Commission sends hillside ordinance back to staff for clearer mapping and definitions

The Planning Commission on May 13 stopped short of recommending the reintroduced hillside ordinance to council, voting unanimously to send the draft back to staff for further work.

Senior planner Chris Tracy walked commissioners through the proposal to codify a GIS‑based hillside overlay map, add objective tables defining undeveloped vs. developed parcels, and introduce retaining‑wall design options and a waiver process for walls over 6 feet. Tracy said the intent is to reduce subjectivity and improve predictability for hillside project review.

Multiple residents urged greater clarity and appeal mechanisms. Cassin Klein asked staff to specify rounding rules for the 25% slope cut‑off and recommended the map be adopted into the general plan; Alan Long and Dan Long emphasized that many properties have pre‑city development or historic agricultural use that may not be reflected in permit records and asked for a clear verification path. "If you got a flatter area of the site, it's not a hillside," Tracy replied, noting the draft ordinance contains a table and that director determinations based on permits or historic aerials would be appealable to the Planning Commission.

Because the public raised unresolved technical and equity concerns about how the map would affect long‑standing property owners, the chair moved to return the draft to staff for clarification. Staff agreed to revise the maps and definitions and return the matter at the first available date after revisions.