By Elizabeth Cloutman

Los Altos Hills

Two local architects presented ideas to the Los Altos Hills Planning Commission Thursday night on how height maximums on two-story homes might be increased to encourage architectural diversity without compromising view corridors for neighboring properties.

The city council recently directed the planning commission to examine the town’s current height regulations and setback requirements. Homes are presently limited to a height of 27 feet. The council stated it would like to see building heights increase for two-story homes larger than 6,000 square feet to promote architectural diversity, provided that front and rear yard setbacks lengthen in proportion to building height.

The planning commission conferred with architects William Maston of Maston, Architect and Associates, Mountain View, and Walter Chapman of Chapman Design Associates, Los Altos, to come up with proposals on how best to accomplish this goal without compromising residents’ view corridors and privacy. The architects presented conceptual drawings of their ideas.

Maston proposed three possibilities: average wall height, based on roof slope; average wall height, based on setback increase; and average wall height, based on multiple wall planes. His recommendation was a combination of the first and third options, basing averaging on both roof slope and multiple wall planes. “The actual building height would only be increased by allowing for averaging the roof plane. The highest point of the roof being increased forces the wall height to get lower and reduces the perceived massing of the home,” Maston said. “A steeper roof looks less massive below (and) encourages dormer design, pulling in more habitable space into a roof line,” he said. He also recommended the planning commission set definite height limits and keep the minimum setback at the present 30 feet.

Chapman agreed and noted that averaging heights and increasing roof peaks encourage the higher portion of a home to be massed in the center with lower portions extending out.

He said the present height limit, reduced from 35 to 27 feet, has led to an increasing number of similar-looking homes and limits architects’ options.

Chapman also advised that the council make policies allowing only a certain percentage or ratio of a lot to have an increased height limit.

The planning commission deferred making a final recommendation. Commissioner Carol Gottlieb remarked during the architects’ presentations, “My parameter is protecting views. If we can improve architectural variety and styles (without compromising views), I would approve (increasing height limits).”