Senate Bill 9 is forcing many California city planning departments to write down objective measurable standards for approving/disallowing residential construction. If you’ve tried to build a new house you are probably shouting hallelujah! Although SB 9 has been widely reported to allow up to 4 homes to be built on a property zoned for single family residential, the bill does not disallow objective measurable standards. It disallows personal subjective criteria as a basis for approval/disapproval.
So what is personal subjective criteria? The JLee Realty office building was in need of roof and siding repairs. The neighboring buildings were looked at both by walking around and looking at Google Map’s aerial view.
The majority of roofs nearby on El Camino Real that are visible from street level are red or terra cotta. The large hotel, next door to JLee Realty, has a red roof. The Su Zhe Eatery on the other side of JLee Realty is going to be replaced by a tall hotel. When a permit to replace the leaking roof and the siding was applied for, the Palo Alto Building Department said the cost of repairs would be so high that approval of the Palo Alto Architectural Review Board would be needed. A roof of the same color and material as the “America’s Best Value Inn Sky Ranch”, four properties away, was proposed.
The Palo Alto Archictectural Review Board claimed the red roof wasn’t compatible with the neighborhood! How can a red roof not be compatible when the next door building has a red roof? An ARB member said “that building has a large parking lot in front of it so it doesn’t count”. However, the new roof would be nearly identical to an inn four properties away(?). Okay. Although the nearby white roofs are flat and not visible from the street, we asked if a white roof was wanted. The reply was no. The ARB never said what color would be compatible even though they were asked.
Two years after applying for a permit, JLee Realty now has the only light grey roof along El Camino Real in the area. Clearly denying a red roof was arbitrary, but rather than subjective, isn’t it unfathomable? SB 9 could be a huge improvement to the current building permit process.