On May 28, 2025, the Town of Woodside Planning Commission approved a variance to allow replacement of an existing rear fence up to 10 feet tall at 6 Cedar Lane, a property that borders Dry Creek, a town-designated stream corridor.

Staff said the variance was needed because the existing fence in the same location exceeds the town’s usual 6-foot limit for solid rear fences and the applicant proposes a full replacement rather than a minor repair. Melanie Sage, project planner for the Town of Woodside, said the proposal includes a natural solid redwood fence with a maximum height of 10 feet in some locations and a restoration plan for the stream corridor that calls for planting 10 oak trees with temporary above-ground irrigation to establish them over a two-year period. “If the variance is approved, the code enforcement would be closed, and the applicant would be able to apply for building permits,” Sage said.

The property is less than one acre in the SR zoning district and backs to the rear parking lots of commercial businesses, including Roberts Market and Buck’s Restaurant, on town-designated scenic corridors, staff said. Sage said the project biologist provided a letter concluding the proposed fence and plantings would not impact riparian habitat because the new fence posts are in the same location as the existing fence. Staff recommended approval based on findings in the Woodside Municipal Code that allow a variance when strict application of the code would deprive the property owner of privileges enjoyed by other properties in the same district and when the variance would not be detrimental to public welfare or injurious to nearby properties.

Commissioners asked procedural and conflict-of-interest questions before deliberation. One commissioner said he had reviewed the same property previously in a different advisory role and asked whether that required him to recuse. Sage and other staff clarified the earlier review concerned the proposed residence and not the fence; the commissioner was permitted to participate.

A nearby resident, Bob Seeley of 3 Cedar Lane, spoke in support of the application. “I live at Number 3 Cedar Lane across the street from the Gulsons and have lived there 50 years,” Seeley said, and urged the commission to grant privacy for the new residence given noise and light from the nearby commercial parking area.

Commissioners spoke in favor of the variance, citing the existing nonconforming location of the fence, the topography, and the applicant’s mitigation plantings. A motion to approve the draft resolution as written in the staff report passed with recorded “yes” votes from Chair Weaver, Vice Chair Gar, Commissioner Apfel, and Commissioner Gunnarco. The action was recorded as approved; staff said that, with the variance adopted, the related code-enforcement file would be closed and the applicant could apply for building permits.

The applicant team in attendance included property owner Pat Gilson and representatives Michael Cowan (landscape architect) and Sean Avent (architect/biologist); the project biologist’s letter is in the record. The commission’s approval adopted the findings set out in the staff report and did not add conditions beyond those in the draft resolution.