Los Altos Hills committee weighs whether to send 2022green sheets22 zoning protections to voters before June council deadline

Members of the Los Altos Hills Open Space Committee spent much of their meeting debating whether the town should place protections tied to the community'9s original "green sheets" on a future ballot, and agreed to prepare comments for the Town Council before a key June meeting.

A long-serving committee member summarized the historical basis for the green sheets: "Originally, when the town was founded 70 years ago, they had a group of bylaws, and these bylaws were called the green sheets," the member said, listing core principles such as contracting out services, keeping large minimum-lot sizes and limiting retail and density in town.

Jay (staff liaison) told the committee the council will discuss related language at an upcoming council meeting and may circulate it to committees for advice. "August 1, I believe, is the formal deadline," Jay said, referring to paperwork needed to qualify an item for the November ballot, and added that the council's next opportunity to act would be its June 18 meeting.

The committee'9s discussion focused on two practical questions: whether the council'9s draft would require committee-level review before that June meeting, and how narrowly or broadly the committee should frame its comments. Members said they supported measures that would require voter approval for changes to town-defining elements such as pathways, minimum-lot sizes and limits on commercial uses, but they also warned about drafting language that would be difficult to administer.

"We should make it difficult to change these very basic tenants of what we have today," a committee member said, adding that making key changes subject to a public vote would be harder than having them enacted by a future council majority. Other members noted opposition at the council level and urged careful drafting so the measure would be clear and defensible.

Why it matters: The green sheets represent foundational local policy language that shapes zoning and open-space priorities in Los Altos Hills. Sending binding changes to the ballot would shift some powers from future councils to voters; the committee'9s comments could influence how the council frames any proposed ballot language.

Next steps: Committee members agreed to coordinate with the city clerk and staff to gather factual clarifications, and to provide a concise set of recommendations or suggested wording in advance of the council'9s June 18 meeting. The council'9s timeline and the August 1 filing deadline will govern whether any measure can appear on the November ballot.