Joe Hu/Town Crier This 27,000-square-foot home being built by high-tech entrepreneurs Fred and Annie Chan nears completion on a ridgeline property in Los Altos Hills.

By Eliza Ridgeway

The Los Altos Hills Environmental Design and Protection Committee recommended to the city council Nov. 17 three ways to limit the size of new homes. Councilmembers did not reach a consensus, but the planning commission or ad hoc general plan committee may propose changes to the zoning ordinance in coming months.

“There is a trend towards construction of homes as large as the zoning will allow,” said Robin Robison, environmental design and protection committee co-chairwoman. “The focus has definitely switched from the land to the house.”

The limit on size in the Hills increases linearly with the size of the land parcel. There is no cap or design review system in place, according to Robison. She pointed to the stricter limits of cities like Los Gatos, which caps home size at 6,000 square feet.

The committee proposed capping maximum home size, increasing setback requirements or changing the formula that ties size limits to parcel acreage. Seventy-five percent of residents surveyed by the town in 2001 supported increasing setback requirements above the 40-foot requirement. Councilmembers expressed an interest in a survey to gauge support for setting a maximum house size.

Mayor Breene Kerr advocated stringent environmental standards in lieu of size limits, citing residential standards from the United States Green Council as a certification requirement the city might adopt. Robison said large estate homes clash with the rural nature of the town, a local value emphasized by the survey, the city council and the General Plan.

“It concerns me that we allow pretty much anything to go in town,” Councilman Mike O’Malley said.

City Attorney Steven Mattas said size limits would be consistent with the General Plan, but would require changes to zoning ordinances.