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Los Altos Hills approves screening, fence and lighting at 10701 Magdalena Road after neighbor view dispute
Summary
The hearing officer approved a site development permit for 10701 Magdalena Road, setting the property’s maximum development area at 11,795 sq ft and imposing conditions including a recorded performance standard to limit screening height in a neighbor’s view corridor, reduction/spacing of proposed toyons, arborist supervision for oak pruning, and utility approvals for any fence encroachment into PUE.
The Town of Los Altos Hills hearing officer approved a site development permit for 10701 Magdalena Road (file SD25‑0046) on April 14, 2026, after extended public comment about privacy plantings and a protected bay view corridor. The approval, made under a CEQA categorical exemption staff cited (referencing §15304(b)), set the property’s maximum development area at 11,795 square feet (a 4‑square‑foot reduction from a previously approved 11,799 sq ft) and attached project‑specific conditions addressing screening, ladder fuel removal and fence encroachment into public utility easements.
Staff described the proposal as landscape screening, outdoor lighting, hardscape improvements, and a six‑foot solid fence and automatic gate associated with a previously approved residence and attached ADU. The design team revised a previous planting plan, replacing higher‑growing species with compact varieties (the applicants proposed a dwarf podocarpus/podocarpus cultivar and reduced the number of birchleaf mahogany in favor of yew pines and toyons). Staff said the new lighting plan complies with the town’s outdoor lighting policy.
Neighbors raised concerns that proposed screening could encroach on a protected bay view and reduce their property enjoyment and value. Staff explained that the town’s view ordinance compares the current view to the condition within the prior 15 years and requested photos or other evidence to evaluate any long‑term change. To resolve competing interests—privacy for the new residents and the neighbor’s protected view corridor—staff proposed and the applicant agreed to a recorded performance standard that will limit the height of landscape screening within the specific view corridor area (the hearing officer described aligning the standard with the western roofline of the ADU or, as an alternative measurement, a set number of feet above the fence). Staff said they would work with both property owners to produce drawings and a perspective model (using topo/LIDAR if needed) to determine the exact language for the recorded standard.
Other project‑specific conditions ordered by the hearing officer include: consider toyons spaced and reduced to a maximum of three along the western property line; remove ladder fuels identified around potted citrus on the southeast corner; require letters of approval from utilities before installing a fence where it encroaches into a public utility easement; and require arborist‑supervised pruning of the oak grove per an earlier permit condition (SD22‑0042 Condition 6) with a signed letter provided to the planning department prior to final inspection. Staff also noted the project vested under the earlier 2023 approval so newer town wildfire ordinances did not apply retroactively to this permit, though future modifications could trigger newer standards.
The hearing officer approved the permit subject to these recorded conditions; staff will draft the exact performance‑standard language and coordinate site modeling and documentation with the parties so the recorded restriction accurately protects the neighbor’s primary living‑area view. The decision carries a 14‑day appeal period from the date of the hearing.
