February 8, 2022
The City Council postponed to a future date the application for a new four story fifty-unit condominium building with two levels of underground parking at 355 First Street. The project site would replace four commercial/office buildings and outbuildings at 355 to 373 First Street. Council referred the project to staff and the applicant to work on modifications based on Council comments in addition to the seven recommendations of the Planning Commission. Public correspondence and comment oppose the project, saying the plans still do not meet suggested modifications. Also, Council must decide on the number of moderate-income and very low-income units allowed by the Density Bonus Law for the project, currently designed for three moderate income and three very low-income units.
The project was submitted to the City under California Senate Bill 330*. The council has currently had two meetings within SB-330 requirements.
February 22, 2022
The City Council adopted, as amended, modifications of the Los Altos Density Bonus Ordinance due to recent changes to state law. California’s Density Bonus Law is a mechanism which allows developers to obtain more favorable local development requirements in exchange for offering to build or donate land for affordable or senior units. The difficulty in amending the local ordinance is that the state regularly makes changes to the Density Bonus Law and changes made this year may not be suitable next year. By making the amendments, Council revamped the Density Bonus part of the ordinance to codify local procedures, especially for affordable housing development, and to use appendices to make changes when new state requirements occur.
The updated ordinance provides consistency with current state law. First, the proposed ordinance allows the City Council to delegate to whom appeal can be made. Second, it clarifies property owner obligations to maintain required landscaping. Third, ‘inclusionary requirements’ mean that a specified percentage of units in a new housing development be restricted as affordable units. The amended ordinance makes uniform the City’s inclusionary requirements on for-sale housing development projects, depending on a feasibility study to determine the percentage of moderate, low-income, and very low-income units needed to satisfy the Density Bonus Law.
*SB 330 prohibits local jurisdictions from enacting new laws that would have the effect of reducing the legal limit on new housing within their borders or delay new housing via administrative or other regulatory barriers.
Claire Noonan, Observer