Emerald Hills is a wonderful place to live. There is a diverse demographic that lives here, and we are surrounded by a natural environment that is rare in the Bay Area today. If we all agree on one thing, it is that we love our diverse neighborhood, with its rural qualities.

 

It is important that the Emerald Hills community members understand the facts and not just buy into the emotion that has been driving some recent concerns. One concern is that a vocal group feels excluded from the decisions and events taken on by the Emerald Hills Homeowners Association. The EHHA does not pretend to speak for everyoneÑthat is not realistic or possible. Our objective is to represent the majority sentiment of those who choose to participate with the Association. We provide many mechanisms for participation: community input meetings, emails/letters to the Board, online forums, annual meetings, votes on proposals and elected officers, etc. We have always made our best effort to solicit community involvement and continue to work to ensure everyone receives advance notice of all activities.

 

There has been a lot of confusion over what was voted on last summer and what has been placed before the County. The proposal is broken into 3 parts. The first addresses Zoning Standards, such as: controlling house size, mass and bulk, adoption of daylight planes that maintain daylight access to neighbors, protection of waterways, etc. The proposals put forth (see May 2006 Newsletter) are enforce-able regulations that all property owners must abide by.

 

The second part of the proposal concerns tree protection, fees and penalties, definition of significant trees and preferred native species. Jeremy Dennis, Ówho works in Supervisor Rich Gordon's office, is currently reviewing our proposal and trying to create a county-wide tree plan.

The last part is perhaps the most confusing and is where the most incorrect information has been created. These are the Design Standards. The purpose of these Standards is to encourage new single-family homes and additions that have their own individual character, while ensuring that they are complementary with the neighboring houses, the character of Emerald Hills, and the natural setting. EHHA board members have been called "Style Police,' because proposed Design Standards appear to place limitations on the residents. The truth is that for the most part these Design Standards have been in place for 16 years! It has been incorrectly positioned that these are all new regulations, when in fact they have been guidelines used for every new house built or remodeled since 1990. A separate article addresses these Guidelines in more detail.

 

Another concern residents have is preserving diversity. No one is trying to take that away. The Design Standards are a "guideline' to help maintain the existing neighborhoods character. No one wants a cookie cutter community here, but uncontrolled development can create one. Property rights must be honored, but individual rights end when they limit the rights of others. We are a community and we all need to respect our neighbors and their rights as well.

 

The EHHA has been an advocate for the area for several decades. In the 1970s it worked with the County to develop a Community Plan to move from septic to sewer system. With this came the intensive pace and scope of new home development and a lack of enforceable regulations. Many homeowners felt this uncontrolled growth was detrimental to Emerald Hills. In the late '80s new regulations were developed and adopted that scale house size to lot size, limit house height, and require that homes step down slopes, rather than loom over them. These regulations have

contributed to a higher quality of housing in Emerald Hills.

 

Emerald Hills is a wonderful place to live. We all need to work together to keep Emerald Hills' character, diversity and beauty alive. This has somehow been positioned as an "us against them" battle. But there's no need to fight. We need to have civil, facilitated meetings where all sides can be heard without fear of intimidation. Let's figure out how to work together.

 

Fact or Fiction? Our responses to some

comments and questions we have recently heard:

 

1. EHHA doesn't represent me!

Our EHHA bylaws state: "A Member shall mean a homeowner in the Area who resides in the house that he/she owns in the Area." While no organization can fully represent every member all of the time, we try to act in the interests of homeowners who participate in EHHA. Homeowners who participate have a voice.

 

2. I hate to see oversize homes built on exceedingly steep lots and the granting of variances that nullify any existing controls over lot coverage and slope.

We do too. In fact, house size (as evidenced by the house plans brought to Design Review) has been increasing steadily over the past 4 to 5 years. That is one of the motivating reasons why we have proposed tying Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of new construction to lot size and slope and to placing a limit of 5500 sq. ft. on houses.

 

3. If the new proposals pass, I couldn't have a two-story foyer in my new home. No, of course you can include a cathedral-style ceiling in your design. But, because such entryways contribute to the mass of a home, you will have to count the second story portion in the FAR.

 

4. The "style police" want to limit our color/style choices. Actually, the style and color of new construction has been regulated for 16 years. The Design Review Ordinance of 1990 serves to guide the Design Review Committee, who often approve of well designed homes that do not conform to the ordinance in style or color. It is not true that stucco homes are not possible in Emerald Hills. Look around at the variety of home styles in our delightful neighborhood. EHHA values this diversity, just as you do. We have no desire to have our neighborhood look like downtown; its rural charm is why we chose to live here.

 

5. Whenever I go over those speed bumps or can't turn left from Edgewood, I curse!

While we are concerned with traffic safety, the EHHA was NOT involved in placement of speed bumps on any street. The process for getting speed control devices is this: homeowners who are concerned about speed on their street may request the Highway Patrol to measure the speed of vehicles and if that speed is excessive, then a request for speed bumps may be made by the residents of the street to the county Public Works Dept. A description of the process is available on our website.

 

Furthermore, EHHA was not involved in any way with the decision to eliminate the left turn from Edgewood onto Cordilleras. On the contrary, the EHHA contacted San Mateo County Public Works a number of times in an effort to reverse this decision. One board member made it a mission to try to change the decision, but unsuccessfully.

 

6. I am afraid to go to the county planning department, because the process is too arbitrary and the permits cost so much. Actually, we couldn't agree more. And we'd like to work on this problem, because we'd rather have homeowners be able to get permits and helpful advice than feel forced to go around the legal process or be frustrated by it. We have heard a lot of anger directed at EHHA that is rightly placed elsewhere. So we plan to work with our county officials to make the permit process more streamlined and reasonably priced for simple projects and projects that comply with the zoning regulations.

 

7. The Design Review Committee made me do ___ (fill in the blank), even if I didn't want this in my design. The Design Review Committee is made up of three appointed but unpaid members, including two architects (John Day, Peter Baltay) and one community member (Nancy Mangini). Appointments are made by the Board of Supervisors and are outside the control of the EHHA. An "alternate" community member to DRC is Sallie Martin, an EHHA Board member, who attends the meetings and provides input into the process, but has no vote.

The DRC works with architects and home builders to improve plans on issues such as site placement, tree preservation, and design. The DRC needs to pay attention to what prospective homeowners desire, as well as what the DRC thinks would be a best fit in the neighborhood. When DRC is functioning well, it provides good help to prospective homeowners and builders and it provides protection to the neighborhood against unscrupulous building practices. But this is not always the case. There have been times when DRC was not responsive to home builders and times when neighbors were unhappy with DRC decisions. Home builders who do not wish to compromise with DRC may appeal the DRC decisions to the Planning Commission. Similarly, neighbors have this same right.

 

8. How come I never receive information in the mail from the EHHA? Our mailing list is based upon the county assessor's Tax Rate Area database, and is updated twice a year. Our address sourcing method has been reviewed by 2 different county departments to confirm we are including all homeowners. If you know someone who does not receive our mailings, please have them contact us to update our database (call or email lee.lukehart(at)emeraldhills.org). More than 650 residents have provided their email address; let Lee know if you'd like to join this list and be among the first to receive our communications. We fiercely protect your privacy. Our email lists are diligently secured, and we never release this listÑyour personal information is kept confidential!

 

About the Design Standards

The intent of the EHHA Board was to make a single document that homeowners, neighbors, builders, architects, Design Review, and county entities can all use in planning new construction. It combined the existing ordinances with our proposed changes in the zoning regulations. Unlike the existing ordinances that are written in "government language," The Design Standards document is well organized, clearly written, and filled with illustrations and examples. It is based on the Mid Coast Design Standards that have already been approved by Half Moon Bay and the County Board of Supervisors.

 

Let's clear up some of the misinformation:

- The proposal newly limits house color, materials, and style. No, the proposed Design Standards document is primarily an update to the existing regulations that were approved by the community and County in 1990. All new houses and remodels in the last 16 years have followed the same guidelines for color style and materials.

- The "government' has forced me into how I can design my house. The Design Standards document is a set of guidelines. Unlike the Zoning Standards that are enforceable by law, these standards use wording such as "encourage and should', not "must and have to'. Examples:

o Consider the exterior materials and colors used on neighboring houses; strive for complementary materials and colors

o Non-reflective roof materials and colors are encouraged

o Architectural styles that complement the semi-rural, diverse, hillside character of the area, such as craftsman, bungalow, and ranch are encouraged

We are working with County Counsel to properly write any legal-ese that may have caused confusion.

- A small group created these proposals to drive their own agenda. Very far from the truth. Over the years, the EHHA received many letters stating the concerns of community members about changes in homes being built in EH. In addition, observation of the Design Review process guided many of the changes. After reviewing other residential hillside communities (Woodside, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Portola Valley), it was determined that Emerald Hills' regulations were outdated.

- The EHHA tried to slip the Design Standards document thru the process with the Zoning proposals. This document was been available for 1 year on the Emerald Hills website's front page. It was passed out and referred to at the 6/8/2005 proposal forum meeting. And it was referred to on every property owners voting ballot (front page) last August with instructions on how to get a copy. It is still a "draft' document, not a final proposal.

- Who created these standards? This document was not created in a vacuum. For several years the EHHA Board has asked the County to create a document that can be widely used. It was suggested by the County to use the already approved Standards for Design for the MidCoast (Half Moon Bay area). We revised it to reflect what we thought of as the special needs of Emerald Hills.

 

Importance of the DRC

One of the sentiments we heard at the community meeting was: Let's just get rid of the Design Review Committee! The EHHA Board strongly urges against this notion, because DRC provides the community with important protections.

Here are some key aspects of the Design Review Process:

- Notification of neighbors within 300 feet of the project

- Public meeting where all interested parties, including neighbors, can give input

- DRC is a vehicle for working out concerns and conflicts and for reaching compromises

- Site visits by DRC members to insure that site plans were accurate in depicting tree locations and identifying those to be protected. Tree replacement is specified.

- Higher level of design evolves from this collaborative process.

- Better review than if done by County Planning Staff, who are not always familiar with the regulations and who do not enforce them consistently.

 

Developers and builders have not always been happy with DRC. Now their plans must be accurate, and they have to do a better job of saving trees. If they submit house plans that do not conform to the regulations or the standards, then they have to be resubmitted. Meetings are now public, and neighbors who are concerned about tree removal and privacy issues can voice their concerns and be heard.

 

If the Design Review Committee was abolished, the job of enforcing the Design Standards would go to Planning Staff. Would they be equally effective in en-forcing the Standards? Would they be consistent?

 

What has the EHHA done for us?

- Convinced Redwood City to charge EH residents the same water rates as RWC residents (Yes, we used to pay 1.9 times the fees that city residents paid!)

- Convinced County Public Works NOT to widen our streets to 21 ft., install sidewalks and assess the residents for these "upgrades." (Yes, that was the plan, until EHHA polled residents, who voted against the changes).

- Persuaded the County to release funds for paving our roads that were gravel or chip sealed or worn-out asphalt.

- Led the movement for zoning regulations and tree preservation in the face of unregulated growth in the 1980s.

- Opposed attempts to annex our neighborhood to the city of Redwood City, and after conducting a community vote, arranged to be recognized as Emerald Hills by the

U. S. Postal Service.

- Developed communication vehicles, including a fantastic website, informative newsletters, and community forums, both face-to-face and in cyberspace.

- Worked with Friends of Edgewood to preserve Edgewood Park and Preserve, and supported the Handley Rock Association in establishing this local park.

- Established a good working relationship with our County government officials.

- Given out hundreds of native trees for planting in EH.