Commission Approves 5,700-Square-Foot Home of Ex-49ers Owner’s Daughter

The San Francisco 49ers lost to the Baltimore Ravens in Sunday’s thrilling Super Bowl XLVII, narrowly falling short of garnering the franchise's sixth championship under the ownership of the extended DeBartolo family.

But although breakout star Colin Kaepernick wasn't able to lead the Niners to the title, the DeBartolo family can be comforted by a less-publicized – but not exactly small – reason to celebrate.

The Mill Valley Planning Commission last week approved the proposed demolition of a 5,800-square-foot home and the construction of a 5,700-square-foot home in its place on Magee Ave. in the Middle Ridge neighborhood.

The 44,146-square-foot property is owned by Tiffanie DeBartolo, the daughter of former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo, Jr., who relinquished ownership of the Niners in 1998 in the aftermath of a corruption scandal involving the former governor of Louisiana, Edwin Edwards. Denise DeBartolo York, Eddie DeBartolo’s sister, took control of the team and then turned it over to her son Jed York in 2008.

Tiffanie DeBartolo, a novelist, filmmaker and co-founder of indie record label Bright Antenna, and her husband, former pro triathlete Scott Schumaker, bought the Magee Ave. property in April 2011 for $4 million, according to Blockshopper, and the adjacent property for $1.25 million in March 2012.

DeBartolo, 42, has written two novels, God-Shaped Hole and How To Kill a Rock Star and also wrote and directed the 1996 film Dream for an Insomniac, which featured Jennifer Aniston. The couple’s record label features a roster that includes the Wombats, Middle Class Rut, Magic Wands and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.

The Planning Commission hearing was a follow-up to a December 2012 meeting in which the commission identified four primary concerns: the amount of glass on the exterior of the home, which caused one attendee to call it an aquarium; the amount of soil that would need to be hauled from the site to accommodate the construction; the size of the lawn; and the white color proposed for the exterior of the house, which commissioners said would be a beacon-like eyesore for those who live across the canyon.

The applicants made concessions in the first three of those areas, and the commission agreed to have an alternative to the white color of the exterior come back on its consent calendar at a future meeting.

“We love Mill Valley,” Schumaker told the commission. “One of the reasons we love it is the diverse character that Mill Valley has, and our house will help contribute to that.”

The home features a large underground gym that Schumaker said is “core to our lifestyle” and will limit the couple’s car trips to a gym elsewhere, thereby reducing their carbon footprint.

“This house is truly magnificent,” Commission Chair David Rand said. “This is a really special site and a really special house.”

They hope to start building late summer, according to their architect, Michael Rex.

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