October 3, 2006

County enacts new Viewshed Protection Policy

By Santa Clara Board of
Supervisors Chair Jim Beall
Special to the Times

During my January 2006 State of County address, I called on my colleagues on the County Board of Supervisors to adopt a comprehensive Viewshed Protection Policy by this summer. It is a pleasure to inform you that on Aug.29, by unanimous vote, the board adopted the necessary ordinances, general plan and zoning map revisions and ordinance modifications putting our new viewshed protection policies into place.

The intent of Santa Clara County’s new Viewshed Protection Policy is to better preserve the gorgeous mountain and hilltop views we can see from our valley floor. As a strong advocate of preserving our valley’s natural beauty for future generations to enjoy, I am extremely pleased with the board’s recent action.

Viewshed Protection is a relatively new concept for urban planners. The county’s policy creates new land use ordinances that expand the use of design review zoning to building plan applications that did not previously have such zoning. It covers unincorporated county areas in the east hills of San Jose, the beautiful coastal range and the primary viewshed areas of South County.

Following an all-day land use workshop in August 2005, the board directed staff to develop a draft policy related to viewshed protection. County planning staff subsequently held a series of public meetings to hear comments from the general public and affected landowners. We then crafted a policy to balance the public’s need for environmental protection and the private property rights of landowners. With the new policy now in place, the county planning department will play a stronger role in new developments that impact the awesome views of our spectacular hills.

Under the new policy, primary viewshed areas that are approximately one to two miles from the valley floor will be zoned “-d1.” For instance, properties located within one to two miles of the valley floor on hillsides with “HS” zoning now become “HS-d1,” which means they are subject to the design review standard of the county’s zoning ordinance.

The new policy does not set specific size limits for homes. However, size categories will determine the level of design review. An administrative review is required for buildings under 5,000 square feet; a design review with staff as hearing authority is required for buildings between 5,000 and 12,500 square feet; and a planning commission hearing is required for any building over 12,500 square feet.

The new policy does not apply to any projects that have been previously approved or have building permits on file. Only new building site applications and building permits submitted after Aug.29 will be subject to the new county view shed policies.

It is essential that property owners have their rights protected as we strengthen our environmental protections. It is good to establish guidelines for future development so everyone understands the specific zoning regulations for each parcel of property in unincorporated Santa Clara County.

For more information about our county’s new ordinances, please contact my land use policy aide, Michele Sierra, at (408) 299-5040 or me. We are always glad to share more in-depth information about the progress we have made here at the County Board of Supervisors.