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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/04/2019Approved May 2, 2018 1 Regular Planning Commission Meeting April 4, 2019 Minutes of a Regular Meeting Town of Los Altos Hills PLANNING COMMISSION Thursday, April 4, 2019, 7:00 PM Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, CA, 94022 ______________________________________________________________________________ 1. ROLL CALL AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Present: Absent: Commissioner Smith, Commissioner Patel, Commissioner Abraham (Participated via teleconference from 12831 Viscanio Road, Los Altos Hills), Chair Mandle Commissioner Couperus Staff: Planning Director Suzanne Avila, Principal Planner Steve Padovan, Assistant Planner Dylan Parker, Building Technician Veronica Flores. 2. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR There were no Presentations from the Floor. 3. PUBLIC HEARINGS Chair Mandle reordered the agenda and moved item 3.2 to be considered first. EX PARTE: Commissioner Smith said he spoke with John Lewis. Commissioner Patel said he spoke with John Lewis and Shamis Kotaria. Commissioner Abraham said he spoke with no one. Chair Mandle said she spoke with John Lewis and Shamis Kotaria. 3.2 LANDS OF CENTRAL LAH LLC; 27983 Central Drive; File #SD18-0051; A request for a Site Development Permit to relocate a previously approved driveway access onto an existing ingress/egress easement for an adjoining property resulting in a shared driveway for both properties. CEQA review: Categorical Exemption per Section 15301: minor alteration to an existing facility. (Staff-S. Padovan). The application was withdrawn by owner/applicant and not considered. 3.1 LANDS OF DAVID AND LUCILE PACKARD FOUNDATION; 26580 Taaffe Road; Ten year review of a Conditional Use Permit for the Packard Foundation meeting facility and an amendment to eliminate the requirement for permit review every 10 years; File #CUP19-0001; CEQA Review: Categorical Approved May 2, 2018 2 Regular Planning Commission Meeting April 4, 2019 Exemption per Section 15301; (Staff: S. Avila). Chair Mandle opened the PUBLIC HEARING. Suzanne Avila, Planning Director, presented the staff report and explained the history of the property and the Conditional Use Permit associated with the land. Commission asked questions of staff and received responses. Commissioner Smith asked staff whether large events over 45 people would require prior approval from the Town. Director Avila said the foundation should notify the Town two weeks prior to larger events and that the property is limited to the number of events permitted in a given year. The specific number of allowed events is stated in the conditions of approval for the Conditional Use Permit. Chair Mandle asked staff if there are any other properties in the Town operating under a Conditional Use Permit that have a renewal period longer than 10 years. Director Avila said she is aware of properties with five-year renewal periods and specific cases that deem review such as a change of ownership. She also explained that the Town reserves the right to bring an y Conditional Use Permit to a public hearing regardless of the renewal period. Chair Mandle opened the floor to the applicant. Craig Neyman, Vice President of the Packard Foundation, spoke of the history of the property and what the facility has been used for over the years since the foundation acquired the land. Chair Mandle opened the floor to the public. Seeing no one wishing to speak Chair Mandle closed the PUBLIC HEARING. Commissioner Smith said that he approved of the Packard Foundation's ownership of the land and he is in favor of their request. Commissioner Abraham said that he approves of the Packard Foundation's ownership as well, but would like a condition to be added that states the Conditional Use Permit will be subject to review whenever the property changes ownership. Commissioner Patel said that he agrees with everything that has been said by his fellow Commissioners. Approved May 2, 2018 3 Regular Planning Commission Meeting April 4, 2019 Chair Mandle stated that she supports the renewal of the Conditional Use Permit, however she is hesitant to remove the 10-year renewal period of the permit because the Town does not allow this exception for any other use permit. Furthermore, the 10-year renewal period allows for the community to voice any concerns that may be manifest in the future. Commissioner Abraham said that he is in complete agreement with Chair Mandle and is also hesitant to remove the 10-year renewal period. MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Commissioner Abraham moved to forward a recommendation to the City Council to allow continued operation of the Packard Foundation's Taaffe House meeting facility, maintaining the findings in Attachment 1 and the recommended conditions of approval in Attachment 2. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Smith. MOTION CARRIED: 4-0-1. AYES: Commissioner Smith, Commissioner Patel, Commissioner Abraham, Chair Mandle NOES: None ABSENT: Commissioner Couperus ABSTAIN: None 3.3 HOUSING ELEMENT IMPLEMENTATION; Introduce proposed changes to the Town's secondary dwelling unit regulations, accept comments from the public and Commissioners, and direct staff to proceed with the further development of draft modifications at an upcoming Planning Commission hearing. (Staff-D. Parker) Chair Mandle opened the PUBLIC HEARING. Dylan Parker, Assistant Planner, presented the staff report. Commission asked questions of staff and received responses. Commissioner Patel asked for clarification on the income assessment data for classifying Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) that was presented in the Annual Housing Report. Steve Padovan, Principal Planner, explained the process the Town went through to determine the income level classification for ADUs built in the Town. He explained that in 2014 the Town conducted a survey of existing ADUs in the Approved May 2, 2018 4 Regular Planning Commission Meeting April 4, 2019 Town asking for their respective rents and used this data to extrapolate income brackets for newly constructed ADUs in Town. Commissioner Patel asked if the size of the unit would determine its affordability. Mr. Padovan said no, it’s determined by the income of the tenant in the unit. Chair Mandle asked staff whether adding an ADU would trigger a fire department review and subsequently additional development conditions such as widening shared driveways due to increased residents’ usage. Mr. Padovan said that a site development permit for a new ADU would require the property to be brought up to current code, including driveway widening. Discussion ensued regarding how the state views the affordability of units in respect to rent charged and size of the unit. Chair Mandle opened the floor to public comment. Carol Gottlieb, Los Altos Hills, spoke regarding issues she sees with ADUs including parking, maxing out development area, renting rooms, pathway easements, and the Town granting exemptions to the code to incentivize ADUs. Kim Welborn, Los Altos Hills, spoke in favor of ADUs and allowing basements. She said that basements allow for a more practical living arrangement for their tenants. She also spoke in favor of removing the pathway fee for ADUs. Dave Kelhlet, Los Altos Hills, spoke of the difficulty of allowing ADUs in the setback and the precedence that would be set. Masa Davin, Los Altos Hills, spoke in favor of incentivizing ADUs in the Town and how they help families plan for the future. Birgitta Indico, Los Altos Hills, spoke of her concern with allowing ADUs on maxed out lots with regards to their maximum floor area and maximum development area calculations. She said she would like to see more conversion of existing floor area into ADUs for maxed out lots. Kjell Karlsson, Los Altos Hills, spoke of his concerns with ADUs and how he thinks the Town should incentivize them. Chair Mandle closed the PUBLIC HEARING. Commission discussion ensued regarding the staff’s recommendations on ADU regulations. They first discussed allowing tandem parking. Approved May 2, 2018 5 Regular Planning Commission Meeting April 4, 2019 Commissioner Smith stated that he is okay with allowing tandem parking if the lot contains the necessary four unobstructed spaces for the main residence. Commissioner Patel said that he likes parking on the property more than parking on the street, so anything that can be done to allow more parking on site is good. He said that parking in the setbacks is even better than parking on the streets. Commissioner Abraham said that the Town wants to keep parking off the street and he is in favor of allowing one tandem parking space. Chair Mandle said she agrees with Commissioner Smith. Commission discussion ensued regarding allowing ADUs on 0.75 acre or greater lots. Commissioner Abraham stated he is in full support of this change. He said many lots in Town are just below one acre and this would increase the possibility of additional ADUs being built. Commissioner Patel stated he was curious if sub-standard lots will have any floor area/development area to build a new ADU. Chair Mandle said she is in favor of reducing the minimum lot acreage to 0.75 to allow for an ADU. Commission discussion ensued regarding allowing the conversion of existing structures to become an ADU regardless of lot area. Commissioner Smith asked staff what the requirements are for a structure to be recognized as an ADU. Director Avila explained that a unit must operate as a separate unit and include a sleeping quarter, full bathroom, and kitchen. Commissioner Abraham said he supports allowing this change and thinks many properties in Town will benefit from the exception. Commissioner Patel said he supports the change as well. Chair Mandle said she supports the change, but like Commissioner Smith was curious about the requirements ADUs must meet and where to find them in the code. Mr. Padovan said the requirements are listed in the State's code as well as the Town's code. Approved May 2, 2018 6 Regular Planning Commission Meeting April 4, 2019 Commissioner Patel asked staff how many ADUs are allowed per lot. Mr. Padovan explained that properties are limited to only one ADU. Commission discussion ensued in regards to allowing an increase of the maximum size of ADUs to 1,200 square feet and limiting basement area. Commissioner Patel said that he has no problem with increasing the maximum size allowed for ADUs, and that he is in favor as limiting basement sizes as well. He agrees that basements can be used for mechanical purposes, but there is no need for mechanical rooms to be as large as 1,200 square feet. Commissioner Smith said that he is in favor of allowing 1,200 square feet to bring the Town into compliance with what is allowed on the State level, but he agrees with Commissioner Patel that some restrictions on basements should be established. Commissioner Abraham said he is also in favor of increasing the maximum floor area to 1,200 square feet, but he does not see any reason to limit the basement area. Chair Mandle said that she agrees with Commissioner Abraham in the sense that she supports the increase in maximum size to 1,200 square feet and does not want to take away the incentive of the basement when building ADUs. Commission discussion ensued regarding eliminating the pathway fee/dedication for any new ADU. Commissioner Abraham said he supports this change. Commissioner Smith said he supports this change. Commissioner Patel said he supports this change. Chair Mandle said she does not support the eliminating this requirement. She said that building an ADU up to 900 square feet should not trigger a pathway requirement just as adding 900 square feet onto the main residence does not trigger the requirement. However, if the applicant proposes an ADU of 1,200 square feet, the pathway requirements should be applied because the Town is increasing the number of residents who use the pathway system. Commissioner Patel said that if the Commission is truly interested in increasing the amount of affordable ADUs, they need to come up with a specific plan to reduce the overall price of the ADU for the homeowner. He explained that there are many different fees that a new ADU must pay when being built, and to limit the overall cost of the ADU, all associated fees should be limited. Approved May 2, 2018 7 Regular Planning Commission Meeting April 4, 2019 Commissioner Abraham asked the difference between habitable vs. non- habitable floor space with regard to triggering pathway requirements. Director Avila stated that any addition of 900 square feet would trigger a pathway requirement along with construction of a stable for horses. Commission discussion ensued regarding reducing the sewer and project review fees. Commissioner Abraham said he would like to see the project review fees reduced. He said that if a new ADU does not require a new sewer lateral, then the sewer fees should not increase. Commissioner Smith asked staff what the threshold is which triggers a sewer review. Mr. Padovan said that the Sanitary Sewer Division will look into ADUs if 900 square feet or more is added to the property and look into the amount of fixtures being proposed. Commissioner Smith said the preferred course of action would only be to increase the sewer fees proportional to the number of new water fixtures being added to the main house, as opposed to larger fees associated with fixtures in ADUs. Commissioner Patel said he agrees with Commissioner Smith. He thinks the town should look at the cumulative increase to the sewer line for proportioning fees. Chair Mandle said that she is in favor of sewer fees being minimized, but not beyond the point to where the Town is subsidizing them. Commissioner Patel said that the project review fees should be reduced in the same way the Commission previously spoke about reducing the pathway fees. Chair Mandle said that she is hesitant to make large reductions in the review fees because she does not know how much staff time is associated with an average ADU application. Director Avila said that generally the reviewing ADUs do not take that much time. She explained she would feel comfortable removing the fee entirely and having staff simply bill for their time spent on the project. Commission discussion ensued regarding changing the terminology in the code from "secondary dwelling unit" to "accessory dwelling units". Approved May 2, 2018 8 Regular Planning Commission Meeting April 4, 2019 The Commission agreed to make the terminology change. Commission discussion ensured regarding any other potential code changes to the Town's ADU ordinance. Commission Smith was curious how the Fast Track changes would work together with the changes the commission was discussing this evening. Director Avila explained that the Council agreed with the Commission's recommendation and moving forward the Town would then need to place that terminology into the ordinance. Currently the Fast Track changes are only implemented at a policy level. Commissioner Patel said that living in the Bay Area will only get more expensive, so allowing residents to plan for multi-generational living on a property is important for the Commission to consider. Commissioner Abraham said that now would be a good time for the Commission to make clear that setbacks are measured from the property line, and not any other border line such as easements or driveways. Chair Mandle asked staff to explain how rentable rooms would work within the new ADU legislation from the state, and if individual rooms could be counted as affordable units. Mr. Padovan explained that the state does not recognize rentable rooms as affordable units. He explained that people are free to rent their rooms, but the state will not count them towards the Town’s housing goals because no new units are being built. Chair Mandle asked about how the state would determine shared housing situations. Mr. Padovan explained that the state would not recognize shared housing situations either. Chair Mandle asked how the state would recognize religious institutions. Mr. Padovan explained that the Town's religious institutions are counted as a part of the Town's existing housing stock but will not contribute to new units being created. Commissioner Abraham stated that he is highly opposed to deed restricted ADUs. Approved May 2, 2018 9 Regular Planning Commission Meeting April 4, 2019 Commission discussion ensued regarding whether to allow properties to increase their maximum floor area for second units for lots that are already at their max floor area. Commissioner Abraham said that a 500 square feet credit for maxed out lots would help incentivize people to build more ADUs. He said that the maximum development area calculations would also have to be increased 500 square feet as well. Commissioner Smith said he was opposed to increasing the allowed floor area. He said that if a resident wanted to build an ADU on a maxed out property, they should section off a portion of the house and convert that floor space to the new unit. Commissioner Patel said that increasing floor area/development area maximums is a bad idea. He said that the Commission's recent recommendation of sending properties that are 85% maxed out on their development to the Planning Commission was designed to address this exact issue. He also noted that increasing the number of ADUs in town and addressing the affordable house issue are two problems that should be discussed individually. Chair Mandle said that she agrees with Commissioner Smith and Commissioner Patel. Commissioner discussion ensued regarding whether to allow setback exceptions in certain situations. Commissioner Patel said that the Planning Commission should review any ADUs seeking exceptions. Commissioner Abraham said that setback exceptions are on a case-by-case basis. Commissioner Smith agreed with Commissioner Patel. Chair Mandle agreed with Commissioner Patel. Mr. Padovan asked the Commission if they would be interested in allowing setbacks specifically for ADUs next to designated open space. Commission discussion ensued regarding the difference between setback exceptions and setback variances. Staff said they would look into what other towns are doing to address the issues brought up at the meeting tonight. Approved May 2, 2018 10 Regular Planning Commission Meeting April 4, 2019 4. OLD BUSINESS 4.1 Fast Track Guidelines update Director Avila updated the Commission on the City Council's approval to implement the Planning Commission's three changes to Fast Track procedures. She explained that the Council did change the grading trigger to 3,000 cubic yards of grading rather than 2,000. She summarized the discussion that the councilmembers had regarding the changes to the Fast Track process. 5. NEW BUSINESS – None 6. REPORTS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS 6.1 Planning Commission Representative for March 21 - Chair Mandle Chair Mandle presented her observations of the March 21st City Council meeting. 6.2 Planning Commission Representative for April 18 - Commissioner Abraham 6.3 Planning Commission Representative for May 16 - Commissioner Couperus Commissioner Patel stated he would attend 4/18 and Commissioner Smith said he would attend 5/16. 6.4 Planning Commission Representative for June 20 - Commissioner Patel 6.5 Planning Commission Representative for July 18 - Commissioner Smith 7. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 7.1 Approval of March 7, 2019 – Regular Meeting Minutes MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Commissioner Patel moved to approve the March 7th Planning Commission meeting minutes as corrected. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Smith. MOTION CARRIED: 3-1-1 AYES: Commissioner Smith, Commissioner Patel, Chair Mandle NOES: None ABSENT: Commissioner Couperus Approved May 2, 2018 11 Regular Planning Commission Meeting April 4, 2019 ABSTAIN: Commissioner Abraham 8. REPORTS FROM SITE DEVELOPMENT MEETINGS - March 12 8.1 LANDS OF DUARTE; 12165 HILLTOP DRIVE; File #SD19-0004; A request for a Site Development Permit for landscape screening associated with a previously approved single-family residence. CEQA review: Categorical Exemption per Section 15304(b) - new gardening and landscaping. (Staff- D. Parker). 9. REPORTS FROM FAST TRACK MEETINGS - March 12 9.1 LANDS OF SINGH AND KAUR; 26303 Esperanza Drive; File #SD18-0059; A request for a Site Development Permit for a new 6,325 square-foot residence (Maximum height 27’-0”) with a 2,171 square-foot basement and driveway improvements. CEQA review: Categorical Exemption per Section 15303(a) – construction of a new single-family residence in a residential zone (Staff- J. Loh). 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:49 PM Respectfully Submitted, Cody Einfalt Planning Technician The minutes of the April 4, 2019 Regular Planning Commission Meeting were approved as presented at the May 2, 2019 Regular Planning Commission Meeting.