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Seeking to protect the natural creeks flowing through the city from the impacts of new development, Palo Alto is preparing to impose new rules significantly limiting construction around riparian corridors.
The rule changes, which the Planning and Transportation Commission plans to review on Oct. 9, would create 150-foot buffer zones around streams in areas west of Foothill Expressway and east of Highway 101, a significant increase from the 20-foot setback that exists today. In other parts of the city, the buffer zone would be 40 feet under a proposal recommended by Department of Planning and Development Services staff.
The topic of development near streams took on greater urgency last year, when a homeowner applied to build a home at 575 Los Trancos Ave., a site in the foothills within 20 feet of a creek. While the council ultimately approved the project in November, council members strongly supported during their March retreat the adoption of stronger rules to protect stream corridors.
The changes are championed by local environmental groups. The Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society and Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter argued in a letter earlier this year that the city that existing rules fail to comply with the city’s land-use bible, the Comprehensive Plan, and that they do not provide adequate protection to the city’s waterways and their riparian corridors.
“Riparian corridors are valued environmental resources whose integrity provides vital habitat and connectivity for fish, birds, plants and other wildlife,” their February letter stated. “Disturbances caused by the siting of buildings and other structures, lighting, impervious surfaces, outdoor activity areas, ornamental landscaped areas, and native vegetation removal near the top of a creek bank degrade water quality and cause bank instability, erosion, downstream sedimentation, and flooding.”
During their August discussion of the proposed changes, planning commissioners generally echoed that sentiment. They also acknowledged that not all creeks and habitats are created equal and should not be treated the same way. Natural creeks, for example, deserve far more protection than channelized ones, commissioners agreed. And while creeks in open spaces preserves like Foothills Park and the Baylands can accommodate large setbacks, what do you do about the creeks that run through neighborhoods?
In some cases, for example, creeks run through private properties. Creating 150-foot buffer zones would effectively prohibit home additions or renovations and cause hardships for property owners, Commissioner Bart Hechtman said during the August discussion.
A homeowner on Edgewood Drive, for example, might be required to pull their fence and get rid of their backyard if they want to add a bedroom or do a significant remodel, he said. Over time, this would create the appearance of “Jack-o-Lantern teeth” with some fences being taken down to accommodate construction under the new rules. That, he said, is a far cry from the vision of wide riparian corridors that environmental advocates espouse.
“I’m really concerned about those unintended consequences,” Hechtman said.
To address this concern, the proposed ordinance provides exemptions for properties that are separated from a stream by a public street; for certain projects that relate to landscaping and bank stability and involve less than three cubic yards of earthwork; for utility work; and for interior construction or alterations, according to a report from planning staff. There are also exemptions for construction of retaining walls, small storage tanks and building projects that don’t go beyond existing conditions when it comes to encroaching into the streamside setback.
“These are generally considered to have minimal impact on the stream environment,” the report states. “Therefore, exempting them from the streamside review requirements reduces the regulatory burden on property owners while still protecting the stream corridor.”
The list of exemptions is intended to alleviate the concerns expressed by commissioners that even the 40-foot setback is too stringent for areas that are nowhere near open space preserves. The new rules would push Palo Alto beyond other jurisdictions when it comes to stream corridor protection. While most jurisdictions have setbacks of 20- 25 feet, some are as large as 100-200 feet. In some cases, jurisdictions have different standards based on terrain types, an approach that Palo Alto would adopt under the new ordinance. Cities also have different approaches for measuring setbacks, with some counting from the top of the bank, the centerline or the edge of riparian vegetation, according to staff.
The planning commission will have a chance to review the proposal and issue a recommendation to the City Council, which is tentatively scheduled to consider the topic in November. At past hearings, council members generally agreed that the city’s laws for protecting creeks should be strengthened. When they were reviewing the Los Trancos project last year, Council member Vicki Veenker said that the main issue before the council is to figure out how to be “responsible and kind both to residents and our environment.”
“Our residents do deserve a predictable permitting process and our open space, especially our creekside open space, needs us to be good stewards,” Veenker said.
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