Council directs staff to clarify single-family height ordinance language, proposes 21-foot cap for next reading

The City Council of Rolling Hills Estates opened and discussed the in-title reading of an ordinance to set height limits on single-family homes and accessory structures and directed staff to return with clarified language and a proposed numeric cap.

Councilors and members of the public debated whether the ordinance’s current phrasing would create an unintended allowance to add storage areas or lofts on top of the stated maximum height. One council member asked that the two potentially overlapping paragraphs be separated so that the maximum structure height and the finished-floor-to-grade calculation are distinct; the council requested clearer language to make clear whether storage areas or lofts are included within the maximum height.

Public commenters urged the council to adopt a clear maximum to avoid buildings that “keep getting taller,” emphasizing neighborhood character and the potential for lofts to become usable sleeping spaces. The planning and city attorney’s office advised that the changes council requested would be substantive and should be brought back as a revised reading to allow full consideration and public comment.

Mayor Piper offered a motion to instruct staff to re-draft the ordinance to remove ambiguity, to treat storage areas and lofts as inclusive in the maximum height measurement, and to consider raising the maximum to 21 feet for both houses and barns for the next reading. The council voted to send the revised ordinance back for re-drafting and additional public review; no ordinance was adopted at this meeting.