El Camino Real from the direction the sun rises, the southeast, across El Camino Real, on a summer morning. Our building is heavily shaded and quite dark.
In the afternoon, the sun is behind 4260 El Camino Real, with no sunlight falling on any of the walls visible from this direction. This side would become even darker.
Clearly, there will be no glare in this direction, and the building should be a light color to prevent an unappealing black-hole.
It is very hard to see how the front of 4260 El Camino Real could create a problem with glare during the summer even with the most reflective surface imaginable. The stairway walls are going to be replaced with slats (dark grey has been proposed).
The grey color chosen for the sides of our building is Silversmith. It has an LRV of 54. “Paint colors 40-60 are considered a medium LRV. They will reflect an average amount of light and are very safe to use inside or outside.”