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ORDINANCE NO. 320
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AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS AMENDING
CHAPTER 5 ENTITLED "FLOOD DAMAGE PREVENTION ORDINANCE" OF
TITLE 7 OF THE LOS ALTOS HILLS MUNICIPAL CODE
The City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills DOES ORDAIN as follows:
SECTION 1. AMENDMENT OF CODE.
The following subsections of Section 7-5.02 of Chapter 5 entitled "Flood
Damage Prevention" of Title 7 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code, hereby
are amended or repealed, or renumbered, or added to Section 7-5.02,
respectively:
A. Subsections (a) and (b) are amended to read as follows:
(a) "Appeal" means a request for a review of the Floodplain
Administrator's interpretation of any provision of this Chapter
or a request for a variance.
(b) "Area of shallow flooding" means a designated AO or
AH Zone on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). The base
flood depths range from one to three feet; a clearly defined
channel does not exist; the path of flooding is unpredictable and
indeterminate; and velocity flow may be evident.
B. Subsection (e) is hereby renumbered as (f).
C. Subsection (e) is hereby added to read as follows:
(e) "Basement" means any area of the building having its
floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
D. Subsection (f) is hereby renumbered as (g) and is hereby
amended to read as follows:
(g) "Flood or flooding" means a general and temporary
condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land
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areas from (1) the overflow of flood waters, (2) the unusual and
rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source,
and/or (3) the collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of
a lake or other body of water as a result of erosion or
undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding
anticipated cyclical levels or suddenly caused by an unusually
high water level in a natural body of water, accompanied by a
severe storm, or by an unanticipated force of nature, such as
flash flood or an abnormal tidal surge, or by some similarly
unusual and unforeseeable event which results in flooding as
defined in this definition.
E. Subsection (j) is hereby repealed.
F. Subsection (m) hereby is renumbered as (2) and is amended
to read as follows:
(aa) 'Structure' means a welled and roofed building or
manufactured home that is principally above ground.
G. Subsections (g), (h), (i), (1), (m), (n) and (o) are hereby
renumbered as (i), (j), (o), (z), (aa), (bb) and (cc), respectively.
H. The following new subsections hereby are added:
(h) "Flood Boundary and Floodway Map" means the
official map on which the Federal Emergency Management
Agency or Federal Insurance Administration has delineated
both the areas of flood hazard and the floodway.
(k) "Floodplain or flood -prone area" means any land
area susceptible to being inundated by water from any source
(see definition of "flooding").
(1) "Floodplain management" means the operation of an
overall program of corrective and preventive measures for
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reducing flood damage, including but not limited to emergency
preparedness plans, flood control works and floodplain
management regulations.
(m) "Floodplain management regulations" means zoning
ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, health
regulations, special purpose ordinances (such as floodplain
ordinance, grading ordinance and erosion control ordinance) and
other applications of police power. The term describes such
state or local regulations in any combination thereof, which
provide standards for the purpose of flood damage prevention
and reduction.
(n) "Floodproofing" means any combination of structural
and nonstructural additions, changes, or adjustments to
structures which reduce or eliminate flood damage to real
estate or improved real property, water and sanitary facilities,
structures and their contents.
(p) "Highest adjacent grade" means the highest natural
elevation of the ground surface prior to construction neat to the
proposed walls of a structure.
(q) "Lowest floor" means the lowest floor of the lowest
enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or flood
resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking of vehicles,
building access or storage in an area other than a basement area
is not considered a building's lowest floor; provided, that such
enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation
of the applicable non -elevation design requirements of this
Chapter.
(r) "Manufactured home' means a structure,
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transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a
permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without a
permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities.
For floodplain management purposes the term "manufactured
home" also includes park trailers, travel trailers and other
similar vehicles placed on a site for greater than 180
consecutive days.
(s) "Mean sea level" means, for purposes of the National
Flood Insurance Program, the National Geodetic Vertical Datum
(NGVD) of 1929 or other datum, to which base flood elevations
shown on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Map are
referenced.
(t) "New construction" means, for floodplain management
purposes, structures for which the "start of construction"
commenced on or after the effective date of a floodplain
management regulation adopted by this community.
(u) "One hundred year flood" or "100 -year flood"
means a flood which has a one percent annual probability of
being equalled or exceeded. It is identical to the "base flood",
which will be the term used throughout this Chapter.
(v) "Person" means an individual or his agent, firm,
partnership, association or corporation, or agent of the
aforementioned groups, or this state or its agencies or political
subdivisions.
(w) "Remedy a violation" means to bring the structure or
other development into compliance with State or local
floodplain management regulations, or, if this is not possible, to
reduce the impacts of its noncompliance. Ways that impacts
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may be reduced include protecting the structure or other
affected development from flood damages, implementing the
enforcement provisions of the Chapter or otherwise deterring
future similar violations, or reducing Federal financial exposure
with regard to the structure or other development.
(x) "Riverine" means relating to, formed by, or resembling a
river (including tributaries), stream, brook, etc.
(y) "Special flood hazard area (SFHA)" means an area
having special flood or flood -related erosion hazards, and shown
on an FHBM or FIRM as Zone A, A0, Al -30, AE, A99 or AH.
(dd) "Violation" means the failure of a structure or other
development to be fully compliant with the community's
floodplain management regulations. A structure or other
development without the elevation certificate, other
certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in this
Chapter is presumed to be in violation until such time as that
documentation is provided.
SECTION 2. AMENDMENT OF CODE.
Section 7-5.03 of Chapter 5 entitled "Flood Damage Prevention" of Title
7 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code, hereby is amended to read as follows:
Section 7-5.03. Lands To Which This Chapter Applies.
This Chapter shall apply to all areas of special flood hazards, areas
of flood -related erosion hazards and areas of mudslide (i.e.,
mudflow) hazards within the jurisdiction of the Town of Los Altos
Hills.
SECTION 3. AMENDMENT OF CODE.
Section 7-5.04 of Chapter 5 entitled "Flood Damage Prevention" of Title
7 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code, hereby is amended to read as follows:
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Section 7-5.04. Basis For Establishing The Areas Of
Special Flood Hazard. The areas of special flood hazard, areas of
flood -related erosion hazards and areas of mudslide (i.e., mudflow)
hazards identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency
or the Federal Insurance Administration in a scientific and
engineering report entitled "Flood Insurance Study for the Town of
Los Altos Hills" dated March 30,1977, with an accompanying Flood
Insurance Rate Map is hereby adopted by reference and declared
to be a part of this Chapter. This Flood Insurance Study is on file at
26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, California 94022. This Flood
Insurance Study is the minimum area of applicability of this
Chapter and may be supplemented by studies for other areas
which allow implementation of this Ordinance and which are
recommended to the City Council by the Floodplain Administrator.
SECTION 4. AMENDMENT OF CODE.
Section 7-5.05 of Chapter 5 entitled "Flood Damage Prevention" of Title
7 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code, hereby is amended to read as follows:
Section 7-5.05. Compliance. No structure or land shall
hereafter be constructed, located, extended, converted, or altered
without full compliance with the terms of this Chapter and other
applicable requlations. Violations of the provisions of this Chapter
by failure to comply with any of its requirements (including
violations of conditions and safeguards established in connection
with conditions) shall constitute a misdemeanor. Nothing herein
shall prevent the City Council (governing body) from taking such
lawful action as is necessary to prevent or remedy any violation.
SECTION 5. AMENDMENT OF CODE.
Subsection (c) of Section 7-5.09 of Chapter 5 entitled "Flood Damage
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Prevention" of Title 7 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code, hereby is
amended to read as follows:
Section 7-5.09. Establishment of Development Permit.
(c) Certification by a registered professional engineer or
architect that the floodproofing methods for any nonresidential
structure meet the floodproofing criteria in Section 7-5.12(c)3 and,
SECTION 6. AMENDMENT OF CODE.
Section 7-5.10 of Chapter 5 entitled "Flood Damage Prevention" of Title
7 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code, hereby is amended to read as follows:
Section 7-5.10. Designation Of The Floodplain
Administrator. The City Engineer of the Town of Los Altos Hills
is hereby appointed to administer and implement this Chapter by
granting or denying development permits in accordance with its
provisions.
SECTION 7. AMENDMENT OF CODE.
Section 7-5.11 of Chapter 5 entitled "Flood Damage Prevention" of Title 7
of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code, hereby is amended to read as follows:
Section 7-5.11. Duties And Responsibilities Of The
Floodplain Administrator. The duties and responsibilities of
the floodplain administrator shall include, but not be limited to:
A. Permit review.
1. Review all development permits to determine that the
permit requirements of this Chapter have been satisfied;
2. All other required state and federal permits have been
obtained;
3. The site is reasonably safe from flooding.
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4. The proposed development does not adversely affect the
carrying capacity of areas where Base Flood Elevations have
been determined but floodways have not been delineated. For
purposes of this Chapter, "adversely affects" means that the
cumulative effect of the proposed development when combined
with all other existing and anticipated development will not
increase the water surface elevation of the base flood more than
one foot any point.
B. Use of Other Base Flood Data. When base flood elevation
data has not been provided in accordance with Section 7-5.04,
the Floodplain Administrator shall obtain, review, and
reasonably utilize any base flood elevation and floodway data
available from a Federal, State or other source, in order to
administer Sections 7-5.12 to 7-5.15, inclusive. Any such
information shall be submitted to the City Council for adoption.
C. Whenever a watercourse is to be altered or relocated:
1. Notify adjacent communities and the California
Department of Water Resources prior to such alteration or
relocation of a watercourse, and submit evidence of such
notification to the Federal Insurance Administration;
2. Require that the flood carrying capacity of the altered or
relocated portion of said watercourse is maintained.
D. Obtain and maintain for public inspection and make
available as needed:
1. The certification required in Subsection C.l of Section
7-5.12 (floor elevations);
2. The certification required in Subsection C.2 of Section
7-5.12 (elevations in areas of shallow flooding);
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3. The certification required in Subsection C.3.c of Section
7-5.12 (elevation or floodproofing of nonresidential structures);
4. The certification required in Subsections C.4.a of Section
7-5.12 C.4.b (wet floodproofing standard);
5. The certification elevation required in Subsection (b) of
Section 7-5.14. (subdivision standards);
6. The certification required in Subsection (a) of Section
7-5.15 (floodway encroachments);
E. Make interpretations where needed, as to the exact
location of the boundaries of the areas of special flood hazards,
areas of flood -related erosion hazards or areas of mudslide (i.e.,
mudflow) (for example, where there appears to be a conflict
between a mapped boundary and actual field conditions). The
person contesting the location of the boundary shall be given a
reasonable opportunity to appeal the interpretation as provided
in Section 7-5.16.
F. Take action to remedy violations of this Chapter as
specified in Section 7-5.05.
SECTIONS. AMENDMENT OF CODE.
Section 7-5.12 of Chapter 5 entitled "Flood Damage Prevention" of Title
7 of the Los Altos Rills Municipal Code, hereby is amended to read as follows:
Section 7-5.12. Standards of Construction. In all areas of
special flood hazards the following standards are required:
A. Anchoring
1. All new construction and substantial improvements shall
be anchored to prevent flotation, collapse or lateral movement
of the structure resulting from hydrodynamic and hydrostatic
loads, including the effects of buoyancy.
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B. Construction Materials and Methods.
1. All new construction and substantial improvements shall
be constructed with materials and utility equipment resistant to
flood damage.
2. All new construction and substantial improvements shall
be constructed using methods and practices that minimize flood
damage.
3. All new construction and substantial improvements shall
be constructed with electricial, heating, ventilation, plumbing
and air conditioning equipment and other service facilities that
are designed and/or located so as to prevent water from
entering or accumulating within the components during
conditions of flooding.
4. Require within Zones AH or A0, adequate drainage paths
around structures on slopes to guide flood waters around and
away from proposed structures.
C. Elevation and Floodproofing
1. New construction and substantial improvement of any
structure shall have the lowest floor, including basement,
elevated to or above the base flood elevation. Nonresidential
structures may meet the standards in Subparagraph 3 of
Subsection C. Upon the completion of the structure the
elevation of the lowest floor including basement shall be
certified by a registered professional engineer or surveyor, or
verified by the community building inspector to be properly
elevated. Such certification or verification shall be provided to
the Floodplain Administrator.
2. New construction and substantial improvement of any
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structure in Zone AH or AO shall have the lowest floor, including
basement, elevated above the highest adjacent grade at least as
high as the depth number specified in feet on the FIRM, or at
least two feet if no depth number is specified. Nonresidential
structures may meet the standards in Subparagraph 3 of
Subsection C. Upon the completion of the structure the
elevation of the lowest floor including basement shall be
certified by a registered professional engineer or surveyor, or
verified by the community building inspector to be properly
elevated. Such certification or verification shall be provided to
the Floodplain Administrator.
3. Nonresidential construction shall either be elevated in
conformance with Subparagraphs 1 or 2 of Subsection C or
together with attendant utility and sanitary facilities:
a. be floodproofed so that below the base flood level the
structure is watertight with walls substantially impermeable
to the passage of water;
b. have structural components capable of resisting
hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and effects of
buoyancy; and
c. be certified by a registered professional engineer or
architect that the standards of this subsection are satisfied.
Such certifications shall be provided to the Floodplain
Administrator.
4. Require, for all new construction and substantial
improvements, that fully enclosed areas below the lowest floor
that are subject to flooding shall be designed to automatically
equalize hydrostatic flood forces on exterior walls by allowing
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for the entry and exit of floodwaters. Designs for meeting this
requirement must either be certified by a registered
professional engineer or architect or meet or exceed the
following minimum criteria:
a. either a minimum of two openings having a total net
area of not less than one square inch for every square foot of
enclosed area subject to flooding shall be provided. The
bottom of all openings shall be no higher than one foot above
grade. Openings may be equipped with screens, louvers,
valves or other coverings or devices provided that they
permit the automatic entry and exit of floodwaters; or
b. be certified to comply with a local floodproofing
standard approved by the Federal Insurance Administration.
SECTION 9. AMENDMENT OF CODE.
Section 7-5.13 of Chapter 5 entitled "Flood Damage Prevention" of Title
7 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code, hereby is amended to read as follows:
Section 7-5.13. Standards For Utilities.
(a) All new and replacement water supply and sanitary
sewage systems shall be designed to minimize or eliminate
infiltration of flood waters into the system and discharge from
systems into flood waters.
(b) On-site waste disposal systems shall be located to avoid
impairment to them or contamination from them during
flooding.
SECTION 10. AMENDMENT OF CODE
Section 7-5.14 of Chapter 5 entitled "Flood Damage Prevention" of Title
7 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code, hereby is amended to read as follows:
Section 7-5.14 Standards for Subdivisions.
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(a) All preliminary subdivision proposals shall identify the
flood hazard area and the elevation of the base flood.
(b) All final subdivision plans will provide the elevation of
proposed structure(s) and pads. If the site is filled above the
base flood, the final pad elevation shall be certified by a
registered professional engineer or surveyor and provided to
the Floodplain Administrator.
(c) All subdivision proposals shall be consistent with the
need to minimize flood damage.
(d) All subdivision proposals shall have public utilities and
facilities such as sewer, gas, electrical and water systems
located and constructed to minimize flood damage.
(e) All subdivisions shall provide adequate drainage to
reduce exposure to flood hazards.
SECTION 11. AMENDMENT OF CODE.
Section 7-5.15 of Chapter 5 entitled "Flood Damage Prevention" of Title
7 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code, hereby is amended to read as follows:
Section 7-5.15. Floodways. Located within areas of special
flood hazard established in Section 7-5.04 are areas designated as
floodways. Since the floodway is an extremely hazardous area due
to the velocity of flood waters which carry debris, potential
projectiles, and erosion potential, the following provisions apply:
A. Prohibit encroachments, including fill, new construction,
substantial improvements, and other development unless
certification by a registered professional engineer or architect is
provided demonstrating that encroachments shall not result in
any increase in flood levels during the occurrence of the base
flood discharge.
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B. If Subsection (a) is satisfied, all new construction and
substantial improvements shall comply with all other applicable
flood hazard reduction provisions of Sections 7-5.12 to 7-5.15,
inclusive.
SECTION 12. AMENDMENT OF CODE.
Section 7-5.16 of Chapter 5 entitled "Flood Damage Prevention" of Title
7 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code, hereby is amended to read as follows:
Section 7-5.16. Variance Procedure: Appeals.
(a) The City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills shall hear
and decide appeals and requests for variances from the
requirements of this Chapter.
(b) The City Council shall hear and decide appeals when it
is alleged there is an error in any requirement, decision, or
determination made by the Floodplain Administrator in the
enforcement or administration of this Chapter.
(c) In passing upon such applications, the City Council shall
consider all technical evaluations, all relevant factors, standards
specified in other sections of this Chapter, and:
(1) The danger that materials may be swept onto other
lands to the injury of others.
(2) The danger of life and property due to flooding or
erosion damage.
(3) The susceptibility of the proposed facility and its
contents to flood damage and the effect of such damage on
the individual owner.
(4) The importance of the services provided by the
proposed facility to the community.
(5) The necessity to the facility of a waterfront location,
where applicable.
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(6) The availability of alternative locations for the
proposed use which are not subject to flooding or erosion
damage.
(7) The compatibility of the proposed use with existing
and anticipated development.
(8) The relationship of the proposed use to the
comprehensive plan and floodplain management program
for that area.
(9) The safety of access to the property in time of flood
for ordinary and emergency vehicles.
(10) The expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise,
and sediment transport of the flood waters expected at the
site.
(ll) The costs of providing governmental services during
and after flood conditions, including maintenance and repair
of public utilities and facilities such as sewer, gas, electrical,
and water system, and streets and bridges.
(d) Generally, variances may be issued for new construction
and substantial improvements to be erected on a lot of one-half
acre or less in size contiguous to and surrounded by lots with
existing structures constructed below the base flood level,
providing items contained in subparagraphs (1) to (11) inclusive
of Subsection (c) of this Section have been fully considered. As
the lot size increases beyond one-half acre, the technical
justification required for issuing the variance increases.
(e) Upon considration of the factors of Subsection (c) of
Section 7-5.16 and the purposes of this Chapter, the City Council
may attach such conditions to the granting of variances as it
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deems necessary to further the purposes of this Chapter.
(f) The Floodplain Administrator shall maintain the rcords
of all appeal actions and report any variances to the Federal
Insurance Administration upon request.
SECTION 13. AMENDMENT OF CODE.
Section 7-5.17 of Chapter 5 entitled "Flood Damage Prevention" of Title
7 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code, hereby is amended to read as follows:
Section 7-5.17. Conditions for Variances.
(a) Variances may be issued for the reconstruction,
rehabilitation or restoration of structures listed in the National
Register of Historic Places or the State Inventory of Historic
Places, without regard to the procedures set forth in the
remainder of this Section.
(b) Variances shall not be issued within any designated
floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood
discharge would result.
(c) Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that
the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood
hazard, to afford relief.
(d) Variances shall only be issued upon:
(1) A showing of good and sufficient cause;
(2) A determination that failure to grant the variance
would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant; and
(3) A determination that the granting of a variance will
not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to
public safety, extraordinary public expense, create
nuisances, cause fraud on or victimization of, the public, or
conflict with existing local laws or ordinances.
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(e) Variances may be issued for new construction and
substantial improvements and for other development necessary
for the conduct of a functionally dependent use provided that
the provisions of this Section 7-5.17 are satisfied and that the
structure or other development is protected by methods that
minimize flood damages during the base flood and create no
additional threats to public safety.
(f) Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be
given written notice that the structure will be permitted to be
built with a lowest floor elevation below the regulatory flood
elevation and that the cost of flood insurance will
commensurate with the increased risk resulting form the
reduced lowest floor elevation. A copy of the notice shall be
recorded by the Floodplain Board in the office of the Santa Clara
County Recorder and shall be recorded in a manner so that it
appears in the chain of title of the affected parcel of land.
SECTION 14. REPEALS.
Sections 7-5.18 and 7-5.19, and each of them, of Chapter 5 entitled
"FLood Damage Prevention" of Title 7 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code,
hereby are repealed.
SECTION 15. SEVERABILITY.
If any Section, Subsection, Subdivision, Paragraph, Sentence, Clause or
Phrase of this Ordinance, or any part thereof, or the application thereof to any
person or cirumstance, is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid
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or ineffective by any Court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not
affect the validity or effectivness or applications of the remaining portions of
this Ordinance, or any part thereo, which can be given effect without the
invalid portion or application. The City Council hereby declares that it would
have passed each Section, Subsection, Subdivision, Paragraph, Sentence,
Clause or Phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more
Sections, Subsections, Subdivisions, Paragraphs, Sentences, Clauses or Phrases
be declared unconstitutional or invalid or ineffective.
SECTION 16. INTERPRETATIONS.
In interpreting and applying the provisions of this Ordinance, the
requirements contained herein are declared to be minimum requirements for
the purposes set forth.
The provisions of this Ordinance, in so far as they are substantially the
same as existing statutory provisions relating to the same subject matter,
shall be construed as restatements and continuations and not as new
enactments.
1t is the intention of the City Council that any Section of the Los Altos
Hills Municipal Code within which reference is made to the number of any
Section which is renumbered in this Ordinance shall itself be amended to
conform to the new Section number.
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This Ordinance shall not nullify the more restrictive provisions of
covenants, agreements or other Ordinances or laws, but shall prevail as to
such provisions which are less restrictive.
SECTION 17. EFFECTIVE DATE. POSTING.
This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days from
and after its passage, and shall be posted within the Town of Los Altos Hills in
three (3) public places.
The within Ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the City
Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills held this 2nd day of March 1988,
and was thereafter passed and enacted at a regular meeting of the City
Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills this 15 day of March 1988, by the
following roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmember: Dronkert, Siegel, Tryon and van Tamlen
NOES: Councilmember: None
ABSENT: Councilmember: Pl=er
ATTEST: MAYOR
CITY CLERK
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