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Published on 06/08/1998 All articles from this issue

News Briefs

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SLU ordinance approved June 9

The Los Altos City Council voted 4-1 to approve an ordinance for affordable second-living units in Los Altos. The granny cottages will be allowed on lots of 150 percent of parcel size for R1 zoning, which typically in Los Altos is 10,000 square feet. This means the second-living units may be built on 15,000-square-foot lots or larger, about 15 percent of the lots in town.

Affordable SLUs will also be allowed on 13,000-square-foot lots if they are converted from existing floor space of a house or an "integral part" of an addition.

Now all SLUs that are built in town must be rented at below-market-rate rents to low income tenants, as part of the city's effort to fulfill the state's mandate to create its share of affordable housing.

100s attend meetings discussing moratorium

Hundreds of area residents, from the unincorporated parts of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, attended two local meetings June 3 and June 8 to learn about the building moratorium in their area.

"We were surprised at the turnout," said Supervisor Joe Simitian of the June 3 meeting. He represents this area on the county board of supervisors. About 1,400 households are in the area of the building moratorium, which applies to lots that are sub-standard in size.

The county defines substandard parcels as those smaller than the minimum parcel size established by the zoning district. Most of the parcels affected have a 20,000-square-foot minimum. About 60 percent of all parcels in the moratorium area would be considered "substandard" using this definition, county staff said.

The next steps include: a second round of community meetings in July to discuss revisions to development standards; county planning commission workshops July 2 and Aug. 6 to discuss these revisions; a public hearing before the county planning commission on Aug. 6; and a public hearing before the board of supervisors Aug. 18 to adopt revisions to development standards.

- Joanne Griffith Domingue