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Atherton planning commission forwards SB 79 implementation ordinance to council with open-space refinements
Summary
The commission recommended the City Council adopt a draft ordinance implementing SB 79 on seven eligible parcels in Atherton, endorsing development standards to preserve town character while meeting state minimums and asking staff to refine open-space language (including rooftop setback and screening) before council review.
The Atherton Planning Commission voted on Jan. 28 to recommend that the City Council adopt a draft ordinance to implement Senate Bill 79 on seven identified parcels in town, while directing staff to refine open-space language and rooftop setbacks before council consideration.
Senior Planner Tom Ford told commissioners the town must adopt development standards and transmit them to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) promptly so the town’s ordinance can be reviewed by HCD ahead of the July 1 SB 79 deadline. "We want to have an ordinance in place on July 1," Ford said, and staff aims to deliver an adopted ordinance to HCD by April 1 to allow up to 90 days for state review.
Ford summarized SB 79 requirements and the town’s approach: the state overrides some local height, density and floor-area limitations for eligible parcels within a quarter mile of a Caltrain station; for those parcels Atherton must allow at least 75 feet in…
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