HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/21/2022Approved September 1, 2022
Town of Los Altos Hills
Planning Commission Special Meeting
July 21, 2022 Minutes
Zoom Meeting and Town Hall, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, California
1. ROLL CALL AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Via teleconference according to the Government Code Section 54953(e), Chair Waschura called the
July 21, 2022 Planning Commission Special meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Present: Commissioner Patel, Commissioner Couperus, Commissioner Indaco, Vice-Chair Bredo,
Chair Waschura
Staff: Planning Director Mangalam, Principal Planner Padovan, Administrative Clerk/Technician
Brunner
2. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Chair Waschura opened PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR.
Commissioner Indaco noted Principal Planner Padovan’s upcoming retirement and thanked him for
his service to the Town of Los Altos Hills.
Chair Waschura closed PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR.
3. CONSENT CALENDAR
3.1 Motion of the Planning Commission of the Town of Los Altos Hills to continue meeting virtually
through teleconference meetings and making related findings pursuant to AB 361.
3.2 Approval of the July 7, 2022 Regular Meeting Minutes.
MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Commissioner Indaco moved to APPROVE the
consent calendar.
The motion was seconded by Commissioner Couperus.
MOTION PASSED: 5-0-0-0-0
AYES: Commissioner Patel, Commissioner Couperus, Commissioner Indaco,
Vice-Chair Bredo, Chair Waschura
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: None
RECUSE: None
ABSENT: None
4. PUBLIC HEARINGS
Ex parte:
Chair Waschura had communications with John Lewis, a neighbor to the applicant, Leo
Camacho, Civil Engineer with the County of Santa Clara, and Vice-Chair Bredo on Item 4.1.
Commissioner Couperus had communications with John Lewis, a neighbor to the applicant and
Commissioner Indaco on Item 4.1.
Commissioner Indaco had communications with Commissioner Couperus; John Lewis, a
neighbor to the applicant; Carol Gottlieb, of the Environmental Design and Protection
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Planning Commission Meeting July 21, 2022 Minutes
Committee (EDPC); Kit Gordon, of the Open Space Committee (OSC); Pete Carlino, of Lea &
Braze; and Mark Helton, Civil Engineer from Giuliani & Kull; on Item 4.1.
Vice-Chair Bredo had communications with Chair Waschura and Carol Gotlieb of the EDPC
on Item 4.1.
Commissioner Patel had communications with John Lewis, a neighbor to the applicant, on Item
4.1.
4.1 27600 Altamont Road – File # TM22-0001 – Lands of Aqui and Putnam
A request for a tentative map to create a two-lot subdivision of an existing 2.20 gross acre parcel
and consideration of a potential conditional exception to the Lot Unit Factor requirement. The
subdivision of the 2.20 gross acre parcel into two lots will result in 1.010 net acre (Parcel A) and
1.073 net acres (Parcel B) with Lot Unit Factors of 0.956 and 0.951.
CEQA Review: Categorical Exemption per Section 15061(b)(3)
Project Planner: Areli Perez
Planning Director Mangalam presented the staff report.
Chair Waschura opened the PUBLIC HEARING.
A question-and-answer session between the Commissioners and staff ensued.
Gustavo Auqui, the applicant, greeted the commission and spoke on behalf of his proposed
project.
Michael Milani, a civil engineer representing the applicant, offered comments.
A question-and-answer session between the applicant and the Commissioners ensued.
Public Comment
John Lewis, a neighbor to the applicant, offered comments against the applicant’s proposal,
specifically regarding the proposed driveway placement.
Kit Gordon, a Los Altos Hills resident, offered comments against the applicant's proposal,
specifically regarding requiring the Lot Unit Factor (LUF) to be a minimum of 1 and the
proposed driveway placement. She also asked the staff about rounding up and down calculations.
Carol Gottlieb, representing the EDPC, commented on the project, voiced personal concerns,
and offered a suggestion.
Waidy Lee, a neighbor to the applicant, commented on her concern regarding the LUF
calculations of the applicant’s property and noted concerns about the proposed driveway
location.
Shawn McLaren, a neighbor to the applicant, offered comments in support of the previous
public comments.
Michael Milani, representing the applicant provided responses to address public comments.
Gustavo Auqui, the applicant, responded to public comments.
Robert Putnam, the other applicant, and property owner (of Parcel A) offered a response to
public comments.
A question-and-answer session between the Commissioners, staff, and the applicant’s civil
engineer, Michael Milani, ensued regarding a pathway easement.
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Planning Commission Meeting July 21, 2022 Minutes
Chair Waschura closed the PUBLIC HEARING.
Commission Discussion
Commissioner Couperus shared a presentation and offered comments. He proposed a
compromise regarding driveway placement with development considerations.
Commissioner Patel offered comments regarding the LUF margin and driveway safety issue on
Parcel B and expressed a general agreement with Commissioner Couperus’ compromise idea.
Vice-Chair Bredo shared a presentation and offered comments regarding her LUF calculations,
safety concerns on Page Mill Road, and easements. She also commented she would support a
compromise for safety and development considerations.
Commissioner Indaco offered comments to follow the General Plan with requiring lot splits to
be with a lot size of 1 acre and didn't want to allow a variance of anything less.
Chair Waschura offered comments regarding the LUF calculations and voiced his agreement
with Carol Gottlieb’s LUF suggestion. He also noted his concerns for safety on Page Mill Road,
which is not in agreement with Santa Clara County’s official assessment of that street.
Commissioner Patel offered comments in agreement with Chair Waschura's comments and
noted that staff should work on clarifying the conflicting language in the municipal code.
Planning Director Mangalam suggested a short recess to review the proposal to relocate the
driveway off Altamont Road so she could offer an informed response.
Commission discussion ensued.
Chair Waschura RECESSED the meeting at 8:20PM.
Chair Waschura RECONVENED the meeting at 8:30PM.
Chair Waschura noted that the General Plan does not allow offering an exception to the LUF
and noted the choices for the Commission are to accept the request the subdivision as is, accept
it but place conditions of approval, or deny it without prejudice so the applicant may resubmit
with a different proposal. He proposed requiring conditions such as a traffic survey.
Commission discussion ensued.
MOTION MADE AND SECONDED: Chair Waschura moved that the Planning Commission
recommend to the City Council ACCEPT the two-lot subdivision described in Item 4.1 with the
existing conditions of approval and with these added conditions:
• that future site development projects for Parcels A and B return to PC for review,
• that subdividers provide a traffic study relating to the driveway on Parcel B and to
comply with safety recommendations resulting from that study,
• that the applicant will work with Santa Clara County to permit safety signage along Page
Mill Rd and reflective sculptures, i.e. mirrors, to improve traffic safety for the proposed
driveway,
• that all pathway easements will be indicated on the plans and
• that all easements shall be cleared for pedestrian and equestrian access during
construction.
The motion was seconded by Vice-Chair Bredo.
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Planning Commission Meeting July 21, 2022 Minutes
MOTION PASSED: 5-0-0-0-0
AYES: Commissioner Patel, Commissioner Couperus, Commissioner Indaco,
Vice-Chair Bredo, Chair Waschura
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: None
RECUSE: None
ABSENT: None
5. REPORTS FROM THE COMMISSIONERS
5.1 Past Meeting
• July 18, 2022 – Special Meeting, Not Assigned
Chair Waschura provided a summary of the past City Council meeting.
5.2 Upcoming Meeting Assignments
• August 18, 2022 – Commissioner Patel
• September 15, 2022 – Commissioner Couperus
• October 20, 2022 – Vice-Chair Waschura
Chair Waschura confirmed upcoming meeting assignments.
6. REPORT ON PAST FAST TRACK/SITE DEVELOPMENT MEETINGS
6.1 JULY 12, 2022
CANCELLED
6.2 JULY 19, 2022
27400 Purissima Road – File #SD22-0048 – Lands of Town of Los Altos Hills
Site Development Permit for the construction of a 900 square foot concrete pad for materials
storage, a 3,100 square foot asphalt equipment area and two bio-retention basins for stormwater
pollution protection at the Town’s existing Corporation Yard.
Planning Director Mangalam provided highlights on past Site Development/Fast Track hearings and
noted that the July 19, 2022 project was APPROVED.
8. PLANNING DIRECTOR REPORT
Planning Director Mangalam provided these highlights in her report to the Planning Commission:
• Noted this was Steve Padovan's last Planning Commission meeting and thanked him for all his
assistance during their tenure together, offered well wishes in his retirement, and expressed
hope he would consider assisting with future planning department projects.
• Noted her continued efforts to have a fire department representative attend a Planning
Commission meeting to provide answers to some of the Commission’s questions. She
suggested the Commissioners draft a list of questions she could provide the fire department in
advance so they could prepare more substantive responses. She expressed her hope that a
representative would attend the September meeting.
Chair Waschura noted he and Commissioner Couperus prepared a presentation for the fire department
and inquired about follow up actions.
Planning Director Mangalam and Commissioner Couperus responded with comments.
Chair Waschura asked Commissioner Couperus to resurrect the letter to the City Council and share it
with Planning Director Mangalam.
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Planning Commission Meeting July 21, 2022 Minutes
Principal Planner Padovan thanked the commissioners and planning staff for working with him
during his tenure at Los Altos Hills and supported the current suggestion with restarting the fire
department inquiry.
8. ADJOURNMENT
Meeting was adjourned at 9:19 PM by Chair Waschura.
Respectfully submitted,
Keren Brunner
Planning Technician