Special to the Town Crier
The Los Altos City Council approved an affordable second living unit, or SLU, and a two-story addition to an existing home on a 15,040-square-foot lot for Laverne Way in the north end of the city.
"It's an attractive design, it's consistent with the neighborhood, and we believe in the SLU policy," said neighbor Joe Bagley at the Sept. 14 council meeting.
"It's a good thing for the neighborhood," said Whit Halstead, another neighbor.
The process has not always been smooth for applicants Sri and Vani Ratnam. Their initial plans for a second-story addition were sent back to the drawing board. At planning commission meetings last spring many spoke against the affordable second living unit.
"Ratnam's lot is not large and isolated," said William Lai in a Sept. 1 letter to the city council. "Invading other's privacy to protect their own privacy is not justification for giving their SLU and main house wide berth," Lai said.
The Ratnams worked hard on their redesign. "There are no doors or windows on the rear wall (of the SLU) that faces neighbors," Vani Ratnam told the council.
"We gave up many features of our dream home because of our sincere wish to fit in the neighborhood," Ratnam said.
Considering how some neighbors in the north Los Altos area had opposed the Ratnam's plans, councilmembers and the Ratnams expressed surprise that no one spoke against the project at the council meeting.
Instead, neighbors came to support the plans.
These plans include a main house with 3,562 square feet, 1,162 of those on the second story. The second living unit will be 800 square feet. The city ordinance for SLUs, passed July 9, 1999, allows for a detached 800-square-foot SLU on lots greater than 15,000 square feet. All second living units are required to be maintained as affordable housing.
Since the ordinance was passed, one other SLU has been approved by the city. This is part of the city's effort to meet its state-mandated share of affordable housing.
"We don't believe that Los Altos should cater only to doctors, lawyers and Ph.D.s," Bagley said. "What about firemen that protect these houses? ... We agree with the council's policy of encouraging secondary living units."