City officials will decide on limits to sizes of homes based on
the area surrounding them
Gilroy – Monster homes on tiny lots and streets lined with cookie-cutter houses are not the norm in Gilroy, and city leaders hope to keep it that way with a set of new regulations.
City council members on Friday will discuss a Floor Area Ratio policy that would limit the footprint of a home based on the size of its surrounding property. The ratio has yet to be defined, but the concept is simple: The smaller the parcel, the smaller the footprint.
A related policy to limit the bulk size of a home – as measured by its height and distance from property lines – will also be discussed, along with a policy requiring the rear and sides of a home to look as pleasing aesthetically as the front.
The policies are more a preventive measure than a response to controversial projects in Gilroy, City Planning Manager Bill Faus said.
“This is a building phenomenon that has occurred primarily in the north part of the county, where you have individuals that will buy small lots in established neighborhoods and build big homes that are much larger than their surrounding counterparts,” Faus said. “Quite a few cities throughout the nation have created these floor area ratios to guarantee the size of the home is not too big for the lots.”
The policy does not aim to prohibit big homes, but to simply force developers to leave room on property for yards, landscaping, and other design features that create space between neighbors.
“You can have a 4,000 square foot home at Country Estates,” Faus said, referring to a high-end development in west Gilroy’s foothills. “It’s going to blend in because they’re all large lots and the homes are all big. But if you take that home and put it on Miller Avenue, it’s going to look strange.”
The stately, tree-lined street in central Gilroy inspired a land use battle last year, when a developer joined two lots to build half a dozen homes. Neighbors, who attribute the street’s charm to sweeping front yards and the tunnel-like canopy of arching elms, decried plans for six homes and a cul-de-sac.
A narrow majority of council approved the project, though not before requiring the developers to push back the homes facing Miller Avenue and re-orient the structures to face the street.
The proposed development policies would codify such discretionary adjustments for the entire city, according to Councilman Paul Correa, a strong supporter of FARs.
“That forces builders to come up with a more creative building design and provide more front and side yard space or more room for landscaping,” explained Correa, who has a degree in urban planning and helps SummerHill Homes, a regional developer, acquire land in the South Bay. “It makes for a more attractive home and better-looking neighborhoods.”
Correa said that Mountain View, where Wednesday he was scouting out some land, has stringent requirements. Front setbacks – the distance a home must lie from a property line – are roughly 25 feet, side setbacks are 10 feet, and height is capped at about 30 or 35 feet, Correa said. The city takes the rules one step further by requiring a deeper, 15-foot setback for upper floors, creating a layer cake effect. Even mundane homestyles get a shot in the arm from the regulations.
“You can still see ranch-style homes, but the roof lines will be different, the setbacks will be different,” Correa said. “It doesn’t look like a bunch of shoe boxes next to each other like we have on some streets in Gilroy.”
Regulations governing home design, height and setbacks exist in Gilroy, though zoning rules include mechanisms that allow flexibility. Developers can apply for a Planned Unit Development (PUD) permit as a means to join lots and make room for a private street that falls below public road standards, as was done on Miller Avenue. Or they can request a PUD in hopes of building three stories instead of two, as in the case of a gated community proposed for Gurries Drive. Officials agree the run-down street needs a facelift, but some question if three-story homes will fit a neighborhood of single-story duplexes.
The new policies could take the guesswork out of judging such developments, but at least one developer sees them as counterproductive. James Suner, a local developer responsible for a dozen projects throughout the city, said the proposed rules would create another layer of unneeded bureaucracy. A simple method already exists, he said, to ensure that new homes blend with a neighborhood.
“Just deny the project,” Suner said. “Staff should recommend denial and planning commissioners and city council should deny it. That’s the system. We don’t need to write an entire new ordinance to tighten up the box. They’re making it so nobody can get past the planning counter. Let people apply and let people have some creativity. I need room to design.”
