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by David Mittelman
On Dec. 10, the town of Woodside will consider amendments to the Municipal Code to fulfill the promises outlined in the approved housing element. The town committed to this in our certified housing element. These amendments, as written, need to align with the town’s Residential Design Guidelines, be less restrictive, and leave potential ADU capacity untapped when the town should be building as many ADUs as possible.
Woodside’s historical constraint of its ADU production with its code has directly resulted in its position of being required by the state to build multifamily housing. This restriction has resulted in the town of Woodside only being able to utilize ADUs for a much smaller portion of the housing element than it potentially could. History will only repeat itself if the town fails to take aggressive early steps to stimulate more production. The California Department of Housing and Community Development would not allow us to forecast more ADUs in our plan than our historical average. We are entering the third year of the RHNA cycle, passing our housing element this summer. We only have three-quarters of the cycle left to boost our ADU production and avoid potentially being tasked with more multifamily housing in the next cycle.
We committed to allowing more ADUs on larger parcels in our housing element. This is a good thing, as it will tap some of the untapped potential for ADUs. However, as a town, we should endeavor to increase our housing production while respecting the Design Guidelines and General Plan.
The Woodside Design Guidelines state that on hillsides, living areas should be close to grade, and the building should be stepped with the slope. Smaller footprints should be utilized to preserve natural features and limit bulk (ref. GP LU1.3).
This comes from the General Plan (LU1.3) section on maintaining Community Aesthetics:
Structures should be designed to be subordinate to the natural environment, responsive to site constraints, and compatible with the rural character of the community. Large, bulky structures should be discouraged, particularly if they are visible from the road. All building designs should conform to the topography and scale of the land and should not be silhouetted against the skyline as viewed from any town or state scenic road. The visual impact of the structure should be mitigated either through minimizing building bulk or increasing setbacks. In general, hillside structures should be designed to step down the natural hillside in order to achieve a low building profile and minimize grading.
The ordinance, as it stands, would allow only two detached ADUs, along with a barn and other accessory structures, on lots greater than two acres while requiring the other two ADUs to be attached to the primary residence. This policy is directly at odds with the General Plan and the Design Guidelines. Ideally, a large hillside parcel would be fully utilized, comprised of many smaller structures that follow the site’s topography. However, this change would require adding up to 2,000 square feet to the main dwelling.
Moreover, large lots before this ordinance were allowed to develop their ADUs either attached OR detached. However, this new ordinance would require two of them to be attached and restrict one of the ADUs to be a Junior ADU. Government Code § 66313 defines a JADU as “a unit that is no more than 500 square feet in size and contained entirely within a single-family residence.” This new requirement would require properties that wish to build additional ADUs to remodel their existing homes, adding undue expense to what could be a straightforward expansion of the housing element.
The ordinance makes an additional amendment to development within a 35% slope to align with San Mateo County, allowing ADU development and ADU septic development to occur in slopes greater than 35%. However, it only applies to detached dwelling units, not attached. The increased ADU allowance allows for more ADUs as long as the attached are built first, but in the same motion, it restricts septic for that expansion. These restrictions are non-sensical and do not allow for more ADU development in ways accessible to the typical Woodside Resident.
The ordinance can be corrected with some simple amendments:
- Allow ADUs to be attached or detached without requiring a Junior ADU to “unlock” the total ADU allowance.
- Allow development on slopes less than 50% without stipulation or restriction. There is no reason to constrain a primary residence to a 35% slope if you allow ADUs on a 50% slope. The county allows it, and Woodside should as well.
These two changes will allow large lots to plan more housing on their lots in line with the town’s Design Guidelines without undue restrictions.
David Mittelman is a Woodside resident.
