Well we signed our approval for the fireplace in the center of the wall. Kinda funny how we 'approve'...but not really. So we found out the why's behind it. On Nov 7, 2007 the city council approved the Holdner Farms Phase Two design standards. In those standards, corner lots have a primary front elevation and a secondary front elevation. To make a long story short, the fireplace is popping out to outside (see post below) on the secondary front elevation and it breaks up the solid wall that would have been in violation of the design standards. So they claim.
Being the skeptical fellow I am, I decided that I would like to see some documentation. So I asked Mr. Google some questions and to my surprise, to quote Carl on
the movie
Sneakers, "It's fascinating what fifty bucks will get you at the county recorder's office!" Since we live in a digital age and because I'm really good at research, I found a pdf of the Holdner Farms Design Standards. Check it out:

In hindsight, we could have perhaps talked to the builder about putting a bay window or some other feature to break up the wall, however, we need the house built. Feb 15 marked the 60 day countdown until closing and any delays at this point risk us not meeting the closing deadline. Therefore, we threw up the white flag on this one and surrendered this front to the city. Sigh.