Resident urges support for Friends of Los Altos Hills and codifying 'green sheets'; committee hears concerns about housing policy and planning appointments

A resident speaking during public comment asked fellow residents to support a newly formed group, Friends of Los Altos Hills, and to attend the council meeting this Thursday to encourage codifying the town's "green sheets" — guidance the speaker said preserves residential-agricultural zoning, pathways and local agricultural practices.

"As a resident, I have 3 things that I would like you, to present," the speaker said, calling the Friends of Los Altos Hills "a new version of Hills 2000" and urging participation in the meeting where the council will consider whether to highlight or codify those guiding principles.

Why it matters: Committee members agreed that the green sheets are the town's guiding principles and that codification would make them more durable; members also warned that codification still can be changed by a future council vote and that the only way to make some protections permanent would be through code language or other statutory mechanisms.

Housing policy and split-roll concerns The resident also raised concerns about a proposed "split roll" change tied to statewide tax rules and suggested it could weaken protections for homeowners and create pressure on local housing and rents. Committee members discussed rent-control examples and noted differences across jurisdictions.

Planning commission reappointments Committee members discussed upcoming planning commission appointments: current commissioners Rajeev Patel and Alyssa Bridal (names provided during the meeting) are under consideration for reappointment, and the resident urged support for keeping experienced commissioners to maintain institutional knowledge of the housing element work. One member said losing experienced commissioners could leave the planning commission with two new members who have real-estate industry ties, which the speaker said could raise conflict-of-interest concerns.

Committee response and guidance Members responded by noting the difference between codifying guidance and embedding protections in code and agreed to raise the resident's points with the council. The committee did not take a formal vote on the green-sheet codification during the meeting; members encouraged residents to attend the council meeting and provide written support to the council when the item appears on the Thursday agenda.

Quotes from the meeting "They're looking, for kind of out of the box ideas on how we can comply with the state's regulations for new housing," the resident said of Friends of Los Altos Hills, and added that codification would help "preserve the historic attributes of Los Altos Hills."

What happens next The committee noted the council will consider the item on Thursday and that residents who cannot attend were encouraged to send letters of support; the item will return to the council for any formal action. The committee did not adopt a position at this meeting.