Hillside Fences, Hedges, Walls-- Addendum and Exhibits 11-12
PREPARED BY: SEAN MULLIN, AICP
Associate Planner
Reviewed by: Planning Manager and Community Development Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6874
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
PLANNING COMMISSION
REPORT
MEETING DATE: 09/13/2017
ITEM NO: 2
ADDENDUM
ADDENDUM
DATE: SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
TO: PLANNING COMMISSION
FROM: JOEL PAULSON, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
SUBJECT: TOWN CODE AMENDMENT APPLICATION A-17-002. PROJECT LOCATION:
TOWN WIDE. APPLICANT: TOWN OF LOS GATOS.
CONSIDER AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 29 (ZONING REGULATIONS) OF
THE TOWN CODE REGARDING FENCES, HEDGES, AND WALLS.
REMARKS:
Exhibit 11 includes the verbatim minutes from the July 26, 2017, Planning Commission meeting.
Exhibit 12 includes additional public comment received between 11:01 a.m. Friday, September
8, 2017 and 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, September 12, 2017.
EXHIBITS:
Previously received with July 26, 2017 Staff Report:
1. Findings
2. Ordinance Priorities Memorandum dated February 12, 2017, from Robert Shultz, Town
Attorney
3. Draft Amendments to Chapter 29 of Town Code
4. General Plan Policies and Actions pertaining to Fences, wildlife habitats, and migration
corridors
5. Hillside Development Standards and Guidelines pertaining to fences
6. Public Comments received by 11:00 a.m., Friday, July 21, 2017
PAGE 2 OF 2
SUBJECT: CONSIDER AMENDMENTS THE TOWN CODE REGARDING FENCES, HEDGES,
AND WALLS. TOWN CODE AMENDMENT/A-17-002
SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
N:\DEV\PC REPORTS\2017\Fences Amendments 09-13-17 ADD.docx 9/12/2017 2:44 PM
Previously received with July 26, 2017 Desk Item:
7. Public Comment received between 11:01, Friday, July 21, 2017, and 11:00 a.m., Wednesday,
July 26, 2017
Previously received with September 13, 2017 Staff Report:
8. Revised Draft Amendments to Chapter 29 of the Town Code
9. Neighboring Jurisdictions Fencing Regulations
10. Public Comments received between 11:01, Wednesday, July 26, 2017 and 11:00 a.m.,
Friday, September 8, 2017
Received with this Addendum Report:
11. July 26, 2017 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes (38 pages)
12. Public Comments received between 11:01 a.m. Friday, September 8, 2017 and 11:00 a.m.
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
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A P P E A R A N C E S:
Los Gatos Planning
Commissioners:
Tom O'Donnell, Chair
D. Michael Kane, Vice Chair
Mary Badame
Kendra Burch
Melanie Hanssen
Matthew Hudes
Town Manager: Laurel Prevetti
Community Development
Director:
Joel Paulson
Town Attorney: Robert Schultz
Transcribed by: Vicki L. Blandin
(510) 337-1558
EXHIBIT 11
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P R O C E E D I N G S:
CHAIR O'DONNELL: All right, we are now to
consider the Town Code Amendment Application A-17-002. It’s
a town-wide location. The applicant is the Town of Los
Gatos, and it is to consider amendments to Chapter 29 of
the Town Code regarding fences, hedges, and walls, and may
I ask for the Staff Report? I think I’ve got Sean Mullin
here.
COMMISSIONER HUDES: Chair?
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Oh, pardon me. You’re
absolutely right, and I forgot; you wanted to say
something. Commissioner Hudes.
COMMISSIONER HUDES: If you don’t mind, I will
need to recuse myself from this matter. I have a property
that is within the Hillside Design Guideline area
designated on the map, and although I understand from Town
Council that there is not a strict legal requirement to
recuse myself, and I do not want to in any way say that
that’s incorrect, however, I do want to note that I believe
that the way the document before us is drafted it could
have a negative economic impact on my particular property
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to the extent that I would be uncomfortable in deliberating
on this matter.
Just to explain that a little bit more, I find
the document in some of the provisions is complex and
difficult to assess the impact in a finite way on my
property, but I have the sense that it might, particularly
the provision about repair being within the scope of what’s
being proposed, and I could very well face a repair
situation with the fence.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: I think it is sufficient
to say that if you feel uncomfortable to sit for that
reason, that’s enough.
COMMISSIONER HUDES: Yeah.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: But if you want to go on
further, you may, but it is not necessary.
COMMISSIONER HUDES: I don’t need to. I just
wanted to explain that while it’s been explained that it is
not a legal requirement for me to, I’m uncomfortable.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: That’s sufficient, and
we will excuse you, and since there is only, I think, the
Staff Report afterwards, if you choose not to come back,
because this may take a while, we don’t hold it against
you.
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ROBERT SCHULTZ: Let me make sure for the public
that they understand the law in this area. The Fair
Political Practice Act is a very complicated and often
revised law, but what it does say is it has certain
conflict of interests involving your real property and your
business assets. In this case, there could very well be a
presumption that there could be an economic effect on your
property, and therefore usually that would require a
stepping down and not hearing the matter. But there is
what’s called the general public exception, and what that
says is that if you are a public official and you’re
hearing an item that might affect your property and the
value of it, but you’re in the same position as a
significant portion of the community and you’re going to be
similarly affected as everybody else, then you’re able to
hear it.
That means there is no conflict of interest under
the state law, but that being said, there’s still a
perception, and I think that’s what Commissioner Hudes was
talking about. Even though there might not be a conflict
under state law, there could be a perception that he
doesn’t feel comfortable about it. But there is no
violation of the law if he were to hear this, but that’s
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okay for him to decide when you want to step down and when
you don’t.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: And I just want to add
without going any further, to the extent that there may be
one or more of us—not me—but who might be similarly
affected as Commissioner Hudes, that person is perfectly
able to make the judgment that since they are not legally
required to do this that they can do better for the
community by staying on. Both of those decisions are
entirely defensible.
VICE CHAIR KANE: That means I can go home?
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: In your case, anything
is defensible. Commissioner Hanssen.
COMMISSIONER HANSSEN: I just wanted to state for
the record that I also live in the hillsides and I had the
conversation with Attorney Schultz, and I decided that I’m
able to participate in these discussions because of the
reasons that he stated about it affecting over 25% of the
residents in Los Gatos.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Thank you. Good night,
Commissioner Hudes. All right, can I have the Staff Report?
SEAN MULLIN: Thank you. Good evening,
Commissioners. Before you tonight is consideration of
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amendments to Chapter 29 of the Town Code regarding fences,
hedges, and walls.
In January of this year the Town Council held a
study session to identify strategic priorities for the
upcoming fiscal years. During that study session a resident
requested that an ordinance amendment regarding fencing in
the hillside areas be set as a priority, to which the
Council agreed.
Staff met with two residents to refine a draft of
the ordinance that they provided, which is included as
Exhibit 3. Under current ordinance, permits are not
required for fences in the town regardless of the property
being located in the hillside or not. The owner is
responsible for meeting the current regulations, and there
is no language regarding wildlife friendliness of fences,
hedges, and walls.
The draft ordinance before you tonight would
separate non-hillside properties from hillside properties.
The non-hillside properties would be regulated in a similar
way as the current ordinance, and for properties located in
the hillside a fence would require a permit, and as
proposed that would be a Minor Residential Development
approval. Fences would be subject to regulations related to
siting, design, materials, dimension, and wildlife
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friendliness. Staff has included a number of discussion
points and examples of effects on properties in the Staff
Report.
Staff is recommending that the Planning
Commission review the draft ordinance and discuss the
topics of concern raised by Staff. Following the discussion
Staff recommends that the item be continued to a date
certain.
There is a Desk Item provided tonight which
includes a response to the comments included with the Staff
Report. This response was submitted after the deadline for
inclusion in the Staff Report and it was submitted as a
Desk Item.
This concludes Staff’s presentation and we are
available to answer any questions.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: All right, are there
questions of Staff? Yes, Commissioner Hanssen.
COMMISSIONER HANSSEN: I saw the long list of
ordinances that are to be reviewed that Attorney Schultz
put out. What I was trying to understand with this one was
what the problem is that we’re trying to solve.
I got some of this, that there is a concern about
wildlife, but are there actually instances where people
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have built egregious fences or blocked wildlife? I mean why
are we doing this?
SEAN MULLIN: I think in concert building fences
can be perceived as creating wildlife barriers. Anecdotally
you could push wildlife out onto roads and could obstruct
their passage through properties in areas that tend to be
more wild and open, such as the hillside, versus the
downtown areas and the residential areas, which are more
suburban development.
We’re here tonight because a resident requested
this be brought forth to address wildlife passage and
safety in the hillsides. The General Plan has some language
about preserving wildlife corridors; those are included in
the summary in the Staff Report as an exhibit, and some
language in the Hillside Design Guidelines as well.
ROBERT SCHULTZ: But reiterating, it wasn’t a
Staff generated ordinance. I don’t believe it was even in
my memo; it might have been. A citizen generated it, and
no, we weren’t aware of outstanding or many complaints or
claims of animals that were being injured. So it was
completely citizen-driven.
COMMISSIONER HANSSEN: Okay.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: And I might say that
since I’ve been on the Commission, and before I was on the
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Commission but appeared before the Commission, I had dealt
with projects up in the hills where notwithstanding the
absence of this ordinance, when clients wanted to put
fences up we had to take into consideration the paths, and
we did, so I just say that as a matter of fact. Now,
whether somebody wanted to argue about that, typically my
clients being good people, they would design the fence so
that they could satisfy not everything that’s in this, mind
you, but satisfied. So Commissioner Kane, you had
something?
VICE CHAIR KANE: For Staff. I understand Staff’s
report on what had previously been submitted. What is
Staff’s view of the Desk Item we received tonight that has
a number of new points and some compromises in it?
SEAN MULLIN: My view is that it’s the opinion of
a resident who submitted it, and the Planning Commission
can consider it. I haven’t had proper time to fully analyze
the information that’s (inaudible).
VICE CHAIR KANE: Nor have we, so that’s why I’m
asking you for your guidance.
JOEL PAULSON: I would just offer also, we really
envision this as kind of a kick-off and kind of get all the
issues out on the table so that we can make any other
modifications that may be recommended by the Commission. So
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we can bring it back, we’ll have another hearing, there may
be other people who want to come out and speak or provide
things in writing, and then that’s when you would make your
final recommendation to Council.
VICE CHAIR KANE: Because it was designed to just
be continued from the beginning.
JOEL PAULSON: Correct.
VICE CHAIR KANE: I see. Thank you.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Let me also say this.
When we get there, after we invite any public comment, to
the extent that it would be helpful maybe we can say—
because we’re going to continue the matter—what we would
like to see changed or adjusted, those kind of things, as
opposed to discussing the whole thing, because there are
obviously lots of things in here people could disagree
with, or at least I could.
VICE CHAIR KANE: (Inaudible).
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: We should do it after
the public comments, because we may get some more things we
really want to consider. So if there are no further
comments, and we’ve had the Staff Report, I’ll go ahead
with the list of cards I have here. The first card is David
Klinger.
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DAVID KLINGER: Good evening, my name is David
Klinger; I live at 141 Potomac Drive, which is up by Trader
Joe’s.
I’m obviously not involved in the hillside, but I
have just gone through a process of applying for a waiver
for a fence height where I had an existing 7’ fence in some
areas and 6’in others. I bought the house two years ago; it
was in poor condition at the time and now it needs to be
replaced. I was required to go through the Community
Development process and pay a $233.00 fee in order to be
able to replace my fence and add 7’ all the way around.
I bring this up because I look around my
neighborhood, we walk the dogs a lot, and there are a lot
of 7’ fences. I took a sample of three. No one had applied
for a waiver. I feel kind of discriminated against, I
guess, having to pay a fee. I did go and have signed
approvals from all the neighbors.
I looked at what San Jose does. They have 7’
fences allowed, and Cupertino allows a 7’ fence if you have
documented approval of your neighbors. I think a reasonable
and prudent metaphor might be driving down the highway, the
speed limit is 65, everybody drives 70, and it’s not
enforced on that way.
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So there are just a lot of people, a lot of
residents of Los Gatos, that have non-compliant fences.
Somebody could choose to report them to code enforcement; I
don’t think that makes a lot of sense. I think what has
happened here over time is that the 6’ fence has kind of
migrated more up to a 7’ level; typically it’s 6’ of solid
and 1’ of lattice.
My recommendation is to adopt probably the
Cupertino approach of allowing 7’ if you have approval of
your neighbors, and that’s the people who are really
affected. The ordinance really isn’t protecting anybody
else except the immediate neighbors.
Also, hillside. We have quail, we have raccoons,
we have possums, and so we have wildlife in our
neighborhoods too. Yes, sir?
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Go ahead.
VICE CHAIR KANE: I read your letter, Mr.
Klinger. Did you get a response from anyone on this?
DAVID KLINGER: Sean Mullin did. He encouraged me
to be here tonight, so I’m here tonight to make the case.
VICE CHAIR KANE: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: If there are no other
questions, thank you very much. The next card I have is
Bruce McCombs.
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BRUCE McCOMBS: I’ll start at the beginning. My
name is Bruce McCombs; I live at 16160 Kennedy Road. My
wife and I are lifelong residents of Los Gatos; we’ve lived
in our current home for a little more than 40 years.
Our home on Kennedy Road is located on a hillside
just above Kennedy Meadows. Our property has a total of
seven paths that the deer in our neighborhood have created
over the years. The seven paths eventually merge into two,
and the deer in our neighborhood use these paths nearly
every day as they make their way down from the hillside
above our house to the meadow across Kennedy Road, seeking
shelter among the shade trees. My wife and I have enjoyed
this scene near every day for the past 40 years, and it’s
in these moments we feel so very fortunate to be able to
call Los Gatos our home.
I’m here this evening to discuss the very clear
impact that steel and chain link fences have on the deer
and other wildlife who live in our area, especially the
young fawns who are just learning to navigate their way
around the neighborhood.
These are some of the photos that we took
throughout the neighborhood that just shows some of the
fences. You can see a cyclone in the back. This brings me
to my next point.
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My wife and I continue to be concerned for the
safety of wildlife in the area. This most recent deer-
related incident in our neighborhood occurred on Monday
morning as my wife was headed into town. When she left our
driveway my wife noticed a doe on one side of our
neighbor’s chain link fence—that’s the other side—with her
fawn stuck on the other side right next to the road. Please
note that this incident was occurring as cars are zooming
by with the fawn frantically dashing back and forth in
front of the fence trying to get to her mother. It goes
without saying, this would be an extremely upsetting
experience for anyone concerned about the wellbeing of
wildlife in and around our town, especially in the
hillsides where the vast majority of wildlife live.
I believe that the proposed amendments to the
Town’s Fence Ordinance would provide a major benefit to the
wellbeing of many of the different species of wildlife
living in our hillsides. I’m very grateful to the Town for
taking the initiative to address this extremely important
issue.
Here we see a fence that I built for a neighbor
about three years ago. It’s a pretty simple cedar fence; as
we can see it fits in with the surroundings. But the thing
that makes it the most important is it has a long lifespan,
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a fence of this design establishes a clear property
boundary, and at the same time is very wildlife friendly.
Notice the spacing between the horizontal rails and the
space between the bottom rail and the ground. Deer, quail,
rabbits, and birds can pass over or under this type of
fence with very little effort. In short, I believe that
this type of fence would be an ideal model for future
fences built on the hillsides above Los Gatos.
Finally, my wife took these photos from our
driveway last summer. The doe and fawn shown here are
standing on one of the several paths that lead to the
meadow on the other side of the road. As we can plainly
see, not a fence in site.
In conclusion, the proposed amendments for the
Town’s Fence Ordinance provide a much-needed solution to a
very serious problem, and I’m asking the Planning
Commission to please vote unanimously to approve the
proposed amendments. Thank you.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Thank you. We’ll see if
there are any questions. There aren’t, so thank you.
BRUCE McCOMBS: Thanks very much.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: The next card is David
Weissman.
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DAVID WEISSMAN: Los Gatos has a great tree
protection ordinance.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Dr. Weissman, would you
give us your address?
DAVID WEISSMAN: We don’t do addresses anymore.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: It’s so nice if you do.
DAVID WEISSMAN: All right, 15431 Francis Oaks.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Thank you.
DAVID WEISSMAN: Los Gatos has a great tree
protection ordinance. The goal of this revised Fence
Ordinance is to have actual live animals living in our
protected hillside forests. The impetus for these changes
come from the fact that while the Hillside Guidelines
clearly appear to require that hillside fences must allow
wildlife to pass through and to protect wildlife corridors,
Staff has interpreted these provisions as applying only to
new A&S applications.
Before writing our draft we got information from
Committee for the Green Foothills; Woodside; Los Altos
Hills; Sonoma County Open Space District; Montana Outdoors;
and Jackson, Wyoming. We then took the best of all these
jurisdictions and their documents, and after working with
Staff, you have the draft before you.
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I want to address the five bullet points on page
2 of the Staff Report that Staff says they have concerns
with.
Bullet #1: The two latest smoking ordinances have
five and two pages respectively of whereas. We think the
short Vision Statement of the Fence Ordinance draft is
helpful, and it was also suggested by Mayor Sayoc.
Bullet #2: Minor Residential Development Permits
cost more than $2,200. This is a lot of money and we would
like to see these fees reduced for fences, perhaps more
along the cost of obtaining a Waiver Permit for $233. The
point is to get citizens to the counter where Staff can
ensure that they are aware of the newest fence regulations,
it is not to be punitive with excessive costs, and in some
situations no permit is required.
Bullet #3: Yes, strict regulation is necessary to
ensure that the best quality fences are built, plus the
Hillside Guidelines already require an open view, design,
and wildlife friendly design. Do people really need to
enclose a barbeque and playground area farther than 30’
from the house? Living in the hillsides is a compromise.
Bullet #4: Under the draft, fences farther than
30’ from the primary residence in hillsides shall be less
than 42” in height to ensure that such fences are indeed
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wildlife friendly. By comparison, Jackson, Wyoming limits
fence heights to 38”, and Sonoma County Open Space District
limits fence heights to 40”.
Bullet #5: Replacement and modification of
hillside fences would have to meet the new regulations.
This is the appropriate time to try to improve the
stability of our hillsides. Nevertheless, under this draft
all current situations are grandfathered in.
Our goal in this ordinance is to maximize the
contiguous open space and to keep animals offroad.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Let’s see if there are
any questions. Vice Chair Kane.
VICE CHAIR KANE: Dr. Weissman, in what has been
proposed I wasn’t clear on what we would do about existing
chain links and barbed wire.
DAVID WEISSMAN: It’s there, and I don’t think we
can make this retroactive. We have no intention of making
this… It would be wonderful if when people come in for
modifications that they would make it more animal friendly.
VICE CHAIR KANE: So it would be a going forward?
DAVID WEISSMAN: Yes, going forward completely.
VICE CHAIR KANE: Thank you.
DAVID WEISSMAN: Commissioner Hanssen asked is
this a problem? When I moved into my property 30 years ago
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we used to have many animals, skunks, bobcats, possums, and
over the years things have just disappeared, and as you
drive around our area you see fences along perimeters of
houses. They serve no function except to mark your property
line, and there are consequences for doing this. I think
some of the other speakers that will come will also support
this. So it really is a problem. If we live in the
hillsides, we live there because of the animals too besides
just the trees, and these have had impacts.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Other questions? Thank
you very much. Thank you for all the work you did. I can
tell it was a lot of work. The next card I have is
MacKenzie Mossing.
MACKENZIE MOSSING: Good evening, Chair O'Donnell
and members of the Commission. My name is MacKenzie Mossing
and I work for the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society. With
over 2,000 members in Santa Clara County, our organization
is one of the largest Audubon chapters in California. Our
mission is to promote the enjoyment, understanding, and
protection of birds and other wildlife through birding,
education, and conservation. We believe that with adequate
consideration and attention people can live in harmony with
birds and wildlife in our communities and landscapes.
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We appreciate the Town of Los Gatos’ efforts to
reduce the impacts of urban sprawl on our natural
environment, and are very supportive of the proposed Fence
Ordinance. People in Los Gatos and regionally love their
deer and bobcats. They care to be able to see them in their
natural habitat and care to preserve the ability of the
animals to move between pastures and water, to migrate, and
to disperse. It is imperative that we avoid fencing that
will restrict this movement.
Hillside development and associated fencing can
severely impede the functionality of critical landscape
linkages and fragment habitat for local wildlife, causing
serious degradation of regional ecosystems. Impassible
property fences and perimeter fences may force animals to
travel along busy roadways rather than through open space,
posing a safety hazard for both wildlife and vehicle
traffic.
Further, certain types of fencing can cause
devastating injuries and death to wildlife as they try to
jump over or crawl through fencing. To your question,
Commissioner Hanssen, this is a well-documented issue in
our region in terms of injury to wildlife, as well as road
kill. Our organization has received numerous photos
documenting such instances over the years. Simple
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solutions, such as adequately spaced wood or smooth wire
fencing can allow safe passage of wildlife without injury,
and minimize human/wildlife conflict.
We applaud the Town of Los Gatos for considering
this important step towards facilitating wildlife movement
and for demonstrating that our communities can co-exist
with nature and wildlife. Please vote to recommend adoption
of the proposed ordinance. Thank you.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Thank you. Let’s see if
there are any questions. There are none, so thank you for
coming. The next card I have is Kit Gordon.
KIT GORDON: Good evening, I’m Kit Gordon
speaking on behalf of the Sierra Club Loma Prieta chapter.
We support protecting wildlife corridors and migration
routes in the hillside areas of Los Gatos. We applaud Los
Gatos for its existing wildlife friendly Hillside
Guidelines.
Wildlife corridors promote healthy and diverse
gene pools for the many species that live in our area.
Habitat fragmentation, however, can decrease biodiversity
through increased predation, inbreeding, genetic defects,
and increased disease risk for species. Adequate wildlife
corridors benefit animals, plants, insects, as well as
humans.
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Biodiversity requires not only wildlife
permeability, but also includes native plants to sustain
our native species. We support your policies that protect
native vegetation along creeks and corridors in hillside
areas.
Locally, partnerships are investing several
million dollars to evaluate wildlife corridors along
Highway 17 and Coyote Valley. These partners include
Caltrans, Land Trust of Santa Clara, Santa Cruz County,
Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District, Santa Clara
Open Space Authority, Peninsula Open Space Trust, Guadalupe
Coyote Resource Conservation District, Santa Clara County
Parks, Santa Clara Valley Water District, the Department of
Fish and Wildlife, and the USCS Puma Project. They are all
investing in protecting wildlife corridors.
We urge the Commission to approve the proposed
Fence Ordinance allowing wildlife permeability. As our
beautiful valley continues to be developed, impinging on
natural habitats, these restrictions become more and more
valuable for our fragile ecosystem. Thank you.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Thank you. Any
questions? Thanks, again. Next card I have is for Alice
Kaufman.
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ALICE KAUFMAN: Good evening, Commissioners. My
name is Alice Kaufman; I am here on behalf of Committee for
Green Foothills. We are an open space and natural resource
preservation operating in San Mateo and Santa Clara
Counties since 1962. I’m here to speak in support of the
draft ordinance.
As I’m sure you’re aware, the Santa Cruz
Mountains are a habitat for a diversity of wildlife.
However, the animals in this area are suffering from the
existence of many barriers to movement that impedes their
ability to find food, mates, and other necessities for
population survival.
Roadways cut across available migration routes,
resulting in animals trying to cross busy roads, with
hazardous results for vehicles as well as animals. Anyone
who has ever seen a deer walking along the edge of a road
hemmed in by walls and fences can understand the dangers
that animals undergo in order to reach the areas they need
to access. Building tall fences may keep animals off your
property, but it will force them into the road where they
pose a collision danger for passing vehicles.
Those who choose to build homes at the interface
between urban areas and natural communities typically do so
because they value the surrounding natural area, but to
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live in harmony with nature does require compromise. You
can’t expect to have all of the human-oriented conveniences
that exist in a fully urban area while still enjoying
living out in nature.
We believe that the draft ordinance exemplifies a
reasonable degree of compromise between nature and human
habitation. Limiting the additional requirements to only
those fences that are more than 30’ from the home allows
for wildlife to be excluded from what is typically
considered an ordinary back yard area that can accommodate
vegetable gardens, kids’ play areas, and other similar
uses.
I’d also like to point out the issue here is not
only one of allowing wildlife movement, but also of
ensuring wildlife safety. Fences that include barbed wire
or wire strands stretched between posts are hazardous to
animals. Deer will often attempt to jump the fence and may
get their legs tangled in the wire. I’ve seen photos of
juvenile deer that starved to death after getting their
legs tangled in wire fencing.
We ask you to please consider the ordinance
that’s been submitted and move it forward. Thank you.
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COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Thank you. Any
questions? No. Thanks, again. The next card, and I think
it’s the last card, is Tanya Kurland.
TANYA KURLAND: Hello, my name is Tanya Kurland
and I’m at 15275 Seaview Drive in Los Gatos.
I would like to address some concerns about what
actually those fences are for, because it seems to me that
previous orators assumed that fences don’t serve any
purpose except people wanting to mark their territory. This
is actually not true.
I’ve seen fences here to protect people, because
according to the results of a study announced by Stanford
University researchers in 2014, “Lyme disease is more
spread by areas of open space than previously thought,” and
the study (inaudible) California also revealed that
(inaudible) a second bacteria previously undetected in the
region and known (inaudible), and this is actually very
dangerous bacteria which causes flu-like disease which can
be deadly to elderly people, small kids, and immunity
deficient people.
A lot of people, and even doctors, believe that
Lyme disease is easily treated by antibiotics and just
disappears after that. Unfortunately, often the bacteria
can hide in the body, attacking the body, attacking the
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central nervous system and brain. The chronic form of Lyme
disease have left many patients mentally and physically
debilitated. Again, drastically there is a shortening of
life. There has actually been a lot of research that prove
that point, and I already submitted in my email links and
information about these diseases, and by area, and how
important it is.
And I would like to emphasize that it’s not that
widespread as on the east coast, but personal risk is
actually greater, because we don’t have public awareness
here and people just don’t know that they can contract Lyme
disease, and even doctors do not continually test their
patients. I’ve been reading about a lot of cases where
people have been sick with Lyme disease for decades and
basically disabled because of it, and doctors just didn’t
test them, because they were not aware of it.
Just recently it came to public attention
research had been made where we actually became aware of
the widespreading of this disease, and researchers have
found the number of (inaudible) reported cases of Lyme
disease per thousand households strongly correlated with
deer population density in the community.
While I strongly think that we should maintain
(inaudible) for deer on our property, we should do that,
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but we should enclose our areas where people routinely
spend their time with high fences and keep deer out of
them.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Thank you. Are there any
questions? No. All right, I have no other cards, so what
I’m going to do is close the public input of this evening,
and we’re going to ultimately continue this matter, so I
would assume that it would be okay to reserve our comments
then until then.
JOEL PAULSON: It is. I think if there’s anything
specifically for the topics that we raised, which obviously
Dr. Weissman raises well. I think generally there are a
number of ways where these things can be handled. I know
Dr. Weissman and Lee Quintana looked at a number of
different possibilities.
Mr. Mullin comes to us from Woodside, who has an
ordinance. They do it a little bit differently. They do it
from setbacks from road, so you have corridors rather than
setbacks from the structures, and they’re a little bit
different process. The necessity for going through the
Minor Residential Permit process that Dr. Weissman and Lee
were interested in notifying and having a process where we
notify the neighbors when you’re applying for a Fence
Permit. Currently we have sport court fencing, where if you
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want to go over 6’, that goes through a Minor Residential
Permit, we notify the neighbors, and that’s where the fee
comes from.
That’s also appealable, that process. If one of
your neighbors objects to the fence you want to put in,
then they ultimately will come before the Planning
Commission, just as any other Minor Residential
application. So that’s the necessity for the fee.
So going through some of these items, there are
some exceptions, as Dave noted, for a number of things, and
then also for the replacement of the existing fencing, if
it’s I believe more than 50’ or more than 25% of the fence,
then you have to come into compliance.
We just wanted to raise these concerns. There may
be private property right concerns from folks who are used
to having to go through this process, and the way the
current process is set up, whether you are doing a 6’ fence
within 30’ in planting zone one, or a 42” outside of the
30’, you need a permit.
So just things to consider, and if you believe
these things are all appropriate given the circumstances
and kind of the direction, then we’re perfectly fine
carrying that forward as well.
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COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Let me ask you this
question. You said that Sean’s experience was in Woodside?
JOEL PAULSON: Woodside, correct.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: And so perhaps, if you
will indulge me, that’s a contrasting measurement system.
Could you explain that to us?
SEAN MULLIN: Sure. The Town of Woodside looks at
fencing two ways. One is a barrier to wildlife, but the
other is a barrier visually, and the community character up
there is to protect the rural character of the town. The
setback that’s required for fencing is only along roads,
and it’s measured from the edge of the driving surface, so
the measurement or setback can start off your property.
It’s not measured from the property line, because the
right-of-way may be 50’ and the improvement may only be
30’.
The guiding documents, the Residential Design
Guidelines and the General Plan, encourage wildlife passage
corridors. I should preface all this that a permit was
required for any fencing regardless of height, and the
maximum height was 6’. You could build solid fencing, and
these setbacks that I mentioned as measured from roads vary
depending on the height of your fence and whether it’s a
visually open fence or not, so it gets a little complicated
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there, but the way Staff was instructed to handle someone
coming in with new perimeter fencing, they come into the
county and say I need to pull a permit for a fence, was to
enforce the setback as the code required, but also work
with the applicant and explain to them the importance of
the language in the guiding documents about wildlife
passage, and urge them and work with them to try to bring
in the fencing from the property line.
So if they wanted to build the maximum fence on a
one- or five-acre property they would put it right on the
property lines and then maybe 50’ back from the road, and
to a pretty high degree of success Staff was able to get
10’, 15’, 20’ corridors along a property line, maybe two
property lines, maybe three, and while not completely open
range land, create wildlife corridors so animals could get
off the road and traverse into the woodland, but also
provide for enjoyment of the property.
The cautionary tale here is that the properties
in Woodside tend to be larger, and at least my experience
was it was easier to ask someone with five acres to give us
10-15’ on a property line than it was in the same community
to ask someone with a 1,500 square foot property to do the
same. But that’s how it’s regulated there; it’s a little
bit different.
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COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: All right, if you have
some general questions or comments, we can certainly make
them. Otherwise, we can just ask at our next meeting. But I
think Commissioner Hanssen had her hand up first, or
Commissioner Badame, whichever you ladies would like.
CHAIR BADAME: I just want to make a comment. If
anybody watches the local news or reads Next Door posts
about Los Gatos and coyotes, there is an influx of coyotes
in our residential neighborhoods in Los Gatos. I mean it’s
a big problem. So I’d be curious if other jurisdictions
have this problem, or if their fence ordinances are
different from ours so that it has mitigated the problem,
so they don’t have the same problem as we do, or if we
update our Fence Ordinance if it would mitigate the problem
we are having and seeing in Los Gatos.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Any comments on that, or
should we defer that?
JOEL PAULSON: I’ll make a simple statement. You
hear that ring true all over California in urban areas,
that coyotes are problematic. Obviously, that’s problematic
for domestic animals, whether those are cats or dogs, but
this ordinance would provide an area, although limited, for
those types of animals to have some protection. I don't
know that we have any evidence as to whether or not a Fence
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Ordinance is going to change that. Coyotes are fairly
persistent, from what I understand.
ROBERT SCHULTZ: I think what Joel said is
correct. I would just make the observation regarding the
comment about the raccoons and skunks. Our Town Terrace
area, which is really right in the middle of town, is where
we get the most complaints from raccoons and skunks, so
clearly I think they’ve come out of the hills, because
that’s where they can find food. And possums, they’re all
in that area is where we get the most complaints.
COMMISSIONER BURCH: In case you wondered,
there’s the watershed right behind my house, all of them.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Vice Chair Kane.
VICE CHAIR KANE: In lieu of Mr. Mullin’s
comments, would you be able to develop some sort of best
practices on Saratoga? Do we think we’re ahead of the game,
or can we learn something from somebody else?
JOEL PAULSON: I think we definitely can be
informed.
VICE CHAIR KANE: I know you’ve got enough to do.
JOEL PAULSON: Dr. Weissman has helped us be
informed, and with Sean’s expertise as well, it’s another
component. We can come up with other options of maybe ways
to try to provide wildlife corridors. They may not be as
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extensive as what the current ordinance has, but at least
then you can look at options. And we’ll also factor in,
because that’s a good point on the lot size, we do have
nonconforming lots in the hillside area that if you look at
restricting it, it may be a little more challenging. But we
can walk through and provide some options.
VICE CHAIR KANE: Or maybe some of his comments
in writing, or pertinent pages from what Woodside has.
JOEL PAULSON: We can give you the actual
language.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: I would be interested on
that line of we have some recommendations here which are
good, and I think Dr. Weissman already said in his letter
on some of the comments that had been made, some of which
he agreed with, I don’t think there’s any magic in 30’. On
the other hand, there isn’t any magic against 30’, except
that we are quite aware of the coyote thing. I mean you
can’t live here and not be aware of the coyotes, so if I
had a four year old and I was up in the hills, I’d want to
at least protect some area.
When I see 30’, I don't know whether that’s a
good number or a bad number. When I see if somebody puts a
garden in, whether we do anything about that, whether
anybody puts in a gym set, so I’m more interested in not
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don’t we do this, but if we do this can we do it in a way
which is sympathetic to the property owner and yet
facilitate the animals’ migration, feeding, all that? It’s
a real question: how do you do that and try to balance
both? But the bottom line is we should come away with some
regulation that allows the animals freedom to move, but I’d
like to balance that against the people who live here the
freedom to protect, particularly, their children. You
unfortunately can’t protect cats, you can’t contain them,
but I see things all the time on Next Door, good old cat
just bit the dust.
COMMISSIONER BURCH: Can I ask one quick
question?
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Sure.
COMMISSIONER BURCH: This is just a very quick
question, and I bet Dr. Weissman actually would already
have this information and be able to share it with you.
I heard what the lady said. I’m from the Midwest
where Lyme disease and stuff, and my uncle actually just
recently passed away from such a disease. I would be very
curious, with the knowledge of what you were just talking
about with children and stuff, if there is a distance. If I
do have small kids and they’re going to be playing out in
the yard, is it wise for me to put my protective fence, not
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my friendly fence, my protective fence, 15’, 20’? Is 30’
the magic number that would allow for some type of
protection from that, because it is becoming more prevalent
here?
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Didn’t we see though
somebody commented that the tick is more borne not by the
deer but by squirrels and things like that which I don’t
think any fences are going to keep out?
COMMISSIONER BURCH: And that may be true, so I’m
not asking for an answer now, if there is something that
would assist in looking at the (inaudible), I would be
curious.
JOEL PAULSON: We can look and see if that
information (inaudible).
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Commissioner Hanssen,
did you have something?
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: I just had a couple
comments. I know we’re going to discuss it more, but one
comment that was in the written comments mentioned about
the pets. Just using my own personal example, we have a
home in the hillsides and it happened to have a fenced in
yard, and this has been a great thing for our dog, and our
neighbors who didn’t have a fenced in yard, their dog got
bit by the coyote, and $2,5000 worth of surgery later it’s
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still alive, but almost died and everything. So I’m totally
sympathetic.
We have deer running through all the time. I
certainly am sympathetic to this whole idea of getting the
wildlife to be able to pass through safely, but then what
are people supposed to do with their pets? We have 52
houses in our neighborhood. I can only think of maybe five
families that don’t have dogs. I mean you can get invisible
collars, but do you really want to put electronics close to
the brain and everything like that? So the pets thing is
something that concerns me in how do you make that
compatible with the wildlife?
And then the other thing was this 30’ thing, I
agree with Chair O'Donnell, I’m not sure if that makes
sense, because most people I know use all the different
parts of their yard for different things, like the pool
might be over here, and the play swing set might be over
here, and a lot of it, especially in hillside lots, it’s
going to be way more than 30’ from the home, because we
have a minimum of one-acre lots in our neighborhood, so a
lot of things are going to be more than 30’ from the house.
I had this picture of islands of fences; you get this one
around your pool, and this one around your garden. What’s
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that going to look like? I mean it might let wildlife
through, but it will look bad. That was one thing.
Then I just want to mention about the fees. I
heard where it came from, but there are some people that
have five-acre lots and they want to do the perimeter
thing, even if it’s like 30” or something, and then someone
else has a 100’ segment, and then they’re still going to
have to pay $2,500?
Just to give you an example, we have ponds in
front of our house, and we actually had a deer drown in one
of the ponds, and so we put the fence in to protect them
and children who were leaning over looking into the ponds
and everything like that, but we paid about $5,000 for the
fence. It’s a relatively open fence. But then I would have
to pay another 50% on top in terms of fees versus somebody
that had a five-acre lot. So I just wondered if maybe it
should be related to the amount of the fence?
JOEL PAULSON: We can come back with options on
those things. I think the one thing that comes to mind is
the ones that are within the 30’ which is tied to the
ornamental landscaping requirement in the Hillside
Guidelines, so that was an easy link, I think, that maybe
those don’t require permits. You can do a 6’ fence and
you’re fine, and then it’s really the open fences outside
LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 7/26/2017
Item #5, Town Code Amendment A-17-002, Hillside Fences
38
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of that. And there are also opportunities for the Community
Development Director to make exceptions in certain
instances, like your pond one, for instance. I think that
one is probably something that would fall into that
classification.
COMMISSIONER HANSSEN: And unusual, too.
JOEL PAULSON: Yeah, so we’ll come back with some
additional information on those things.
COMMISSIONER O'DONNELL: Okay, so we’ll do that,
and I think that will allow us then to move into a Staff
Report.
From: Mark Muser [mailto:lpspin@earthlink.net]
Sent: Saturday, September 09, 2017 12:24 PM
To: Joel Paulson
Subject: Re: Fence Height Exception Request
Hello Again Mr. Paulson,
To follow up with our phone conversation in August, I have attached a purposed addition to the
exceptions section of the Town of Los Gatos fence ordinance SEC . 26. l 0 .065
My recommended addition is highlighted in red . Please review it and purpose this addition to our
Towns fence regulations .
Thank You Kindly,
MarkMuser
Strathrnore Pool Club
c~
EXHIBi I 1 2
Sec. 29.40.030. Fences, Hedges & Walls
A. In r eside nti al zones, fe nces , hedges, and wa ll s not over 6 feet high are allowed on or wit hi n all property
lin es , except th at no owner or occupant of any corner lot or premises in the Town shall erect or mai ntain
upon such lot or premises any fe nce , hedge or wall high er than 3 feet above the cu rb in a traffic view area
u nless a permit is secured from the Town Engin ee r. A traffic view area is the area which is within 15 feet
of a public street and within 200 feet of the right-of-way lin e of an inter section . Barbed wire or razor ribbon
wire is prohibited in all zones.
B . Th e following exceptions shall apply:
1. Properties within historic districts or ha ve a Landmark and Hi stori c Preserv ation Overlay shall not have
fen ces, hedges, and walls higher than 3 f eet in a front yard except as provided in subs ection
29.40 .030(b)(2). Any fence , hedge or wall erected in a front ya rd shall be of open design.
2. Gateways or entryway arbo rs may be higher than 6 feet in any zone including historic dis tr icts and sh all
be of open design but i n no case sha ll a gateway or entryway arbor be higher than 8 feet, have a width
greater than 6 feet, or have a depth greater than 4 feet. All gateways and entryway arbors shall be
cons tructed of open design . No more than 1 gateway or entry arbor per street frontage is allowed .
3. Boundary line fences or walls adjace nt to commercial property ma y be 8 feet high if requested or agreed
up on by a majority of the re sidential property owners .
4 . Propert ies not o n a stre et co rn er, may have s id e yard and rear ya rd fences , hedges, or walls be h ind t he
front ya rd setback that are 8 feet high if the property owner can demonstrate to the sa ti sfaction of the
Pl anning Director that the following co nditions exists:
a. A specia l privacy concern exists th at merits the need for the eight-foot he ight and that the se con ce rn s
can not be practically add r essed by add ition al landscapin g or tree sc reen ing . Written justifi cat io n sha ll be
provide to the Planning Department which documents th e spec ial privacy co nce rn , and the higher fen ce
heig ht may only be approved at the discretion of th e Pl ann in g Director.
b. A spec ial wildlife/an im al problem affect s th e property and merits the n eed for th e higher eigh t-foot height
because no pract ica l al tern atives exis t to a ddress th e prob lem. Documented insta nces of wildlife grazin g
on gardens or domestic landscaping may be an exa mpl e of su ch a problem . Fencing proposed for rural or
hill s ide areas shall be of an open design that does not detract from the scen ic nat ure or character of the
s urrounding ar ea.
c . A special safety/security concern with Home Owner Association Private Swim Pool Clubs exists that
merits the need for the eight-foot height and that these concerns cannot be practically addressed by
additional landscaping or tree screening .
Sean Mullin
From:
Sent:
To:
Joel Paulson
Monday, September 11, 2017 9:16 PM
Sean Mullin
Subject: Fwd: Proposed fence ordinance
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message :
From: Marica Sayoc <MSayoc@losgatosca.gov>
Date: September 11, 2017 at 9:11 :31 PM PDT
To: Bonnie Payne <bonnieapayne@comcast.net>
Cc: Laurel Prevetti <LPrevetti@losgatosca .gov>, Joel Paulson <jpaulson@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Re: Proposed fence ordinance
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Payne -
Thank you for sharing your objections to the proposed fence ordinance . I am copying our town staff so
that your email can be shared with the Planning Commissioners who will be reviewing this proposal
during their Commission hearing this Wednesday.
Marica
*****************************************
Marica Sayoc
Mayor, Town of Los Gatos
*****************************************
On Sep 11, 2017, at 6:08 PM, Bonnie Payne <bonnieapayne@comcast.net> wrote :
September 11, 2017
Dear Mayor Sayoc,
I wish to go on record as objecting to the new fence ordinance proposal. It is hard to
believe that the fence that surrounds our property could not be repaired or replaced in
its current location, which includes the orchard we have been nurturing for 20 years and
further from our house than 30 feet. Does that mean that our orchard needs to be
abandoned if our fen ce ever needs to be repaired ?
1
Please reject this proposal!
Sincerely,
Bonnie and Richard Payne
16216 Kennedy Road, Los Gatos 95032
2
Sean Mullin
From:
Sent:
To:
Joel Paulson
Monday, September 11, 2017 9:58 PM
Sean Mullin
Subject: Fwd : objection to Town Code Amendment A -17 -002
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message :
From: Marico Sayoc <MSayo c@ losg atos ca .gov>
Date: September 11, 2017 at 9:25 :30 PM PDT
To: Richard Payne <rkpayne l@ma c.com>
Cc: Laurel Prevetti <L Prevetti@losgatosca.gov>, Joel Paulson <jpaulson @lo sga tosca .gov>
Subject: Re: objection to Town Code Amendment A-17-002
Hello Mr. Payne -
I am sharing your emai l (and your wife's email) to our town staff so that they may share your concerns
with the Planning Commission. They will review this proposed change on Wednesday and your email s
will be included in public comments for their consideration.
Marica
*****************************************
Marica Sayoc
Mayor, Town of Lo s Gatos
*****************************************
On Sep 11, 2017, at 8:01 PM, Richard Payne <rkp ay nel@mac.com> wrote:
Dear Mayor Sayoc,
The proposed ordinance amendment would very negatively effect our quality of life. We
have inve sted a great deal in developing an orchard on land that wa s orchard when the
house was built in 1949. And in which we have lived for over 25 years, developing an
orchard on our property. The only way that we can protect our investment from being
destroyed by deer is to have it fenced . While I understand that the goal is to allow
animals opportunities to move through the town, a goal of which I approve, there is a
difference between mandating something like openings that enable coyotes, ra ccoo ns,
foxes and so on freedom of movement, and not being able to protect from dee r.
As desc ribed I strongly object to the amendment,
yours,
Richard Payne
16216 Kennedy Road
Los Gatos, CA 95032
4 08.358.3332
1
Sean Mullin
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Attachments:
Follow Up Flag:
Flag Status:
Sean and Joel,
David Weissman <gryllus@gmail.com >
Tuesday, September 12, 2017 9:07 AM
Sean Mullin; Joel Paulson
Fence Ordinance revision
Fence. 9 -13-2017 .To.docx
Follow up
Flagged
Please send the attached document to the PC members for the PC meeting on Wednesday, Sept 13th.
Thank you.
Dave
Dave Weissman
15431 Francis Oaks Way
Los Gatos, CA 95032
H: (408) 358-3556
gryllus@gmail.com
1
To: Planning Commission, meeting of 9/13/2017
Re : Fence Ordinance
From : Dave Weissman, 9/12/2017
At the prior meeting of 7 /26/2017, Commissioner Hanssen asked why there is a need for this
ordinance revision? The Town needs this new language because the 2020 General Plan Policy,
LU-1 .3, says that a Town policy and goal is to "Preserve ... wildlife habitats in new and existing
developments" and the HDS&G require that hillside open views be maintained and that wildlife
corridors be protected . The current fence ordinance does neither. Additionally, at the last
meeting, the PC heard from 3 local experts, from the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club,
Santa Clara County Audubon Society, and Committee for Green Foothills, as to why animal-
friendly movement hillsides are important to the integrity of our urban forests. We need to
protect the animals within our hillsides as much as we protect our trees.
With these considerations in mind, I propose the following 5 changes/additions to staff's draft,
shown below in bold, italics, and underlined.
I urge that you approve Staff's draft, with my proposed changes (of course), and send this
document onto the TC with the recommendation for adoption .
Sec. 29.40.030. Fences, walls, gates , gateways, entry arbors, and hedges.
Sec. 29.40.030xx. -Purpose and intent. The Fence Ordinance is divided into two parts: non-
hillside and hillside areas. The use of fences , walls, gates. gateways, entry arbors, and hedges in
the hillside areas shall be minimi zed and located so that natural landforms appear to flow
together and are not disconnected . The primary emphasis shall be on maintai ning open views.
protecting wildlife corridors, and maintaining the rural , open, and natural character of the
hillsides . Additional details are available in the Town's Hillside Development Standards and
Guidelines, including the statement on page 43: "Fences shall not be allowed in areas that
would impede the movement of wildlife ... " Additionallv from photo caption on page 41.
"Rural character allows wildlife to pass through."
Sec. 29.40.030xx. -Definitions. The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this
division. shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section. Fence means a man-made
structure serving as a barrier or screen constructed of wood, metal, wire, masonry, glass, plastic,
stone or any material. Fence height means measured from finished grade and shall be measured
from either side of the property line which affords affected property owners the most buffering
from noise, light, glare, or privacy impacts. Hedge means a boundary formed by closely growing
deciduous or evergreen bushes or shrubs. Hillside lot means a parcel of land that is shown on the
Hillside Area Map in the Hillside Development Standards and Guidelines regardless of zoning
district. Movement corridor means a movement pathway that is typically independent of season
and used by animals on a near daily basis for the acquisition of food , shelter, water, and mates .
Open-view design means a fence or other structure that permits views through it. Planting Zone I
means that area within a 30-foot radius of the primary dwelling unit on a hillside lot. Retaining
wall means a man-made structure designed to retain soil. Riparian corridor means an area
comprised of habitat strongly influenced and delineated by the presence of perennial or
intermittent streams. Page 2 of 6 Draft 9/8/17 Draft Amendments to Chapter 29 of Town Code -
Hillside Fences Stream means a body of water that flows at least periodically or intermittently
through a bed or channel having banks. The body of water may include watercourses having a
surface or subsurface flow that supports or has supported riparian vegetation, fish, or aquatic life.
Top of bank means a stream boundary where a majority of normal discharges and channel
forming activities take place. The top of bank will contain the active channel. active floodplain ,
and their associated banks. Where there are no distinguishable features to locate the top of bank,
the local permitting agency will make a determination and document as appropriate. In the
absence of this determination, the I 00-year water surface will be used. Traffic view area means
that area, on comer lots, which is within fifteen (15) feet of a public street and within two
hundred (200) feet of the right-of-way line of an intersection, or a distance of thirty (30) feet
measured horizontally in any direction from the point of intersection of the property lines at
street comers. Wall means a man-made structure that defines an area , carries a load, or provides
shelter or security. Wildlife-friendly design means a fence, wall , hedge, or other structure that
permits any animal, regardless of size, to easily climb under, pass through, or jump over.
Sec. 29.40.030xx. -Non-hillside lots: Proposed new fences , walls , gates, gateways, entry arbors,
and hedges.
(A) In residential zones, no permits are required for the repair, replacement, or construction of
fences, walls , gates, gateways, entry arbors, or hedges that are less than six (6) feet high on, or
within all property lines.
(B) The following height exceptions shall apply: (I) Corner lot: In a traffic view area, no corner
lot or premises in the Town shall have any fence, wall , gate, gateway, entry arbor, or hedge
higher than three (3) feet above the curb unless permission i s secured from the Town Engineer.
(2) Properties not on a street corner: At the discretion of the Director of Community
Development, side yard and rear yard fences, wall s, gate, gateways, entry arbors, or hedges,
behind the front yard setback, may be a maximum of eight (8) feet high provided the property
owner can provide written justification to the Planning Department that demonstrates either of
the following conditions exists: a. A special privacy concern exists that cannot be practically
addressed by additional landscaping or tree screening. b. A special wildlife/animal problem
affects the property that cannot be practically addressed through alternatives. Documented
instances of wildlife grazing on gardens or ornamental landscaping m ay be an example of such a
problem. (3) Historic Districts and /or Landmark and Historic Preservation Overlay : The
maximum height of fences in the front yard shall be three (3) feet and shall be of open-view
design. (4) Gateways or entryway arbors: May be up to eight (8) feet high, including within
Historic Districts or for properties with a Landmark and Historic Preservation Overlay, and shall
be of open-view design. A gateway or entryway arbor shall have a maximum width of six (6)
feet and a maximum depth of four ( 4) feet. No more than one (1) gateway or entryway arbor per
street frontage is allowed. Page 3 of 6 Draft 9/8/17 Draft Amendments to Chapter 29 of Town
Code -Hillside Fences (5) Adjacent to commercial property: Boundary line fences or walls
adjacent to commercial property may be eight (8) feet high if requested or agreed upon by a
majority of the adjacent residential property owners.
(C) Materials. The type of fencing materials within the non-hillside zone are generally
unrestricted, and fences can be a combination of materials, with the following exceptions: (1)
Plastic fencing is discouraged everywhere and is prohibited in Historic Districts . (2) Barbed wire
or razor ribbon wire is prohibited in all zones.
Sec. 29.40.030xx . -Hillside lots : Proposed new fence s, walls , gates, gateways, entry arbors, and
hedges. This division section covers any new fence. wall, gate, gateway, entry arbor, or hedge,
and the replacement, modification, and/or repair of any existing fence. wall, gate, gateway, entry
arbor, or hedge whether the primary dwelling unit is new or existing. In the absence of a primary
dwelling unit, an entire hillside lot, including any accessory structures such as a barn. storage
shed, stable, or similar structure, shall be covered by the conditions of this Section.
(A) Within 30 feet of primary dwelling unit (Planting Zone 1 ): (1) Approvals: Minor Residential
Development approval is required pursuant to Section 29.20.480(2)(h). The permit shall be
posted on site during construction. (2) Are subject to the provisions of Sec. 29.40.030, Non-
hillside residential lots above. (3) Riparian corridor. No fence , wall , gate or hedge shall be
constructed within a riparian corridor or within 3 0 feet of its top of bank. ( 4) Prohibited
materials. Barbed or razor wire fences , including any fence with attached barbs, sharp points, or
razors , are prohibited.
(B) Greater than 30 feet from primary dwelling unit (outside Planting Zone 1 ): (1) Approvals:
Minor Residential Development approval is required pursuant to Section 29.20.480(2)(h). The
permit shall be posted on site during construction. (2) Accessory structures. Fences associated
with accessory structures, if located farther than 30 feet from the primary dwelling unit, shall be
governed by this section. (3) Wildlife friendly. All fences , walls, gates, and hedges shall be of
wildlife-friendly design. If a new hillside fence is, in part, closer than 30 feet to the primary
dwelling unit and , elsewhere, farther than 30 feet from the primary dwelling unit, the portion that
is farther than 30 feet shall be of wildlife-friendly de sign. (4) Maximum height: a . New fences.
The maximum height of new fences shall be 42 inches . b. Hedges. Hedges shall be maintained at
a maximum height of 60 inches (5 feet). c. Hedges shall have two-to four-foot-wide gaps at least
every 25 feet. (5) Minimum height above grade: a. New Fences . The minimum height above
grade of new fences shall be 16 inches. ( 6) The foll o wing fence types are not of wildlife-friend] y
design and are therefore prohibited: a. Chain-link, chicken wire, welded wire, wire mesh,
cyclone or similar fence material Page 4 of 6 Draft 9/8/1 7 Draft Amendments to Chapter 29 of
Town Code -Hillside Fences b. Buck and rail fences . c. Any fence with bare lengths of wire
stretched between posts. d. Electric fences , including any fence designed to produce an electric
shock, except where necessary for animal husbandry operations . e . Barbed or razor wire fences ,
including any fence with attached barbs, sharp points, or razors . (7) Fence design. a. Fences shall
be of an open-view design that does not detract from the scenic nature or character of the
surrounding area. b. Traditional split-rail fences are encouraged. Rural styles shall emphasize
natural colors such as brown, grey or green. c. Fences shall have a top level of wood (or similar
material) rail rather than wire. d. Split rail fences shall include a minimum 12-inch spacing
between rails wherever feasible. e. Hedge plant species shall consist of those listed in Appendix
A of the Hillside Development Standards and Guidelines. f. The spacing of vertical fence posts
shall be at least j8 feet apart, unless physically impossible due to terrain or other conditions.!.
(from HDS&G, page 43) g. "Onlv open fencing shall be located within 20 feet o(a property
line adjacent to a street." (8) Fence, wall, gate. and hedge siting: a . Fences and hedges shall be
located to follow natural contours, whenever possible. b. Fences and hedges shall be located to
avoid impacts to trees , animal movement corridors, and other natural features. (from HDS&G,
page 43) "Fences shall not be allowed in areas that would impede the movement of
wildlife .•. ". No fence. wall, gate or hedge shall be constructed within a riparian corridor, stream,
or within 30 feet of its top of bank. d. No fence , wall, gate, or hedge shall be constructed in the
public or private right-of-way or within any trail easement or other easement precluding their
construction unless allowed, in writing, by the Town Engineer. (9) Walls: a. Walls are prohibited
unless needed for privacy as determined by the Director of Community Development. b. Town
approved retaining walls are permitted.
(C) Replacement or modification of existing fences, walls, hedges or gates: (1) Shall be subject
to the requirements in this Ordinance. The permit will be posted on site during construction. (2)
Are encouraged if such changes improve wildlife movement or animal corridors . (3)
Replacement or modification of any fence, wall, hedge or gate shall be prohibited ifthe Town
Engineer determines that a public safety hazard exists.
(D) Repair. A permit is not required for repair of short sections of existing fences, walls, or
hedges no greater than 50 percent of fence, wall , or hedge provided no other repair work is done
on the same structure over a 12-month period.
(E) Exceptions: (1) Fences around swimming pools, outdoor sports courts, and similar structures
are not required to be of wildlife-friendly design, even if farther than 30 feet from the primary
dwelling unit (see Sec. 29.l 0 .09020 for other swimming pool requirements). Sport court fencing
may be 12 feet in height. (2) A temporary (1 to 3 year), animal excluding, circular enclosing
fence may be erected to protect a newly planted tree or shrub . (3) Enclosure fencing around
vineyards, orchards, and vegetable gardens shall be limited to those areas requiring enclosure
and does not have to be wildlife friendly even if farther than 30 feet from the primary dwelling
unit. (from HDS&G, page 43) "Deer fencing shall be limited to areas around ornamental
landscaping. Larger areas shall not be enclosed ••. " (The HDS& G already limits ornamental
landscaping to planting zone 1, within 30' o(the primary dwelling). (4) Fences needed for
livestock control do not have to be of wildlife-friendly design even if farther than 30 feet from
the primary dwelling unit. (5) Security fencing required to protect a public utility installation
does not have to be wildlife friendly. (6) Written exceptions may be granted when the Director of
Community Development finds that the strict application of these requirements will result in!!!!
extreme hardship for the property owner.
(F) Fees. The fee, as adopted by Town Resolution for Minor Residential development, prescribed
therefore in the municipal fee schedule, shall accompany any application for a fence in the
Hillside area submitted to the Town for review and evaluation pursuant to thi s division.
(G) Enforcement. Any fence, wall , gate, gateway, entry arbor, or hedge constructed, replaced,
modified, or repaired without required approval , is a violation of this Code.
(H) Where a conflict exists between the Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs) of a
hillside Planned Development (PD) and this document, the requirements of this document shall
prevail.
(I) Notices. Noticing shall comply with the public noticing procedures of section 29.20.480 of
the Town Code. (Ord. No.1316, § 4.10.020, 6-7-76; Ord. No. 1493 , 3-17-81; Ord. No. 1873 , §I,
10-7-91; Ord. No. 2049, § I, 10-5-98; Ord. No. 2062, §I, 6-21-99; Ord. No. XX:XX, §)
Sean Mullin
From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
cc: Town Council
Town Manager
CDD Director J. Paulson
Associate Planner S . Mullin
Good morning,
Janette Judd
Tuesday, September 12, 2017 10:34 AM
adonkathy@aol.com
Sean Mullin; Joel Paulson
FW: Fence Ordinance
Thank you for your e-mail, received by the Town Council and Town Manager. This matter is currently
scheduled for discussion at the September 13 Planning Commission meeting. Your communication was
received after the Planning Commission agenda was finalized and after initial public submittal
deadlines. However, your comments will be included (along with all Public Comment) in supplemental
materials distributed for tomorrow's meeting, as well as any subsequent Town Council meeting discussion.
By copy of this message yo ur comments are referred to Associate Planner Sean Mullin, staff liaison for
matter. Should you have additional questions or comments, Sean can be reached at (408) 354-6823 or by email,
SMullin@LosGatosCA.gov.
Thank you once again for contacting the Town of Los Gatos and voicing your comments.
Best regards,
Janette Judd • Executive Assistant
Town Cou ncil and Town Manager• 110 E. Main St ., Los Gatos CA 95030
Ph: 408 .354.6832 • JJudd@LosGatosCA.gov
www.Lo sGatosCA .gov • https://www.facebook .com/losgatosca
-----O riginal Message-----
From: Don & Kathy [mailto:adonkathy@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, September 11, 2017 6:30 PM
To : Council
Subject: Fence Ordinance
I was shocked to read the facts concerning the new fence· ordinance. At first I thought it was "fake news".
I cannot understa nd the reasoning behind such an ordinance.
I ask the Town Council to use good judgment and vote agai nst such an abusive home owner's ordinance.
I would also wonder what the thinking was that went into even coming up with such regulations.
I think more time shou ld be spent on trying to solve the horrific traffic problems.
Kathy Anderson
Foster Rd.
95030
Sent from my iPad
2
Sean Mullin
From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
Attachments:
cc: Town Council
Town Manager
CDD Director J. Paulson
Associate Planner S. Mullin
Good morning,
Janette Judd
Tuesday, September 12 , 2017 10:36 AM
drjkim@verizon.net
Joel Paulson; Sean Mullin
FW: comments regarding fence ordinance
FenceOrdinance_DrKim.pdf
Thank you for your e-mail and attached letter, received by the Town Council and Town Manager. This matter
is currently scheduled for discussion at the September 13 Planning Commission meeting. Your communication
was received after the Planning Commission agenda was finalized and after initial public submittal
deadlines. However, your comments will be included (along with all Public Comment) in supplemental
materials distributed for tomorrow's meeting, as well as any subsequent Town Council meeting discussion.
By copy of this message your comments are referred to Associate Planner Sean Mullin, staff liaison for
matter. Should you have additional questions or comments, Sean can b e reached at ( 408) 354-6823 or by email,
SM ullin @LosGatosCA.gov .
Thank you once again for contacting the Town of Los Gatos and voicing your comments.
Best regards,
Janette Judd •Executive Assistant
Town Council and Town Manager • 110 E. Main St., Los Gatos CA 95030
Ph : 408.354 .6832 • JJudd @LosGa tosCA.gov
www.LosGatosCA.gov • https://www.facebook.com/losgatosca
From: Julie Kurkchubasche [mailto:dr_jkim@verizon .net]
Sent: Monday, September 11, 2017 9:09 PM
To: Council; Town Manager
Subject: comments regarding fence ordinance
Dear Council Members,
Please see my letter addressing the upcoming fencing ordinance in the attachment.
Thank You ,
Julie Kim , MD
dr jkim @verizon.net
1
-----Original Message--
To: Julie Kim <dr jkim@verizon .net>
Sent: Mon , Sep 11 , 2017 9 :04 pm
2
9/1/17
Dear Members of the Los Gatos Planning Commission,
I am a proud resident of Los Gatos and your local Pediatrician for 25 years. I am
vested in our town and look forward to residing here for many years to come. We
have a lovely home in the hills that we work VERY hard to maintain with beautiful
trees and vineyard (permitted). I'm writing to voice (along with many residents like
me who spend many hours and many dollars to keep their properties beautiful),
how disappointed we are at the new pending fence ordinance.
First of all, we don't need another ordinance to dictate how we should maintain our
property. I think we have enough. We have existing guidelines on fencing that work
very well. We see wildlife all around us, including many family of deers, coyotes,
wild turkeys, bobcats and more. I could hardly keep up with plants being eaten by
our wildlife in front of my house. There are no deer resistant plants-not really. The
cost to replace them just in the front of the house is tremendous. If we don't have a
decent fence to keep some of the wildlife from devouring plants in our backyard,
what's the use of all the hard work of maintaining our land? It will be replaced by
ugly weed, thistle and poison oak Before our fence was erected near our property
line, everything beautiful was devoured even in our immediate backyard. For
instance, our family went on a short vacation overseas. On the last day of our trip, at
the airport, one of our neighbors called and informed us that 2 deers had gotten into
our immediate backyard and devastated our yard. All the hard work of planting and
beautifying our yard, not to mention the cost, all went down the drain. It was
heartbreaking. We had to start all over again. We have not had this problem since
the peripheral fence was installed. Also, one of our major reason for purchasing our
house was for our land. I will not be able to enjoy a view of any other tree beside an
oak on our property because it will get devoured.
With current existing regulations, we and our neighbors can work together on our
own and figure out and create passageways for wildlife. We did just that. We
carved out passageways for wildlife to roam and it must be working because I can
give you pictures of many wildlife that pass through our property. Finally, land
many of my neighbors do not wish to pay thousands of dollars to have to get a
permit to fix our fence, let alone the time and additional work which it will entail.
The cost of living in our town is tremendous and we work long hours at our jobs to
be able to afford the pleasure of living here. Please don't burden us with yet another
c ost to live in Los Gatos.
ulie Kim, MD
RAMBLC Pediatrics
14880 Los Gatos Blvd .
Los Gatos, CA 95032