St. Helena planning commission recommends adding "uncovered" to FAR exemptions after public objections

The City of Saint Helena Planning Commission voted 4-0 on April 15, 2025, to recommend that the City Council adopt an ordinance amending Title 17 of the Saint Helena Municipal Code to insert the word “uncovered” into a list of structures exempt from gross floor-area (GFA) calculations.

Planning Director Maya DeRosa told the commission the change is a clerical clarification intended to make the municipal code internally consistent with its rules of measurement, and with how lot coverage is calculated. DeRosa said the amendment would add the word “uncovered” in the development-standards exemption that lists balconies, porches and decks and would also add parallel language to the rules-of-measurement section, chapter 17.34.050 A–F.

“Staff finds that the proposed amendments help bring internal consistency to the code and assist the user in understanding the intent of 17.34.050A.1,” DeRosa said during her presentation, which cited the currently published code language and a republished version the city’s code publisher prepared after post-adoption edits.

Two architects who live in Saint Helena, Charles Covell and Michelle Covell, told the commission they oppose adding the term “uncovered.” Michelle Covell said the change would force covered porches, pergolas and similar structures to be counted as floor area and could reduce the interior living area homeowners can add when remodeling. “Adding the word uncovered to this section really reduces the amount of floor area ratio — floor area of living space you can use because you’re having to count the pergola at your porch and your patio,” she said.

DeRosa explained that after the 2023 zoning code adoption staff and the code consultant discovered an inconsistency between the GFA measurement rules (chapter 17.34.050) and a development-standards table endnote (note 5). The consultant recommended adding “uncovered” to clarify that the exemption applies only to unenclosed, unroofed features. The staff report noted that an applicant and his attorney raised concerns and that the city attorney treated the post-adoption edits as clerical and directed the code publisher to reverse some changes pending formal consideration.

Commissioners discussed whether the item represents a clerical cleanup or a policy change with substantive effects on renovations and housing flexibility. Several commissioners said they supported the staff’s recommendation as a consistency fix but asked staff to prepare a short list of larger policy items for the commission and public to review later this year. Acting Chair Warner and other commissioners said they preferred to bring those broader questions back in a focused workshop rather than change policy piecemeal.

The commission voted to recommend that the City Council find the amendment exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines section 15061(b)(3) and adopt ordinance ZOA 2025-002, which amends table 17.16.03B and chapter 17.34.050 A–F of Title 17 of the Saint Helena Municipal Code. The roll-call vote recorded Commissioners Anderson, Lopez and Furdick as “yes,” and Acting Chair Warner as “yes.”

DeRosa said the amendment will go to the city council for two readings; if the council follows the commission’s recommendation the code publisher will republish the municipal code after the council’s second reading and the ordinance becomes codified per the standard adoption timeline.

The commission asked staff to compile and circulate an itemized “cleanup and policy” list of code issues identified during implementation so the public and commission can prioritize topics for a future workshop. DeRosa agreed to include that list in the staff report to the council and to return to the commission with a timeline for the additional review.

Votes at a glance

• Ordinance ZOA 2025-002 — Amend table 17.16.03B and chapter 17.34.050 A–F (Title 17): Planning Commission recommends City Council find the project CEQA-exempt under CEQA Guidelines §15061(b)(3) and adopt the ordinance. Vote: 4–0 (Commissioner Anderson: yes; Commissioner Lopez: yes; Commissioner Furdick: yes; Acting Chair Warner: yes).