Supes Limit Size of Stanford Weekend Acres Homes

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved temporary regulations to limit the size of new homes in the Stanford Weekend Acres neighborhood.

The existing zoning regulations don’t limit the maximum floor area of residences and allows for development that is inconsistent with the county’s General Plan and out of step with Weekend Acres’ character, according to a staff report.

“Allowing homes that are unlimited in floor area results in homes out of scale with the surrounding development in the neighborhood, and which will adversely affect a neighbor’s privacy and available sunlight,” the report says.

In October the board put a for new or major remodels of single-family homes in the Weekend Acres neighborhood, which is located in unincorporated San Mateo County.

The ban was in response to on his 12,500 square foot lot at 21 Bishop Lane.

The interim regulations, which are similar to those employed in West Menlo Park, limit the height, number of stories and maximum floor space of new homes and establish a daylight plane requirement. 

The maximum height of homes will now be two stories instead of three stories. Parcels less than or equal to 5,000 square feet in size will be allowed a maximum of 2,800 square feet in floor space; parcels greater than 5,000 square feet would apply a formula to determine allowable floor space. 

Since the agenda item was held over from the morning, most residents who wanted to address the board weren’t at the meeting when supervisors took up the issue in the late afternoon.

Lennie Roberts, representing Committee for Green Foothills, said the vast majority of residents support the regulations. 

“The existing regulations are very out of date,” Roberts said.

Residents are also in favor of establishing building setback requirements from San Francisquito Creek, according to survey results cited in the staff report.

Supervisor Carole Groom told staff she’d like to see a timetable for a creek ordinance. “I’d really like us to work on a creek ordinance,” Groom said.

The urgency ordinance will be in place for 10 months and 15 days, while staff creates permanent regulations for the neighborhood. The ordinance lifts the ban on new building permits.

County staff plans to hold a Planning Commission workshop in January to discuss the permanent regulations.