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5• z Town Of Los Altos Hills May 27, 1998 Staff Report to the Planning Commission RE: COMPARISON OF DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS; AND DISCUSSION OF SECONDARY DWELLINGS; SINGLE STORY HEIGHT; AND COLOR REQUIREMENTS FROM: Curtis S. Williams, Planning Dire RECOMMENDATION That the Planning Commission: Review and discuss the issues outlined in the staff report and provide direction regarding preparation of policies or ordinance amendments. BACKGROUND On March 11, 1998, the Planning Commission discussed a list of issues raised at joint study sessions with the City Council. The Commission indicated that the highest priority items for review were the Town's policies and regulations for secondary dwellings and to consider establishing a limitation on the height of single story structures. The Commission also requested that staff prepare a comparison of the Town's development standards to those of similar Peninsula cities and unincorporated Santa Clara County. Also, within recent months, there has been concern raised regarding the use of the Town's color board and policy, and staff has indicated to affected residents that the issue of color requirements would be presented to the Commission. Comparison of Development Standards Attached is a summary matrix comparing a number of development standards in various cities in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, as well 'as in the Santa Clara County unincorporated area. Staff solicited information from communities with characteristics similar to the Town, including where necessary zoning districts most similar to the Town's 1-acre zoning. As is apparent upon reviewing the matrix, there are quite a variety of approaches to development regulation among the many jurisdictions, and the Town is sometimes more restrictive than most, and other times less restrictive. Obviously there are a lot of nuances of all of the regulations which cannot be captured in such a review, so that the comparison should be used in a general fashion, not to apply in a specific way to a particular property. Staff hopes that the information will prove useful during the Commission and Council deliberations regarding some of the Town's standards and policies. Secondary Dwellings Attached is the Town's policy regarding secondary dwellings, as well as the Zoning Code section which outlines the Town's secondary dwelling regulations. It is staff s understanding that some of the issues to be discussed include: