Home-building rules go back to Menlo Park council Home-building rules go back to Menlo Park council (September 22, 2004)

By Rebecca Wallace
Almanac Staff Writer

The perennially polemic topic of home-building rules is heading back to the Menlo Park City Council.

In the last two years, councils have passed two sweeping plans for overhauling the city's regulations for new single-family homes and major remodels. Both were rescinded before they took effect.

The first plan, which relied more on human discretion in the approval process, was adopted in 2002. But a newly elected council majority tipped the balance on the board and dumped the new rules a month later.

This council passed another set of changes to the zoning code early this year, creating a rule-based system for approving projects. Then residents launched a successful referendum petition drive, driving the council to repeal these rules as well.

On Tuesday, September 21, the council will have a joint meeting with the Planning Commission to decide what road to take next.

The question may not be easy, as debate on the matter has been fierce. Some say the approval process needs to be rule-based so that city officials can't arbitrarily order homeowners to alter their projects. Others say human discretion is crucial to ensure that new homes don't overwhelm the neighborhood or the privacy and sunlight of neighbors.

Because of the volume of the task of creating new rules, city staff members are asking the council and commission to first consider whether the matter should be a top priority. If so, other projects, such as streamlining zoning rules for businesses, could be delayed, senior planner Tracy Cramer wrote in a staff report.

Costs of the undertaking could also include enlisting a consultant to help with public meetings and analysis, Ms. Cramer wrote.

If the matter is deemed a priority, the council and commission will need to decide whether to craft new rules from scratch or to alter one of the rescinded plans. By law, the council cannot approve a new set of rules that are "substantially similar" to the rescinded ones until a year has passed, according to City Attorney Bill McClure.

The officials will also have to decide whether to create a task force to build a new plan.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at 801 Laurel St.

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