Woodside council re-thinks guest house rules Woodside council re-thinks guest house rules (October 20, 2004)

** Plan for more rentals called "back-door subdivisions."

By Andrea Gemmet
Almanac Staff Writer

The Woodside Town Council has called into question several changes to town building rules intended to ease rental restrictions on guest cottages and in-law apartments.

After an intense debate at last week's meeting, a majority of members agreed to water down a proposal meant to increase Woodside's stock of more-affordable rental housing, but it remains to be seen how residents will view the compromise. Is it a minor modification to the guest house rules, or will Woodside homeowners converge on Town Hall with torches and pitchforks to defend their property rights?

The October 12 meeting agenda called for making changes to Woodside's municipal code and building fees to implement the town's housing element, which was adopted by the council last year. The housing element is a state-mandated plan showing how the town will enable future development of a set number of housing units affordable to various income-level households, including lower-income families. In Woodside, the town must allow at least eight affordable units for the lowest income category.

Woodside's housing element relies on a plan to remove restrictions on renting out second units -- "accessory living quarters" in planning-speak -- as well as allowing living quarters in barns, and waiving building fees for second units that would be rented at below-market rates to qualified low-income households for at least 15 years.

Last month the Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the nuts-and-bolts changes needed to put the plan into action -- the municipal code revisions and other changes, with only minor tweaks.

"We felt this was a very good revision to our code," said Tom Livermore, chair of the Planning Commission. "It clarifies a number of issues, especially on rentals."

Key components of the housing element plan endorsed by the Planning Commission last month: would have allowed second units in barns, with up to two units allowed in commercial stables; would have allowed detached accessory units on lots of less than 1 acre, where currently only attached units are allowed; and would have removed the distinction between rentals and non-rental accessory units, which would allow for larger properties with two accessory units to rent out both.

The council members' new changes still would loosen existing rules on second units, but wouldn't go as far they did in the housing element plan that had already been approved in content by the council last year.

The new rules apply to new construction only, and won't go into effect until the Town Council votes on them again at a subsequent meeting.

Currently, Woodside code restricts the size of rental units to 720 square feet, while a guest cottage that isn't rented out may be as large as 1,500 square feet. However, guests, employees or family members may legally live in a second unit, giving town staff the unpleasant job of questioning occupants about their relationship with the property owners, said Planning Director Hope Sullivan.

Removing the distinction between rentals and non-rentals would have allowed for guest houses of up to 1,500 square feet to be rented out.

Although council members acknowledged that the restrictions on rentals were nearly impossible to enforce, they opted to keep them on a 6-1 vote, with Carroll Ann Hodges opposed. That way, if a neighbor lodges a complaint against renters, the town can take action, said Councilman Joe Putnam.

In the same action, the council limited the size of rentals to 1,000 square feet, and opted to allow only one rental per property.

The one-rental-per-property restriction means, as Councilwoman Deborah Gordon pointed out, that someone who rents out a guest cottage and whose job gets temporarily transferred out of the area must either evict the guest house tenants or forego leasing out the main house.

The council kept the provisions to allow living units in barns and to waive fees for below-market-rate units. On a 4-3 vote, with council members Ms. Hodges, Pete Sinclair and Dave Tanner opposed, the council dumped an existing requirement for property owners to live on site if they rent out second units.

Woodside's housing element was adopted in April 2003 and certified by the state's Housing and Community Development Department the following July.

Mayor Paul Goeld expressed disbelief that the council wanted to revisit the contentious subject of limits on accessory living quarters after its previous attempt in 2001 jammed the council chambers with angry residents.

"I'm stunned. I can't believe how short everyone's memory is," he said. "I remember an idle comment being made about how we should start limiting accessory living structures and make them smaller, and I saw this council in complete, utter retreat."

The town worked for months to come up with a housing element to comply with state mandates, and came up with something "incredibly creative," Mr. Goeld said.

"I think if we go back on this, we're driving off a cliff, and I do not want to do that," he said. "We're going to lose our credibility with the state."

Although some council members expressed concern as to whether the state would take away Woodside's certification as a result of its changes to the plan, Councilman Sinclair took a devil-may-care approach.

"This is a state law that's very onerous," he said. "Just because Sacramento says, 'Bend over,' I'm not going to say, 'How far?' I'm interested in preserving Woodside."

Mr. Sinclair was in favor of far stricter limitations on guest houses, but offered the less restrictive proposal that the council ultimately voted in favor of as a compromise. The potential for someone to rent out two accessory units as well as the main house amounted to "back-door subdivisions" and would change the rural character of the town, he said.

KEY POINTS

The Woodside Town Council gave preliminary approval to the following new rules regarding guest houses, in-law apartments and other second units:

** Living quarters may legally be built in barns and stables.

** Property owners are no longer required to live on site if they have renters.

** The cap on the size of second units is increased from 720 square feet to 1,000 square feet for rentals -- the maximum size for guest houses that are not rented remains 1,500 square feet.

** Only one rental unit per property is allowed.

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