HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.4 Supplement #1 SUPPLEMENT
AGENDA ITEM#
Distributed: 1211 I6
November 30,2015
Town of Los Altos Hills Planning Commission:Ms. Susan Mandle,Mr.Jitze Couperus,Mr.Richard Partridge,Ms.
Kavita Tankha&Mr.James Abraham
RE: Town of Los Altos:Planning Commission Hearing 12/3/15
SUBJ: Amendment to Los Altos Hills Municipal Code Modifying Development Regulations for Substandard Lots
Dear Members of the Los Altos Planning Commission,
We would like to respectfully request that the Planning Commission consider against changing the code and
limiting development of legal lots under a half acre.
Smaller lots in Los Altos Hills already have ample constraints&restrictions simply by virtue of their size and
because of the larger than usual setbacks that the Town requires. Singling out and further restricting the rights of
this select group of property owners, instead of modifying the code for all property owners in LAH—should be
seriously avoided. We believe the outcome of limiting development on these lots has more wide-ranging
consequences than most people have considered and was not thoroughly thought out by some of the Deerfield
neighbors who helped give rise to this amendment.Because of their desire to see two legal lots become one lot,
they opposed our project at Deerfield,whatever the cost—resulting in adversely affecting their own property values
(some of them also less than half an acre).
Prior to making your decision on whether to restrict floor ratio on these lots and in determining how much,we ask
that you please consider the following:
1. History has proven that when a regulation restricts the use of a particular piece of land so that its"highest
and best use"is prevented, it can be expected to decrease that property's value.Restricting the floor area
on substandard lots will decrease that property's value.
2. Consequently,neighboring properties will also experience a decrease in value.
3. Development regulation is not just a developer's problem. It affects all homeowners in many ways:
a. The value of a home is driven by price per square foot.The lower the square footage,the less value
b. It reduces the physical supply of buildable land
c. It adds to homeowner's planning&building costs(i.e.adding basement for more SF)
d. It restricts the potential&thereby decreases the originality&variety of residences(smaller homes
lead to more"boxes"&less design flexibility.
4. For example,our lot at Burke is 15,102 SF.With a.16 FAR,the home size would now be limited to 2,416
SF. Subtract out the required 2-car garage of 450+/-SF and only 1,966 SF of living space remains(the
typical size of tract home or 3 bedroom apartment in neighboring San Jose). In our situation,we have the
option of adding a basement to add some much needed living space—but that may not be an option for
everyone(due to limits caused by slope, excessive costs involved in building underground, etc.).
Thank you for your time and thoughtful consideration.
Respectfully,
Oskar Kalbali&Gina Jackman-Kalbali, 13531 Burke Road,Los Altos Hills,Tel:408-691-0386
Cc:Ms. Suzanne Avila,Planning Director and Steve Padovan, Consultant Planner