Attachment 18RECEIVED
JUN 13 2019
To: Town Council, Meeting of June 18, 2019
Re: Fence Ordinance
TOWN OF LOS GATOS PLANNING DIVISION
From: Alice Kaufman, Dashiell Leeds, Peter Donnelly, Dave Weissman, 6/13/2019
After several trips through the Policy Committee and the Planning Commission, the
fence ordinance revision is back before you. Since you last discussed this issue on 10/16/2018,
the following items have been modified to the satisfaction of the Planning Commission:
1.Only new fences on hillside lots larger than 1 acre are subject to these new regulations (for
reference, a football field is 1.1 acres in size).
2.On hillside lots larger than 1 acre, all new perimeter fences shall be wildlife friendly.
3.The term "wildlife-friendly fence" has been defined.
4.A robust appeals mechanism has been codified for any hillside lot larger than 1 acre, with
issues of odd shapes, in situations where the LRDA approaches the perimeter, in those
cases where a homeowner feels that they can document an undue hardship, etc.
Appeals will be directed to the Community Development Director.
5.Riparian setbacks of 20 feet, consistent with recommendations from the Santa Clara Valley
Water Resources Protection Collaborative, have been incorporated.
6.Staff has supported the inclusion of a penalty section.
That leaves one major issue that the Planning Commission could not achieve consensus
on: when does a "perimeter, wildlife-friendly fence" become a "yard, non-wildlife-friendly
fence." That is, how far into the property, from the property line, can a "perimeter" fence go
before it becomes a "yard" fence? Given that the current draft ordinance does not properly
address the matter of setbacks and / or fencing located within a few inches to 25 feet of the
perimeter, it leaves the ordinance open to potential abuse, a sentiment expressed by both
Commissioner O'Donnell and Town Attorney Schultz. As such we recommend that the Town
Council either modify the language to eliminate this identified deficiency or that they request the
Planning Department provide such language for their consideration.
There has been some concern from community members about defined setbacks that line
up directly with building setbacks due to "odd shaped lots" or "special circumstances." These
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ATTACHMENT 18