Los Altos Planning Commissioner Kate Disney was on Tuesday’s city council agenda for allegedly violating protocols after her commission’s recent actions regarding Rancho Shopping Center.
Disney was the lone dissenting vote in the commission’s Sept. 7 approval of zoning amendments that allow for higher-density housing at Rancho. The commission approved the changes because they were required to comply with the city’s updated housing element.
The day after the meeting, Disney wrote to the council, explaining her vote.
“I am concerned with the change that permits residential-only developments,” Disney wrote. “CN (the zoning designation for both Rancho and Woodland Plaza) stands for commercial neighborhood and the CN districts within the city currently offer a mix of commercial uses comprised of retail and service.”
Concerned with the prospect of losing commercial development at the shopping centers, Disney asked the council to “authorize the Planning Commission to study other ordinances, such as those concerning noise, light, fencing, and landscape/trees to ensure those ordinances are appropriate for the much more intensive developments that will now be allowed.”
Vice Mayor Jonathan Weinberg said Disney violated city “norms and policies” by requesting the council “disregard the recommendation of the majority of the Planning Commission” and by asking the council to “task the Planning Commission with a new agenda item.”
Tuesday’s council agenda item, supported by Mayor Sally Meadows and Councilmember Pete Dailey, raises the question of whether to discipline or remove Disney from the Planning Commission.
Disney could not be reached for comment Friday. Results of Tuesday’s meeting were not available due to the Town Crier’s Monday print deadline.
On the same council agenda was proposed approval of the housing element items recommended by the commission. They included: modifying building heights in mixed-use zoning districts such as Rancho and Woodland; removing floor-to-area ratio restrictions in those districts; and reducing conditional use permit requirements for residential mixed-use.
The zoning amendments highlighted the gap in understanding between city staff and leaders, and members of the general public. Residents in the Rancho area pleaded with commissioners to leave Rancho as it is, and did not seem to understand the importance of the city’s compliance with state housing laws. Under the state’s updated housing element, the city must provide conditions for development of nearly 2,000 new housing units by 2031. To accomplish that without impacting single-family housing areas, the city had to impact other zones such as “commercial neighborhood.”
Despite commissioners telling residents their hands were tied, residents requested additional meetings with city officials to discuss the potential changes at Rancho and elsewhere.
One such informal meeting, held Thursday with City Manager Gabriel Engeland, drew approximately 60 people. Another is scheduled Oct. 11 at the Los Altos Community Center. Engeland and Nick Zornes, the city’s development services director, are slated to answer questions from residents.
There are no current plans to build housing at Rancho or Woodland Plaza. Rancho property owner John Vidovich did not return a Town Crier call seeking comment.
