Residents fear possible prohibitions could violate their
constitutional rights
Morgan Hill – In what promises to be a long meeting, Santa Clara County supervisors on Aug. 29 will consider adopting new restrictions on residential development in the hillsides.
The issue is not related to a voter-driven measure appearing on the Nov. 7 ballot dealing with how many structures can be built on rural and hillside parcels.
As some South County homeowners hold their breath as the new zoning policies are finalized for the board’s consideration, the issue sparked a lively discussion Thursday at the South County Joint Planning Advisory Committee meeting in Morgan Hill. Supervisor Don Gage and other delegates from San Martin, Gilroy and Morgan Hill agreed easily the draft policy changes stipulating tighter controls on the design of hillside homes – prepared by county planners – would be unfair to landowners if adopted. For their part, the county planners are technically neutral in the debate. They developed the proposal for fine-tuning the county’s zoning ordinance at the behest of the board of supervisors.
The proposed restrictions applying to 3,300 hillside parcels may include:
- Limitations on color and material choices for homes;
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Requiring specific landscaping and retention of vegetation, “as appropriate.”
“One of the problems with all of this is they say ‘We’re going to make the viewshed available to everybody on the valley floor.’ But how much is this going to cost our landowners up in the hills?” said committee member Bill Konle, a San Martin representative.
“Viewshed” is planning jargon for scenic hillsides visible from valley floors.
And it’s the central topic of the county’s new “Viewshed Protection Study,” an effort that’s been underway for more than a year.
The study will recommend new regulations for the design of hillside homes in South County, with respect to their appearance from down below.
The proposed rules have angered some homeowners who have protested at county hearings over the last 12 months, arguing their constitutionally protected property rights are being curtailed.
County planner Jim Reilly took the hot seat at Thursday’s meeting, answering questions from committee members on the scope of the new rules. Among other things, homeowners would not be able to paint their houses white or other “highly reflective” colors. Landscaping would also be closely regulated to reduce the visibility of large homes.
“You’re absolutely right,” Reilly said, responding to assertions that some zoning policies considered over the last year could have encumbered ridgeline real estate deals.
“Any regulation has an impact on property value,” he continued. “It’s really incumbent on us to come up with a good community benefit.”
In this case, the “community benefit” has been defined by other county residents who’d like to reduce the environmental and visual impacts of hillside development. Parts of Los Gatos and Saratoga already have viewshed protection laws that have been on the books since the late 1980s.
It wasn’t until a couple of years ago, however, that the issue gained speed in South County. County planners at the time were assisting Morgan Hill officials in mapping out the city’s urban limit line when the board of supervisors asked for viewshed maps for the whole county.
Morgan Hill City Manager Ed Tewes said the task force that was evaluating where to draw the urban limit line – the outermost boundary limiting future expansion of the city – dealt with the issue of accurately defining the city’s viewshed.
The county planning department assisted in mapping the city’s surrounding ridgelines.
The supervisors then directed the planning staff to prepare a countywide viewshed mapping analysis.
“Some of the board members thought we ought to have our own viewshed” study, Gage said, adding he never pushed for it.
At that point in time, there were “a couple of huge houses” proposed to be built in the hills near Morgan Hill, Gage said. “That really raised the eyebrows of some of the people on the board and in the environmental community.”
