The Los Altos Hills City Council is exploring options for a council-led ballot initiative that would codify parts of the GreenSheets, a document that justifies Los Altos Hills’ original incorporation and calls for maintaining the community’s rural character.
The GreenSheets served as a blueprint for the vision for Los Altos Hills and called for supporting low-density, single-family residential development, the kind characterized by country lanes, horse pastures and chicken coops and at least one acre of land and space between homes and no high-speed roads or dense subdivisions.
At its March 18 meeting, the council discussed putting either a citizen-led or council-initiated ballot measure on the November 2026 ballot, deciding to form an ad hoc committee made up of councilmembers Kavita Tankha and Linda Swan to go through the GreenSheets and see what from the document could inspire a potential ballot measure and what is feasible in a modern Los Altos Hills. The council felt a citizens’ initiative was not feasible, given the short turnaround after hearing from City Attorney Steve Mattas that concrete movement from citizens was needed in the next few weeks.
“I think based on the timeframe, the only one that is possible is the council-initiated measure timeline,” Swan said.
A citizen-led initiative starts with a petition to the City Council and requires signatures from 10% of registered voters in Los Altos Hills. The council could place the petition on the ballot or the proposed initiative measure as presented, with no CEQA analysis required. The council initiative would need no signatures or petition, but it must comply with CEQA. Under a council-initiated item, the council could have an agenda item at a future meeting and ensure CEQA compliance over the next few months, along with a review of a measure by various commissions and committees.
The council would also have to be cognizant of current state and federal laws and ensure that it does not conflict with local law. Cities can adopt land use and zoning regulations, but any law must have a substantial relation to public health and safety, cannot be discriminatory, be consistent with state and federal law and zoning regulations must be consistent with the Housing Element, city staff said. It would also have to provide specific laws to be enacted and could not direct the council to perform an action based on concepts.
