Moraga planning commission directs staff to narrow scenic-corridor buffer, delays changes to setbacks and step-backs

At a Town of Moraga Planning Commission meeting, commissioners directed staff to revise an ordinance amending Title 8 of the Moraga Municipal Code governing scenic corridors and return to the commission on Oct. 7, 2025. The commission supported shrinking the corridor area measured from the centerline/right‑of‑way but paused on proposed reductions to Moraga Center setback rules and the removal of upper‑story step‑backs.

The commission said the revisions respond to a state-required housing‑element review and aim to protect scenic qualities while removing code constraints identified as barriers to housing production. "The objectives of the revisions are to protect the special qualities of scenic corridors while also making it easier and more economically viable to develop the key sites," consultant Barry Miller told commissioners during the presentation.

Commissioners and speakers debated three main changes: reducing the corridor buffer from 500 feet measured from the road center line to 200 feet measured from the edge of the right of way; removing an 8‑foot step‑back requirement above the first floor in parts of the Moraga Center Specific Plan (MCSP); and replacing a 40‑foot setback in the MCSP with a 25‑foot standard consistent with the Rheem/Ream Center area. The commission coalesced around the buffer change but asked staff to return with more specific language and visual examples before deciding on the MCSP step‑back and setback changes.

Background and staff position Barry Miller, the consultant leading the presentation, said scenic corridors have been part of Moraga’s regulations since the town’s incorporation and that the…