April 9
The city council reviewed amendments for building Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). Amendments are needed to comply with State law as part of Los Altos 6th cycle Housing Element requirements. The State identified changes that will remove barriers to the construction of ADUs and Junior ADUs. This type of housing unit is often used to reach the expected number of new dwellings needed in the region.
Public comment criticized the height of units allowed without consideration for the angle of sight from a window onto a neighbor’s housing. The City’s current provision must be altered as it is impossible to protect a sight angle when an ADU is allowed four feet from the rear and side property lines.
Council members questioned whether sprinklers should be required for some units (no), how many more parking spaces must be provided when a new unit is added at a property (none), how the square feet and height of a unit is determined (only what is above ground), and whether a family can live in an ADU before the main housing unit is completed (temporary occupancy in the ADU may be OK’d). Modifications to the amended document will be adopted at the April 30 meeting.
The City Council considered recommendations for the city Parks and Rec’s Tiny Tots programs that are located at the San Antonio Club. The Club building needs renovations to be up to code. Two P&R programs would be dropped: Play School for 3&4-year-olds that meets 3 hours daily/3 days a week and Kinder Prep for 4&5-year-olds that meets 3 hours daily/4 days a week. Neither program is licensed by the State to provide childcare. Many 4-year-olds are now enrolled in the Transitional Kindergarten program at Los Altos School District. Participation in the Tiny Tots programs are dwindling. Staff for programs change often.
A motion passed for a three-year agreement with Children’s Corner, an established non-profit accredited preschool in Los Altos, to operate preschool-age services at San Antonio Club, assuming completed renovations. Children’s Corner now rents space at the Community Center and will continue its programs at that site. A motion to eliminate the city-run Tiny Tots program passed, but another motion passed to operate the Kinder Prep part of the Tiny Tots program through the 2024/25 school year for continuing families only.
April 30
The City Council canceled the Tiny Tots programs run by the Parks and Recreation Department despite parent testimony to the quality of the P&R program. In its place, the Council approved the three-year agreement with Children’s Corner to operate a preschool program at the San Antonio Club.
The City Council approved by consent the amendments for ADUs and Junior ADUs needed to comply with State law as part of Los Altos 6th cycle Housing Element requirements. See discussion about the amendments at the April 9 meeting.
The City Council approved modifications requested by the developer for a multi-family property located at 425 First Street. The modification at this property would change the existing below-market rate (BMR) mix from one (1) low-income studio unit and two (2) moderate-income one-bedroom units to a BMR mix of three (3) studio low-income units and one (1) one-bedroom moderate-income unit. The parking spaces needed remain the same since the number of units in the building remain the same. Also, the modifications do not change the total number of studios versus one- and two-bedroom apartments in the building. However, according to the developer, more first-time buyers are looking for low-income studio apartments which informed the decision to request the modifications to the property. The request affects by one the number of properties in Los Altos that are considered affordable.
Claire Noonan, Observer