TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH
San Mateo County
Sophie Cole, Mayor 1600 Floribunda Avenue
Leslie Marden Ragsdale, Vice Mayor Hillsborough, CA 9401( Laurie Davies Adams, Councilmember www.hillsborough.net Marie Chuang, Councilmember Phone 650-375-7400
Christine Krolik, Councilmember
MINUTES
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2025
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING: STUDY SESSION
6:00 PM
Council Chambers
Meetings of the City Council are held in-person in Council Chambers. As a courtesy, and in compliance with applicable state law, staff and members of the public participated in the meeting in person in Council Chambers or virtually via Zoom Video Conference.
I. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Cole called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m.
Il. ROLL CALL
Present: Adams, Chuang, Ragsdale, Cole
Absent: Krolik
III. STUDY SESSION
Informational Update on New Requirements Resulting from Local Responsibility Area (LRA) Map Adoption and Fire-Resistant Construction Practices Fire Marshal Patricia Koch and Assistant City Manager Mandy Brown provided the staff report.
City Manager Doug Davis, City Attorney Christopher Diaz and Building & Planning Director Tim Anderson provided additional information.
Mayor Cole opened public comment.
Kitty Mullooly, representing the Hillsborough Firewise Board, read a letter written by Firewise Board Chair Dr. David Weinberg and submitted a copy of the letter for the record.
Christine Krolik, commenting as a member of the public, inquired about the effectiveness of fire-resistant paint to cover eaves, whether a list of professionals who do home hardening is available or whether an open house could be held to provide that information, provided comments about the screening of accessory dwelling units, and expressed support for removing wood roofs, reducing light pollution, and looking into friendlier fences in the town.
Mayor Cole closed public comment.
Following discussion, Assistant City Manager Mandy Brown summarized the City Council direction to continue to evaluate the suggested alterations to the code based on community feedback as listed in the presentation: Require properties to include a pedestrian gate on front yard fencing, Exclude wood roof coverings from Class A designations regardless of underlayment elements, Change minimum remodel trigger for roof replacement, Support creation of an advanced fire detection system tailored to fire detection in close-in WUl zones like those in Hillsborough, Require fencing to be wildlife friendly, and Reduce light trespass and encourage Dark Sky friendly lighting with the priority; with the priority to look at wood roof coverings and the minimum remodel trigger for roof replacement, prepare educational materials including a vendor resource list, explore additional REACH standards beyond what is in the upcoming triennial building code update, bring back more information regarding the process to establish findings and information about the financial impact to homeowners of additional changes to the code, do some initial community engagement to get feedback to share with the City Council, and gather information regarding lessons learned from other towns who have gone through the process.
inutes - Hillsborouah City Counc
onday, September 22, 202
IV. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Cole adjourned the meeting at 7:46 p.m.
Submitted by:
Mum Natun
Lisa Natusch, City Clerk