Planning commission directs staff to draft revised floor-area rules modeled on Corte Madera

The Larkspur City Planning Commission spent substantial time on May 12 discussing possible revisions to the city's floor-area-ratio (FAR) rules and directed staff to prepare a draft ordinance modeled on Corte Madera'style limits for commission review.

Staff presented a side-by-side analysis showing that Corte Madera'style formulas would have rendered many recent Larkspur projects compliant without repeated exceptions. Commissioners and staff debated whether to retain any FAR standard, to move to an envelope-based system, or to adopt Corte Madera'style limits with objective criteria. Topics included whether garages or small accessory structures should be exempt, whether subterranean space should be discounted, how slope factors into allowable floor area, and whether an exception process should remain.

Commissioners voiced concerns that Larkspur's current slope-based FAR is outdated and that the existing rules force frequent exceptions; several commissioners favored adopting Corte Madera'style rules or a similarly tailored approach. Staff cautioned that any new rules must be objective to comply with state housing laws and suggested the department would prepare a draft ordinance, test it against recent projects, and return to the commission for further refinement.

The commission asked staff to: draft an ordinance reflecting Corte Madera'style calculations with any Larkspur-specific adjustments, include an objective exception framework (examples: very small lots, easements, heritage trees), run test cases against recent approvals, and bring a formal draft back for commission review and public hearing. The direction was not a formal adoption but a clear policy instruction to staff to prepare and return with a tangible proposal.