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Planning Commission recommends city council adopt ordinance limiting residential structure heights
Summary
The commission voted to recommend City Council adopt Ordinance No. 386, which sets a maximum height of 18 feet for single-family residences and 20 feet for barns and stables, measured from finished floor to the highest peak, excluding accessory architectural features.
The Rolling Hills Estates Planning Commission on April 15 voted to recommend that the City Council adopt Ordinance No. 386, which would add explicit height limits to Chapter 17.16 of the municipal code.
The ordinance text presented would limit the maximum height for single-family structures to 18 feet and permit barns and stables up to 20 feet; both measurements are to be taken "from finished floor to the highest peak of the structure, exclusive of accessory architectural features as determined by the city." Planning staff told commissioners the language reflects prior commission discussions and work dating back to October 2024 and further deliberations on March 18, 2025.
Why it matters: The change would formalize numerical height limits in local code and apply to new construction and additions in zoning districts governed by Chapter 17.16. Staff said if the Planning Commission makes substantive changes to height numbers, the ordinance would need to be re-noticed and returned to the commission before being scheduled for City Council.
Staff asked commissioners to review the underlined language in the packet (section 5, subsection A) clarifying the finished-floor measurement and the specified heights. The staff report noted that, if recommended by the commission, the item was tentatively scheduled for City Council consideration at the council's first May meeting pending appropriate noticing.
Commissioner Cardenas moved to recommend that City Council adopt Ordinance No. 386 with the addition of the word "finished" before "floor" in section A (as discussed). Commissioners voted by roll call and Commissioners Cardenas, Hsu and Douglas and Chair Chell approved the recommendation.
The commission's action sends the ordinance forward for council consideration; staff and the city attorney were on hand to answer technical questions during the discussion.
