The Los Altos Hills City Council reached a compromise on the often contentious issue of housing development when members voted last Thursday to keep the planning commission in the mix, yet streamline the process.
At Mayor Bob Johnson's suggestion, the council agreed unanimously to creating a "fast-track" process for houses that meet all conditions and draw no neighborhood opposition. Such applications would go straight to the council consent calendar under the plan.
The council also accepted Johnson's recommendation that the town staff and council work to refine the direction of the planning commission. Past decisions of the planning commission have been an obvious source of frustration for many in the packed audience for the study session at Bullis-Purissima school.
Town Manager Jeff Peterson said the goal would be "to try to clarify areas where people think there's too much subjectivity."
To achieve this goal, the council appointed a subcommittee comprising council members Johnson and Toni Casey and town staff.
The actions capped a four-hour meeting and a long public hearing.
Most speakers decried the town and particularly the planning commission for fuzzy guidelines on site development review, which they said led to inconsistent and subjective rulings.
"That body applies not what the town wants but what they want personally," said Shelley LeFevre, drawing applause from the crowd. LeFevre suggested the council take over the site review process to save time for applicants and staff. She felt the council had time because the town has "no commerce" issues to address.
However, another speaker said the council would be responsible for a lot more work than expected if members took over site development reviews. Others argued the process would become more political under a council-only review because members are elected officials, and a level of "checks and balances" provided by the planning commission would be removed.
One suggestion that may get more serious council attention concerned "story poles" that are used to physically outline a proposed home, especially with respect to height. Several speakers recommended story poles be erected earlier in the process, rather than just prior to public hearings at the planning commission level. Doing this, they reasoned, would give residents an opportunity to resolve problems before the public hearing stage.
Others lobbied for notification of residents beyond 500 feet of the properties under development. They noted that the topography of the town limited the number of neighbors being notified.