Hearing officer approves Moody Road pool permit with heritage‑oak protections in Los Altos Hills

Hearing officer approved a site development permit for 27855 Moody Road (SD26‑0014) on April 14, 2026, permitting a roughly 550‑square‑foot swimming pool, spa and surrounding patio at the rear of an existing single‑family residence. Staff presented the project and recommended approval under a CEQA categorical exemption, citing the town’s evaluation under CEQA §15303(e).

Project planner Jonathan Fox told the hearing that the 2.69‑acre lot has an average slope around 36 percent and that staff found a discrepancy between the development‑area calculations shown on the applicant’s plans and staff’s analysis; staff’s review indicates a proposed development area of 6,716 square feet (a net increase of 429 square feet over the existing 6,287). Fox said the conservation easement on site would not be affected and noted that the pool and patio are largely within an existing flat patio area but would extend slightly into a sloped portion of the lot.

Fox listed Environmental Design and Protection Committee (EDPC) recommendations that staff incorporated into conditions of approval: relocate pool lights so they face inward toward the lot (reducing light trespass), require the pool wall color to have a light‑reflectance value (LRV) of 50 or less, enclose the pool equipment with material equivalent to the equipment height to obscure it, and require nondestructive digging (such as hand‑digging) for the equipment pad where it lies within the canopy of a designated heritage oak. He also described the staff condition requiring the applicant to correct the development‑area worksheets to match staff calculations.

A member of the public raised the pool’s LED color‑changing capability and recommended arborist presence while digging near the oak. Greg Lopez, who identified himself as part of the project team, said the pool equipment work was anticipated to be hand‑dug and that crews could have someone on‑site for monitoring; he also said the in‑ground lights sit about 18 inches below finished grade and the applicant could modify their orientation to comply with the town’s lighting policy. The hearing officer asked staff to add the arborist monitoring requirement and the lighting adjustments to the conditions.

The hearing officer approved the permit subject to project‑specific conditions that mirror staff recommendations: revise the plans and worksheets to correct development‑area calculations; relocate/adjust pool lighting for compliance with the town’s outdoor lighting policy such that fixtures face the lot interior; enclose the pool equipment as specified; require nondestructive digging and arborist monitoring for work inside the heritage oak canopy; and specify a pool‑wall LRV of 50 or less. The hearing officer said the approval was made under the cited CEQA categorical exemption and noted a 14‑day appeal period from the date of the hearing.

The approval allows the holder to proceed to the building‑permit phase, subject to the listed conditions. If no appeal is filed during the 14‑day window, the applicant may continue with permit processing and construction scheduling once local grading moratoria allow.