HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/26/2001 Minutes of a Special Meeting
April 26, 2001
Town of Los Altos Hills
Joint City Council and Planning Commission
Special Meeting
Thursday, April 26, 2001, 6:30 P.M.
Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road
1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
Mayor Pro Tem Casey called the Special Meeting of the City Council and
Planning Commission to order at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall.
Present: Mayor Pro Tem Casey and Councilmembers Cheng,
Fenwick and O'Malley
Absent: Mayor Finn
Planning Carl Cottrell—Chairman, Carol Gottlieb,Eric Clow
Commissioners: and Janet Vitu
Staff: City Manager Maureen Cassingham, City Attorney
Sandy Sloan, Planning Director Carl Cahill, Public
Works Manager Jim Rasp and City Clerk Pat Dowd
Press: Liz Cloutman, Los Altos Town Crier
2. JOINT MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING
COMMISSION
A. Discussion of report from LUF (Lot Unit Factor) Committee
The LUF Committee was formed by the City Council at their February 1,
2001 Regular City Council Meeting. The purpose of this committee was
to study the history of the lot unit factor (LUF) and determine if it was
applicable to development standards in Los Altos Hills today and in the
future. The following members of the LUF Committee were present: Jim
Abraham, Carl Clement,Ron Haley, John Harpootlian and Dot Schreiner.
Jim Abraham, Chairman of the LUF Committee, referred Council to the
final report from the Committee. (Copies of this report are available at
Town Hall.) This report included the following: the history of LUF,
zoning policies in similar communities, currently proposed MDA/MFA
formulas, drainage and erosion, present ordinances (including grading,
cut/fill and retaining walls), recommendation and further study. Mr.
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Special City Council Meeting
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Abraham pointed out that the committee was unable to reach a unanimous
agreement on recommendations to the Council but the following were the
recommendations from the majority of committee members: retain the
LUF concept, apply the LUF factor as envisioned in Councilmember
Fenwick's formula (Proposed ordinance, April 5, 2001 by
Councilmember Fenwick: For parcels with LUF greater than .5, MDA
=3750+(gross acre)(7500)+7500(LUF -.5); MFA = 3000+(gross
acre)(2000)+(2000)(LUF-.5)) and approve the proposed MDA/MFA
ordinance, address the visual impact changes resulting from the new
formula, and address the discrepancies in lot definitions in various areas of
the Town. Included in the report were comments and recommendations
from other members of the committee. The report also included the
following suggestions for further study: review grading policies to
determine the likely impact on proposed ordinances, investigate the
elimination of slope factor in MDA in favor of grading, retaining walls
and caps similar to Portola Valley and complete drainage study addressing
runoff generated by new ordinances.
Council thanked the LUF Committee for their excellent report and for all
of the time they worked on this project. Councilmembers asked.for some
clarification of certain of the charts and made some suggestions. In part
they recommended that the chart on lot size be shown in acreage and not
square feet, that each page be titled and that the pages be numbered. A
discussion followed on the report and the method of distribution to
residents. Council reiterated that this report as well as the constrained lot
ordinance and Town Survey results would be discussed at the May 17th
Council Meeting with notification going to all residents.
3. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR
4. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further new or old business to discuss, the City Council
Meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
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City Clerk
The minutes of the April 26, 2001 Special City Council Meeting were
approved at the May 17, 2001 Regular City Council Meeting.
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Special City Council Meeting
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