By Joan Garvin

The Los Altos City Council is leaving a single-story overlay zone for the Verano-Solana neighborhood as-is, despite some Solana resident concerns about two-story home construction outside the overlay zone impacting them.

With two years remaining on the seven-year zoning, which restricts new home construction to one level, councilmembers elected to stay with the decision of the previous council that granted the initial overlay.

Councilman Kurt Colehower said that it was important to uphold decisions of the previous council.

In response to suggestions about expanding the zoning to surrounding areas, Los Altos City Attorney Jolie Houston reviewed available legal options at the June 27 council meeting.

“Currently the LAMC (Los Altos Municipal Code) does not provide for expansions of existing R-S overlay districts, nor is there a process for one smaller R1-S overlay district to be ‘annexed’ to a larger district,” Houston said.

Residents from both sides of Solano Drive described the cohesiveness and solidarity of the naturally configured neighborhood.

Keith Angelo, involved in the original overlay petition, said, “(I) hate to see (this) divisive issue again after five years.”

Residents on Solana countered. “Our block has been burnt twice. The requirement for trees was overlooked. All trees bulldozed, no mitigating trees have grown,” said Sylvia Swyryd.

“I will support municipal codes. (Citizens) should be able to trust the council,” Mayor pro tem Curtis Cole said. “Defending municipal codes is not discretionary action.”

Houston presented three options for council consideration, including removal of the current overlay and re-establishing a new boundary area or application of a separate overlay district for Solano Avenue.

The council chose Houston’s option of allowing the R1-S overlay district to remain in place for the required seven years. At the end of that period, the zoning can be removed if the neighborhood can establish the minimum of a two-thirds vote to remove it. Then the neighborhood can reapply for a new R1-S overlay district with revised boundaries.

Houston wrote that allowing overlay districts to be enlarged and/or annexed is not supported by the LAMC and would not only be bad precedent but could also be misused.

“There was due process (granting the overlay),” said Councilwoman Val Carpenter.