Item 01 - Story Pole Policy - Power PointSmall Town Service ~ Community Stewardship ~ Future Focus
Study Session on Revision to the
Story Pole Policy
Los Gatos Town Council
September 4, 2012
Small Town Service ~ Community Stewardship ~ Future Focus
Background
Town Council Discussion June 2012
•June 2012 Town Council Discussion:
–Visual aide/early notice of project
–Alternatives may be warranted in certain situations
–Exceptions should not be a Staff only decision
–Technology should be part of the solution
•Goals:
–Inform public and provide accurate representation
•Direction:
–Evaluate alternatives to story poles and develop new exception
procedures
Small Town Service ~ Community Stewardship ~ Future Focus
Survey of Story Pole Practices
•Surveyed 22 jurisdictions
–11 require story poles or approved alternatives
–7 require some type of graphic representation
of the proposed development
–Communities with story pole policies
•Smaller, with lower building heights
•High design standards
•6 of the 11 allow exceptions to story poles
Small Town Service ~ Community Stewardship ~ Future Focus
Survey of Story Pole Practices cont.
•Most common alternative methods:
–photo simulations
–computer models
–perspective renderings
–3D Fly around
•No jurisdictions use balloons
•Most require signs posted on the property
Small Town Service ~ Community Stewardship ~ Future Focus
Exceptions to the Policy
Recommendations
•Allow alternatives only:
–Conflicts with existing property use
–Public safety consideration
•Requests must be in writing and provide:
–Justification for the exception
–Proposed alternatives for increased public
noticing and project visualization
•Town Manager approval upon notice to the
full Council
Small Town Service ~ Community Stewardship ~ Future Focus
Alternatives to Story Pole Installation
•Photo simulations based on Town’s specifications
•Establish specifications that include:
–Adding a vertical height scale
–Requiring the photo simulation capture adjacent buildings
or other landmarks to help provide a height perspective
–Using a common scale, angle of shot, etc.
•Town contract with a qualified consultant to prepare
the photo simulations
Small Town Service ~ Community Stewardship ~ Future Focus
Posting Public Information Signs on Project Sites
Recommendations
•Develop specifications for property public notification signs,
including:
–size,
–height from the ground,
–location/placement,
–required information,
–color,
–timelines for sign installation and removal
–maintenance provisions
•Web page that contains the list of pending projects, descriptions,
photo simulations, and hearing dates.