San Mateo County design panel urges mandatory story poles for larger projects, allows small single‑story exemptions

The San Mateo County Coastside Design Review Committee voted Jan. 9 to send a recommendation to the county supervisor asking that the county require physical story poles for most larger projects, while exempting small single‑story work from formal design review.

The committee asked the board to require story poles for new construction over 500 square feet and for any second‑ or third‑story addition that alters an existing roof line. The committee asked that single‑story projects that are 500 square feet or smaller and 16 feet or less in height be exempt from formal design review, though such projects would still be subject to building codes and posted notice requirements.

The change was approved after a staff presentation on virtual demonstration tools and a committee discussion about balancing cost, objectivity and neighborhood notice. "There are technologies readily available these days to be able to virtually place a building on, you know, your tablet or your phone or your desktop to be able to analyze it in 3D in terms of scale and mass," Planning Services Manager Bharat Singh told the committee, describing demonstrations he had prepared in Google Earth Pro.

Committee members said the virtual tools can help show scale and view impacts, but several members said physical story poles provide a clearer signal to nearby residents that a project is under review. "What I think is even more important than the cost of the story pole is the objectivity at which this group can say, yes, that meets the standard. No, that does not. And then stand behind that," member April Bingham said during the discussion.

After discussion about cost, standardization and community notice, Chairperson Mark Stagmire moved to forward a recommendation letter to the county supervisor with minor edits to the draft; the committee then voted unanimously to approve the motion. The motion directed staff and committee members to finalize wording and send the letter to the supervisor, with the chair arranging DocuSign circulation to committee members.

The recommendation letter (drafted by the committee) notes the county's demonstration of scale policy revision in July 2024 and requests the following changes: mandatory story poles for new construction over 500 sq ft and for additions that alter roof lines; an exemption from formal design review for new single‑story construction 500 sq ft or smaller and 16 feet or less in height; and an expectation that final, detailed story‑pole specifications be folded into the county's broader design standards update for public review.

Committee members and staff also discussed how exemptions, variances and administrative criteria should be narrowly crafted so the exception does not swallow the rule. Staff and committee agreed that the final language would be circulated to committee members, posted with the meeting record, and folded into the formal design‑standards update process (scheduled for additional committee reviews in March). The committee asked staff to copy planning management when the letter is transmitted so supervisors are not surprised by the request.

The committee's action is a recommendation to the county supervisor and planning staff; any final changes to county policy or the zoning code will follow the formal design‑standards update and its public hearings. The committee's letter will accompany those discussions as a formal advisory position from the Coastside Design Review Committee.

Votes at a glance: Motion to forward the recommendation letter (including agreed edits and DocuSign circulation) — Mover: Chairperson Mark Stagmire; Second: not specified in the record; Vote: Mark Stagmire — Yes; April Bingham — Yes; Moshe Porter — Yes; Mark Din — Yes; James Bennington — Yes; Outcome: approved.