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57 Town of Los Altos Hills December 8, 2005 Staff Report to the Planning Commission RE: PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO FENCES, WALLS, GATES, AND COLUMNS ORDINANCE §10-1.507 FROM: Leslie Hopper, Project Planner APPROVED BY: Carl Cahill, Planning Directorr-.C, RECOMMENDATION That the Planning Commission: 1. Review the staff report and attached ordinance with proposed amendments, consider any revisions, and forward a recommendation to the City Council. BACKGROUND On June 2, 2005 the City Council formed an Ad Hoc Planning Committee authorized to review the current fence ordinance and develop proposed amendments. From July through September, the Ad Hoc Committee met regularly to formulate its fence recommendations, which are incorporated in the proposed ordinance attached to this report. The Ad Hoc Committee reviewed the fence ordinances of Woodside, Portola Valley and Saratoga as a basis for comparison with the Town's requirements. Major issues considered by the committee included the approval process and notification of neighbors, as well as the preferred design of fences and the impacts of fences on wildlife corridors. The current fence code (Section 10-1.507)was adopted by the City Council on April 15, 2004. On September 8, 2005, the Ad Hoc Planning Committee submitted its draft fence ordinance proposal to the Planning Commission for review and comment. The Ad Hoc Committee has incorporated the Planning Commission's comments into the attached ordinance. The September 8, 2005 Planning Commission meeting minutes are attached. DISCUSSION Major changes in the proposed fence ordinance are shaded in gray, and are summarized below: 1. Purpose. A statement of purpose was added in Section 10-1.507(a) to articulate the Town's philosophical basis for establishing fence requirements, which is to balance safety and privacy concerns with the preservation of the open,rural quality of the Town. 2. Public Notice and Hearing. The following types of permit requests listed in Section 10- 1.507(e) would require notification of neighbors and a site development hearing: • Fences that require the removal of existing landscape screening. • Solid fences that impact neighbor views. • Any other proposal that the Planning Director deems appropriate for a hearing, such as chain link fences along a roadway or fences longer than 1,000 linear feet.