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2.2 Comparison of the Permitted MFAs of Residences in Los Altos Hills and Surrounding Hillside Towns -Environmental Design and Protection Committee Robin Robinson, Environmental Design and Protection Committee Co-Chair addressed Council. Robinson acknowledged that she was before Council to make a presentation on the Committee's findings regarding the comparison of the permitted MFA of residences in Los Altos Hills and surrounding hillside towns that included Los Gatos, Saratoga, Portola Valley, Woodside and Monte Sereno. Robinson introduced her Co-Chair Pat Ley and Committee Members: Sandy Humphries, Elizabeth Goodman and Neela Shukla. Robinson proceeded with a PowerPoint presentation. Highlights included: 1) comparison of neighborhing hillside communities permitted MFA for 1, 3, and 5 acre parcels and identification of their maximum allowable development regardless of the parcel size; 2) reasons for considering limitations on"oversized"homes that included the General Plan's Land Use general principles and resident comments that supported retaining the rural nature of the Town collected during the implementation of a previous Town survey; 3) neighborhood concerns; 4) use of natural resources for building materials, energy, water and land use per capita; 5) non-native landscaping and landscaping with vineyards that required fertilizers; and, 6) additional environmental concerns of erosion, run-off, landslides, and the diversion of the natural flow of water. Robinson explained that the Committee believed there was a growing trend towards the "Look at Me" houses in Los Altos Hills. They contributed this to the generous MFA allowances for large parcels. The Environmental Design and Protection Committee was chartered to review and visit all new development in Town and had a member representative at all Site Development hearings. Robinson explained that neighbors often voiced concerns at the hearings that were attributable to the magnitude of the projects. Concerns included: increased traffic and construction noise, length of construction time and disruption to the neighborhood,the high visibility of the mega homes, space invasion, and the impact of the large project on the sense of community. Robinson reviewed with Council the Committee's recommendations that included: the adoption of a maximum house size cap; an increase of building setbacks; and a change in the MFA formula to require greater acreage for larger homes. Council thanked Robinson for her comments. They concurred that it was complex issue with a constellation of issues. There was general agreement that the impact of large homes on natural resources was debatable as compared to more homes being developed on the large parcels but that there was a consensus that large homes had a definitive impact on the rural nature of the community. Council reviewed their options for moving forward on the Committee's findings. Options included a Town survey and public hearing to garner input from residents; formation of an Ad-Hoc committee to review the issues and/or referring it to the Planning Commission for further review. It was offered that it could be included as part of the General Plan review. Mayor Kerr suggested that a possible solution to energy use by large homes would be requiring LEEDS certification of new development of a certain size. 2 City Council Meeting Minutes November 17,2005