Hot-button proposal to ease home-building rules has split the council Hot-button proposal to ease home-building rules has split the council (June 29, 2005)

By Rebecca Wallace

Almanac Staff Writer

After bouncing around the Planning Commission, a new law to make it easier for many homes to get approved in Menlo Park is heading to the City Council on June 28.

The law would allow a person building a new single-story home or a substantial single-story addition on a lot of at least 5,000 square feet to apply directly for a building permit -- rather than going through a public hearing at the Planning Commission to obtain a use permit.

A majority of the council has already voiced support for the concept, voting 3-2 in February to have the ordinance created. Supporters say it would help residents navigate the approval process, which can be costly and uncertain.

Opponents say more human discretion is needed in the process to avoid allowing housing that is outsized or inconsistent with neighborhood character.

According to a staff report, the Planning Commission reviewed 35 use permit applications from 2000 through 2004, 28 of which would not have been required under the proposed law.

Residential zoning is a perennial hot-button issue in Menlo Park, and this proposal is also stirring things up. Opponents of the law were angered by the fact that the Planning Commission originally voted in April to recommend a version of the law that would require more public and city staff input on projects -- but then changed its recommendation on May 23 to favor a plan that would require only the building permit.
Mayor's letter

Councilwoman Kelly Fergusson and others said Mayor Mickie Winkler was improperly interfering by sending a letter to the commission on May 18, urging it to recommend the latter plan.

"These commissioners ignored the public, and rubber-stamped Winkler's request," Ms. Fergusson said in a press release after the second commission vote.

Ms. Winkler, though, told the Almanac that the commissioners had acted independently and that she had not written to them until after they had decided to revisit the issue.

"It's not inappropriate for a council member to present an idea, as I did," she said.

In a letter to the Almanac, Planning Commissioner Henry Riggs wrote that he was the one who suggested revisiting the issue, saying he had "made a hasty misjudgment."
INFORMATION

The Menlo Park City Council meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the chambers at 701 Laurel St. For the staff report, go to menlopark.org, click on "City Council" and go to the June 28 agenda.

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