Los Altos Hills City Council
February 2, 2026

1 City Council Special Meeting Agenda
February 2, 2026

NOTICE TO PUBLIC
Any writings or documents provided to a majority of the City Council regarding any item on the open session portion of this agenda will be made available for public inspection in the City Clerk’s office located at 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, California during normal business hours. These materials will also be made available on the City website at www.losaltoshills.ca.gov subject to Staff’s ability to post the documents before the meeting.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE

LOS ALTOS HILLS CITY COUNCIL WILL BE HELD ON
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2026, AT 6:00 P.M.

Meetings of the City Council are held in-person. As a courtesy, and in compliance with applicable state law, staff and members of the public may participate in the meeting in person at Town Hall or virtually via Zoom Video Conference. Members of the City Council may participate remotely from time to time in accordance with the provisions of Government Code section 54953.

To attend the meeting in person:

City Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 To provide Public Comment in person:

Members of the public wishing to speak are requested to complete a speaker card and submit it to the City Clerk at the meeting.

To participate in the meeting via Zoom Video Conference, please follow the instructions below:

Public comment will also be accepted via email at [email protected] prior to the start of the meeting. Written comments will be posted on the website and distributed to the Council.

If you choose to email your comments, please indicate in the subject line “FOR PUBLIC COMMENT” and indicate the item number.

If you wish to submit a public comment during the meeting, please use the following information.

Before speaking, please identify yourself by name and where you reside. The City Council meeting will be live-streamed on the Town’s website and via Zoom at the following location:
https://bit.ly/CityCouncilSpecial-Feb2
Webinar ID: 839 4670 5326
Passcode: 94022
Town of Los Altos Hills
City Council Special Meeting Agenda
Monday, February 2, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road
Los Altos Hills, California

2 City Council Special Meeting Agenda
February 2, 2026
CALL TO ORDER (6:00 P.M.)

ROLL CALL

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

1. PUBLIC COMMENT (PUBLIC COMMENT IS LIMITED TO ITEMS WHICH

ARE SUBJECT OF THE SPECIAL MEETING)

2. HOUSING ELEMENT
A. Consideration of a Resolution Making Findings and Approving an Amendment to the General Plan Housing Element and Conforming Amendments to the General Plan Land Use Element as Necessary
CEQA Review: Exempt pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21080.085 and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3).

3. ADJOURN
Pursuant to Ordinance No. 506, the Council Meeting shall adjourn no later than 10:00 p.m., unless otherwise approved by a majority of the Councilmembers present.

ASSISTANCE FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in the meeting, please contact the City Clerk at 650-941-7222. Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting.

Copies of all agenda reports and supporting data are available for inspection at Town Hall, 26379 Fremont Road and the Los Altos Main Library 72 hours in advance of the meeting. A complete agenda can be found on the Town’s webpage: http://www.losaltoshills.ca.gov. A complete packet of information is available for inspection during the meeting at the table to the back of the Council Chambers.

The Council may take action on any agendized matter in any manner deemed appropriate by Council.

ITEM 2A
TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS February 2, 2026
Staff Report to the City Council
SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION APPROVING ADDITIONAL

MINOR REVISIONS TO THE HOUSING ELEMENT AMENDMENT

WITH AN EFFECTIVE DATE CONTINGENT UPON CERTIFICATION

OF THE AMENDMENT BY THE STATE HOUSING AND

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
FROM: Jay Bradford, Community Development Director
APPROVED: Cody Einfalt, Acting City Manager

RECOMMENDATION
That the City Council consider and adopt a resolution (see Attachment 1) approving additional minor revisions to the Housing Element Amendment (Exhibit A to Attachment 1), with an effective date of the approval contingent upon certification by the State Housing and Community Development Department.

BACKGROUND
On December 9, 2025, the City Council adopted an Amendment to the 2023-2031 Housing Element of the General Plan (the “HEA” or “Housing Element Amendment”) to provide clarity and maintain internal consistency across governing land use and planning documents. The HEA was adopted in support of and in conformance with the Town’s Multi-Family Rezoning efforts covering the Foothill College, St. Nicholas, and Twin Oaks sites. The City Council’s adoption of the HEA is contingent upon certification of the amendment by the State Housing and Community Development Department (“HCD”). Prior to said certification, the current unmodified Housing Element remains in effect.

The Town engaged in discussions with HCD regarding review of the HEA and also provided extensive public outreach, notice and participation opportunities for the preparation and adoption of the HEA. The HEA was published for public review, including for a 7-day public review period on subsequent draft revisions, and submitted to HCD for review on December 12, 2025, all in compliance with Government Code section 65585. HCD’s 60-day review period concludes on February 10, 2026.

DISCUSSION
On January 29, 2026, HCD requested additional clarification regarding any letters of support from property owners of the multi-family rezoning sites and additional information on the economic feasibility of replacing current single-family homes with multi-family development at the Twin Oaks site. In response to HCD’s request, Town staff and consultants have identified additional minor revisions to the HEA as follows:

1. Additional language affirming suitability of the Twin Oaks site with regional trend data showing existing single-family houses are not a constraint on multi-family development.

City Council
Minor Revisions to Housing Element Amendment
February 2, 2026

2. Amendments to Program A-1 to add an additional 2029 review and completion of any necessary rezoning within one year. This is in addition to the 2027 mid-cycle review requirements.

3. Amendments to Program A-14 to state that the Town will continue to monitor the opportunity sites zoned for multifamily development consistent with Program A-1 and concurrent with the timeline therein.

These revisions are shown in grey highlighting as excerpts under Attachment 2. A complete version of the HEA with these minor revisions is contained in Exhibit A to the resolution in Attachment 1.

In parallel, Michael Baker International prepared updated adjustments to the feasibility analysis for the Twin Oaks rezoning site to further evaluate development potential and market feasibility.

The revised analysis again concludes that both market-rate and affordable housing development are feasible at the site. The Town also continues to work on letters of support with the various site owners.

These additional minor revisions do not substantively change any provisions in the HEA or alter any other goals, policies or programs in the Housing Element. Further, the minor changes identified above are consistent with the City Council’s prior direction for the Town to explore potential alternative sites the ad hoc committee’s activities in alignment with such efforts. The minor revisions, as is the case with the HEA, do not otherwise modify any housing strategies to meet the Town’s obligation under the current adopted housing element. The Town continues to abide by its goals, policies and programs to facility housing production, meet RHNA requirements, and affirmatively further fair housing.

The City Council is now asked to consider approval of the additional minor revisions to the Housing Element Amendment. Approval of these changes, as a part of the HEA, will also only be effective upon State certification as noted in the draft resolution.

CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA)
As explained in prior staff report and documented in the December 9, 2025 resolution, the City Council previously determined on December 9, 2025, that the HEA is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21080.085 and CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3). The additional minor amendments are a part of the HEA and do not change any substantive provisions thereof, and thus are also exempt under the same provisions, as described in the accompanying resolution.

FISCAL IMPACT
No direct fiscal impact. Costs for staff and consultant work have been budgeted in FY 2024–25 and FY 2025–26.

ATTACHMENTS

1. Draft Resolution Approving Additional Minor Revisions to the Housing Element Amendment Contingent upon HCD Certification

City Council
Minor Revisions to Housing Element Amendment
February 2, 2026
a. Exhibit A- Draft Minor Revisions to the Housing Element Amendment

2. Excerpt Pages of Housing Element Amendment Showing Additional Minor Revisions

ITEM 2A, Attachment 1

RESOLUTION NO.

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS

APPROVING ADDITIONAL MINOR REVISIONS TO THE HOUSING ELEMENT

AMENDMENT WITH AN EFFECTIVE DATE CONTINGENT UPON CERTIFICATION

OF THE AMENDMENT BY THE STATE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY

DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
WHEREAS, on December 9, 2025, the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills adopted an Amendment to the 2023-2031 Housing Element of the General Plan (the “HEA” or “Housing Element Amendment”) with the adoption effective contingent upon certification of the amendment by the State Housing and Community Development Department (“HCD”); and WHEREAS, the purpose of the HEA is to provide clarity and maintain internal consistency across governing land use and planning documents, as well as in support of and in conformance with the Town’s rezoning of certain properties for multi-family development; and WHEREAS, the Town engaged in discussions with HCD regarding review of the HEA and also provided extensive public outreach, notice and participation opportunities for the preparation and adoption of the HEA; and
WHEREAS, the HEA was published for public review, including for a 7-day public review period on subsequent draft revisions, and submitted to HCD for review on December 12, 2025, all in compliance with Government Code section 65585; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to additional discussion with HCD since submittal, the Town has identified certain additional minor revisions that would be made to the HEA, consisting of: (1) an additional progress review in 2029 and to identify available sites as necessary; and (2) additional analysis affirming economic feasibility of replacing single-family homes at the Twin Oaks site for multi-family development; and
WHEREAS, these additional minor revisions do not substantively change any provisions in the HEA or alter any other goals, policies or programs in the Housing Element, and are consistent with the City Council’s prior direction and current activities to explore alternative sites; and
WHEREAS, adoption of these additional minor revisions by the Town to the HEA would also only become effective upon HCD certifying the HEA as substantially compliant with state law; and
WHEREAS, the City Council previously determined on December 9, 2025, that the HEA is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21080.085 and CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3); and WHEREAS, on February 2, 2026, the Los Altos Hills City Council held a duly noticed public hearing during its special meeting to consider approval of the additional minor revisions.

At the public hearing, the City Council reviewed and carefully considered the proposed additional minor revisions and all evidence presented in the record and during the hearing. All interested parties were provided with an opportunity to participate and be heard.

ITEM 2A, Attachment 1

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills hereby makes the following findings and decision:

1. General and CEQA Findings.

Based on the entirety of the record before it, which includes, without limitation, the California Environmental Quality Act, Public Resources Code §21000, et seq. and the CEQA Guidelines, 14 California Code of Regulations §15000, et seq. (collectively, “CEQA”); the Los Altos Hills General Plan and Housing Element; the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code; all reports, minutes, and public testimony submitted to the City Council for this project including those as part of the City Council’s duly noticed February 2, 2026 special meeting; and any and all other evidence (within the meaning of Public Resources Code §21080(e) and §21082.2), the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills hereby finds as follows:

A. The foregoing recitals are true and correct and made a part of this Resolution.

B. The documents and other material constituting the record for these proceedings are located at the Community Development Department for the Town of Los Altos Hills, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, and in the custody of the Community Development Director.

C. Exhibit A attached to this Resolution, consisting of the proposed additional minor revisions to the Housing Element Amendment, is incorporated herein by reference as if it were each set forth fully herein.

D. The proposed additional minor amendments are statutorily exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 21080.085 of the Public Resources Code as CEQA does not apply to a rezoning that implements the schedule of actions contained in an approved housing element pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 65583 of the Government Code. The additional minor amendments are a part of the Housing Element Amendment adopted by the City Council contingent upon HCD approval, and the Council previously determined on December 9, 2025 that said Amendment is exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 21080.085. The additional minor amendments are a part of and do not change any substantive provisions of the Housing Element Amendment and thus are also exempt under the same provision.

E. The proposed additional minor revisions are also not subject to CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3), because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the proposed amendments may have a significant impact on the environment. The proposed is a part of and does not change any substantive provisions of the Housing Element Amendment and continues to achieve internal consistency across land use documents and do not approve any particular project. They also would not impact the physical allowances for development projects. As such, it can be seen with certainty that the proposed additional minor revisions as a part of the Housing Element Amendment do not have a significant impact on the environment.

F. As a part of the HEA, the proposed additional minor revisions remain consistent with and serves the other goals, programs, and policies in the Housing Element and allow

ITEM 2A, Attachment 1

the Town to continue to comply with state Housing Element and Housing Laws, as well as contribute to the Town’s strategies in meeting its RHNA obligation.

2. Decision.

Based upon the testimony received by the City Council, the background and findings set forth above and all other evidence in the administrative record, the Los Altos Hills City Council hereby approves additional minor revisions to the Housing Element Amendment, as shown in Exhibit A, subject to the Effective Date provision below. The City Council further authorizes the Community Development Director or their designee to make any other minor technical modifications to the Housing Element Amendment as necessary to respond to comments or requests from the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to achieve HCD certification of the Housing Element Amendment.

3. Effective Date. This resolution and the approval of the additional minor revisions to the Housing Element Amendment shall only become effective upon HCD certifying said Amendment as in substantial compliance with state law pursuant to Government Code sections 65585 and 65585.03. It is hereby affirmed that prior to HCD certification, the 2023-2031 Housing Element as certified by HCD on May 30, 2023, shall remain unmodified and in full force and effect and adoption of the Housing Element Amendment and additional minor revisions shall not take effect.

PASSED AND ADOPTED at a special meeting of the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills this __ day of ______, 2026, by the following vote:

AYES:

NOES:

ABSTAIN:

ABSENT:

APPROVED:
___________________
Mayor
ATTEST:

1 6
th CYCLE

HOUSING PLAN
Town of Los Altos Hills
2023–2031 Housing Element
Adopted January 30, 2023
Technical Revisions In Response to March 17, 2023, HCD
Review Letter:

April 10, 2023, April 20, 2023, May 12, 2023
Amended December 2, 2025
Adopted December 9, 2025
Amended January 30, 2026
Exhibit A to Attachment1

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
1 Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................... 8 Purpose and Content ...................................................................................................................8 Relationship to Other Elements and Plans ................................................................................8 Public Participation.......................................................................................................................8 REVIEW OF PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS................................................................................ 14 Purpose of Review ......................................................................................................................14 Housing Production....................................................................................................................14 Previous RHNA Progress (as of December 2022) ..........................................................................14 Effectiveness at Serving Special-Needs Populations ..............................................................15 5 th Cycle (2016-2023) Housing Programs .................................................................................16 Overall Assessment ....................................................................................................................39 HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................ 40 Projected Housing Needs ..........................................................................................................41 Existing Housing Needs..............................................................................................................42 Population, Employment, and Household Characteristics..........................................................42 Housing Stock Characteristics.........................................................................................................53 Housing Age and Condition.............................................................................................................61 Overpayment.....................................................................................................................................62 Overcrowding ....................................................................................................................................66 Assisted Housing Units at Risk of Converting to Market-Rate Rents...........................................66 Special Housing Needs...............................................................................................................69 Elderly Persons..................................................................................................................................70 Persons with Disabilities ..................................................................................................................72 Farmworkers .....................................................................................................................................74 Large Households .............................................................................................................................74 Female-Headed Households............................................................................................................75 Homeless Population .......................................................................................................................75 Extremely Low-Income Households................................................................................................77 Summary of Housing Needs......................................................................................................80 AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING ................................................................... 81 Introduction.................................................................................................................................81 Public Outreach...........................................................................................................................81 Outreach Activities............................................................................................................................81 Organizations Contacted and Consulted.......................................................................................81

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
2 Results and Analysis of Outreach ...................................................................................................82 Assessment of Fair Housing ......................................................................................................85 Town Overview..................................................................................................................................85 Fair Housing Enforcement and Outreach Capacity......................................................................89 Findings..............................................................................................................................................90 Integration and Segregation......................................................................................................90 Race Ethnicity ....................................................................................................................................90 Income ...............................................................................................................................................94 Familial Status...................................................................................................................................99 Persons with Disabilities ............................................................................................................... 102 Findings........................................................................................................................................... 106 Racially & Ethnically Concentrated Areas of Poverty and Affluence...................................107 R/ECAPs ........................................................................................................................................... 107 Racially Concentrated Areas of Affluence................................................................................... 108 Disparities in Access to Opportunities ...................................................................................112 California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC)................................................................... 112 Transportation............................................................................................................................... 118 CalEnviroScreen 4.0....................................................................................................................... 120 Findings........................................................................................................................................... 122 Disproportionate Housing Needs ...........................................................................................123 Substandard Housing ................................................................................................................... 123 Overcrowding ................................................................................................................................. 125 Homelessness................................................................................................................................. 126 Displacement.................................................................................................................................. 128 Findings........................................................................................................................................... 128 Other Contributing Factors......................................................................................................129 Historic Land Use Practices .......................................................................................................... 129 Historic Use of Racial Covenants ................................................................................................. 129 Community Opposition to Housing Development..................................................................... 130 Lending Patterns............................................................................................................................ 130 Fair Housing Issues, Contributing Factors, and Meaningful Action ....................................132 CONSTRAINTS ON HOUSING.............................................................................................. 149 Governmental Constraints ......................................................................................................149 Land Use Controls ......................................................................................................................... 150 Providing for a Variety of Housing Types.................................................................................... 158 Development Review and Permitting Procedures...................................................................... 164 Housing for Persons with Disabilities.......................................................................................... 174

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
3 Code Enforcement ......................................................................................................................... 175 On- and Off-Site Improvement Requirements ........................................................................... 175 Nongovernmental Constraints................................................................................................176 Requests to Develop Below the Anticipated Density.................................................................. 176 Land Costs ...................................................................................................................................... 176 Construction Costs......................................................................................................................... 178 Financing Availability .................................................................................................................... 178 Federal and State Programs......................................................................................................... 179 Environmental and Infrastructure Constraints.......................................................................... 179 HOUSING RESOURCES......................................................................................................... 187 Housing Allocation....................................................................................................................187 No Net Loss Buffer ...................................................................................................................187 Realistic Capacity ......................................................................................................................188 Housing Production History ....................................................................................................189 Affordability...............................................................................................................................189 Density............................................................................................................................................. 189 Large Sites....................................................................................................................................... 189 Site Inventory and Strategy .....................................................................................................194 Existing Capacity and Future Potential ....................................................................................... 194 RHNA Shortfall ............................................................................................................................... 197 RHNA Strategy ................................................................................................................................ 198 Site Descriptions .......................................................................................................................199 Non-Vacant Sites............................................................................................................................ 200 Vacant and Single-Family Homes (Rezone Sites) ....................................................................... 209 Ability to Meet the RHNA .........................................................................................................212 Constraints ................................................................................................................................213 Infrastructure ................................................................................................................................. 213 Topography .................................................................................................................................... 214 Fire Hazard Areas .......................................................................................................................... 214 Flooding .......................................................................................................................................... 216 Financial Resources ..................................................................................................................218 Countywide Programs................................................................................................................... 218 Statewide Programs ...................................................................................................................... 220 Energy Conservation ................................................................................................................220 HOUSING GOALS, POLICIES, AND PROGRAMS................................................................. 223 General Strategy .......................................................................................................................223

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
4 Encourage New Housing Production........................................................................................... 223 Removal of Governmental Constraints....................................................................................... 224 Conserve, Preserve, and Improve the Housing Stock ................................................................ 225 Special Housing Needs and Assistance ....................................................................................... 225 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing ......................................................................................... 226 Housing Awareness, Education and Outreach........................................................................... 226 Quantified Objectives .................................................................................................................... 227 Programs ...................................................................................................................................227 PROGRAMS........................................................................................................................... 228 A. Housing Production ..........................................................................................................228 B. Constraint Removal...........................................................................................................237 C. Housing Preservation and Improvement.......................................................................243 D. Housing Assistance .......................................................................................................244 E. Special Housing Needs .....................................................................................................246 F. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing.............................................................................253 G. Education and Outreach...............................................................................................256 APPENDIX A: RHNA SITES LIST............................................................................................... 1 APPENDIX A: VACANT LOTS WITH POTENTIAL SB 9 UNITS................................................. 5 APPENDIX A: LOTS < 1 ACRE SUBJECT TO CDP...................................................................... 0 APPENDIX B: ONLINE SURVEY RESULTS................................................................................ 1 APPENDIX C: OWNER, DEVELOPER INTEREST....................................................................... 1 List of Figures
Figure 1: Population Age Distribution..........................................................................................44 Figure 2: Regional Racial/Ethnic Composition.............................................................................46 Figure 3: Regional Employment by Industry ...............................................................................48 Figure 4: Households by Size ........................................................................................................50 Figure 5: ADU Rent by Number of Bedrooms .............................................................................56 Figure 6: Median Sales Price Over Time.......................................................................................58 Figure 7: Elderly Households with a Disability ............................................................................71 Figure 8: Disability by Type............................................................................................................73 Figure 9: Households by Household Income Level ....................................................................79 Figure 10: Census Tracts and RHNA Sites....................................................................................86 Figure 11: Racial and Ethnic Majority, 2019.................................................................................91 Figure 12: Percentage of the Population that is Non-White, 2010 and 2020 ..........................92

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
5 Figure 13: Non-White Population Comparison of RHNA Units by Town Acreage...................93 Figure 14: Low to Moderate Income Population, 2021..............................................................96 Figure 15: Low-Moderate Income Population Comparison of RHNA Units by Town Acreage ..............................................................................................................................................97 Figure 16: Poverty Status, 2014 and 2019 ...................................................................................98 Figure 17: Housing Choice Vouchers, 2010 .................................................................................99 Figure 18: Children in Female-Headed Households and RHNA Sites, 2021 ..........................100 Figure 19: Percent of Children in Female-Headed Households Comparison of RHNA Units by Town Acreage ..............................................................................................................101 Figure 20: Children in Married Couple Households, 2019.......................................................102 Figure 21: Disability Characteristics, 2020 .................................................................................103 Figure 22: Population with a Disability, 2021 ............................................................................105 Figure 23: Population with a Disability Comparison of RHNA Units by Town Acreage ........106 Figure 24: Presence of a R/ECAP Comparison of RHNA Units by Town Acreage ..................107 Figure 25: Regionally Concentrated Areas of Affluence...........................................................111 Figure 26: TCAC Economic Score, 2021......................................................................................113 Figure 27: TCAC Education Score, 2021 .....................................................................................114 Figure 28: TCAC Environmental Score, 2021 .............................................................................115 Figure 29: Regional TCAC Environmental Score, 2021 .............................................................116 Figure 30: TCAC Composite Score and RHNA Sites, .................................................................117 Figure 31: TCAC Composite Score Comparison of RHNA Units by Town Acreage................118 Figure 32: Transit Route Map, 2022 ...........................................................................................119 Figure 33: Marguerite Shuttle Map.............................................................................................120 Figure 34: CES Percentile and RHNA Sites .................................................................................121 Figure 35: CalEnviroScreen Percentile Scores Comparison of RHNA Units by Town Acreage ............................................................................................................................................122 Figure 36: Housing Problems by Tenure and Race/Elderly/Housing Size, 2018 ...................123 Figure 37: Cost Burden by Tenure and Race/Elderly/Housing Size, 2018..............................124 Figure 38: Overpayment by Owners, 2014 and 2019...............................................................125 Figure 39: Overpayment by Renters, 2014 and 2019...............................................................125 Figure 40: Overcrowded Households, 2010 ..............................................................................126 Figure 41: Application to Building Permit Issuance ..................................................................171 Figure 42 Los Altos Hills Fire Severity Zones in LRA .................................................................181 Figure 43: RHNA Site Inventory...................................................................................................199 Figure 44: Foothill College Parcels..............................................................................................204 Figure 45: St. Nicholas Catholic School Parcels.........................................................................207 Figure 46: Twin Oaks Court Rezone Sites ..................................................................................210 Figure 47: Los Altos Hills Fire Hazard Severity Zones in LRA...................................................215 Figure 48: Los Altos Hills Special Flood Hazard Area................................................................217 Figure 49: Flood Hazard Foothill College ...................................................................................218

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
6 List of Tables
Table 1: Progress Toward 5th Cycle RHNA ...................................................................................15 Table 2: Review and Continued Appropriateness of 5th Cycle Programs.................................17 Table 3: Los Altos Hills RHNA, 2023–2031 ...................................................................................41 Table 4: Regional Population Change, 2010–2020......................................................................42 Table 5: Annual Average Population Growth, 2000–2020 .........................................................43 Table 6: Los Altos Hills Population by Age, 2000–2019..............................................................43 Table 7: Racial and Ethnic Composition, Los Altos Hills, 2010–2019........................................45 Table 8: Employment Trends, Los Altos Hills ..............................................................................47 Table 9: Number of Households, 2000–2019..............................................................................49 Table 10: Regional Average Household Size ...............................................................................49 Table 11: Household Size by Tenure, 2019..................................................................................51 Table 12: Household Income Level by Tenure, 2018 .................................................................52 Table 13: Median Household Income by Tenure........................................................................53 Table 14: Change in Number of Housing Units, 2000–2019......................................................53 Table 15: Type of Housing Units ...................................................................................................54 Table 16: Average Monthly Rent by Unit Size, 2021 ...................................................................55 Table 17: Affordable and Fair Market Rent for Low-Income Households, 2021.....................57 Table 18: Gross Rent as a Percentage of Household Income, 2019.........................................57 Table 19: Median Sales Prices, Santa Clara County....................................................................59 Table 20: Occupancy Status, 2019................................................................................................60 Table 21: Year Housing Built .........................................................................................................61 Table 22: Housing Tenure by Date of Occupancy, 2019 ............................................................62 Table 23: Overpayment by Tenure, 2018 ....................................................................................63 Table 24: Overcrowding by Tenure ..............................................................................................66 Table 25: Units at Risk of Converting to Market Rate.................................................................67 Table 26: Replacement Cost..........................................................................................................68 Table 27: Overview of Households with Special Needs, 2018...................................................69 Table 28: Inventory of Services for Special Needs Populations ................................................69 Table 29: Median Household Income for Elderly Households..................................................70 Table 30: Householders by Age ....................................................................................................70 Table 31: Population by Disability Status, 2019 ..........................................................................72 Table 32: Persons with Developmental Disabilities by Age Group...........................................73 Table 33: Regional Number of Farmworkers and Farms...........................................................74 Table 34: Large Households by Tenure .......................................................................................75 Table 35: Female-Headed Households by Tenure......................................................................75 Table 36: Homeless Population, 2019..........................................................................................76

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
7 Table 37: Income Range by Area Median Income ......................................................................77 Table 38: Extremely Low-Income Households by Overpayment, 2018 ...................................78 Table 39: Extremely Low-Income Households by Overcrowding, 2018...................................78 Table 40: Comparison of Fair Housing with Respect to Location .............................................88 Table 41: Dissimilarity Index for Race, 2020................................................................................94 Table 42: Dissimilarity Index for Income, 2010 and 2015..........................................................95 Table 43: Population by Disability Status, 2019 ........................................................................102 Table 44: Median Income, 2019..................................................................................................108 Table 45: RCAA Coincidence with Other Fair Housing Factors by Tract.................................110 Table 46: Overcrowding, 2020 ....................................................................................................126 Table 47: Regional Point in Time Count, 2019...........................................................................127 Table 48: Mortgage Applications and Acceptance by Race, 2018-19 .....................................131 Table 49: Contributing Factors....................................................................................................132 Table 50: AFFH Actions Matrix ....................................................................................................134 Table 51: Town of Los Altos Hills, Residential Zone Standards...............................................153 Table 52: Estate Homes Setbacks ...............................................................................................156 Table 53: Parking Requirements.................................................................................................157 Table 54: Permit Processing Time & Level of Review...............................................................170 Table 55: Related Fees and Deposits for Typical New Primary Residence ............................172 Table 56: Fees for Single Family Residence - Regional Comparison.......................................173 Table 57: Single-Family Land Sale, up to 1 Acre, Last 3 Years .................................................177 Table 58: Recent Vacant Lot Sales in Los Altos Hills .................................................................178 Table 59: Disposition of Home Loans - Santa Clara County, 2020..........................................179 Table 60: Los Altos Hills RHNA ....................................................................................................187 Table 61: No Net Loss Buffer ......................................................................................................188 Table 62: Recent Single Family Development Trends ..............................................................194 Table 63: ADUs Toward the RHNA..............................................................................................195 Table 64: ADU Affordability Assumptions..................................................................................195 Table 65: RHNA Shortfall .............................................................................................................198 Table 66: Lower-Income Site Capacity .......................................................................................203 Table 67: Foothill College Site Profile .........................................................................................205 Table 68: St. Nicholas Catholic School Site Profile....................................................................208 Table 69: Twin Oaks Court Rezone Site Profile .........................................................................211 Table 70: Housing Capacity .........................................................................................................212 Table 71: Total Quantified Objectives Los Altos Hills, 2023–2031 ..........................................227

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
8 Introduction
Purpose and Content
The Town of Los Altos Hills 2023–2031 6
th Cycle Housing Element has been prepared in
compliance with the State of California Government Code Section 65302 and in conformance with the Housing Element Guidelines as established by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). This Housing Element sets forth the Town’s overall housing objectives in the form of goals, policies, and programs. This format will facilitate the periodic update of the Housing Element, as required by State law.

Relationship to Other Elements and Plans
This Housing Plan identifies goals, policies, and programs that guide housing policy for the Town from January 2023 to January 2031. The goals, policies, and programs are consistent with the direction of the other General Plan elements. Each goal is followed by one or more policies that are designed to provide direction to the policy makers that will enable progress toward the goals. Consistency will be reviewed as part of the annual General Plan implementation as required under Government Code Section 65400. Listed after the goals and policies are the programs designed to implement the specific goals and policies.

The Housing Element goals, policies, and programs aim to:
▪ Encourage the development of a variety of housing opportunities and provide adequate sites to meet the 2021-2029 Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). ▪ Assist in the development of housing to meet the needs of lower- and moderateincome households. ▪ Address and, where appropriate and legally possible, remove governmental constraints to housing development.
▪ Conserve, preserve, and improve the condition of the existing housing stock. ▪ Promote equal housing opportunity for all residents to reside in the housing of their choice. These objectives are required by and delineated in State law (California Code Section 65583 [c][1]).

Public Participation
The Town of Los Altos Hills made a diligent effort to encourage public participation in the development of the Housing Element. Outreach for the Housing Element update began in January 2022. This involved engaging community members, stakeholders, service providers, educators, and the Town’s Planning Commission and City Council in identification of housing issues and involved a diverse group of individuals in the planning process. The public participation program included:

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
9 ▪ An interactive housing element update website launched in February 2022 accessed through the Town’s webpage that included a description of the project, how to provide input, workshop dates and materials, and a link to the Housing Element update survey.
▪ An online community survey was heavily promoted through email list notification, project website, stakeholder interviews as well as community workshops. ▪ One virtual community workshop was conducted on February 10, 2022. Residents and other interested individuals were provided an opportunity to ask questions of staff regarding the proposed housing element update and the website was updated to include information from the workshop.
▪ Updates on the status of the housing element update were provided at the February 3, 2022, March 3, 2022, and June 15, 2022, Planning Commission meetings, and public comments were accepted. The website was updated to include the most current information on the status of the Housing Element.
▪ Three joint study sessions with the Planning Commission and City Council were conducted on January 19, 2022, March 24, 2022, and June 20, 2022. Staff sent emails to notify individuals on the mailing list which included stakeholders, community service providers, and members of the public. Decisions were made on the RHNA sites inventory at the June 20 meeting. Upon conclusion of each meeting, the website was updated to include information discussed at these meetings. ▪ All the efforts of notifying the public that were made for the community meetings and the study sessions. The links to the presentation and video recording were posted on the Housing Element Update website.
▪ Focus Group Interviews. The Housing Element team reached out to 31 individuals and/or organizations (13 community stakeholders and 18 local service providers) to take part in the focus group interviews. Out of the 31 individuals and groups that were contacted, 9 people participated in the focus groups (4 community members, 1 Town Senior Committee member, 1 faith-based institution representative, and 3 regional advocacy group representatives). Of those participants, the community members came from a wide range of age demographics, from young professionals to retirees.

Included residents also spanned income demographics, from those that have owned property in Los Altos Hills for generations, to those who expressed their families could not afford to live in the Town had it not been for the availability of affordable ADUs.

Three focus groups consisting of nine community participants were held on April 18 at 12 p.m., April 19 at 6 p.m., and April 25 at 11 a.m. to gather input from community members and housing service providers. Participants included residents, service providers, representatives from local faith-based institutions, and Town Committee Representatives.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
10 In a diligent effort to include all demographic segments of the Los Altos Hills community, the Housing Element team contacted 10 homeless interest groups, 8 housing and policy advocates, 6 representatives from local faith-based and educational institutions, 1 Town representative, 1 affordable housing developer and 5 homeowners/renters from various income levels.

Summary of Public Participation and Outreach
During the outreach process the Town heard comments ranging from concerns over housing affordability, complexity of the zoning and permitting process for homeowners, lack of affordable and multifamily housing, access to transit and other services, farm-worker housing, ADU incentivization, lack of student housing for Foothill College, and preference on locations for future housing. Many of the programs proposed as well as the RHNA sites inventory in the Housing Element Update reflect the community input. In summary, the community engagement and input yielded the following themes and feedback:
▪ High Housing Costs/Costs of Living: Participants expressed that their children will not be able to afford homes in Los Altos Hills or the larger region. They also noted that people have large capital gains on their properties and are choosing to stay in their houses rather than selling them. Program A-6 establishes an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, which will require new developments to reserve up to 15 percent of total units for lower- and moderate-income households, allowing the potential for affordable housing options in the Town.
▪ Development Process: Participants expressed frustration in navigating the development process in terms of time, cost, and certain development requirements (story poles and restrictions on home expansions, Senate Bill 9 ordinance, contour line formula, and triggering public hearings). The Town has created an online interactive LUF, MDA and MFA calculation form and posted it on the Town’s website. Programs B1, B-4, and B-7 aim to streamline the development and permitting processes by establishing expedited permit processing for affordable housing projects, and by compiling all development standards, plans, fees, and nexus studies in an easily accessible online location.
▪ Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Incentivization: Participants expressed frustration in their experience trying to build ADUs and recommended ADU incentivization strategies such as preapproved plans, fee waivers, elimination of the 800-square-foot maximum (the Town currently allows up to 1,200 sq. ft.), searching for innovative funding sources, and community education. Program A-7 will allow the Town to annually assess what strategies are necessary to increase ADU production by tracking and monitoring their affordability and production rate. Through Program G-2, the Town will also develop a marketing and education program to advertise the ability of homeowners to create ADUs.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
11 Public Comments on the August 8, 2022, Draft Housing Element Update The Town of Los Alto Hills held a 30-day public review period on the draft Housing Element from August 10, 2022, to September 8, 2022. Twenty-five comment letters and emails were received during the review period. All twenty-five letters contained suggestions and concerns regarding the RHNA site selection and housing element programs and constraints. Several suggested general considerations consistent with housing law and HCD guidelines which are already included in the draft Housing Element.

Comments fell into several categories including:
▪ Code amendments to remove regulatory constraints:
o Complex and cumbersome development standards (see Program B-4) o Grading permit limited to 6 months out of the year (see Program B-11) ▪ ADU promotion and incentives (see Program A-7, A-8, G-2) ▪ Strategies to improve the existing permit process (see Program B-1, B-12) ▪ Tools, techniques, and funding sources to increase affordable housing (see Program F-2, F-3)
The Town of Los Altos Hills received comments from affordable housing advocates and residents as a response to the public review of the Housing Element. Concerns included RHNA sites, constraints on development, absence of multifamily housing, ADU production, and the permitting process.

Code Amendments
The Town received a number of letters with examples and suggestions of possible approaches to code amendments to remove regulatory constraints for developing housing.

The Town has conducted an extensive constraints analysis and had identified recommended code amendment designed to remove or revise these regulatory constraints. It is possible that additional code amendments and revisions will be prepared during implementation of the program. Proposed code amendments are provided in Program B-4.

ADUs
Commenters called for more programs and strongly suggested incentives for ADU production, through methods like expedited review of ADU permits through pre-approved designs and relaxed development standards. The Town has included a program to track and monitor its ADU production to ensure that annual production matches the RHNA assumption. This program also commits the Town to providing preapproved plans to expedite development review as an incentive to production. See Programs A-7 and A-8.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
12 Permitting
A number of the letters expressed concerns regarding the development process in the Town and the constraints that result from the process. Commenters recommended several strategies to improve the transparency and turn-around time for getting permits approved.

The Town has included Programs B-1 and B-12 to streamline the permitting process for affordable housing and to improve the existing permit tracking system for applicants.

Affordable Housing
Several commenters expressed a desire for the Town to provide multifamily housing as well as provide examples of funding sources and other tools to support the development of multifamily housing. In response, the Town has included Programs A-1, A-2, A-4, A-5, and A6 to create a multifamily overlay zone, rezone parcels currently designated as R-A to multifamily, allow by right approval for 20 percent affordable housing developments, establish minimum densities for low-income development, and conduct an inclusionary zoning feasibility study, respectively.

HCD Review and Housing Element Adoption
On October 27, 2022, the Town submitted a revised draft to HCD for review, following the 30-day public review period.

The Town met with HCD on December 22, 2022, to receive and discuss detailed initial review comments. In response to the initial review comments, the Town submitted a revised draft to HCD for review and consideration on January 9, 2023. This draft was published for public review on the Town’s webpage and copies were emailed to all residents and agencies that had previously requested a copy or future notification on January 23, 2023.

The Town received HCD’s formal review comment letter on January 25, 2023. The contents of the letter were consistent with and were refinements of those received on December 22, 2022. The Town revised the Housing Element to reflect the formal comments of the HCD letter to provide greater clarity and make minor changes to ensure internal consistency.

These refinements were published on January 26, 2023, and January 27, 2023.

The Planning Commission and the City Council considered the Housing Element during their public hearings on January 27 and January 30, respectively, and received and considered additional public comments and correspondences. The comments discussed alternative site strategies, ADU and SB 9 unit methodologies, and different zoning and development standards. The Planning Commission and City Council determined that the Housing Element adequately addressed the comments received and already contained sufficient strategies and appropriate methodologies responsive to the public comments received. The City Council adopted the Housing Element via Resolution No. 09-23 with no further revisions.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
13 On March 17, 2023, HCD provided a comment letter to the Town outlining certain areas where the adopted Housing Element could be enhanced to achieve certification as a part of HCD's determination process to make findings of substantial compliance on the Housing Element. These areas include: (1) enhancing analysis and descriptions of base conditions and housing factors in the Town; (2) responding to questions relating to site-specific owner interest in development in the Site Inventory; and (3) enhancing programs to affirmatively further fair housing (AFFH) through programs to address fair housing factors and housing mobility.

As a result of such changes requested by HCD and pursuant to the revision authority provided under Resolution No. 09-23, Town staff and consultants have prepared updates to the Housing Element containing additional revisions to address all of HCD’s requests (the “Update”). The Update contains additional clarifications and programs to serve the policies and goals previously adopted in the 2023-2031 Housing Element. No previously adopted policies and goals are being deleted or altered. The additional clarifications and programs are responsive to changes requested by HCD. Resolution No. 09-23 authorizes the Planning Director to file all necessary material with HCD for the department to find the Housing Element complies with state law, and to make all non-substantive changes to the Housing Element to make it internally consistent and address non-substantive changes or amendments requested by HCD to achieve certification. As such, preparation of the Update is within the revision authority provided under City Council Resolution No. 09-23.

The Town provided additional public input and comment opportunities on the Update document. On April 11, 2023, the Update to the Housing Element was uploaded to the Town’s website for public review and comments, and the link was emailed to all 47 individuals and organizations that have previously requested notices relating to the Town’s Housing Element in writing. On April 20, 2023, the City Council reviewed the proposed Update, considered all public comments and testimony, made minor clarifications, and approved the Update via resolution.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
14 Review of Past Accomplishments
Purpose of Review
State law (California Government Code Section 65588[a]) requires each jurisdiction to review its housing element as frequently as is appropriate and evaluate:
▪ The appropriateness of the housing goals, objectives, and policies in contributing to the attainment of the state’s housing goals
▪ The effectiveness of the housing element in attainment of the community’s housing goals and objectives
▪ The progress in implementation of the housing element According to the State HCD, the review is a three-step process:
▪ Review the results of the previous element’s goals, objectives, and programs. The results should be quantified where possible but may be qualitative where necessary. ▪ Compare what was projected or planned in the previous element to what was actually achieved. Determine where the previous housing element met, exceeded, or fell short of what was anticipated.
▪ Based on the above analysis, describe how the goals, objectives, policies, and programs in the updated element are being changed or adjusted to incorporate what has been learned from results of the previous element.

Housing Production
Previous RHNA Progress (as of December 2022)
The Town of Los Altos Hills had a total RHNA allocation of 121 units in the 5th Cycle. As of December 2022, 241 new units had been built, permitted, or approved during the 5th Cycle, exceeding the overall allocation of 121 units. The Town has submitted annual progress reports (APRs) for all years during the 5th Cycle.

Many of the housing projects in Los Altos Hills involve the demolition of an existing unit, and then the construction of one or more new units. When calculating the number of units permitted over the 5th Cycle, the Town used the number of net new units for each housing project. For example, in 2021, the Town issued 62 building permits for 21 primary residences and 41 ADUs. Of the 21 new primary dwellings, 16 were replacement structures. Therefore, only 5 new primary residences are counted as net new housing units towards meeting the Town’s overall RHNA goals. However, all 41 ADUs are net new units and are counted towards meeting the Town’s RHNA.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
15 In the years 2015-2020, the Town determined the affordability of new ADUs based on a 2014 survey which resulted in the following parameters for ADU affordability: 60% of the ADUs were occupied by very low-income households, 25% were low income, and 15% were moderate income. However, for the year 2021, ADU affordability was based on draft ABAG Housing Technical Assistance Team’s Affordability of Accessory Dwelling Units document dated September 8, 2021. The report recommends ADU affordability as follows: 30% very low income, 30% Low income, 30% moderate income, and 10% above moderate.

Using the above assumptions, and as reported in the APRs for 2015-2022, the Town exceeded each of the individual RHNAs by household income and doubled the total 5th Cycle RHNA. Single-family homes were all assumed to be affordable to above-moderate households.

Table 1: Progress Toward 5th Cycle RHNA
Very LowIncomeLowIncomeModerate
Income
Above-Moderate
Income Total
RHNA 46 28 32 15 121
Units
Produced 58 37 34 112 241
Remaining
RHNA 0 (+12) 0 (+9) 0 (+2) 0 (+97)
0 (+120)
Effectiveness at Serving Special-Needs Populations
This section reviews the Town’s progress on assisting populations with special housing needs during the 5th Cycle. The Town provides financial support for the Community Services Agency of Mountain View, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills (CSA). CSA provides multiple services for special needs populations in the area, especially homeless individuals and seniors. CSA implements multiple programs that assist persons in need: Key CSA programs include:
▪ Homelessness Prevention Services, including financial assistance for housing and utilities
▪ Homeless Services, including case management and financial and nutritional assistance
▪ Senior Services, including case management and nutritional assistance

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
16 ▪ The “Community Navigator Program,” where community leaders are trained to provide assistance in other areas, including “immigration, domestic violence, and tenant rights”1F1F
1 According to the 2021 CSA Annual Report, the CSA assisted 4,996 individuals with homeless prevention services from 2020-2021. It also provided homeless service to 674 individuals and senior services to 252 individuals. While many of these individuals were likely located outside of Los Altos Hills, the continued funding demonstrates Los Altos Hills’ commitment to providing funding that assists special needs populations.

In addition to providing funding for CSA, Los Altos Hills supports the Community Health Awareness Council (CHAC). CHAC provides a variety of mental health and wellness services in Santa Clara County, including at schools and clinics. CHAC also maintains multiple family resources centers, which provide assistance and training on parenting, literacy, as well as facilitate other family and youth-focused activities.

The Town has also provided annual funding of $10,000 to support educational programs at Hidden Villa, an environmental education facility, and continues to discuss options for housing services on the site with the site administrators.

The amount provided to these organizations has increased from $10,000 to over $100,000 in the 2021-22 budget. The Town will continue to provide funding to these crucial community organizations, as well as implement new programs to further assist special needs populations.
5 th Cycle (2016-2023) Housing Programs
Table 2 illustrates the Town’s Accomplishments and status in implementing the housing programs during the 5th Cycle, as well as the continued appropriateness of the program for the 6th Cycle. Programs that have been successfully completed or that consist of routine staff functions are marked as “remove,” as these programs are no longer necessary for the 6th Cycle. Previous programs that are continued with no changes or with minor modifications are marked as “continue.” Finally, programs marked as “modify” or “consolidate” are programs that will be continued, but have updated goals and metrics, and may involve combining multiple existing programs into a single 6th Cycle program for ease of use and streamlining.
1 2021 CSA Annual Report, Page 5.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 17
Table 2: Review and Continued Appropriateness of 5th Cycle Programs Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
1 Review all new residential
development and reconstruction
and rehabilitation of existing
residences through the Site
Development Permit review
process, which focuses on
development siting as well as
issues of grading, drainage,
access, and landscape screening
as visual mitigation.

Ongoing
The Town continues to utilize this
process for new single-family
homes and from 2020 onward,
has adopted objective standards
for all ADUs. In total, the Town
has permitted 153 net new
dwelling units through this
process since 2015.

Remove – This is
a routine staff
function and not
considered a
Housing Element
Program.
2 Work with County of Santa Clara,
mid-peninsula cities, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and other public agencies
to promote open space
programs that are compatible
with the Town’s goals and
policies, especially within the
Town and its Sphere of Influence.
(Policies A - D)
Ongoing
The Town routinely reviews the
comprehensive plans prepared
by the Mid-peninsula Regional
Open Space District, including
the fire management plans and
multi-year trail plans, and has
preserved the open space
easements and open space
parcels within the recently
annexed Ravensbury Island
Annexation.

Remove – This is
a routine staff
function and not
considered a
Housing Element
Program.

Relocate to openspace element of
the General Plan.
3 Participate through Santa Clara
County in the Federal Housing
and Community Development
Block Grant Program to provide
Ongoing
The Town has not utilized CDBG
funds during the 8 years of the
housing element.

Continue and
Modify – Increase
specificity about
C-2

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 18
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
housing rehabilitation loans for
low and moderate income
housing units/households. Make
available to the Town’s residents’
information about CDBG funds
on the Town Website
new possible
CDBG programs.
4 Enforce the California Building
Standards Code through an ongoing program of enforcement and abatement based on
complaints from Town residents.

Ongoing
Since 2015, the Town’s Building
Inspection and Code
Enforcement Divisions have
annually processed 15 to 20 code
complaints related to
unpermitted construction and
substandard housing units.

Remove –
This is a routine
staff function and
not considered a
Housing Element
Program.
5 Continue to facilitate and
expedite the development of
new dwelling units and the
rehabilitation and reconstruction
of existing units.

Ongoing (Yearly
Update)
The Town has issued permits for
153 net new housing units and
an additional 115 new singlefamily homes were replacement structures on previously
developed properties.

Additionally, the Town has
provided guidance on the
conversion of detached
structures to ADUs to encourage
new affordable units.

Modify – Increase
program
specificity,
language, and
metrics regarding
facilitating new
residential
development to
meet the RHNA in
Program A-1, as
well as facilitate
development on
the RHNA Sites
A-1, A-9,
B-1

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 19
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
through A-2 and
A-9.
6 Continue the annexation of lands
within the Town’s Sphere of
Influence to increase the Town’s
supply of lands suitable for
residential secondary dwelling
unit development.

Ongoing
Within the last housing cycle, the
Town completed 7 annexations
totaling 22 properties.

Remove – The
Town is not
considering
annexation of
unincorporated
lands.
7 Analyze the potential annexation
of the pre-zoned 95 lots within
the Spalding/Magdalena
neighborhood, potentially
including an evaluation of the
desire of residents to be
annexed.

Ongoing
The Town has considered and is
still determining whether the
annexation is desirable.

The Town did pre-zone the land
for potential annexation.

However, there are preexisting
issues with several roadways in
the area and there are potential
infrastructure constraints.

Remove – The
Town is no longer
considering the
annexation of the
Spalding/Magdale
na
Neighborhood.
8 Modify the Zoning Ordinance to
comply with the California
Employee Housing Act.

Allow non-residential uses with
approved use permits to provide
on-site affordable housing for up
to six employees. In accordance
with the Employee Housing Act
(Health and Safety Code Section
Ordinance change
December 2016
The Town has not completed a
zoning ordinance amendment to
comply with the Employee
Housing Act. The Town will be
focusing on implementing this
program following adoption of
the Housing Element update.

Continue. E-8

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 20
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
17000 et seq.), the employee
housing shall be regulated in the
same manner as single-family
dwellings in the same zoning
district. Through this revision,
non-residential uses will be able
to create opportunities for a
number of employees of these
non-residential uses to live onsite in Los Altos Hills. This will help in the creation of affordable
housing opportunities, including
housing for extremely low
income households, while
helping in the reduction of
commute traffic.
9 Continue to encourage room
rentals as means of providing
affordable housing options
within existing housing stock.

Ongoing
The Town has implemented the
state definition of a family. In
addition, there are no
restrictions on the rental of
primary residences or ADUs to
non-related individuals.

Retain, Revise –
The definition will
be revised to
remove
subjective
language that
could be
misinterpreted as
a requirement
that would limit
unrelated

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 21
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
individuals from
forming a
household. The
revised housing
element
programs are
focused on
promoting new
unit production
(meeting the US
Census and CA
HCD definition).

The Town will
continue to
encourage the
development of
ADUs and JADUs.
10 Maintain and make available on
the City’s website information on
the construction of new, and
rehabilitation of existing,
residential units.

Ongoing
The Town holds a public hearing
and publishes its annual
progress report through its
meeting dockets. The Town also
has recently created a housing
element website to provide
information on new and
rehabilitated units.

Continue and
Modify –
Consolidate with
information
transparency and
accessibility
programs.

B-7

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 22
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
11 Continue to provide a review
process to allow staff approval of
all residential second units.

Since the adoption of the 1998
Housing Element, the Town has
successfully adopted an
administrative review process for
residential second units whereby
any second unit that conforms to
development standards may be
approved at staff level. This has
resulted in an expedited process
and the production of 40
secondary dwelling units during
the last planning period from
2007 through 2014. The Town
will continue to encourage and
facilitate the production of
second units through the
expedited administrative review
process.

Ongoing
The Town has successfully
reviewed ADUs administratively
with objective standards and has
produced 105 ADUs since 2015.

In 2020, the Town adopted an
ADU ordinance that complies
with state law and provides for
ministerial review.

Continue and
Modify –
Consolidate with
other ADU
Programs.

G-2
12 Develop a residential secondary
dwelling unit brochure for
placement on the Town’s
website, to be made available at
the Town’s public information
counter and provided to each
Ongoing. Review
effectiveness of
incentives on an
annual basis.

The Town has created a
dedicated ADU webpage and
prepared a brochure that is used
to inform residents about the
program.

Continue and
Modify –
Consolidate with
other ADU
incentive
programs.

A-3
G-2

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 23
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
applicant for development of a
residential parcel within the
Town, to existing residents
interested in developing new
second units or converting
portions of existing primary
units, and to seniors seeking
opportunities to remain in Los
Altos Hills. The second unit
brochures shall also be provided
to all owners of property prezoned and annexed to the Town of Los Altos Hills. Brochures shall
include information regarding
incentives for construction of
secondary units, such as an
expedient administrative review
process; waiver of the housing
fee, and under specified criteria,
the building permit and sewer
hook-up fees; and modified
parking requirements. The Town
will annually review these
incentives to evaluate their
effectiveness in encouraging
second units affordable to
extremely low, very low, low, and
moderate income households

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 24
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
and report to State HCD as part
of the Town’s annual Housing
Element review. To the extent
these incentives appear
ineffective; the Town will adopt
additional incentives and revise
its Housing Element accordingly.
13 Develop and adopt reasonable
criteria for reducing or waiving
building permit and sewer hookup fees for second units.

December 2015
The Town adopted a resolution
to reduce the Pathway Impact
fee to $3,826 as compared to
$10,943 and also waived the fee
until January 1, 2023.

Remove –
Completed.
14 Evaluate the use of existing legal
nonconforming parking areas to
meet the parking requirement
for a secondary dwelling unit
December 2016
Completed. The Town adopted
an ADU ordinance in 2020
allowing parking in setbacks.

Remove –
Completed.
15 Consider development of an
amnesty program to legalize
existing unpermitted secondary
dwelling units and ensure that
the second unit meets current
health and safety codes and
current setback and parking
requirements.

December 2016
Completed. The Town adopted
language in its ADU ordinance
that allows for amnesty and
legalization of unpermitted
second dwelling units (ADUs).

City Ordinance has no sunset
date and goes beyond the 2025
sunset date in state law.

Remove – this is a
requirement of
state law.

Completed.
16 Evaluate an amendment to the
Zoning Ordinance allowing
December 2016 Completed. The Town adopted
an ADU ordinance in 2020 to
Remove –
Completed.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 25
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
attached secondary dwelling
units on properties that are less
than one acre in area.
comply with the most recent
changes in state law.
17 Evaluate an amendment to the
Zoning Ordinance that would
allow for secondary dwelling
units up to a maximum floor
area of 1,200 square feet.

December 2016
Completed. The Town adopted
an ADU ordinance in 2020
allowing ADUs with a maximum
floor area of 1,200 square feet.

Remove –
Completed.
18 Evaluate the factors that could
facilitate the qualification of
existing structures to allow them
to be recognized as secondary
dwelling units.

December 2016
The Town adopted language in
its ADU ordinance that allows for
amnesty and legalization of
unpermitted second dwelling
units (ADUs) and the Town
actively encourages conversion
of detached pool houses and
guest cottages to ADUs.

Remove –
Completed.
19 Support Foothill College in
potential future development of
affordable student, faculty, and
employee housing on the College
properties, and provide
incentives for development
through an expedited review
process, establishment of
enabling provisions in the
General Plan and Zoning, and
provision of funding support.

Identify incentives
and provide
expedited review
process –
December 2017
and Ongoing.

Communicate to
college officials
annually during the
planning period.

Foothill College was not relied
upon to meet the 5th Cycle RHNA,
but would have created a variety
of housing types, increased
access, opportunity and mobility.

This objective was not completed
in the last planning cycle. The
Town is now committing to
rezone 1934 acres to allow high
density residential to meet the
6 th Cycle RHNA. It is also
Continue and
modify.

A-1, B-4

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 26
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
The Town will meet annually
within the planning period in an
effort to explore the possibility of
student and employee housing
including affordable housing for
extremely low income
households. The Town will
amend the General Plan to
change the Foothill College
designation from P (Public
School) to PC (Public College) and
identify multifamily residential as
a permitted use. In addition, the
Zoning Code will be amended to
permit sites designated PC in the
General Plan to allow multifamily
residential at densities of 20
units/acre. When there is an
appropriate opportunity, the
Town will meet with multifamily
housing developers and the
college to discuss the proposal
and work to find ways to
expedite the processing of
permits. Apply to the Santa Clara
County Office of Affordable
Housing for CDBG and HOME
funds, and to the Housing Trust
General Plan and
Zoning Code Text
Amendments –
December 2017
Identify funding
sources annually
and apply for
funding – Ongoing
(at pre-application
phase of projects)
proposing a package of
programs to provide increased
housing variety, access, mobility
and opportunity and to
affirmatively further fair housing.

The Town has already contracted
a consultant to prepare the new
MF zone and Infill Overlay Zone,
including objective design
standards and EIR.

The Town largely met the 5th
Cycle RHNA without meeting
frequently with Foothill College
or with affordable housing
developers until 2021. The Town
has met with Foothill College
seven times since 2022 and
received a letter summarizing its
efforts, priorities and
investments toward affordable
housing, and has included new
program A-1 and B-4 to address
the absence of multifamily
housing in the Town.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 27
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
Fund of Santa Clara County in
support of development of
housing affordable to extremely
low, very low and low income
households at the college.
20 At least once every eight years
participate in the determination
of the Town’s local housing
needs.
2022
Completed. The Town completed
an ADU Survey in 2021, as well as
a Housing Element Survey in
2022 for the 6th Cycle to help
assess the housing needs.

Remove –
Completed as a
part of the
Housing Element
Update.
21 Maintain an inventory of sites,
either manually or by
computerized data base, suitable
for residential development,
based on available
environmental and infrastructure
information.

Ongoing
The Town maintains an inventory
of sites suitable for residential
development. The Town provides
this data to any interested party.

Retain and
Modify
Modify
– to comply with
new SB 166
requirements.

A-2
22 At least once at the beginning
and once at the end of the eightyear timeframe of the Housing Element, conduct Town-wide
surveys to ascertain information
on rental rates of rooms and
second units, occupancy status,
structural condition of unit or
room.
2014, 2022
Completed. The Town completed
an ADU Survey in 2021, as well as
a Housing Element Survey in
2022 for the 6th Cycle to help
assess the housing needs.

Retain and –
change timelines
to provide for a
mid-cycle
assessment.

A-7

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 28
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
23 Maintain an inventory of second
units and provide monthly and
yearly updates on the
construction of second units.

At mid-point in the timeframe of
the Housing Element, the Town
will compare the results of the
tracking system with its regional
housing needs allocation (RHNA)
for extremely low, very low, low,
and moderate-income families. If
RHNA is not being met, the City
will develop alternative strategies
for addressing the housing
needs of very low, low, and
moderate-income families.

Annually – Ongoing
Yearly updates are done through
the Annual Progress Report
(APR). Monthly Building Permit
reports are posted on the Town’s
website.

The Town maintains a digital list
of ADUs using TRAKiT database
software.

The ADU progress based on the
APR, ADU survey and rental data
indicates that the Town was
generally successfully in meeting
the housing needs of very low,
low, and moderate income
households.

Retain and
Modify –
consolidate with
other ADU
programs for
tracking,
affordability, and
production.

A-7
24 Review and revise as appropriate
all building and planning fees on
a regular basis to assure that the
fees charged provide for but do
not exceed the Town’s costs of
delivering services and adjust
accordingly. The Town
completed a review of
development fee charges in 2014
that resulted in the
recommendation to modify
Annually
Completed. The Town conducted
a user fee study in Fiscal Year
2019-2020, and adjusted its
planning, building, and
engineering fees based on the
results of the fee study.

Remove –
Completed.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 29
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
building permit fees for new
single-family residences and
residential second units. Town
Council approved the
recommended changes and
adopted the Ordinance in June
2014.
25 Develop, maintain, and make
available pamphlets, brochures,
and other written information on
the Town’s development and
environmental constraints and
permitting process.

Ongoing (Yearly
Update)
Completed. The Town maintains
written brochures that outline
the site development and
building permit process on the
Town websites along with fillable
PDFs of applicable forms.

Retain and
Modify –
Consolidate and
modify with other
programs
providing a
transparent and
easy process.

G-2
26 The Town shall annually review
the Land Use Element of the
General Plan for those areas
subject to flooding as identified
by the Flood Plan prepared by
the Federal Management Agency
or the Department of Water
Resources (DWR). Upon any
amendment to the General Plan,
the Housing Element will be
reviewed for internal consistency
and amended as appropriate.

Ongoing (Annual
Review)
The Town has no coastal
frontage and flood zones are
limited to the immediate areas
along creek channels. Staff uses
the most current FEMA maps
when reviewing projects and
best management practices are
used in the development of
housing near or within flood
zones.

Remove – Not a
Housing Element
Program. Move
to the Land Use
Element or Safety
Element.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 30
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
27 Enforce the use of energy
conserving features required by
the latest edition of the
California Building Standards
Code and applicable provisions
of the California Government
Code.

Ongoing
Every 3 years, the Town adopts
and implements the latest
version of the California Building
Standards Code. In addition, in
2019, the Town adopted “Reach
Codes” requiring that all new
residences utilize more efficient
electric water and space heating
to reduce greenhouse gases
(GHGs) and improve indoor air
quality.

Retain and
Modify –
Combine with
Program 28
below for a more
comprehensive
energy efficiency
program.

C-4
28 Refer interested residents to
PG&E for information on energy
conservation.

Ongoing
In 2017, The Town agreed to join
a Community Owned Power
Provider known as Silicon Valley
Clean Energy (SVCE). SCVE is
dedicated to increasing energy
efficiency, reducing GHGs, and
promoting all electric homes.

SVCE provides ongoing
programs, grants, and has
monthly meetings with the
member agencies.

The Town refers questions to
SVCE which has a robust
outreach program.

Retain and
Modify –
Combine with
Program 27
above for a more
comprehensive
energy efficiency
program.

C-4
29 Monitor the results of the Town’s
Development Area bonus
Ongoing The development area bonus for
rooftop solar expired in 2016.

Remove – This
program is

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 31
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
program for solar panels to
quantify the number of new
solar panels constructed
annually.

The Town continues to exempt
up to 500 square feet of ground
mounted solar and all new
residences are required to install
PV systems per the building
code.
implemented by
the building-code
and is not a
Housing Element
Program.
30 Monitor the results of the
pervious surface Development
Area credit program.

Ongoing
The Town monitors the program
and ensures that the credits
given for specific pervious
surfaces are installed prior to
occupancy. The requirements for
stormwater retention and
dissipation are enforced at the
building permit stage.

Continue. C-4
31 Monitor the results of the Town’s
Green Building Ordinance and
consider updating the code to
include residential additions.

Ongoing
The Town fully complies and
enforces the CALGreen Building
Code along with “Reach codes”
for electrification of space and
water heating systems in new
residences. The Town is currently
considering new codes to
encourage electrification of
heating and cooking systems in
major additions/remodels.

Retain and
Modify –
Combine with
Program 27
above.

C-4
32 Publicize the County Water-Wise
Audit and Lawn removal
incentive program. Under the
Ongoing
The Town works closely with the
two private water purveyors to
reduce the amount of water
Continue. C-5

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 32
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
program, residents can receive
up to a $1,000 rebate and
commercial, industrial, and
institutional properties can
receive up to a $10,000 rebate by
replacing high water using plants
such as turf grass, with low water
using plants from our Approved
Plant List or by installing
permeable hardscape.
used for irrigation by enforcing
the Town’s adopted Water
Efficiency Landscape Ordinance
(WELO) regulations.

Adopted ordinance that provides
more water efficient landscape.

Publicized through conditions of
approval and documents
available at the counter and on
the website.
33 Continue to provide financial
support to the Community
Services Agency and the Los
Altos Senior Center for the
provision of such services as
emergency assistance, nutrition
and hot meal programs,
information and referral, and
senior care management.

Ongoing
The Town continues to provide
financial support for the local
Community Services Agency
(CSA) which provides food and
services to low income and
homeless individuals and the
Community Health Awareness
Council (CHAC) which provides
affordable mental health care for
homeless individuals and
seniors. The amount provided
has increased from $10,000 to
over $100,000 in the 2021-22
budget.

Retain and
Modify – Include
additional
metrics and
assistance.

C-5
34 Support Senior Housing
Solutions (formerly Project
Match), a home sharing service
Ongoing
The Town currently provides
support for seniors through the
local Community Services Agency
Retain and
Modify –
E-7

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 33
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
that matches seniors interested
in sharing their homes with other
seniors, including publicizing
Senior Housing Solutions its
services via articles in local
newspapers and newsletters,
and including financial support
to assist Senior Housing
Solutions. Senior Housing
Solutions is headquartered in
Milpitas and operates
throughout the Peninsula.
(CSA) which provides food and
services to low income and
homeless individuals and the
Community Health Awareness
Council (CHAC) which provides
affordable mental health care for
homeless individuals and
seniors. The amount provided
has increased from $10,000 to
over $100,000 in the 2021-22
budget.

Consolidate with
Program 33.
35 The County of Santa Clara
contracts with Mid-Peninsula
Citizens for Fair Housing for
provision of fair housing
education, outreach, and
counseling services. While not
providing direct funding to MidPeninsula Citizens for Fair Housing, the Town of Los Altos
Hills is one of several
jurisdictions that participate with
the County of Santa Clara in
providing fair housing services to
its residents and make use of the
programs available through MidOngoing. Provide
fair housing
brochures and
website link by
December 2015.

The Town continues to work with
the County of Santa Clara to
provide fair housing education,
outreach, and counseling
services to its residents. The
Town is planning to update the
website to provide information
on current services available.

Continue.

D-3, E-1,
F-3

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 34
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
Peninsula Citizens for Fair
Housing. The Town will prepare a
handout with information on this
service and will make it available
at the public counter and provide
a link on the Town’s Website.
36 As part of this Housing Element,
the Town has conducted a
review of zoning, building codes,
and permit processing, and has
identified the following actions
appropriate to better facilitate
the provision of accessible
housing:

Establish written procedures for
reasonable accommodation
requests for persons with
disabilities with respect to
zoning, permit processing and
building laws.

Zoning Ordinance
Revisions by 2016
The Town does review, on a caseby-case basis, requests for reasonable accommodation.

Although very few requests have
been made, the Town does not
have any regulations that would
prohibit or impair any
reasonable accommodation
request.

Continue. B-9
37 Refer any individual or
household in need of emergency
shelter to appropriate agencies
and organizations.

Ongoing
In 2015, the Town adopted
regulations allowing for
Emergency Shelter Housing
within the community. Although
the Town has not received any
written requests by persons or
households in need, staff would
Continue and
Modify – The
Town will
continue to refer
individuals to
appropriate
organizations on
G-4

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 35
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
refer anybody in need to the
appropriate resources.
an ongoing
process. The
Town will also
establish a new
website page
with a collected
link of housing
resources and
use the website
to assist persons
in need.
38 Meet with Hidden Villa, an
educational community
organization in the Town’s
Sphere of Influence, to discuss
potential partnership on
transitional housing services.

December 2015
The Town has provided annual
funding of $10,000 to support
educational programs at Hidden
Villa and continues to discuss
options for housing services on
the site.

Continue and
Modify –
Consolidate
programs
involving
coordination with
faith-based and
other nonprofit
area service
providers.

A-9
39 Review and update development
review procedures in
coordination with city
departments and other
responsible agencies to ensure
efficient customer service and
Ongoing
Since 2019, process
improvements have been
implemented to allow for
electronic plan submittals,
payments, and remote meetings.

The Town also adopted a
Continue and
Modify – Improve
metrics and
include new
procedures to
comply with
B-1

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 36
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
expedient delivery of
development review services.
streamlined process for ADUs in
2020 and for SB 9 units in 2021
that allow for ministerial
approval.

Permit
Streamlining Act
and Housing
Accountability Act
requirements.
40 Modify as needed the existing
Fast Track Guide for new
residential development to assist
in design and review.

Ongoing
The Town continues to utilize the
adopted Fast-Track Guide for
new residences, which is posted
online, and the Town will be
updating the graphics and
handouts.

Continue and
Modify –
Consolidate this
program with a
new streamlining
program and
objective
standard
program.

B-1, B-4
41 Update the 2013 Senior
Community Survey that
evaluates the condition and need
for senior services and report to
City Council.

Ongoing
In 2016, a Town Satisfaction
Survey was completed which
found that there was support for
senior services within the
community.

Remove –
Completed.
42 Continue to participate as part of
the Urban County to access
Community Development Block
Grant (CDBG) and Housing Trust
of Santa Clara County funds
through Santa Clara County.

Apply to the County for specific
community service projects to
Ongoing
Apply to the County
as specific projects
are proposed
The Town has not applied for any
CDBG funding for any specific
projects but does support use of
funds for community services.

Continue and
Modify – Increase
specificity on
grant procedures
and include other
possible sources
of funding.

D-2

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 37
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
provide financial support for
Senior Housing Solutions and
Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition
projects.
43 Work with the City of Los Altos to
measure actual sewer capacity
by installing flow meters
throughout the system.

Ongoing
Temporary flow meters were
installed in four locations where
the sewer trunks enter Los Altos.

Remove –
Completed.

B-8
44 Make available material including
brochures and pamphlets to
educate the Town public on the
benefits of undergrounding
utility lines.

Ongoing
Completed. Town is working on
undergrounding utilities for fire
safety.

Remove – This is
not necessary as
a program in the
Housing Element.
45 Make available material on the
Town’s Web Site to educate the
Town public on the benefits of
and requirements for brush and
weed abatement.

Ongoing
Completed. Brochures are
available in the Town lobby and
information is available on the
Town’s website. The LAH Fire
District also provides brush
clearance and conducts fire
safety workshops.

Remove – This is
not necessary as
a program in the
Housing Element.
46 Continue the Town’s policy
requiring the removal of
eucalyptus trees as a condition
of development approval for new
residences, additions, or
alterations to structures which
Ongoing
Standard conditions of approval
are applied to all new residences
to remove hazardous eucalyptus
trees within 150 feet of the main
structure.

Remove – This is
not necessary as
a program in the
Housing Element.

Include in
another relevant

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 38
Program Objective Time Frame Accomplishments/
Effectiveness
Continued
Appropriateness
New
Program/
Location
individually or cumulatively equal
or exceed 1,200 square feet of
floor area.
element of the
General Plan.
47 Make available material on the
Town’s Web Site to educate the
Town public on the hydrant
upgrades requirements.

Ongoing
Completed. Fire Hydrants have
been upgraded and maintenance
is ongoing.

Remove – This is
not necessary as
a program in the
Housing Element.
48 Amend the Fire Code to address
the natural characteristics of the
Los Altos Hills area and amend
the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire
Area map to reflect the current
fire hazards.

December 2015
In 2020, the Town adopted
amendments to the Residential
Building and Fire Codes to
require that all new construction
meets the Wildland-Urban
Interface regulations. These
regulations require ignition
resistant exterior materials,
enclosed eaves, and other fire
resistant designs.

These regulations apply to every
property in the Town.

Remove – This is
not necessary as
a program in the
Housing Element.

Include in
another relevant
element of the
General Plan.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Review of Past Accomplishments 39
Overall Assessment
As a whole, the Town of Los Altos Hills was successful in implementing its 5th Cycle Housing Element. The Town has exceeded the RHNA production for the very low, low, and above moderate categories, and is anticipated to exceed the Moderate allocation prior to the end of the 5th Cycle.

Additionally, significant financial support was provided to non-profit service agencies assisting populations with special needs. Nearly all programs in the 5th Cycle Element were completed or implemented. While the Town has made progress, it recognizes that housing costs in Los Altos Hills continue to be out of reach for most residents of the area. In response, the Town is committing to a comprehensive suite of programs designed to affirmatively further fair housing, increase local housing production, support special needs populations, and create an overlay zone and rezone identified opportunity sites to accommodate multifamily development.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Housing Needs Assessment 40
Housing Needs Assessment
The housing needs assessment analyzes the various types of housing needs throughout Los Altos Hills, including existing housing needs, projected housing needs, and special housing needs. These components are presented in the context of Los Altos Hills, Santa Clara County, and the entire Bay Area region. Understanding the housing needs of the community helps to build effective programs and policies that address the needs of the community for the 2023–2031 Housing Element Cycle.

The needs assessment uses multiple data sources for analysis. Primary data sources include the 2019 American Community Survey (ACS), the 2014–2018 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) published by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the 2020 US Census. The CHAS provides information related to households with housing problems, including overpayment, overcrowding, and those without complete kitchen facilities and plumbing systems. The CHAS data is based on the 2014–2018 ACS data files but differs from the standard files by including a variety of housing need variables split by HUD-defined income limits and HUD-specified household types. CHAS data uses the HUD Area Median Family Income (HAMFI) which does not differ from the area median income used by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), except that it does not utilize the categories described below. Both AMI and HAMFI use the same median income from the metropolitan statistical area. In Los Altos Hills, the calculation for the San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara metropolitan statistical area is used.

Tables that use HAMFI instead of AMI are noted.

Note that data from the different sources and different years may have varying estimates for totals such as population or number of households.

Some of the data is broken down by income group. HCD uses five income categories to evaluate housing need based on the area median income (AMI) for each metropolitan statistical area; they are used for both funding and planning purposes. The categories are as follows:
▪ Extremely low-income households, between 0% and 30% of the AMI ▪ Very low-income households, between 31% and 50% of the AMI ▪ Low-income households, between 51 and 80% of the AMI
▪ Moderate-income households, between 81% and 120% of the AMI ▪ Above moderate-income households, above 120% of the AMI Extremely low-, very low-, and low-income households may be grouped together for planning purposes and referred to as “lower-income households.”

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Housing Needs Assessment 41
Projected Housing Needs
As required by California general plan law, each jurisdiction must have land zoned to accommodate its fair share of the regional housing need. Each jurisdiction’s share of needs is known as the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). HCD determines the needs for each region of the state, and the regional planning agency is then responsible for allocating to each jurisdiction its share of the regional housing need. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) is responsible for allocating housing needs to each jurisdiction within nine counties in the Bay Area region, which includes Santa Clara County, where Los Altos Hills is located. The RHNA assigned to each jurisdiction is broken down into the five income levels mentioned above: extremely low, very low, low, moderate, and above moderate.

As determined by HCD, the fair share for the Bay Area region for the 2023–2031 planning period is 441,176 units. The RHNA for Los Altos Hills is shown in Table 3. Los Altos Hills has a RHNA of 489 total units, which includes 197 extremely low-, very low-, and low-income units.

Table 3: Los Altos Hills RHNA, 2023–2031
Income Group % of County AMI Units % of Units
Extremely Low* 0–30% 62 12.7%
Very Low 31–50% 63 12.9%
Low 51–80% 72 14.7%
Moderate 80–120% 82 16.8%
Above Moderate > 120% 210 42.9%
Total 489 100%
Source: Regional Housing Needs Allocation, ABAG 2023-2031. *Note: Pursuant to AB 2634, local jurisdictions are also required to project the needs of extremely low-income households (0– 30% of AMI). 50 percent of the very low-income households are presumed to qualify as extremely low-income households.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Housing Needs Assessment 42
Existing Housing Needs
Existing housing needs take into consideration demographic information about the community and region, including population and employment trends. It also considers data about the housing stock and characteristics, including housing age, condition, rates of cost burden, and rates of overcrowding.

Population, Employment, and Household Characteristics
Population Growth Trends
Table 4 provides the regional population trends of Los Altos Hills, selected regional jurisdictions, and Santa Clara County from 2010 to 2020 decennial census estimates. The Town of Los Altos Hills has a population of 8,489 as reported by the 2020 US Census. The County saw an 8.7 percent increase in population over the 10-year time span. The Town of Los Altos Hills experienced a lower growth rate of 7.2 percent, about 567 people. This is a comparable growth to the nearby jurisdictions of San Jose and Palo Alto. Los Altos and Sunnyvale saw the largest relative population change at 9.1 percent and 11.2 percent, respectively, while Cupertino and Saratoga experienced lower rates of population change at

3.6 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively.

Table 4: Regional Population Change, 2010–2020
County 2010 2020 % Change
Santa Clara County 1,781,642 1,936,259 8.7%
Los Altos Hills 7,922 8,489 7.2%
Cupertino 58,302 60,381 3.6%
Los Altos 28,976 31,625 9.1%
Palo Alto 64,403 68,572 6.5%
San Jose 945,942 1,013,240 7.1%
Saratoga 29,926 31,051 3.8%
Sunnyvale 140,081 155,805 11.2%
Source: US Census 2010 and 2020.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Housing Needs Assessment 43
Table 5 displays the annual average growth rate of Los Altos Hills and Santa Clara County from 2000 to 2021. The Town of Los Altos Hills grew 7.2 percent from 2010 to 2020, increasing from the growth of 0.3 percent between 2000 and 2010. The growth rate for Los Altos Hills is lower than that of Santa Clara County as a whole, as the County’s population grew 7.2 percent from 2010 to 2020 and 8.7 percent between 2000 and 2010. The population of Los Altos Hills has continued to slowly grow since its incorporation in 1956.

Table 5: Annual Average Population Growth, 2000–2020
Jurisdiction 2000 2010 2020
2000-2010 2010-2020
Population AAGR Population AAGR
Los Altos
Hills 7902 7,922 8,489 20 -0.2% 567 0.6%
Santa Clara
County 1,682,585 1,781,642 1,936,259 99,057 0.6% 154,617 1.0% Source: US Decennial Census 2020.

Age Composition
Certain age groups have different housing needs that influence housing demand. Table 6 displays the population and percentage change in Los Altos Hills per age group in 2000, 2010, and 2019 using US Census data for those years. Trends over time show a decrease in population aged 35–54, while there has been in increase in population aged 55 over older, especially in the 75–84 age range.

Table 6: Los Altos Hills Population by Age, 2000–2019
Age Group 2000 2010 2019 % Change (2000–2010) % Change (2010–2019) Age 0-4 355 273 239 -23.1% -12.5%
Age 5-14 1,151 1,118 1,181 -2.9% 5.6%
Age 15-24 674 762 861 13.1% 13.0%
Age 25-34 450 344 468 -23.6% 36.0%
Age 35-44 1,100 739 648 -32.8% -12.3%
Age 45-54 1,540 1,471 1,389 -4.5% -5.6%
Age 55-64 1,290 1,377 1,424 6.7% 3.4%
Age 65-74 777 1,073 1,183 38.1% 10.3%
Age 75-84 471 548 956 16.3% 74.5%
Age 85+ 94 217 156 130.9% -28.1%
Totals 7,902 7,922 8,505 0.3% 7.4%
Source: US Census 2000, 2010, 2019.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Housing Needs Assessment 44
Figure 1 shows the age distribution of the population in Los Altos Hills and Santa Clara County. Compared to the County, Los Altos Hills has a higher percentage of the population over 45 years of age and a lower proportion of the population aged 20 to 44. A higher proportion of the population over 65 years old may indicate needs for elderly support services and housing accommodation options in the Town. As shown in Figure 1, 16.5 percent of the Los Altos Hills population is between the ages of 20 and 44. Comparatively,

36.7 percent of the County’s population is between the ages of 20 and 44. This smaller proportion may indicate a lack of housing that is affordable to people in this age range, who tend to have lower disposable incomes or are first-time homebuyers. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the peak income and expenditures age range of consumers is from ages 35 to 55 and peak from ages 45 to 54 before declining.2 Figure 1: Population Age Distribution
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019.
2 Bureau of Labor Statistics, December 2015. https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-4/consumerexpenditures-vary-by-age.htm 0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
10%
Under 5 years
5 to 9 years
10 to 14 years15 to 19 years20 to 24 years25 to 29 years30 to 34 years35 to 39 years40 to 44 years45 to 49 years50 to 54 years55 to 59 years 60 and 64 years65 and 69 years
70 to 74 years75 to 79 years80 to 84 years
85 years and over
Percent of Population
Age Range
Los Altos Hills Santa Clara County

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Housing Needs Assessment 45
Race and Ethnicity
The racial and ethnic composition and change from 2010 to 2019 of Los Altos Hills is shown in Table 7. While the percentage of the population that is non-Hispanic, White decreased by about 4 percent from 2010 to 2019, the Town still has a majority non-Hispanic, White population. From 2010 to 2019, the number of Asian or Pacific Islanders in Los Altos Hills increased by 111 people, but the share of the population decreased by just over a percent, from 33.5 to 33.2 percent. The relative decrease is likely due to the increase in Hispanic residents in the Town. The 2019 ACS shows that Los Altos Hills has a small Hispanic or Latino population at about 4.5 percent, which is an increase from 1.5 percent in 2010.

Table 7: Racial and Ethnic Composition, Los Altos Hills, 2010–2019 Racial/Ethnic Group
2010 2019
Number % (of total
7,858) Number % (of total 8,505)
Not Hispanic or Latino
White 4,970 63.2% 5,088 59.8%
Black 14 0.2% 52 0.6%
American Indian & Alaska Native 0 0% 0 0%
Asian or Pacific Islander 2,629 33.5% 2,740 32.2%
Some other race alone 0 0.0% 24 0.3%
Two or more races 127 1.6% 218 2.6%
Subtotal 7,740 98.5% 8,122 95.5%
Hispanic or Latino
White 118 1.5% 343 4.0%
Black 0 0% 13 0.2%
American Indian & Alaska Native 0 0% 0 0%
Asian or Pacific Islander 0 0% 0 0%
Some other race alone 0 0% 27 0.3%
Two or more races 0 0% 0 0%
Subtotal 118 1.5% 383 4.5%
Total 7,858 8,505
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019.

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A comparison of the racial and ethnic composition of Los Altos Hills, Santa Clara County, and the Bay Area region is shown in Figure 2, with estimates from the 2019 5-year ACS data. The Town of Los Altos Hills is 60 percent white, non-Hispanic, which is significantly higher than the County and Bay Area region, at 32 percent and 39 percent, respectively. The Town of Los Altos Hills has a slightly lower percentage of the population that is Asian/Asian Pacific Islander (32 percent) than Santa Clara County (37 percent), but it is higher than the Bay Area Region (27 percent). There is a noticeable difference in the Hispanic/Latino population in Los Altos Hills and both Santa Clara County and Bay Area region. 5 percentage of the population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, compared to 25 percent and 24 percent of the County and region, respectively. Compared to both the County and Bay Area region, Los Altos Hills is significantly more White and less Hispanic.

Figure 2: Regional Racial/Ethnic Composition
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019, Table B03002.

Employment Trends
Employment trends in a region can have a significant impact on housing needs. Santa Clara County has experienced rapid growth in high-paying employment opportunities, especially 32% 37%
27%
6%
60%
32% 39%
4% 5%
5%
25% 24%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Los Altos Hills Santa Clara County Bay Area
Percent of Population
Hispanic or Latino
Other Race or Multiple Races, Non-Hispanic
White, Non-Hispanic
Black or African American, Non-Hispanic
Asian / API, Non-Hispanic
American Indian or Alaska Native, Non-Hispanic

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in the technology industry, leading to an increased demand for housing in the region.

Housing development has not kept pace with population growth and demographic changes.

A report from the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation noted that between 2007 and 2016 Silicon Valley added 344,149 residents. 69,503 housing units of the estimated 175,000 needed to keep up with demographic change were built.3F3F
3 As economic opportunity increases in the area, so does the demand for housing, and the higher demand for housing combined with low housing stock creates high housing prices and greater need for more housing units in the region.

While Los Altos Hills is zoned entirely for low-density residential, agricultural, and institutional uses, its location in Silicon Valley and proximity to major employment centers greatly impacts the demand for increased housing in the Town. There is a large business park and employment center in Palo Alto, directly adjacent to the Town. This includes the VMware corporate campus, the VA Palo Alto medical center, Hewlett Packard, the Nest corporate campus, and many other office buildings and large employers, including Stanford University. Though not located within the borders of Los Altos Hills, the Town is inextricably linked to these high-tech employment centers; close proximity to these well-paying jobs increases a demand for housing in Los Altos Hills and the greater Silicon Valley region.

Table 8 shows the labor force and unemployment rate in 2010, 2014 and 2019 for Los Altos Hills. From 2010 to 2014 the unemployment rate increased by 1.4 percent, but by 2019 it had decreased to 3.2 percent, lower than the rate of 3.4 percent in 2010. The unemployment rate for Los Altos Hills in 2019 was 0.3 percent lower than the County’s unemployment rate of 3.5 percent (ACS 2019). The unemployment rate of the Town of Los Altos Hills is comparable to the County, and both are slightly lower than a healthy unemployment rate of 4–5 percent; the unemployment rate does not indicate an increased need of assistance for unemployed persons.

Table 8: Employment Trends, Los Altos Hills
Year Labor Force Employed Unemployed Unemployment Rate
2010 3,241 3,132 109 3.4%
2014 3,373 3,211 162 4.8%
2019 3,617 3,503 114 3.2%
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2010, 2014, 2019.
3Silicon Valley’s Housing Crisis. Silicon Valley Community Foundation and the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. 2017.
https://www.siliconvalleycf.org/sites/default/files/publications/housing-brief-spring.pdf

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Figure 3 compares the employment by industry for Los Altos Hills, Santa Clara County, and the Bay Area region. Los Altos Hills has the largest portion of its population (40 percent) employed in the financial and professional services industry, follow by health and education services (23 percent) and manufacturing, wholesale, and transportation (18 percent).

Compared to the County and region, Los Altos Hills has fewer people employed in the retail, construction, and health and education services industries. It has a larger portion of the population employed in financial and professional services than both Santa Clara County and the Bay Area by 14 percent. Los Altos Hills residents have more jobs in industries that tend to be higher paying, which correlates with income levels and housing options in the Town.

Figure 3: Regional Employment by Industry
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019, Table C24030.

Household Characteristics
The US Census Bureau defines a household as all persons living in a single housing unit, whether or not they are related. A household can be one person, a single family, multiple 3% 5% 6%
40%
26% 26%
23%
27% 30%
6%
5% 4%
18%
21% 17%
5% 8% 9%
6% 6% 8%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Los Altos Hills Santa Clara County Bay Area
Share of Employed Residents
Construction Financial & Professional Services
Health & Educational Services Information
Manufacturing, Wholesale & Transportation Retail
Other

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families, or any group of related or unrelated persons. The US Census Bureau defines a family as related persons living within a single housing unit. An analysis of household characteristics as they relate to housing needs includes data on household size, income, and housing units.

The number of households in Los Altos Hills has been increasing since 2000, as shown in Table 9. US Census data from 2019 estimates there were 3,016 households in Los Altos Hills.

From 2000 to 2010, the number of households increased by 89, a 3.2 percent increase. The number of households from 2010 to 2019 increased by 187, a 6.6 percent increase—over double the rate from 2010. This rate is similar to that seen in Santa Clara County (6.0 percent) during the same time period. Compared to the entire state of California, which saw an overall

3.7 percent increase in households between 2010 and 2019, Los Altos Hills and Santa Clara County each had a larger proportional increase in households—6.6 percent and 6.0 percent, respectively—over the same time frame.

Table 9: Number of Households, 2000–2019
Area 2000 2010 2019 % Increase
2000-2010
% Increase
2010-2019
Los Altos Hills 2,740 2,829 3,016 3.2% 6.6%
Santa Clara County 565,863 604,204 640,215 6.8% 6.0%
California 11,502,870 12,577,498 13,044,266 9.3% 3.7%
Source: US Census 2000, 2010, 2019.

Household size helps indicate the type of units needed in a jurisdiction. The larger the household size, the larger the unit needed to comfortably live without risk of overcrowding.

Table 10 and Figure 4 provide information on the household size distribution in the region.

In 2020, the average household size in Los Altos Hills was 2.8 persons, slightly smaller than the County and state average of 3.0 persons per household.

Table 10: Regional Average Household Size
Geography 2010 2020
Los Altos Hills 2.7 2.8
Santa Clara County 2.9 3.0
California 2.9 3.0
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019, Table B25119.

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The composition of households by size for Los Altos Hills, Santa Clara County, and the Bay Area are largely similar, as shown in Figure 4. In Los Altos Hills, 38 percent of households are two-person households and 34 percent of households are three- to four-person households.

Los Altos Hills has a slightly higher number of two-person households than Santa Clara County, which stands at 31 percent. It also has slightly lower proportions of one-person households and five or more person households, both by 2 percent. The household size distribution in Los Altos Hills indicates that a range of unit sizes are needed in the Town to meet the needs of different household sizes.

Figure 4: Households by Size
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019, Table B11016.

Of the 3,016 estimated households in Los Altos Hills, 91.5 percent are owner occupied and

8.5 percent are renter occupied, based on ACS estimates in 2019. This is significantly different than the rate of Santa Clara County, in which 46.85 percent of the units are owner occupied and 43.2 percent of units are renter occupied. This discrepancy stems from zoning practices in Los Altos Hills that prioritize single-family home development and not multifamily units. Additionally, the low proportion of rental units indicate a need for new rental options in the Town to better address the local and regional needs. 18% 20% 25%
38% 31%
32%
34% 37% 33%
10% 12% 11%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Los Altos Hills Santa Clara County Bay Area
Percent of Households
Geography
1-Person Household 2-Person Household
3-4-Person Household 5-Person or More Household

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As shown in Table 11, the most common household size in Los Altos Hills is a two-person household, followed by four-person households and then one-person households. Just over 35 percent of renter-occupied households are one-person households, compared to about 16 percent of owner-occupied households.

Table 11: Household Size by Tenure, 2019
Group
Owner Occupied Renter Occupied Total
Units % Units % Units %
1 Person Household 441 14.6% 91 3.0% 532 17.6%
2 Person Household 1,116 37.0% 36 1.2% 1,152 38.2%
3 Person Household 416 13.8% 15 0.5% 431 14.3%
4 Person Household 552 18.3% 50 1.7% 602 20.0%
5 Or More Person Household 236 7.8% 63 2.1% 299 9.9%
Totals 2,761 91.5% 255 8.5% 3,016 100%
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019, Table B25009.

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Table 12 displays the household income level by tenure for the Town of Los Altos Hills and Santa Clara County. The HUD HAMFI is for the San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara metropolitan statistical area. Just under 83 percent of households in Los Altos Hills are above the median income in the area, compared to only 58 percent of households in Santa Clara County. As such, Santa Clara County has a larger percentage of the population that is below the median income than in the town. Since over 50 percent of the County is above the median income, the County as a whole has a smaller percentage of the population that is below the median income than the metropolitan area.

Table 12: Household Income Level by Tenure, 2018
Group Owner Occupied Renter Occupied Total
Count % Count % Count %
Los Altos Hills
Less than or equal to 30% of HAMFI 115 3.8% 20 0.7% 135 4.4% Greater than 30% but less than or
equal to 50% of HAMFI 50 1.6% 35 1.1% 85 2.8%
Greater than 50% but less than or
equal to 80% of HAMFI 135 4.4% 30 1.0% 165 5.4%
Greater than 80% but less than or
equal to 100% of HAMFI 145 4.7% 0 0% 145 4.7%
Greater than 100% of HAMFI 2,350 76.8% 180 5.9% 2,530 82.7% Total 2,795 91.3% 265 8.7% 3,060 100%
Santa Clara County
Less than or equal to 30% of HAMFI 27,980 4.4% 55,360 8.7% 83,340 13.1% Greater than 30% but less than or
equal to 50% of HAMFI 27,635 4.3% 35,920 5.7% 63,555 10.0% Greater than 50% but less than or
equal to 80% of HAMFI 32,440 5.1% 34,260 5.4% 66,700 10.5% Greater than 80% but less than or
equal to 100% of HAMFI 28,655 4.5% 24,640 3.9% 53,295 8.4% Greater than 100% of HAMFI 243,955 38.4% 124,680 19.6% 368,635 58.0% Total 360,665 56.8% 274,860 43.2% 635,525 100%
Source: 2014-2018 HUD CHAS data.

The median income for both owner- and renter-occupied households in the Town of Los Altos Hills is $250,001, according to the census, as shown in Table 13. The actual median income may be higher, as any median incomes above $250,001 are coded as $250,001 by the census. This significantly higher than the median income of Santa Clara County of $133,076. A high median income in Los Altos Hills is reflected in high housing costs and

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prevalence of single-family homes in the Town. It also indicates that lower-income families cannot afford to live in Los Altos Hills. Additional housing options in the Town are necessary to fully meet the needs of the community and region.

Table 13: Median Household Income by Tenure
Jurisdiction 2019 Median Income
Town of Los Altos Hills $250,001
Owner-Occupied Households $250,001
Renter-Occupied Households $250,001
Santa Clara County $133,076
Owner-Occupied Households $167,124
Renter-Occupied Households $97,280
Source: ACS Estimates Data, 2019, Table B25119.

Housing Stock Characteristics
As of 2019, Los Altos Hills has 3,324 housing units, an increase of 428, 14.7 percent, from 2000. Los Altos Hills comprises just 0.5 percent of the total housing stock in Santa Clara County. Table 14 illustrates the change in the number of housing units in Los Altos Hills and Santa Clara County from 2000 to 2019. The Town of Los Altos Hills saw a 9.6 percent increase in housing stock from 2000 to 2010, similar to the 9.1 percent rate of Santa Clara County.

Both the Town and the County had a smaller percentage increase in housing stock from 2010 to 2019, at 4.5 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively.

Table 14: Change in Number of Housing Units, 2000–2019
Year Los Altos
Hills
%
change
Santa Clara
County
%
change
Los Altos Hills as Percentage of Total
Santa Clara County Units
2000 2,896 - 579,329 - 0.5%
2010 3,173 9.6% 631,920 9.1% 0.5%
2019 3,324 4.5% 672,495 6.4% 0.5%
Source: US Census 2000 SF3, H1, US Census 2010 SF1, H1, and Department of Finance Table E-5, 2019.

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Table 15 displays the number and type of housing units in Los Altos Hills in 2010 and 2020.

In 2020, almost the entire housing stock in the Town of Los Altos Hills is single-family detached homes (98.2 percent). This is significantly higher than the County rate of 51.7 percent. This estimate includes ADUs. In 2014 there were at least 193 ADUs in the Town and over 100 have been built since. ADUs make up almost 10 percent of the housing stock in the Town. 0.5 percent of the housing stock in Los Altos Hills is multifamily, compared to 35.8 percent of Santa Clara County housing stock. In Los Altos Hills, 0.8 percent of the housing stock is mobile homes and 0.4 percent is attached single-family units. The Town of Los Altos Hills does not have a varied housing stock. Developing a varied housing stock that includes multifamily development would help provide for a variety of needs for different income levels.

Table 15: Type of Housing Units
Building Type
2010 2020
Units % Units %
Town of Los Altos Hills
Single-Family Home: Attached 10 0.3% 13 0.4%
Single-Family Home: Detached 2,950 98.3% 3,124 98.2%
Multifamily 14 0.5% 16 0.5%
Mobile Homes* 27 0.9% 27 0.8%
Totals 3,001 100% 3,180 100%
Santa Clara County
Single-Family: Attached 61,517 9.7% 66,146 9.7%
Single-Family: Detached 344,586 54.5% 351,726 51.7%
Multifamily 206,779 32.7% 243,502 35.8%
Mobile Homes* 19,038 3.0% 18,924 2.8%
Total Housing Units 631,920 100% 680,298 100%
Source: California Department of Finance, E-5 series.
*The term Mobile Home refers to “HUD-code” Manufactured homes

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Housing Costs
Costs of housing directly relates to housing need, as high costs can indicate a shortage in housing stock for low incomes households. High housing costs price lower-income households out of the ability to live in an area or may result in an excessive cost burden to the household. The average monthly rent by unit size in Los Altos Hills is shown in Table 16.

The monthly rent in Los Altos Hills is not affordable to lower-income and most moderateincome households. HCD estimates that the maximum monthly gross rent for a household of four at the AMI ($151,300) is $3,783, which is just $23 more than the average monthly rent of a one-bedroom unit in Los Altos Hills. However, only 1.1 percent, about 32, of units in the Town have only one bedroom. It is important to note that there are already very few rental units in the Town, and the small sample size of rental units may be influencing rent estimates.

Table 16: Average Monthly Rent by Unit Size, 2021
Unit Size Average Monthly Rent
One Bedroom $3,750
Two Bedroom $5,495
Three Bedroom $8,950
Four Bedroom $8,950
Source: Zumper, 2021.

In 2021, the Town conducted an ADU survey that was distributed to all property owners. The survey provided information on ADU characteristics including size and rent. Figure 5 shows the rent charged for ADUs by number of bedrooms. Of the 50 units where rental data was provided, 23 were occupied by a family member, relative, or other individual with no rent charged. Among the 27 units where rent was charged, 12 units had rent between $1,501 and $2,400. Only 5 ADUs had rent greater than $3,600. The ADU survey indicates that many ADUs are affordable to moderate and lower income households based on the area median income. This includes all of the studio apartments, 83 percent of one bedroom units, and almost 93 percent of two bedroom units.

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Figure 5: ADU Rent by Number of Bedrooms
Source: Los Altos Hills ADU Survey, 2021
Table 17 displays the affordable and fair market rent for low-income households in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara HUD fair market rent area. The estimated fair market rents for these units are much lower than the average monthly rents shown in Table 16, suggesting that lower-income families are priced out of rental units in the Town. Calculations for the table are provided from the National Low Income Housing Coalition to determine what income is needed to afford fair market rent for a unit without spending greater than 30 percent of income on housing.

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Table 17: Affordable and Fair Market Rent for Low-Income Households, 2021 Unit Size Income Needed to
Afford (hourly)
Income Needed
to Afford
(annual)
Fair Market Rent
Zero Bedroom $42.85 $89,120 $2,228
One Bedroom $49.19 $102,320 $2,558
Two Bedroom $58.67 $122,040 $3,051
Three Bedroom $76.62 $159,360 $3,984
Four Bedroom $88.33 $183,720 $4,593
Source: National Low Income Housing Coalition, Out of Reach 2021: California.

Table 18 shows gross rent as a percentage of household income in 2019. The majority of renters in Los Altos Hills do not experience a cost burden; however, most of those that do experience a severe cost burden. Twenty percent of renters pay more than 50 percent of their household income toward rent. Over half of renters (54.1 percent) pay less than 20 percent of their income towards rent.

Table 18: Gross Rent as a Percentage of Household Income, 2019 Percent of Household Income Number of Households Percent of Households
Less than 10 percent 50 19.6%
10 to 14.9 percent 67 26.3%
15 to 19.9 percent 21 8.2%
20 to 24.9 percent 43 16.9%
25 to 29.9 percent 0 0%
30 to 34.9 percent 7 2.7%
35 to 39.9 percent 0 0%
40 to 49.9 percent 0 0%
50 percent or more 51 20.0%
Not computed 16 6.3%
Total 255 100%
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019, Table B25070.

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The median home sale price from 2001 to 2020 for Los Altos Hills, Santa Clara County, and the Bay Area region is shown in Figure 6. The Town of Los Altos Hills has a median home price significantly higher than the County and region. The median home price in Los Altos Hills continues to increase at a much faster rate than the County and Bay Area region, especially since 2011. As of December 2020, the median home sale price in Los Altos Hills was $4,591,905, over $3.3 million higher than that of the County and Bay Area region, which were at $1,290,977 and $1,077,233, respectively.

Figure 6: Median Sales Price Over Time
Source: Zillow.com, 2021.

Median sales prices across California increased rapidly during 2021, partially due to effects from the COVID-19 pandemic. After spring 2020, housing prices increased rapidly across the state in 2021. Zillow market analysis data shows a 20.5 percent increase in the typical home value from January 2021 to January 2022.4F4F
4 4 Zillow California Market Overview, January 2022. https://www.zillow.com/ca/home-values/ $-
$500,000
$1,000,000
$1,500,000
$2,000,000
$2,500,000
$3,000,000
$3,500,000
$4,000,000
$4,500,000
$5,000,000
20012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020 Median Sales Price
Year
Bay Area Santa Clara County Los Altos Hills

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Table 19 displays the increase in median sales price from December 2020 to December 2021 in Los Altos Hills and surrounding jurisdictions. As of December 2021, the median home sale price in Los Altos Hills was $5,193,377. Los Altos Hills experienced a 12.2 percent increase in median sales price from December 2020 to December 2021. Los Altos Hills had the highest median home sales price of jurisdictions in Santa Clara County by over one million dollars. It is followed by Los Altos with a median home sales price at more than four million dollars, and by Monte Sereno, Palo Alto, and Saratoga, with median prices over three million dollars.

The high home sales prices in Los Altos Hills are reflective of its semi-rural nature and large, single-family homes. Many households in the region are priced out of living in Los Altos Hills due to its lack of housing affordable to them.

Table 19: Median Sales Prices, Santa Clara County
Jurisdiction December 2020 December 2021 % Change
Los Altos Hills $4,630,000 $5,193,377 12.2%
Santa Clara $1,400,000 $1,590,610 13.6%
San Jose $1,140,000 $1,361,064 19.4%
Campbell $1,440,000 $1,682,148 16.8%
Cupertino $2,370,000 $2,817,172 18.9%
Gilroy $848,000 $1,017,696 20.0%
Los Altos $3,450,000 $4,039,260 17.1%
Los Gatos $2,210,000 $2,605,981 17.9%
Milpitas $1,150,000 $1,352,271 17.6%
Monte Sereno $3,390,000 $3,937,619 16.2%
Morgan Hill $1,070,000 $1,286,127 20.2%
Mountain View $1,860,000 $2,021,703 8.7%
Palo Alto $3,230,000 $3,645,033 12.8%
Saratoga $3,060,000 $3,641,636 19.0%
Sunnyvale $1,750,000 $2,020,370 15.4%
Santa Clara County $1,320,000 $1,541,339 16.8%
Source: Zillow Housing Market Data, 2021.

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Vacancy Rates
Vacancy rates are indicators of housing supply and demand, and can reflect the degree of housing choice that is available. Higher vacancy rates indicate downward price pressure. Low vacancy rates influence greater upward price pressures. Low vacancy rates usually indicate high demand and/or low supply conditions in the housing market. Too low a vacancy rate can force prices up, making it more difficult for lower- and moderate-income households to find housing, and is naturally related to the number of available housing units. The “healthy” vacancy rates for owner-occupied housing and renter-occupied housing differ. A healthy rental vacancy is around 7 to 8 percent, while a vacancy rate of 2 to 3 percent is considered healthy for owner-occupied housing. Table 20 estimates a 9.3 percent vacancy rate for Los Altos Hills. The high vacancy rate may be partially explained by vacant investment properties that are not actively used for housing.

Table 20: Occupancy Status, 2019
Occupancy Status Santa Clara County Percent Los Altos Hills Percent Occupied Housing Units 643,637 93.8% 3,016 90.7%
Vacant Housing Units 42,669 6.2% 308 9.3%
Total Housing Units 686,306 100% 3,324 100%
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019.

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Housing Age and Condition
The age and condition of housing stock helps inform housing need by identifying groups in Los Altos Hills that may be experiencing housing problems or are living in unsafe conditions.

In general, housing that is 30 years or older may exhibit the need for repairs based on the useful life of materials. Housing over 50 years old is considered aged and is more likely to require major repairs in the near term. Older housing units require more maintenance and may cost more to upkeep than newer housing units. As shown in Table 21, the largest portion of the housing stock in Los Altos Hills, almost 40 percent, was built between 1960 and 1979.

Almost one-quarter (23.4 percent) of the housing stock was built between 1980 and 1999.

The age of the housing stock in Los Altos Hills may indicate some need for repair and rehabilitation of aging units. There is significant replacement housing of 20 to 25 homes every year, so many of the older homes have been demolished and replaced over the last 40 years. A windshield survey and conversations with code enforcement estimate that about one percent (30-40 housing units) of the housing stock is in need of some type of repair.

Despite the age of most housing in the Town, most housing is well maintained and in good condition.

Table 21: Year Housing Built
Year Built Number of Housing Units % of Units
Built 1939 Or Earlier 163 4.9%
Built 1940 To 1959 635 19.1%
Built 1960 To 1979 1,319 39.7%
Built 1980 To 1999 779 23.4%
Built 2000 To 2009 277 8.3%
Built 2010 Or Later 151 4.5%
Total 3,324 100%
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019, Table B25034.

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Housing tenure by date of occupancy is listed in Table 22, which shows when households moved into their housing unit. Almost one-third of households in Los Altos Hills moved into their unit in 1989 or earlier. Only 11.9 percent of the households began occupancy of their current home in 2015 or later. There is low housing turnover rate in the Town.

Table 22: Housing Tenure by Date of Occupancy, 2019
Move In Year Owner
Occupied
% of
Units
Renter
Occupied
% of
Units Total % of Units
Moved In 1989 Or Earlier 971 32.2% 0 0.0% 971 32.2%
Moved In 1990 To 1999 545 18.1% 11 0.4% 556 18.5%
Moved In 2000 To 2009 577 19.1% 24 0.8% 601 19.9%
Moved In 2010 To 2014 407 13.5% 121 4.0% 528 17.5%
Moved In 2015 To 2016 163 5.4% 49 1.6% 212 7.0%
Moved In 2017 Or Later 98 3.2% 50 1.7% 148 4.9%
Total 2,761 91.5% 255 8.5% 3,016 100%
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019, Table B25038.

Housing is considered substandard when conditions are found to be below the minimum standard of living defined in the California Health and Safety Code. Substandard housing units include those in need of repair and/or replacement. Households living in substandard conditions are considered to be in need of housing assistance, even if they are not seeking alternative housing arrangements, due to threat to health and safety.

In addition to structural deficiencies and standards, the lack of infrastructure and utilities often serves as an indicator for substandard conditions. The 2019 ACS estimated that there are no recorded housing units in Los Altos Hills that lack a complete kitchen or plumbing. An estimated 30–40 housing units are in need of significant repair or replacement per conversations with code enforcement staff. When unrecorded substandard units are found, the Town aggressively use code enforcement to correct life/safety violations and legalize the units.

Overpayment
Overpayment is defined as households paying more than 30 percent of their gross income on housing-related expenses, including rent or mortgage payments and utilities. Severe overpayment occurs when households pay 50 percent or more of their gross income for housing. Households paying greater than 30 percent of their gross income on housingrelated expenses are considered to be cost burdened and those paying greater than 50 percent of their income toward housing-related costs are considered to be severely cost burdened. Higher costs for housing may contribute to households having a limited ability to cover other everyday living expenses. The impact of housing costs is more apparent for extremely low-, very low-, and low-income households, especially renter households.

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Table 23 shows the overpayment by tenure and income group for the Town of Los Altos Hills and Santa Clara County. In Los Altos Hills, 23.4 percent of owner households are experiencing some form of overpayment, which is a similar rate to Santa Clara County, at

21.4; however, there is a higher percentage of owner households experiencing severe overpayment (10.6 percent) in Los Altos Hills than in the County (6.5 percent). The rate of renter households experiencing overpayment is 20.7 percent; all extremely low-income and very low-income rental households in Los Altos Hills are experiencing severe cost burden.

This may not take into account instances where no rent is charged for ADUs. A 2021 survey of ADUs in the Town noted that 23 ADUs had no rent charged. High rates of cost burden in Los Altos Hills and Santa Clara County are reflective of a housing shortage and high housing costs, illustrating the need for additional housing units, especially for lower-income households.

Table 23: Overpayment by Tenure, 2018
Household
Income
Range
Households Percentage of Income Spent on Housing
Number
% (of total
households)
Overpayment
(>30% income on
housing)
Severe Overpayment
(>50% income on
housing)
Number % Number %
Town of Los Altos Hills
Owner Households
Less than or equal to
30% of HAMFI 115 3.8% 10 0.3% 80 2.6%
Greater than 30% but
less than or equal to
50% of HAMFI
50 1.6% 10 0.3% 15 0.5%
Greater than 50% but
less than or equal to
80% of HAMFI
135 4.4% 10 0.3% 80 2.6%
Greater than 80% but
less than or equal to
100% of HAMFI
145 4.7% 70 2.3% 35 1.1%
Greater than 100% of
HAMFI 2350 76.8% 230 7.5% 115 3.8%
Total 2,795 91.3% 330 10.8% 325 10.6%
Renter Households
Less than or equal to
30% of HAMFI 20 0.7% 0 0.0% 20 0.7%
Greater than 30% but
less than or equal to
50% of HAMFI
35 1.1% 0 0.0% 35 1.1%

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Household
Income
Range
Households Percentage of Income Spent on Housing
Number
% (of total
households)
Overpayment
(>30% income on
housing)
Severe Overpayment
(>50% income on
housing)
Number % Number %
Greater than 50% but
less than or equal to
80% of HAMFI
30 1.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0%
Greater than 80% but
less than or equal to
100% of HAMFI
0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0%
Greater than 100% of
HAMFI 180 5.9% 0 0.0% 0 0.0%
Total 265 8.7% 0 0.0% 55 1.8%
Santa Clara County
Owner Households
Less than or equal to
30% of HAMFI 25,960 4.1% 20,765 3.3% 16,670 2.6%
Greater than 30% but
less than or equal to
50% of HAMFI
27,625 4.4% 15,370 2.4% 9,725 1.5%
Greater than 50% but
less than or equal to
80% of HAMFI
32,435 5.2% 15,680 2.5% 6,870 1.1%
Greater than 80% but
less than or equal to
100% of HAMFI
28,655 4.6% 11,500 1.8% 3,285 0.5%
Greater than 100% of
HAMFI 243,950 38.8% 35,110 5.6% 4,350 0.7%
Total 358,625 57.0% 98,425 15.6% 40,900 6.5%
Renter Households
Less than or equal to
30% of HAMFI 51,035 8.1% 45,275 7.2% 35,590 5.7%
Greater than 30% but
less than or equal to
50% of HAMFI
35,940 5.7% 29,750 4.7% 15,250 2.4%
Greater than 50% but
less than or equal to
80% of HAMFI
34,270 5.4% 21,565 3.4% 5,615 0.9%
Greater than 80% but
less than or equal to
100% of HAMFI
24,635 3.9% 10,400 1.7% 940 0.1%

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Household
Income
Range
Households Percentage of Income Spent on Housing
Number
% (of total
households)
Overpayment
(>30% income on
housing)
Severe Overpayment
(>50% income on
housing)
Number % Number %
Greater than 100% of
HAMFI 124,685 19.8% 11,990 1.9% 225 0.0%
Total 270,565 43.0% 118,980 18.9% 57,620 9.2%
Source: 2014-2018 HUD CHAS data.

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Overcrowding
An overcrowded housing unit is defined by the US Census Bureau as a housing unit occupied by more than one person per room (excluding bathrooms, kitchens, hallways, and closet space). Occupancy by more than 1.5 persons per room constitutes severe overcrowding.

Overcrowding can affect public facilities and services, reduce the quality of the physical environment, and create conditions that contribute to deterioration of the housing stock.

Additionally, high rates of overcrowding can indicate that a community does not have an adequate supply of affordable housing and/or variety of suitable housing units to meet the needs of the community.

There are very low rates of overcrowding in Los Altos Hills. Overcrowding by tenure is shown for Los Altos Hills and Santa Clara County in Table 24. There are no overcrowded owneroccupied units in the Town, which is below the rate of 1.6 percent of units in the County. 11 renter-occupied units are overcrowded, constituting 0.4 percent of units, lower than the 39,934 rental units that are overcrowded in the County, constituting 6.2 percent of units.

These units all have greater than 1.5 occupants per room and are considered to be severely overcrowded. Low overcrowding rates may correlate with high incomes, as well as larger homes common in the town.

Table 24: Overcrowding by Tenure
Persons per Room
Owners Renters Total
Overcrowded
Households
% of
Total
Overcrowded
Households
% of
Total
Overcrowded
Households
% of
Total
Los Altos Hills

1.01 to 1.50 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
>1.50 0 0% 11 0.4% 11 0.4%
Total Overcrowded 0 0% 11 0.4% 11 0.4%
Santa Clara County

1.01 to 1.50 7,526 1.2% 21,951 3.4% 29,477 4.6%
>1.50 2,340 0.4% 17,983 2.8% 20,323 3.2%
Total Overcrowded 9,866 1.6% 39,934 6.2% 49,800 7.8%
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019, Table B25014.

Assisted Housing Units at Risk of Converting to Market-Rate Rents Jurisdictions are required by state housing element law to analyze government-assisted housing that is eligible to convert from low-income to market-rate housing over the next 10 years. State law identifies housing assistance as a rental subsidy, mortgage subsidy, or mortgage insurance to an assisted housing development. Government-assisted housing

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might convert to market-rate housing for a number of reasons, including expiring subsidies, mortgage repayments, or expiration of affordability restrictions.

The Town of Los Altos Hills does not currently have any units at risk of conversion that meet these standards and the Town of Los Altos Hills has no affordable housing units that are deed restricted.

There are affordable units in the Town of Los Altos Hills in the form of accessory dwelling units (ADUs); however, none of the ADUs are deed restricted. Program A-7, ADU Tracking and Monitoring, Program B-6, ADU Ordinance Update to Meet State Law, and Program G-2, ADU Education, promote keeping these existing ADUs affordable and encourage the further development of ADUs.

Table 25: Units at Risk of Converting to Market Rate
Geography Low Moderate High Very
High
Total Assisted Units in
Database
Los Altos Hills 0 0 0 0 0
Santa Clara County 28,001 1,471 422 270 30,164
Bay Area 110,177 3,375 1,854 1,053 116,459
Source: Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Database.

Qualified Entities
Under Government Code Section 65863.11, owners of federally assisted projects must provide a “Notice of Opportunity to Submit an Offer to Purchase” to qualified entities at least one year before the sale or expiration of use restrictions. Such qualified entities have first right of refusal for acquiring at-risk units. Qualified entities are nonprofit or for-profit organizations with the legal and managerial capacity to acquire and manage at-risk properties that agree to maintain the long-term affordability of projects. As a part of the approval process of new affordable units, the Town will make it clear that the extended noticing applies to the projects.

Though Los Altos Hills does not have any units that are at risk of converting to market rate, the following is a list of qualified entities from HCD for Santa Clara County that could potentially acquire and manage properties if any were to be at risk of converting to market rate in the future.
▪ Cambrian Center, Inc.
▪ Charities Housing Development Corp.
▪ Palo Alto Senior Housing Project, Inc.
▪ Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition
▪ Affordable Housing Foundation

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▪ Palo Alto Housing Corp
▪ South County Housing, Inc
▪ Satellite Housing Inc.
▪ ROEM Development Corporation
▪ Silicon Valley at Home
▪ L + M Fund Management LLC
Replacement Costs
The Town of Los Altos Hills does not have any units that are at risk of converting to market rate during the planning period. This section provides a sample estimate of the current cost it would take to replace assisted units at risk of converting to market rate housing in the region.

The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee’s 2020 report provides estimates and data on the cost of building assisted units. It estimates that the average cost of an assisted unit in the State of California is $439,827.5F5F
5 The estimated cost for units in Santa Clara County is higher than the state. Isolating data from Santa Clara County results in an average unit cost of $607,463.

Table 26 summarizes the estimated replacement costs per unit using construction cost estimates from the UC Berkeley Terner Center’s Construction Cost Index and average unit sizes in the Town of Los Altos Hills from ApartmentFinder. Combined, they provide an estimate for replacement costs by unit size specific to Los Altos Hills. It ranges from $292,500 for a one-bedroom unit to $507,000 for a three-bedroom unit.

Table 26: Replacement Cost
Unit Size Construction Cost
per Square Foot Average Square Foot/ Unit Replacement Cost per Unit 1 bedroom $390 750 $292,500
2 bedrooms $390 1,050 $409,500
3 bedrooms $390 1,300 $507,000
Source: 2018 UC Berkeley Terner Center Construction Cost Index, ApartmentFinder 5 California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, 2020 Annual Report. https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/CTCAC/2020/annualreport/2020-TCAC.pdf

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Special Housing Needs
Some populations have special needs when it comes to housing, including accessibility requirements, size, and proximity to employment. The groups that generally have these special needs are the elderly, people with a disability, people experiencing homelessness, farmworkers, large households, female-headed households, and extremely low-income households. Identifying the prevalence of these populations within the Town, and their special needs, guides the creation of programs and type of housing development. People often belong to more than one of these groups. Table 27 provides an overview of the presence of special needs populations within the Town.

Table 27: Overview of Households with Special Needs, 2018 Special Needs Group # of People % of Population
Persons with a Disability 512 6.0%
Persons Experiencing Homelessness 2 0.1%
Farmworkers 5 0.1%
Special Needs Group # of Households % of Households
Householders Age 65+ 1,328 44.0%
Large Households 299 9.9%
Female-Headed Households 79 2.6%
Extremely Low Income Households 165 5.3%
Source: 2014-2018 HUD CHAS data, ACS 5-Year Data Estimates, 2019 There are no households in Los Altos Hills recorded to be lacking plumbing or kitchen facilities. Despite not having housing problems typically prevalent in special needs populations, these populations still have disproportionate need for financial, medical, or other town support.

Table 28 shows the services currently providing support to the special needs populations.

Services for special needs populations include the joint Los Altos Hills and Los Altos Senior Commissions, Project Match, and support from the Daughters of Charity.

Table 28: Inventory of Services for Special Needs Populations Services/Programs Details
Los Altos Hills/Los Altos
Senior Commission
Provides a comprehensive guide on resources for seniors regarding accessibility, nutrition, education, housing, and more.

Project Match Offers assistance to Santa Clara County seniors in finding affordable housing.

Daughters of Charity Provides resources on homeless support, access to healthcare, and combatting food insecurity.

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Elderly Persons
As shown in Figure 1, the average age of Los Altos Hills’ residents is higher than the County average. The higher proportion of elderly residents in the Town indicates an increased need for programs and support for the elderly population, who typically present a need for more medical and financial support.

Elderly populations often live on a fixed income and have a substantial portion of their financial resources in non-liquid assets, such as property. These “house-rich, cash-poor” individuals represent a significant need. Table 29 reveals that the median income of the elderly population in Los Altos Hills is much lower than the average resident, despite making up such a large portion of the population.

Table 29: Median Household Income for Elderly Households Householder Age Town of Los Altos Hills
Median Income
Santa Clara County
Median Income
65 Years and
Older $186,625 $75,758
All Households $250,001 $133,076
Source: ACS Estimates Data, 2019.

In 2019, there were 1,328 elderly householders (65 years of age and older) in the Town of Los Altos Hills, representing 44 percent of the total householders, as shown in Table 30.

Elderly residents may have some challenges obtaining needs such as the provision of meals (due to mobility issues), transportation, and other typical senior services. These needs are now satisfied through a variety of programs operated and funded by the Town, Santa Clara County, and various social service agencies. These resources include Age-Friendly Design Elements that incorporate universal accessibility features, ongoing education programs at the community college, daily support calls from the hospital, insurance counseling, adult day care, continuing care and independent living facilities, transportation services, and more.

Table 30: Householders by Age
Los Altos Hills Santa Clara County
Householder Age Households Percent Households Percent
15-24 years 12 0.4% 15,468 2.4%
25-34 years 48 1.6% 107,194 16.8%
35-64 years 1,628 54.0% 381,415 59.7%
65-74 years 654 21.7% 74,305 11.6%
75 plus years 674 22.3% 61,833 9.7%
Total 3,016 100% 640,215 100%
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019.

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Although many elderly persons can continue to live in their own homes, particularly if structural modifications are made to help them cope with the challenges that accompany aging, there will nevertheless be an increasing demand for specialized care facilities.

Between 2015 and 2022, the Town contributed $30,000 to the Community Services Agency for the provision of such services as emergency assistance, nutrition and hot meal programs, information and referral, and senior care management.

The elderly population makes up 74 percent of the disabled population in Los Altos Hills, with hearing difficulty, ambulatory difficulty, and independent living difficulty being prevalent in the aging community, as shown in Figure 7. It is found that most elderly residents live in a home of two or more and receive in-home care or shared living opportunities with family members, rather than living in a facility. Programs supported by the Town to aid the elderly population also specifically serve the disabled elderly population, specifically transportation services, Age Friendly Design Elements, and communication services.

Figure 7: Elderly Households with a Disability
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019, Table B18102, Table B18103, Table B18104, Table B18105, Table B18106, Table B18107.

9.5%

6.7% 6.1%

3.6%

1.0% 0.2%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
With a hearing
difficulty
With an
ambulatory
difficulty
With an
independent
living difficulty
With a cognitive
difficulty
With a self-care
difficulty
With a vision
difficulty
Population with Disabilities

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Persons with Disabilities
Per Table 31, in Los Altos Hills, 512 individuals, or 6 percent of the population, has a disability, of which 381 are part of the elderly population.

Table 31: Population by Disability Status, 2019
Geography No Disability With a Disability
Los Altos Hills 7,993 94.0% 512 6.0%
Santa Clara County 1,763,431 92.0% 154,212 8.0%
Bay Area 6,919,762 90.4% 735,533 9.6%
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019, Table B18101.

Hearing and ambulatory difficulties are the most prevalent disabilities in the Town, as shown in Figure 8. Household design and location may prevent those with an ambulatory difficulty from living in certain areas of the town, while those with hearing difficulties may have communication issues and need additional Town resources for community involvement and information comprehension. The Town has provided a resource with recommended accessibility features to include in-home development for an owner to show their architect.6F6F 6 These Town-recommended features include:
▪ An accessible route of travel from the sidewalk or street to the primary entrance with graded surfaces and no steps to the entry;
▪ At least one accessible secondary access to the dwelling; ▪ Thirty-six-inch-wide doors with low threshold heights; ▪ Wide halls and an accessible travel route to the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and common rooms;
▪ Adequate work and floor space at appliances;
▪ Adequate maneuvering space in bathrooms; and
▪ Minimum or no thresholds in at least one shower with appropriate drainage as required by the Building Department.
6 Age Friendly Design Elements https://www.losaltoshills.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/95/AgeFriendly-Design-PDF

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Figure 8: Disability by Type
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019, Table B18102, Table B18103, Table B18104, Table B18105, Table B18106, Table B18107.

Persons with Developmental Disabilities
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Developmental Services, a developmental disability is defined as a physical, learning, language, or behavior impairment that has physical or mental effects at every stage of life. Developmental disabilities generally are present since childhood. For this reason, the quantity of those with a developmental disability does not increase with each age group as other disability types do. Symptoms of developmental disabilities may be included as disability types in Figure 8 above. According to the most recent data from the State of California Department of Developmental Services, as shown in Table 32, there are 26 individuals with developmental disabilities in the community, 13 of which are children under the age of 18. All currently live in the home of a parent, guardian, or other family member, not in a facility.

Table 32: Persons with Developmental Disabilities by Age Group Age Group Persons with Developmental Disabilities
Age 18+ 13
Age Under 18 13
Totals 26
Source: California Department of Developmental Services, Consumer Count by California ZIP Code and Age Group, 2020.

2.9%

2.2% 1.9% 1.8%

0.4% 0.3% 0%
1%
2%
3%
With a
hearing
difficulty
With an
ambulatory
difficulty
With an
independent
living
difficulty
With a
cognitive
difficulty
With a selfcare
difficulty
With a vision
difficulty
Proportion of Adult Population
Reporting Disability Type

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Farmworkers
Agricultural operations in Town are limited, as the only year round commercial agriculture operation is the Packard Foundation, which has almost 80 acres of active apricot orchards that are tended to by farmworkers. The few small farms, orchards, vineyards, and equestrian operations that do exist require only occasional maintenance and are usually contracted out to companies that provide those services. In addition, many of the properties that require extensive maintenance have caretakers who live on the property rent free or pay reduced rent.

The US Department of Agriculture conducts a Census of Agriculture every five years. Table 33 shows the 2017 estimates of farmworkers for Santa Clara County. As indicated, there were an estimated 4,175 farmworkers in the County working on 890 farms. Many of these farms are located in the southern areas of the County, further from the tech industry, in the regions further south than Los Altos Hills. The majority of farmworkers, almost 80 percent, work on farms with more than 10 employees. The 2007 US Department of Agriculture Census of Agriculture counted 5,589 farmworkers in the County. This yields a 25 percent decrease of farmworkers in the County from 2007 to 2017.

Table 33: Regional Number of Farmworkers and Farms
Farm /Worker Type Farmworkers Farms
Farm Size
Farms with less than 10 employees 847 293
Farms with 10 or more employees 3,328 66
Length of Employment of Workers
Workers working 150 days or more 2,418 -
Workers working less than 150 days 1,757 -
Source: 2017 Census of Agriculture, Table 7.

Large Households
Table 34 reveals that 9.9 percent of all households in Los Altos Hills contain five or more members. Despite having almost a tenth of the population living in a large household, the Town does not have a prevalent overcrowding issue, as over 35 percent of households have 5 or more bedrooms. While 9.9 percent of the Town’s households have five or more members, 12.4 percent of the County’s households are large, despite having less than 6 percent of homes having 5 or more bedrooms, making Los Altos Hills more conducive than the region as a whole for larger families.

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Table 34: Large Households by Tenure
Number of Persons in
Unit
Owner
Occupied %
Renter
Occupied % Total %
Los Altos Hills
Five 163 5.4% 43 1.4% 206 6.8%
Six 32 1.1% 20 0.7% 52 1.8%
Seven or more 41 1.4% 0 0% 41 1.4%
Total Large Households 236 7.9% 63 2.1% 299 9.9%
Santa Clara County
Five 26,406 4.1% 19,190 3% 45,596 7.1%
Six 10,802 1.7% 7,822 1.2% 18,624 2.9%
Seven or more 8,684 1.4% 6,650 1% 15,334 2.4%
Total Large Households 45,892 7.2% 33,662 5.2% 79,554 12.4% Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019 Table B25009.

Female-Headed Households
As shown in Table 35, there are 79 female-headed households in Los Altos Hills, constituting

2.6 percent of the total households in the community. Of these, only 34 have related children, or 1.1 percent of the total. The typical female-headed household is a property owner and resides in a single-family dwelling. A high number of single-parent households may indicate a need for subsidized day care or health care, but this population makes up a small amount of the Town’s total households.

Table 35: Female-Headed Households by Tenure
Household Type Owner
Occupied %
Renter
Occupied % Total % of Total Households
Female householder, no husband
present, with own children under 18 34 1.1% 0 0% 34 1.1% Female householder, no husband
present, without own children 45 1.5% 0 0% 45 1.5%
Total 79 2.6% 0 0% 79 2.6%
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019 Table B25115.

Homeless Population
Santa Clara County conducts a biannual homeless census and survey to collect information on individuals and families sleeping in emergency shelters and transitional housing, as well as people sleeping on the streets, in cars, in abandoned properties, or in other places not meant for human habitation.

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The Town of Los Altos Hills was found to have two unsheltered individuals in this count, and no sheltered individuals, as shown in Table 36. The Community Services Agency provides help finding affordable housing, navigating community resources and programs, and paying for first month's housing costs for homeless individuals in Los Altos Hills. The Town has a much lower homeless population overall than the rest of the region.

Table 36: Homeless Population, 2019
Homeless Population Sheltered Unsheltered Total
Los Altos Hills 0 2 2
Campbell 0 74 74
Cupertino 0 159 159
Gilroy 359 345 704
Los Altos 0 76 76
Los Gatos 0 16 16
Milpitas 0 125 125
Monte Sereno 0 0 0
Morgan Hill 0 114 114
Mountain View 32 574 606
Palo Alto 14 299 313
San Jose 980 5,117 6,097
Santa Clara 62 264 326
Saratoga 0 10 10
Sunnyvale 147 477 624
Source: 2019 Santa Clara County Homeless Census and Survey.

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Extremely Low-Income Households
Extremely low-income households have an income less than 30 percent of the AMI. Table 37 shows the ranges for each income category based on the 2021 AMI of $151,300 for a household of four in Santa Clara County. Table 13 shows the 2019 median income for Los Altos Hills as $250,001, and the 2019 median income for the County as $133,076, making the median income in the Town almost double the AMI.

Table 37: Income Range by Area Median Income
Affordability Category % of County Median Income Range
Extremely Low Income 30% < $45,390
Very Low Income 31%–50% $45,391–$75,650
Low Income 51%–80% $75,651–$121,040
Moderate Income 81%–120% $121,041–$181,560
Above Moderate Income > 120% > $181,560
Source: California Department of Housing and Community Development, 2021.

Overpayment is when a household spends more than 30 percent of its monthly income on housing costs such as rent, mortgage, or utilities. Table 38 provides a summary of overpayment experienced by extremely low-income households in Los Altos Hills. All extremely low-income renter-occupied households experience overpayment, although this demographic only include 20 households. About 87 percent of owner-occupied extremely low-income households experience overpayment. Town-wide, about 21 percent of renteroccupied households and about 24 percent of owner-occupied households experience overpayment. A disproportionately higher percent of the extremely low-income population experiences overpayment.

The needs of extremely low-income households include multifamily rental housing and lower cost rental opportunities. The Town is including Programs A-1, A-2, A-4, A-5, and A-6 to create a multifamily overlay zone, rezone identified opportunity sites, allow by right approval for 20 percent affordable housing developments, establish minimum densities for lowincome development, and conduct an inclusionary zoning feasibility study, respectively. The Town is also incentivizing the production of ADUs using methods discussed in Programs A-7 and G-2, including tracking and monitoring ADUs and encouraging existing ADUs to remain affordable.

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Table 38: Extremely Low-Income Households by Overpayment, 2018 Income Level Renters % Owners % Total %
Household Income < 30% HAMFI 20 15.5% 109 84.5% 129 100% With a Cost Burden > 30% 20 100% 95 87.2% 115 89.2%
With a Cost Burden 30-50% 0 0% 10 9.2% 10 7.8%
With a Cost Burden > 50% 20 100% 85 78.0% 105 81.4%
Source: 2014-2018 HUD CHAS data.

A household is considered overcrowded when there is more than one person per room, including living and dining rooms but excluding bathrooms and kitchens. Overcrowding can affect public facilities and services, reduce the quality of the physical environment, and create conditions that contribute to deterioration of the housing stock. Additionally, overcrowding can indicate that a community does not have an adequate supply of affordable housing and/or variety of suitable housing units to meet the needs of the community. As shown in Table 39, no extremely low-income households in Los Altos Hills experience overcrowding.

Table 39: Extremely Low-Income Households by Overcrowding, 2018 Income Level Renters % Owners % Total %
Household Income < 30% HAMFI 20 14.8% 115 85.2% 135 100% > 1 Person per Room 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
1 – 1.5 Persons per Room 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
> 1.5 Persons per Room 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Source: 2014-2018 HUD CHAS data.

Overall, there are very few extremely low-income households in Los Altos Hills, especially compared to the surrounding region. Specifically, 135 households, or about 4.5 percent of Los Altos Hills, is in the extremely low-income level, as shown in Figure 9. Extremely lowincome households disproportionately need home-buying subsidies, single-room occupancy or shared housing, or rent subsidies such as housing choice vouchers.

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Figure 9: Households by Household Income Level
Source: 2013-2017 HUD CHAS data.
5%
4% 14% 15%
11% 11%
5%
11% 13%
6%
9% 9%
79%
55% 52%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Los Altos Hills Santa Clara County Bay Area
Percent of Households
0%-30% of AMI 31%-50% of AMI
51%-80% of AMI 81%-100% of AMI
Greater than 100% of AMI

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Summary of Housing Needs
An analysis of the needs in Los Altos Hills indicates an increased need for housing affordable to a variety of income levels, a lack of multifamily housing to address regional needs, and potential increased need for services and programs for the elderly population. Additionally, compared to Santa Clara County, the Town has much higher income levels and home values.

The Town is including a number of programs in response to the needs assessment and changing needs of the Town and region. This includes Program A-3, which assesses Townowned properties for their potential use as housing for special needs populations including elderly persons, lower-income households, and persons with disabilities. Program E-7 addresses the needs of elderly households by continuing to provide financial support for the Community Services Agency and Los Altos Senior Center which provide resources for senior residents in the Town. To encourage an increase of diversity in housing stock, the Town is including Program A-1 to create a n overlay zone and overlay zone on parcels for multifamily uses at a density of at least 20 to 2430 dwelling units per acre of contiguous buildable area (excludes slopes > 25%) du/ac for at least 1930 net developable acres and rezone identified opportunity sites for multifamily at a density of at least 20 to 24 du/ac.

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Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
Introduction
Assembly Bill (AB) 686 requires a jurisdiction’s housing element to provide an analysis of contributing factors to fair housing issues and to commit to actively and meaningfully affirmatively further fair housing. This analysis includes an assessment of fair housing enforcement, outreach activities, integration and segregation, racially and ethnically concentrated areas of affluence and poverty, disparities in access to opportunities, disproportionate housing needs, and any other contributing factors that serve as impediments to fair housing. The assessment also analyzes the extent to which the identified Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) sites affirmatively further fair housing.

Public Outreach
Outreach Activities
Community members were engaged and informed using the following methods:
▪ Online survey
▪ Stakeholder focus group interviews
▪ Joint City Council and Planning Commission workshops
▪ Web page on Town website
▪ Briefings at every Planning Commission and City Council meeting Organizations Contacted and Consulted
Organizations consulted or contacted included:
▪ Assistance League: Los Altos
▪ Associated Students Foothill College
▪ Bill Wilson Center
▪ Catholic Charities
▪ Charities Housing
▪ Community Services Agency
▪ Community Solutions
▪ Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul
▪ Destination: Home
▪ Foothill College

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▪ Heart of the Valley
▪ HomeFirst
▪ Housing Choice
▪ Housing Industry Foundation
▪ League of Women Voters
▪ LIFEMOVES
▪ MidPen Housing
▪ Midtown Family Services
▪ Project Sentinel
▪ Rebuilding Together
▪ Senior Commission
▪ Silicon Valley FACES
▪ Silicon Valley Independent Living Center
▪ Silicon Valley Leadership Group
▪ Sunnyvale Community Services
▪ West Valley Community Services
Results and Analysis of Outreach
The Town of Los Altos Hills solicited community input throughout the Housing Element update planning process in a variety of ways. The following include the main strategies that were implemented to gather public participation and resulted in gathering the following summaries.

Housing Element Update – Town Website
The Town created the Housing Element update web page on the Town’s website (https://www.losaltoshills.ca.gov/537/Housing-Element-Update-2023-31) to provide:
▪ Background and information on the Housing Element process; ▪ Documents related to the Housing Element;
▪ Recordings of the public outreach presentations;
▪ Notification to the public of future events;
▪ Notification and interest sign-up lists and comment and question pathways for citizens to get involved in the process and to provide comments or questions to the project team or Town representatives.

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Stakeholder Interviews
The Town reached out to 31 individuals who represented service providers, nonprofits, and other stakeholders to participate in focus group interviews about the housing needs and issues in Los Altos Hills (13 community stakeholders and 18 local service providers). Out of the 31 individuals and groups that were contacted, 9 people participated in the focus groups (4 community members, 1 Town Senior Committee member, 1 faith-based institution representative, and 3 regional advocacy group representatives). Of those participants, the community members came from a wide range of age demographics, from young professionals to retirees. Included residents also spanned income demographics, from those that have owned property in Los Altos Hills for generations, to those who expressed their families could not afford to live in the Town had it not been for the availability of affordable ADUs. Three focus groups were held on April 18 at 12 p.m., April 19 at 6 p.m., and April 25 at 11 a.m. Hosting the focus group at three different times of the day provided a variety of times to accommodate different schedules. In a diligent effort to include all demographic segments of the Los Altos Hills community, the Housing Element team contacted 10 homeless interest groups, 8 housing and policy advocates, 6 representatives from local faith-based and educational institutions, 1 Town representative, 1 affordable housing developer and 5 homeowners and renters from various income levels. The stakeholders who participated discussed a variety of concerns, including:
▪ Removing constraints from the development process to allow some flexibility in the zoning or look to upzone in some areas of the Town.
▪ A lack of affordable housing options and how to incentivize multifamily and affordable development in the Town. A number of participants stated if it weren’t for affordable ADUs their children would not be able to afford to live in Los Altos Hills. ▪ Concern for individuals in the workforce who can’t afford to live and work in the same place.
▪ Protections and resources for individuals at risk of evictions due to affordability.

The participants had varying involvement and familiarity with Los Altos Hills but a consistent message of increased services and support as well as removal of regulatory restrictions for multifamily housing were the most prevalent issues covered.

Public Workshops
The Town held five virtual public workshops on January 19, 2022, March 24, 2022, June 20, 2022, October 3, 2022, and October 26, 2022, to present information on the Housing Element update and to gather public input. Members of the community participated in the workshops and provided feedback via live polling and questions and answers on the potential RHNA sites and the Housing Element update process.

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The public workshops were held at 6:00 p.m. on weekdays to accommodate a typical work schedule. Materials and video recordings of the presentations were made available on the Los Altos Hills Housing Element web page on the Town’s website for those who could not attend, or who wanted to review the materials and meetings at their leisure.

Housing Element Survey
Another component of the outreach effort was the Housing Element survey, posted on the Town’s website from February 2022 to the end of August 2022, and promoted through a myriad of channels for the furthest outreach. A total of 535 completed surveys were received, with 508 (95%) of respondents being a homeowner and 344 (65%) of respondents being white or Caucasian. Responses to the survey revealed concerns from residents regarding:
▪ Housing affordability,
▪ Lack of transit access and length of commuting times, and ▪ Lack of a variety of housing types.

Respondents also identified the groups who they believe have the greatest need for housing as middle-income workers (51%), seniors (40%), and small families (39%). The survey results show that despite the Town’s relative affluence, affordable housing options are a concern among the respondents.

Summary of Comments Received
In summary, the community engagement and input yielded the following themes and feedback:
▪ High Housing Costs/Costs of Living: Participants expressed that their children will not be able to afford homes in Los Altos Hills or the larger region. They also noted that people have high capital gains on their properties and are choosing to stay in their houses rather than selling them.
▪ Development Process: Participants expressed frustration in navigating the development process in terms of time, cost, and certain development requirements (story poles and restrictions on home expansions, Senate Bill 9 ordinance, contour line formula, and triggering public hearings).
▪ Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Incentivization: Participants expressed frustration in their experience trying to build ADUs and recommended ADU incentivization strategies such as preapproved plans, fee waiving, elimination of the 800-square-foot maximum, searching for innovative funding sources, and community education. ▪ Challenge in Meeting RHNA: Participants discussed the difficulty in meeting the RHNA for the Town given the current zoning and development standards. Suggestions included looking at Town-owned sites, religious facilities, open space that is owned by

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the Town and not serving the community, upzoning part or all of the Town, encouraging housing at 3-6 dwelling units per acre (du/acre), and reducing the minimum lot size.

Assessment of Fair Housing
Town Overview
The Town of Los Altos Hills is largely consistent throughout in terms of fair housing issues.

This is likely due to the smaller size of the Town and the homogeneity of its land use. The Town was incorporated in 1956 as a semi-rural enclave of one-acre lots catering to equestrian oriented individuals and households. Silicon Valley, for which the surrounding area is now known, was not yet established as a cradle of technology. However, with the rise of Silicon Valley and the Town’s close proximity to Stanford University and the surrounding affluent communities of Palo Alto, Los Altos and Mountain View, the larger lots and seclusion of the Town made it a desirable location for business owners and other wealthy households.

The Town is made up almost entirely of two census tracts, as shown in Figure 10, and there is little variation between the two tracts. There are two small portions of the Town in the northwest and southwest that belong to other census tracts. Concerns raised by residents focused on frustration regarding the high cost of living and potential lack of affordable housing for families of current residents to return home to start their own families. Potential actions to address these concerns include creating a multifamily zone andan overlay zone to allow more affordable multifamily housing and rezoning of identified opportunity sites, as outlined in Program A-1, and incentivizing the production of ADUs using methods discussed in Programs A-7 and G-2, including tracking and monitoring ADUs and encouraging existing ADUs to remain affordable.

The AFFH section also considers the effects that the RHNA sites may have on fair housing.

The sites inventory contains three clusters of sites. Sites were selected based on their access to infrastructure and suitability for multifamily housing. Two of the opportunity sites will have an overlay zone and the other will be rezoned to accommodate for multifamily housing at densities appropriate for low-income housing.

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Figure 10: Census Tracts and RHNA Sites
Source: AFFH Data Viewer

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Two of the five census tracts that intersect Los Altos Hills make up the majority of the Town’s land area. These tracts are similar in demographic makeup to one another and the tracts in the surrounding region, as noted in Table 40. Los Altos Hills, as well as much of the surrounding region, is entirely in the Highest Resource Opportunity category. This is a relative ranking based on composites of environmental, economic, and education scores.

None of the three scores that determine the composite opportunity indicate notable discrepancy between the tracts that makeup the Town.

The median incomes of the two main tracts are negligibly different, at $213,056 and $224,219. Similarly, there is little discrepancy between these tracts in the percent of the population that is non-white, at 39 and 40 percent.

When evaluating the Town for segregation, the Town has a low dissimilarity index of 8.1.

Segregation at the Town level is much lower than 19.8 index for the Bay Area as a whole, despite the region still falling into the low segregation category. The location of the RHNA sites will not exacerbate or create differences in the fair housing considerations (segregation, integration, or access to opportunity) between the primary tracts in Los Altos Hills.

The Town is including several programs to increase affordable living opportunities throughout the area through multifamily rental housing and lower cost rental opportunities.

The Town is including Programs A-1, A-2, A-4, A-5, and A-6 to create a multifamily zone and overlay zone, allow by right approval for 20 percent affordable housing developments, establish minimum densities for low-income development, and conduct an inclusionary zoning feasibility study, respectively. The Town is also incentivizing the production of ADUs using methods discussed in Programs A-7 and G-2, including tracking and monitoring ADUs and encouraging existing ADUs to remain affordable. The Town is also including Program F3 to create a registry of affordable rental units as the units are built.

There are three primary areas with RHNA site identification. The major identified sites are mixed income and all sites are in highest opportunity areas, as there is little to no discrepancy in demographic makeup or neighborhood character between the tracts in the Town. Listing and future development of the opportunity sites is not expected to change or exacerbate fair housing considerations of segregation, integration, or access to opportunity.

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Table 40: Comparison of Fair Housing with Respect to Location Census
Tract Low Mod.

Above
Mod,
RHNA
Units
Total
HH
Total
Pop.

TCAC
Composite
Category
Median
Income
% with
Disability
% of
Children
in FHH
CES
Percentile
% NonWhiteR/ECAP
Present
Census Tracts Mostly Inside of Los Altos Hills
117.01 59 5 30 94 1,492 4,333 Highest
Resource $213,056 6.3% 0% 1.1 38.5% No
117.04 172 48 110 330 1,723 4,812 Highest
Resource $224,219 5.6% 7.6% 3.8 40.1% No
Census Tracts Mostly Outside of Los Altos Hills
103.00 - - - 0 1,697 4,296 Highest
Resource $152,031 5.1% 10.9% 0.4 22.2% No
117.05 - - 1 1 324 1,087 Highest
Resource $171,071 9.1% 8.6% 4.8 39.2% No
117.07 - - - 0 1,128 2,721 Highest
Resource $131,250 11.6% 3.1% 0.5 35.2% No

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Fair Housing Enforcement and Outreach Capacity
The County of Santa Clara contracts with Mid-Peninsula Citizens for Fair Housing for provision of fair housing education, outreach, and counseling services. While not providing direct funding to Mid-Peninsula Citizens for Fair Housing, the Town of Los Altos Hills is one of several jurisdictions that participate with the County of Santa Clara in providing fair housing services to its residents and make use of the programs available through MidPeninsula Citizens for Fair Housing. The Town will continue to work with the County of Santa Clara to provide fair housing education, outreach, and counseling services to its residents, see Program F-3. The Town is planning to update its website to provide information on current services available as a part of Program G-4.

There are no fully dedicated staff for fair housing complaints as the Town receives few if any complaints each year. However, any complaints received regarding substandard or illegal units are referred to Code Enforcement and Building divisions who conduct inspections of the properties/units to determine enforcement actions. Currently, all properties with rental units are single-family lots and disputes between landlords and tenants are referred to a mediation service. The Town refers disputes to the Los Altos Dispute Resolution Services. Per communication with the dispute resolution service providers in August and December 2022, from the 2017/18 fiscal year through the first two quarters of 2021, Los Altos Dispute Resolution services received 166 calls for information and referrals and 80 opened cases which were resolved, educated, conciliated, or mediated. The tracking and reporting from both the City of Los Altos and Town of Los Altos Hills resulted in:
▪ 60 calls for information and referral, and 46 opened cases in Fiscal Year 2017-2018; ▪ 30 calls for information and referral and 13 opened cases in Fiscal Year 2018-2019; ▪ 36 calls for information and referral and 11 opened cases in Fiscal Year 2019-2020; ▪ 35 calls for information and referral and 9 opened cases in Fiscal Year 2020-2021; and ▪ 5 calls for information and referral and 1 opened cases in the first two quarters of Fiscal Year 2021.

The HCD AFFH Data Viewer Tool Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) Inquiries by City (HUD 2013-2021) indicated a total of 0 inquiries, or the lowest ratio of less than 0.25 inquiries per 1,000 population (0 inquiries /4,767 = 0 per 1,000).

Community and stakeholder input as part of this Housing Element update suggests that there is limited local data or local knowledge of fair housing and discriminatory issues and service needs in Los Altos Hills. It is also possible that local residents who may be in need of fair housing services are not aware of, or not able to access, Mid-Peninsula Citizens services.

The Town is committed to continuing to contract with Los Altos Dispute Resolution services or provide a similar service through Program D-3. The Town is in compliance with all State and Federal fair housing laws.

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Findings
There are no communities with concentrations of fair housing issues within the Town, as it is relatively homogenous between tracts in both population characteristics and land use. A review of relevant Town policies and regulations shows that the Town is in compliance with all State and Federal fair housing laws. Nevertheless, common concerns from residents include the high cost of living, which may prevent their children from returning to their hometown. Additionally, residents raised concerns about the difficult process of trying to create housing, whether it is due to zoning constraints or permitting times and costs for ADUs. In addition, the high cost of labor and materials in the San Francisco Bay Area and a shortage of construction workers substantially increases the cost and time to build any type of housing unit. The Town is including a program to adopt a set of preapproved ADU plans to help encourage ADU production and the ADU permitting process (Program A-8).

Integration and Segregation
Race Ethnicity
Analyzing the Town of Los Altos Hills’ racial and ethnic makeup reveals areas where fair housing issues may be prevalent. Almost the entirety of the Town has a sizeable White majority, with some pockets having a predominant White majority. When Los Altos Hills incorporated in 1956, the Town required a 1-acre minimum lot size and barred the construction of multifamily housing. As these limitations often mean wealth is required for residency in the Town, generational wealth increases the likelihood of the ability to reside in Los Altos Hills. There is a common correlation between wealth and race, which may help explain the racial concentrations in the Town.

The areas directly surrounding the Town also have sizeable or predominant White majorities.

Proportionately, the Town has a larger White population than the Region, with the Town being 60 percent non-Hispanic White, Santa Clara County being 32 percent non-Hispanic White, and the Bay Area being 39 percent non-Hispanic White.

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Figure 11: Racial and Ethnic Majority, 2019
Source: HCD AFFH Data Viewer
The Town’s ethnic makeup is relatively similar between tracts with no concentrations within the Town. The non-White population increasing over time. The area of the town with a larger non-White population also encompasses the community college campus of Foothill College; see Figure 12. However, the tract showing to be a higher percentage non-White is about 46.6 percent non-White, compared to the 33.6 percent and 38.5 percent in tracts showing to be less non-White, a relatively small difference. Countywide, the non-White population is much larger than in the Town. While in Los Altos Hills 39.2 percent of the population is non-White,

58.4 percent of the County is non-White. However, the cities directly surrounding Los Altos Hills also have a similar ethnic makeup to Los Altos Hills.

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Figure 12: Percentage of the Population that is Non-White, 2010 and 2020 Source: HCD AFFH Data Viewer
As shown in Figure 13, there is little differentiation between racial and ethnic makeup between tracts, placement of RHNA sites in certain areas is unlikely to cause any further segregation as they follow the current patterns of the Town acreage. The three major sites are not in any areas that have a concentrated non-White population.

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Figure 13: Non-White Population Comparison of RHNA Units by Town Acreage Dissimilarity Index – Race and Ethnicity
Segregation can also be quantified by using the dissimilarity index. The dissimilarity index measures the distribution of two groups in a town and assigns a score between 1-100. The level of segregation is determined by assessing what percentage of residents of a census block would have to move for each block to have the exact same population of said group.

Therefore, a decreasing dissimilarity index implies higher integration, and a more even distribution of each ethnicity when compared to the White population. A higher dissimilarity index indicates higher concentrations of the indicated ethnic groups in areas of the Town, when compared to the White population distribution. The formula for this calculation is provided by HCD’s AFFH Guidance Document.

The categories for the dissimilarity index on a scale of 1-100 are as follows:
▪ <30: Low Segregation
▪ 30 – 60: Moderate Segregation
▪ >60: High Segregation
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
20-40% 20-40% 40-60% 40-60%
Percent of RHNA Units or Town Acreage
Percent of the Population that is Non-White by Block Group Lower Moderate Above Moderate Town Acreage

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Table 41 displays the dissimilarity index for race in Los Altos Hills and the Bay Area. The dissimilarity index between the White and various non-White populations throughout the Town is in the low segregation category. The highest dissimilarity within the Town is between the Black Population and the White population, but there is almost no Black population in the Town, which may skew the score to appear as highly segregated. Los Altos Hills has lower dissimilarity index scores than in the Bay Area as a region, indicating there is potentially less racial segregation, comparatively.

Table 41: Dissimilarity Index for Race, 2020
Los Altos Hills Bay Area
2000 2010 2020 2000 2010 2020
Non-White/White 6.2 4 8.1 22.8 21.9 19.8
Black/White 16.4 24.3 16.2 34.2 32.4 31.2
Hispanic/White 6.9 15.8 7.3 27.1 26.0 24.6
Asian/White 7.3 6.3 9.2 23.2 23.4 22.6
Source: ABAG AFFH Data Report
However, since the Town has a smaller population, and a large non-White population, the size of the Town may impact the dissimilarity index scores in other, unknown ways.

Comparing the Town to the County, rather than the Town’s neighborhoods to each other, may better illustrate segregation between minority populations regionally. According to the Berkeley Othering and Belonging Institute, the Divergence Index can compare the racial groups between a census tract and a statistical area.7F7F 7 At an index of 0.33, Los Altos Hills has
high divergence between its tracts and its statistical area. Therefore, while there is not high segregation between neighborhoods in the Town, there is segregation between the Town and the region.

Income
The dissimilarity index can also be used to calculate income segregation, using the same scale as provided above. The dissimilarity index between below-moderate and abovemoderate income groups is in the low segregation category, as shown in Table 42. Regionally in the Bay Area, the dissimilarity index indicates low to moderate segregation by income.

This is in part due to a larger representation of the various income levels in the region-wide population versus the Town population. Land use patterns in the Town are likely a contributing factor to a higher level of segregation by income. The Town is including Program A-1 to create a multifamily zone and overlay zone so that it is suitable to accommodate lowerincome households. 7 Berkeley Othering and Belonging Institute https://belonging.berkeley.edu/technical-appendix

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The Town is including several programs to further accommodate lower-income households.

Increasing housing mobility and housing opportunities for the lower-income population includes multifamily rental housing and lower cost rental opportunities. The Town is including Programs A-1, A-2, A-4, A-5, and A-6 to create a multifamily zone and overlay zone, allow by right approval for 20 percent affordable housing developments, establish minimum densities for low-income development, and conduct an inclusionary zoning feasibility study, respectively. The Town is also incentivizing the production of ADUs using methods discussed in Programs A-7 and G-2, including tracking and monitoring ADUs and encouraging existing ADUs to remain affordable. The Town is also including Program F-3 to create a registry of affordable rental units as the units are built.

Table 42: Dissimilarity Index for Income, 2010 and 2015 2010 2015
Below 80% AMI
vs. Above 80%
AMI Dissimilarity
Below 50% AMI vs.

Above 120% AMI
Dissimilarity
Below 80% AMI vs.

Above 80% AMI
Dissimilarity
Below 50% AMI vs.

Above 120% AMI
Dissimilarity
Los Altos
Hills 25.6 26.1 12.9 14.4
Bay Area 28.7 36.6 27.4 35.1
Source: ABAG AFFH Data Report
There are no areas within the Town where more than 25 percent of the population is in the low- to moderate-income population. Los Altos Hills has a higher percentage of single-family homes, and the lack of multifamily units correlates with the lack of a low- or moderateincome population. The County as a whole follows this correlation, with areas with more multifamily housing having more of a low- to moderate-income population. As noted in the Needs Section, the median income of the Town of Los Altos Hills is $250,001, over $100,000 higher than the County median of $133,076.

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Figure 14: Low to Moderate Income Population, 2021
Source: HCD AFFH Data Viewer
As shown in Figure 15, throughout the Town, the low- to moderate-income population makes up less than 25 percent of each block group. As such, the three main RHNA sites are not located in any areas with an existing high concentration of low- to moderate-income population and are not expected to have a negative effect on the trend of this population.

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Figure 15: Low-Moderate Income Population Comparison of RHNA Units by Town Acreage
There are no areas within the Town where more than 10 percent of the population is below the federal poverty line. Los Altos Hills has a high percentage of single-family homes, so the lack of those in poverty correlates with the lack of multifamily or affordable housing. There is not a history of poverty in the Town. The population living below the federal poverty level countywide is also relatively low, at 7.2 percent, versus 3 percent in the Town. A high cost of living in the Bay Area region means that while there may not be a large population living below the federal poverty line, affording to live in the area can still be difficult even when making well above poverty level.

The Town is including several programs to increase affordable living opportunities in the area through multifamily rental housing and lower cost rental opportunities. The Town is including Programs A-1, A-2, A-4, A-5, and A-6 to create a multifamily zone and overlay zone, allow by right approval for 20 percent affordable housing developments, establish minimum densities for low-income development, and conduct an inclusionary zoning feasibility study, respectively. The Town is also incentivizing the production of ADUs using methods discussed in Programs A-7 and G-2, including tracking and monitoring ADUs and encouraging existing 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
0-25% 0-25%
Percent of RHNA Units or Town Acreage
Percent of the Population that is Low to Moderate Income by Block Group Lower Moderate Above Moderate Town Acreage

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ADUs to remain affordable. The Town is also including Program F-3 to create a registry of affordable rental units as the units are built.

Figure 16: Poverty Status, 2014 and 2019
Source: HCD AFFH Data Viewer
Per the HCD AFFH data viewer and as shown in Figure 17, there is little Housing Choice Voucher use within the Town of Los Altos Hills. Though tracts with less than 10 users are omitted from the data service, the overall town demographics make it unlikely that there is use not being shown by the data. There is a concentration of voucher use to the north of the Town, in the area around Stanford University. This part of Town is older and has smaller homes on average and there may be older ADUs or rental units mixed throughout which provide income for owners who are on fixed incomes.

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Figure 17: Housing Choice Vouchers, 2010
Source: HCD AFFH Data Viewer
Familial Status
There are 79 female-headed households in Los Altos Hills, constituting 2.6 percent of the total households in the community. Of these, only 34 have related children, or 1.1 percent of the total. The typical female-headed household is a property owner and resides in a singlefamily dwelling. Additionally, none of the RHNA sites are located in an area with a concentration of children in female-headed households, as shown in Figure 18.

Regionally, female-headed households make up 13.8 percent of households in Santa Clara County, about 7 percent of the total households are female-headed households with children. Comparatively, this population makes up a low amount of the Town’s total households, and thus Los Altos Hills may have a comparatively lesser need for subsidized day care than the region.

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Figure 18: Children in Female-Headed Households and RHNA Sites, 2021 Source: HCD AFFH Data Viewer
There is no spatial concentration of children in female-headed households in the Town, and thus no correlation between these households and disproportionate need. As shown in Figure 19, throughout the Town, female-headed households make up less than 20 percent of each tract. As such, the three main RHNA sites are not located in any areas with an existing high concentration of female-headed households and are not expected to have a negative effect on the trend of this population.

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Figure 19: Percent of Children in Female-Headed Households Comparison of RHNA Units by Town Acreage
Figure 20 shows that Town-wide, over 80 percent of children live in married-couple households. Countywide, a high percentage of children are also in married-couple households, with 81.8 percent of children meeting this category compared to the 96 percent in Los Altos Hills.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
0-20% 0-20%
Percent of RHNA Units or Town Acreage
Percent of Children in Female-Headed Households by Tract Lower Moderate Above Moderate Town Acreage

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Figure 20: Children in Married Couple Households, 2019
Source: HCD AFFH Data Viewer
Persons with Disabilities
Per Table 43, in Los Altos Hills, 512 individuals, or 6 percent of the population, has a disability, of which 381 are part of the elderly population. Rates of disability in the County and region are slightly higher than in the Town.

Table 43: Population by Disability Status, 2019
Geography No Disability With a Disability
Los Altos Hills 7,993 94.0% 512 6.0%
Santa Clara County 1,763,431 92.0% 154,212 8.0%
Bay Area 6,919,762 90.4% 735,533 9.6%
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates Data, 2019, Table B18101.

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The most prominent disabilities in Los Altos Hills are hearing difficulties, independent living difficulties, and ambulatory difficulties, as shown in Figure 21. Los Altos Hills has similar rates of persons with a hearing difficulty to the County, and lower rates of all other types of disabilities. Countywide, independent living and ambulatory difficulties are also among the most prominent. While hearing difficulties are the most common type of disability in the Town, they are the fourth most prevalent disability type in the County. Compared to the County, Los Altos Hills has a larger elderly, a population where hearing difficulties are more prominent. For those with independent living or ambulatory difficulties, ADU availability would be a benefit, as it allows caretakers or family members to live adjacent to a resident in need of additional support for mental and physical health issues, or with conducting everyday errands.

The Town of Los Altos Hills provides transportation services, food delivery, and prescription delivery for seniors. This may support those with ambulatory or independent living difficulties.

Figure 21: Disability Characteristics, 2020

2.3%

2.0%

1.6%

1.3%

0.4% 0.3%

2.3%

4.5% 4.4%

3.3%

2.1%

1.4%

0.0%

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

2.0%

2.5%

3.0%

3.5%

4.0%

4.5%

5.0%
Hearing
Difficulty
Independent
Living Difficulty
Ambulatory
Difficulty
Cognitive
Difficulty
Self Care
Difficulty
Vision Difficulty
Percent of Population
Disability Characteristic
Los Altos Hills Santa Clara County

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Source: ACS Five Year Estimates
While household design and location could prevent those with an ambulatory difficulty from living in certain areas of the town, Figure 22 shows that the distribution of the disabled population is relatively evenly distributed throughout Los Altos Hills, with no extreme concentration. Furthermore, the population with a disability has decreased since 2014, with the distribution becoming more homogenous over time. While there is no concentration of the disabled population, the even distribution implies a need for well-distributed health care access. The Town has provided a resource with recommended accessibility features to include in-home development for applicants and their architects to incorporate these into home design features as desired. These recommended accessibility features are intended to provide universal, consistent accessibility designs and to make homes safer and easier to use for aging or disabled persons.6F6F
8 These Town-recommended features include:
▪ An accessible route of travel from the sidewalk or street to the primary entrance with graded surfaces and no steps to the entry;
▪ At least one accessible secondary access to the dwelling; ▪ Thirty-six-inch-wide doors with low threshold heights; ▪ Wide halls and an accessible travel route to the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and common rooms;
▪ Adequate work and floor space at appliances;
▪ Adequate maneuvering space in bathrooms; and
▪ Minimum or no thresholds in at least one shower with appropriate drainage as required by the Building Department.

There are no RHNA sites in areas where a high percentage of the population has a disability as there is no area with a concentration of a disabled population. Location of the sites is not likely to have much effect on this demographic.
8 Age Friendly Design Elements https://www.losaltoshills.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/95/AgeFriendly-Design-PDF

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Figure 22: Population with a Disability, 2021
Source: HCD AFFH Data Viewer
As shown in Figure 23, throughout the Town, the population with a disability makes up less than 20 percent of each tract. 96 percent of the town acreage has a population where less than 10 percent of the tract’s population has a disability. As such, the three main RHNA sites are not located in any areas with an existing high concentration of the population with a disability and are not expected to have a negative effect on the trend of this population.

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Figure 23: Population with a Disability Comparison of RHNA Units by Town Acreage Findings
Overall, the Town of Los Altos Hills consists primarily of wealthy households with a majority of white residents and a large and growing Asian population. The Town has few children in female-headed households, and the majority of children in married-couple households.

Segregation is relatively low compared to the surrounding Bay Area. This is likely due to the higher levels of racial diversity regionally than in the Town. The location of the RHNA sites is not likely to have much effect on concentrations of certain populations within the Town, as the land use and makeup of the Town are currently evenly distributed.

The Town is including a number of programs to address the results of the integration and segregation analysis. This includes Program A-1 which creates a new multifamily zone and overlay zone to allow and expedite affordable housing construction to increase housing choice options and mobility, Program A-6 which conducts a study of and adopts an inclusionary housing ordinance, Program F-3 which provides fair housing outreach and resources, including creating a registry of affordable rental units as the units are built, and Program G-3 which educates residents about source of income protection and encourages housing mobility. The Town is including Programs A-2 and A-5, to allow by right approval for 20 percent affordable housing developments and establish minimum densities for low0% 10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
0-10% 0-10% 10-20% 10-20%
Percent of RHNA Units or Town Acreage
Percent of the Population with a Disability by Tract
Lower Moderate Above Moderate Town Acreage

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income development. The Town is also incentivizing the production of ADUs using methods discussed in Programs A-7 and G-2, including tracking and monitoring ADUs and encouraging existing ADUs to remain affordable.

Racially & Ethnically Concentrated Areas of Poverty and Affluence R/ECAPs
HUD defines Racially and Ethnically Concentrated Areas of Poverty (R/ECAPs) as areas where the percentage of the population that is non-White is over 50 percent and the percentage of households with incomes below the poverty line is over 40 percent.

As shown in Figure 24, there are no R/ECAPs in the Town of Los Altos Hills per HCD’s AFFH Data Viewer Tool. The closest R/ECAP to Los Altos Hills is in the City of San Jose, about 20 miles east of the Town.

There are no RHNA sites that are in R/ECAPs and the site selections will not create conditions that lead to a R/ECAP.

Figure 24: Presence of a R/ECAP Comparison of RHNA Units by Town Acreage 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
No R/ECAP Present No R/ECAP Present
Percent of RHNA Units or Town Acreage
Presence of a R/ECAP by Tract
Lower Moderate Above Moderate Town Acreage

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Racially Concentrated Areas of Affluence
Per HCD’s AFFH guidance document, a Racially Concentrated Area of Affluence (RCAA) is an area with a population that is greater than 80 percent White and has a median household income level over $125,000.8F8F
9 The Town of Los Altos Hills only meets one of those two criteria.

The median income of the Town of Los Altos Hills is $250,001. The Town of Los Altos Hills is 60 percent non-Hispanic white and does not meet the RCAA criteria that greater than 80 percent of the population is White. HUD defines Racially Concentrated Areas of Affluence (RCAAs) as areas where the percentage of the population in a tract that is White is over 1.25 times the average percentage of the population that is White in the given Council of Governments (COG) region and median income is 1.5 times higher than the COG or State AMI, whichever is lower. Despite not meeting the HCD definition, Los Altos Hill is a racially concentrated area of affluence compared to the overall State AMI.

While the median income is higher in the Town than County-wide, The majority of the region surrounding the Town also meets the criteria to be considered an RCAA. The presence of an RCAA does not correlate with racial or housing type trends, as there is an RCAA present throughout this area and throughout the Town regardless of the racial composition or rates of overpayment.

Table 44: Median Income, 2019
Jurisdiction 2019 Median Income
Town of Los Altos Hills $250,001
Owner-Occupied Households $250,001
Renter-Occupied Households $250,001
Santa Clara County $133,076
Owner-Occupied Households $167,124
Renter-Occupied Households $97,280
The Town of Los Altos Hills in its entirety is a racially concentrated area of affluence as shown in Figure 25 per HCDs AFFH data viewer. The figure shows the two census tracts that make up approximately 95 percent of the Town, 117.01 and 117.04, as well as the census tracts with small slivers in the Town and neighboring census tracts. Surrounding jurisdictions also have large portions that are RCAAs. Regionally, almost the entire Bay Area is considered an RCAA. The median income for Santa Clara County as a whole is over $125,000. As is the case in Los Altos Hills as shown in Figure 11, almost the entire Bay Area has a sizeable white majority in each tract. Much of the surrounding areas are also in the high or highest resource category.
9https://www.hcd.ca.gov/community-development/affh/docs/affh_document_final_4-27-2021.pdf

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Income patterns indicate that the Town of Los Altos Hills is a concentrated area of high incomes and high resource. There is little variation between the two census tracts that make up the Town. To provide a finer level of analysis of key demographics that contribute to the Town’s designation as an RCAA, data is shown in Table 45 below by block group. There is still little variation among census block groups in the Town. There is a slightly higher percentage of non-white population in the northern and southern census block groups. Many of the block groups do not have median income provided on the AFFH data viewer site.

The Town is including Programs A-1 and G-3 on RHNA sites to allow for an increased variety of housing stock and housing mobility in the Town. In coordination with these programs, the Town is including Program F-2: Housing Mobility, which includes allowing multifamily housing within the Town. Providing lower income rental units will attend to the needs of a lower income population.

While HCD’s AFFH guidance document defines a Racially Concentrated Area of Affluence (RCAA) as an area with a population that is greater than 80 percent, as shown in Table 45, only about 60 percent of each census tract containing an RCAA is White. These tracts in Los Altos Hills are still considered RCAAs as the percentage of the population in the tract that is White is over 1.25 times the average percentage of the population that is White in ABAG.

Also shown in the Table below is the Median income in the tracts where an RCAA is present.

The median incomes in the tracts making up the majority of the land area are about $213,000 and $224,000. Overpayment by owners is at a rate of 28.3 percent in the northern tract and

38.5 percent in the southern tract where the RCAA is present. As renter-occupied households only make up 8.5 percent of the households in Los Altos Hills, the distribution in relationship to the presence of the RCAA may be relatively arbitrary. While the majority of the surrounding tracts are also RCAAs, the owners in the nearby tracts to the east of the Town experience overpayment at similar rates, indicating little to no correlation between the presence of an RCAA and rates of overpayment in this area.

The Town has a historic use of racial covenants placed on several properties. Racially restrictive covenants and property deed restrictions were popular in the 1920s. Though no longer in effect, that these covenants have lasting impact on the racial and ethnic makeup of the Town. However, the effect of the racial covenants has diminished with time, and the Town has gone from 98 percent White in 1970 to 60 percent White in 2020. The increasing diversity of the Town indicates that impacts of racial covenants are waning and the primary factors limiting housing mobility and choice in the Town currently are household wealth, low density zoning, and high housing costs.

Los Altos Hills will rezone at leastover 1934 gross acres to allow high density multifamily development at 20 to 24 dwelling units per acre of contiguous buildable area (excludes slopes > 25%) du/ac, including over 4 gross acres rezoned to multifamily, and over 15 acres in an a multifamily overlay zone allowing high density multifamily development at 30 du/ac on infill sites totaling 19 acres of institutional designated land, and will rezone 15 acres of

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single family designated land to allow multifamily development of at least 20 du/ac. The new zoning, along with ADUs and SB 9 units, will accommodate the Town’s need for lower and moderate-income housing.

The Town is including several programs to increase affordable living opportunities throughout the area through multifamily rental housing and lower cost rental opportunities.

The Town is including Programs A-1, A-2, A-4, A-5, and A-6 to create a multifamily zone and overlay zone, allow by right approval for 20 percent affordable housing developments, establish minimum densities for low-income development, and conduct an inclusionary zoning feasibility study, respectively. The Town is also incentivizing the production of ADUs using methods discussed in Programs A-7 and G-2, including tracking and monitoring ADUs and encouraging existing ADUs to remain affordable. The Town is also including Program F3 to create a registry of affordable rental units as the units are built.

Table 45: RCAA Coincidence with Other Fair Housing Factors by Tract Censu
s Tract
RHN
A
Units
TCAC
Composit
e
Category
Median
Househol
d Income
% with a
Disabilit
y
% of
Childre
n in FHH
CalEnviroScree
n Percentile
%
NonWhite
RCAA
Presen
t
Census Tracts Mostly Inside of Los Altos Hills
117.01 94 Highest
Resource $213,056 6.3% 0% 1.1 38.5%
Yes
117.04 330 Highest
Resource $224,219 5.6% 7.6% 3.8 40.1%
Yes
117.04 330 Highest
Resource $224,219 5.6% 7.6% 3.8 40.1%
Yes
117.04 330 Highest
Resource $224,219 5.6% 7.6% 3.8 40.1%
Yes
Census Tracts Mostly Outside of Los Altos Hills
103.00 0
Highest
Resource $152,031 5.1% 10.9% 0.4 22.2%
Yes
103.00 0
Highest
Resource $152,031 5.1% 10.9% 0.4 22.2%
Yes
103.00 0
Highest
Resource $152,031 5.1% 10.9% 0.4 22.2%
Yes
117.05 1
Highest
Resource $171,071 9.1% 8.6% 4.8 39.2%
Yes

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Censu
s Tract
RHN
A
Units
TCAC
Composit
e
Category
Median
Househol
d Income
% with a
Disabilit
y
% of
Childre
n in FHH
CalEnviroScree
n Percentile
%
NonWhite
RCAA
Presen
t
117.07 0
Highest
Resource $131,250 11.6% 3.1% 0.5 35.2%
Yes
117.07 0
Highest
Resource $131,250 11.6% 3.1% 0.5 35.2%
Yes
117.07 0
Highest
Resource $131,250 11.6% 3.1% 0.5 35.2%
Yes
Source: AFFH Data Viewer
Figure 25: Regionally Concentrated Areas of Affluence
Source: HCD AFFH Data Viewer

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Disparities in Access to Opportunities
California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC)
One tool that can be used to analyze disparities in access to opportunities is the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee’s (TCAC) Opportunity Area scores. These were prepared by a task force commissioned by TCAC and HCD to identify areas statewide whose economic, educational, and environmental characteristics support positive outcomes for low-income families. The map is updated annually. Opportunity maps are made for three domains:
economic, environmental, and education. Each map uses categorical indicators to determine its individual score. A composite score and resource designation combining all three designations is then assigned to each block group.

To determine the final resource category, the top 20 percent of overall scores in a county are labeled as highest resource and the next 20 percent of scores are labeled as high resource.

Then, any areas that are considered segregated and that have at least 30 percent of the population living below the federal poverty line are labeled as an area of high segregation and poverty. Any remaining uncategorized areas are evenly divided between moderate resource and low resource areas.

Economic indicators include poverty, adult education, employment, job proximity, and median home value. Figure 26 shows the TCAC economic score as overall very positive, with all tracts having a score over 0.75. High economic scores in the Town may be associated with high incomes and high home values. The surrounding tracts have positive economic scores as well.

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Figure 26: TCAC Economic Score, 2021
Source: HCD AFFH Data Viewer
Education indicators include math and reading proficiencies of fourth graders, high school graduation rates, and the student poverty rate. The Los Altos School District (LASD) serves all of Los Altos Hills, as well as Los Altos, Mountain View, and Palo Alto. As shown in Figure 27, the TCAC education score is overall very positive, with all tracts having a score over 0.75.

High education scores in the Town may be associated with high incomes and high tax funding. The surrounding tracts have positive education scores as well.

The vast majority of schools in the Los Altos Elementary School District are considered above average based on the Great Schools ratings. The one public school in Los Altos Hills is rated a 9 out of 10. The ratings are based on academics, equity, and the school environment compared to other public schools in the state. Scores throughout the Bay Area are relatively high, with schools in nearby cities like Los Altos and Portola Valley receiving primarily scores of 8 and above.

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Figure 27: TCAC Education Score, 2021
Source: HCD AFFH Data Viewer
The environmental domain utilizes CalEnviroScreen (CES) 4.0 pollution indicators and values.

The majority of the Town has below average environmental outcomes, with scores between

0.25 and 0.50. Highest scored environmental threats to the community include groundwater threats, traffic, cleanups, and hazardous waste. The Town being bisected by a highway is likely a contributor to these environmental hazards.

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Figure 28: TCAC Environmental Score, 2021
Source: HCD AFFH Data Viewer
Regionally, the Town has higher environmental outcomes than other cities in the County. A regional map of TCAC environmental scores is shown in Figure 29. The region has varied scores, with better environmental outcomes in the northwest and worst in the northeast.

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Figure 29: Regional TCAC Environmental Score, 2021
Source: HCD AFFH Data Viewer

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Composite scores for the Town and RHNA sites by income level are shown in Figure 30. The entire Town scores in the highest resource category. As such, all RHNA sites are in areas designated as highest resource.

Figure 30: TCAC Composite Score and RHNA Sites,
Source: HCD AFFH Data Viewer
As shown in Figure 31, the entire Town is in the highest resource TCAC category. As such, the RHNA sites are all located in highest resource areas and are not expected to have a negative effect on this trend.

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Figure 31: TCAC Composite Score Comparison of RHNA Units by Town Acreage Transportation
Access to adequate transportation and a variety of transit options can help illustrate disparities in access to opportunities. The Valley Transit Authority (VTA) serves Santa Clara County, and there is also a commercial shuttle service available from the San Francisco and San Jose airports.

Transit routes in the Bay Area are shown in Figure 32. The VTA provides service to Foothill College with bus lines along El Monte Road. The Foothill College-Mountain View bus route provides a connection to the Mountain View Caltrain station and to the Tasman Light Rail Line. The VTA also provides express service to Foothill College via Interstate 280. There is also some biking infrastructure in the areas surrounding Foothill College. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Highest Resource Highest Resource
Percent of RHNA Units or Town Acreage
TCAC Composite Score by Census Tract
Lower Moderate Above Moderate Town Acreage

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Figure 32: Transit Route Map, 2022
Stanford University also has a bus service that serves the Stanford Business Park which directly abuts the northerly Town boundary. One of the bus lines, the Marguerite Shuttle, goes up to Arastradero Road.

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Figure 33: Marguerite Shuttle Map
CalEnviroScreen 4.0
CES is a tool that identifies communities in California that are disproportionately burdened by pollutants. While Figure 28 uses CES 3.0, Figure 34 below uses CES 4.0, which has more recent data, improved calculations, and additional indicators. Factors used to identify communities include ozone, particulate matter, drinking water contaminants, pesticide use,

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lead, diesel particulates, asthma rates, population characteristics, and linguistic isolation. A higher score indicates a higher effect of pollutants for the area.

The entirety of Los Altos Hills is below the third CES percentile and is therefore considered to have an extremely low effect of pollutants on the area. The tracts are only slightly above the 3rd percentile when not including population characteristics. The areas surrounding Los Altos Hills have similarly low CES scores. As the entire Town is in the lowest score category of CES, distribution of the RHNA sites will all occur within a low CES score area.

The Town adopted a Climate Action Plan in 2021. As a part of Program B-5, the Town will provide incentives to encourage energy efficient projects, including implementation of the identified community measures and actions identified in the 2021 Climate Action Plan.

Actions include incentives for electrification and energy efficient buildings, permit streamlining for electrification, a subsidized home electrification assessment, Electric Vehicle Charging Station Permit Streamlining, and Reach Codes.

Figure 34: CES Percentile and RHNA Sites
Source: HCD AFFH Data Viewer

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As shown in Figure 35, the entire Town is in 0-10 CES percentile. As such, the RHNA sites are all located in areas with the lowest CES scores and are not expected to have a negative effect on this trend.

Figure 35: CalEnviroScreen Percentile Scores Comparison of RHNA Units by Town Acreage
Findings
Trends in the access to opportunities analysis show that the Town largely has good access to opportunities throughout. All of the Town is classified as highest resource, despite the low-scoring environmental opportunity scores. As all of the Town is classified as highest resource, all RHNA sites are in highest-resource areas, ensuring that future housing will result in access to opportunities for households at all income levels.

The Town is including a number of programs to address the results of the access to opportunities analysis. This includes Program A-1 which includes adopting a multifamily housing zone and overlay zone.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
0-10 0-10
Percent of RHNA Units or Town Acreage
CalEnviroScreen Percentile by Tract
Lower Moderate Above Moderate Town Acreage

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Disproportionate Housing Needs
Substandard Housing
Disproportionate housing needs are determined by finding trends in housing problems in the population by race, household size, or household age. A household is considered substandard or having a housing problem if it has one or more of the following housing problems:
▪ Housing unit lacks complete kitchen facilities
▪ Housing unit lacks complete plumbing facilities
▪ Housing unit is overcrowded
▪ Household is cost burdened
Figure 36 and Figure 37 show a comparison of housing problems and cost burdens as they relate to race, age, and housing size. A large household is a household with three or more children, but it is also often calculated as a household with five or more people. Large and elderly households are often more likely to experience housing problems. Note that there are no Native American households in the Town so no data is shown. There are no Pacific Islander or Hispanic rental households in the Town, so no data is shown. There are 15 Black owner occupied and no Black renter occupied households in the Town; no Black households have any housing problems in the Town, so no bar is shown. There are 84 Hispanic owner occupied households in the Town, and none experience any housing problems or cost burden.

Figure 36: Housing Problems by Tenure and Race/Elderly/Housing Size, 2018 Source: HUD CHAS Data, 2018
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
White Black Asian Nat Am Pac
Islander
Hispanic Elderly Large All
Owner-Occupied Renter-Occupied Santa Clara County

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Figure 37 shows a comparison of cost burden as it relates to race, age, and housing size. Cost burden is when a household spends more than 30 percent of its monthly income on housing costs like rent, mortgage, or utilities. Large households have more costs to support more people and may experience cost burden or no excess of funds to amend housing problems.

Elderly households may be on a fixed income in a home bought before retirement, which affects excess funds necessary for housing maintenance.

Figure 37: Cost Burden by Tenure and Race/Elderly/Housing Size, 2018 Source: HUD CHAS Data, 2018
Per Figure 38, there are no concentrated areas of cost-burdened owners. Over time, cost burden for homeowners has decreased throughout the Town. As shown in Figure 39, overpayment by renters has decreased south of the highway, and increased north of the highway over time. As renter-occupied households only make up 8.5 percent of the households in Los Altos Hills, the distribution may be relatively arbitrary.

Los Altos Hills has a lower rate of cost burden than the County among both renter and owner households. In Los Altos Hills 20.8 percent of renters are cost burdened compared to, 43.3 percent of renters are cost burdened countywide.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
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100%
White Black Asian Nat Am Pac
Islander
Hispanic Elderly Large All
Owner-Occupied Renter-Occupied Santa Clara County

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Figure 38: Overpayment by Owners, 2014 and 2019
Source: HCD AFFH Data Viewer
Figure 39: Overpayment by Renters, 2014 and 2019
Source: HCD AFFH Data Viewer
Overcrowding
A household is considered overcrowded when there is more than one person per room, including living and dining rooms but excluding bathrooms and kitchens. There is no concentration of overcrowding in the Town of Los Altos Hills, and overcrowding is not a prominent issue in the Town. Town-wide, only 9 households experience overcrowding, or 0.3 percent of the population. All households experiencing overcrowding are renter households.

Regionally, overcrowding is not a predominant issue, with 8 percent of households experiencing overcrowding, with the nearest concentration of overcrowded households being in Mountain View.

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Figure 40: Overcrowded Households, 2010
Source: HCD AFFH Data Viewer
Table 46: Overcrowding, 2020
Overcrowded
Households
Percent of
Households
Overcrowded
Households
Percent of
Households
Overcrowded
Households
Percent of
Households
Owner Renter Total
Los Altos Hills
0 0% 9 0.3% 9 0.3%
Santa Clara County
12,340 1.9% 39,022 6.1% 51,362 8.0%
Source: US Census Bureau (2016-2020). Table B25014 American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Homelessness
Santa Clara County conducts a biannual homeless census and survey to collect information on individuals and families sleeping in emergency shelters and transitional housing, as well

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as people sleeping on the streets, in cars, in abandoned properties, or in other places not meant for human habitation.

The Town of Los Altos Hills was found to have two unsheltered individuals in this count, and no sheltered individuals, as shown in Table 47. It is estimated that there are no longer any unsheltered homeless individuals in the Town, and therefore no spatial concentrations or trends of homelessness. The Community Services Agency provides help finding affordable housing, navigating community resources and programs, and paying for first month's housing costs for homeless individuals in Los Altos Hills. The Town has a much lower homeless population overall than the rest of the region.

Table 47: Regional Point in Time Count, 2019
Homeless Population Sheltered Unsheltered Total
Los Altos Hills 0 2 2
Campbell 0 74 74
Cupertino 0 159 159
Gilroy 359 345 704
Los Altos 0 76 76
Los Gatos 0 16 16
Milpitas 0 125 125
Monte Sereno 0 0 0
Morgan Hill 0 114 114
Mountain View 32 574 606
Palo Alto 14 299 313
San Jose 980 5,117 6,097
Santa Clara 62 264 326
Saratoga 0 10 10
Sunnyvale 147 477 624
Source: 2019 Santa Clara County Homeless Census and Survey.

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Displacement
The Urban Displacement Project at University of California, Berkeley developed a map of communities where residents may be particularly vulnerable to displacement in the event of increased redevelopment and drastic shifts in housing cost; these are known as sensitive communities.9F9F
10 Sensitive communities are defined based on the following set of criteria:
▪ The share of very low-income residents is above 20 percent. ▪ The tract must also meet two of the following criteria:
o The share of renters is above 40 percent.
o The share of people of color is above 50 percent.
o The share of very low-income households (50 percent AMI or below) that are severely rent burdened is above the county median.
o They or areas in close proximity have been experiencing displacement pressures. Displacement pressure is defined as:
▪ The percentage change in rent above county median for rent increases OR
▪ The difference between tract median rent and median rent for surrounding tracts above median for all tracts in county (rent gap).

There are no areas in the Town vulnerable to displacement identified by the Urban Displacement Project. In general, the Town is attempting to meet its RHNA without displacing existing residents. Therefore, the Town’s RHNA strategy is not anticipated to exacerbate risk of displacement. Instead, it is expected to minimize displacement by providing new housing opportunities for all income levels.

Findings
The analysis of disproportionate housing needs shows similar trends to the access to opportunities and integration and segregation analysis. There are no concentrations of populations with more problems or risks. Therefore, RHNA sites are not in areas with concentrated disproportionate housing needs.

The Town is including a number of programs to help address disproportionate need, including programs A-6 Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, B-4 Objective Standards, and F-1 Place-Base Community Improvements.
10 University of California, Berkeley, Sensitive Communities Project, https://www.sensitivecommunities.org/.

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Other Contributing Factors
Historic Land Use Practices
The Town of Los Altos Hills was incorporated in 1956, at a population of 2,500. It is about 9 square miles. The Town was incorporated with the intent to maintain a rural-residential land use pattern. The Town has a minimum lot size of 1 acre, and multifamily uses are have not been allowed anywhere in the Town, although duplexes are permitted by right on most properties through Senate Bill 9 (SB 9) and the Town’s SB 9 Ordinance. The one-acre parcel size along with the rapid increase in home values over the past 40 years has resulted in some of the most expensive property values in the country. Additionally, the only housing allowed other than single-family residential, are ADUs and SB 9 units. No commercial or industrial uses are allowed in the Town, but there are several public and institutional uses allowed on parcels for educational, public, and religious uses.

Historic Use of Racial Covenants
After the 1917 Supreme Court decision found that explicitly racial zoning was illegal, many communities began practice of adopting large lot/low-density zoning.10F10F 11 This zoning made
land and housing more expensive and created new barriers and increased levels of segregation based on income that perpetuated similar racial impacts. These zoning and land use patterns limit housing availability and choice and have created patterns of segregation, and significant gaps in access to resources and opportunity that persist today.1F1F 12,
12F12F
13 The Town has a historic use of racial covenants placed on several properties. Racially restrictive covenants and property deed restrictions were popular in the 1920s. They prohibited the sale or rental of housing to persons based on race, ethnicity, country of origin or religion. They remained legal and common practice until the 1948 Supreme Court decision, Shelley v. Kraemer, declaring the government enforcement of racially based restrictive covenants illegal. However, the Court found that the covenants themselves were not invalid, thus allowing private parties to continue to voluntarily adhere to the restrictions.

The presence remained a significant signal and deterrent to fair housing. However, many 11 Buchanan vs. Warley.
12 Trounstine, Jessica. Segregation by Design (2018). Chapter 4, Engineering Enclaves: How Local Governments Produce Segregation.
13 Rothstein, Richard. The Color of Law (2017). Chapter 3, Racial Zoning.

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such covenants were common across the Bay Area and Santa Clara County and some still exist in official property deeds.13F13F
14 ,
14F14F
15 Multiple respondents in the survey noted that they were aware of a racial covenant on their property. Many property documents containing a racial covenant also include a disclaimer that the racial covenant is no longer applicable, but they are still in the written document, nonetheless. This exclusion of non-White populations prevented generational homeownership in the Town.

As housing costs continue to rise, current homeowners in the focus groups expressed that they would be unable to purchase their home today if they had not purchased it decades before. Though no longer in effect, that these covenants have lasting impact on the racial and ethnic makeup of the Town. However, the effect of the racial covenants has diminished with time, and the Town has gone from 98 percent White in 1970 to 60 percent White in 2020. The increasing diversity of the Town indicates that impacts of racial covenants are waning and the primary factors limiting housing mobility and choice in the Town currently are household wealth, low density zoning, and high housing costs.

Community Opposition to Housing Development
A portion of Town identity is steeped in maintaining the rural-residential character of the Town. This identity contributes to the lack of commercial and multifamily zoning in the Town.

This can manifest itself in community opposition to new development. A portion of survey responses illustrated this opposition to new housing developments, as respondents indicated the desire to for the Town to preserve its “rural-residential” character. However, the majority of community members contacted in focus groups and who responded to the survey showed an interest in more affordable or multifamily housing being made available in specific areas of the Town (many suggested at Foothill College) in order to provide housing that future generations may be able to afford.

Historic and contemporary attitudes of opposition to new housing development may have made it difficult to develop multifamily projects. The Town is addressing this by creating an overlay zone and the rezoning of identified opportunity sites to accommodate multifamily developments, through Program A-1.

Lending Patterns
Table 48 displays the disposition of conventional home purchase loan applications by race for the years 2018 and 2019. In the Town, non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Asian/Asian Pacific Islanders have the most applications denied. The acceptance rate is relatively 14 Rothstein, Richard. The Color of Law (2017). Chapter 5, Private Agreements, Government Enforcement.
15 Schafran, Alex. The Road to Resegregation (2018), page 159.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 131
consistent across racial groups and does not indicate the presence of racial discrimination in lending patterns in the Town.

Table 48: Mortgage Applications and Acceptance by Race, 2018-19 Racial / Ethnic
Group
Application
approved but
not accepted
Applicati
on denied
Application
withdrawn
by
applicant
File closed for
incompleteness
Loan
originated
American Indian or
Alaska Native, NonHispanic0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Asian / API,
Non-Hispanic 4 3% 26 19% 20 15% 5 4% 79 59%
Black or African
American, NonHispanic
1 33% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 2 67%
White, Non-Hispanic 4 2% 32 19% 26 15% 6 3% 104 60%
Hispanic or Latinx 1 12% 1 12% 1 12% 1 12% 4 50%
Unknown 4 4% 14 14% 14 14% 4 4% 63 64%
Totals 14 3% 73 18% 61 15% 16 4% 252 61%
Source: Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council's Home Mortgage Disclosure Act loan/application register files

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 132
Fair Housing Issues, Contributing Factors, and Meaningful Action Table 49 displays the identified fair housing issues, contributing factors, relative priority, and meaningful actions drawn from the analysis of fair housing. Higher priority is given to factors that limit fair housing choice and/or negatively impact fair housing, per Government Code Section 65583(c)(10)(A)(iv).

Table 50 provides a detailed overview of actions included in Housing Element Programs that are aimed at affirmatively furthering fair housing. The table separates the actions by their identified fair housing issue and priority level. It provides an overview of each specific commitment, timeline, a geographic targeting, and metric for each program.

Table 49: Contributing Factors
Identified Fair
Housing Issue Contributing Factor Action Priority
Outreach
• Lack of widely
publicized housing
information
• Program D-3: LandlordTenant Mediation
• Program E-1: Fair Housing
Education and Counseling
• Program F-3: Fair Housing
Outreach and
Enforcement
• Program G-1: Housing
Information
• Program G-2: ADU and SB
9 Education
Low
Integration and
Segregation
• History of racial
covenants
• Concentrated wealth in
the Town as compared
to the region
• Program A-6: Inclusionary
Housing Ordinance
• Program F-3: Fair Housing
Outreach and
Enforcement
• Program E-11: Incentives
for Lower-Income
Housing Development
Moderate
Disproportionate
Housing Needs
• Lack of affordable or
any multifamily
housing/diverse
housing stock
• Program A-6: Inclusionary
Housing Ordinance
• Program A-12: Conversion
to Duplex or Triplex
• Program E-7: Senior
Center Funding
High

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 133
Identified Fair
Housing Issue Contributing Factor Action Priority
• Program F-6: Participation
in Regional Housing
Mobility Efforts
• Program G-3: Source of
Income Protection /
Housing Mobility
Access to
Opportunity
• Lack of affordable or
any multifamily
housing/diverse
housing stock
• Local land use
practices/historical
zoning policies
• Program A-1: Multifamily
Zone District
• Program A-6:

Manufactured Home
Streamlining
• Program A-12: Conversion
to Duplex or Triplex
• Program F-3: Town
Affordable Rental Unit
Registry
• Program F-6: Participation
in Regional Housing
Mobility Efforts
• Program G-3: Source of
Income Protection /
Housing Mobility
• Program G-5: Tenant
Matching and Outreach
High

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 134
Table 50: AFFH Actions Matrix
HE Programs or
Other Activities Specific Commitment Timeline Geographic Targeting 2023 – 2031 Metric Outreach – Low Priority
Program D-3:

Landlord Tenant
Mediation
Continue to utilize Santa Clara County’s
contract with a fair housing specialist to
provide fair housing and landlord/tenant
mediation services. Provide LandlordTenant mediation through Los Altos Dispute Resolution Services or another
similar service. Distribute information
about these services to tenants through a
variety of media and online outlets,
namely the Town website, the Los Altos
Hills and paper materials at the Town
Hall.

Continuous and
Ongoing Town-wide
Increase inquiries to fair
housing specialist for
information and referral.

Increase traffic and
downloads to the Town’s
housing website by 20%
throughout the planning
period. Provide fair housing
materials at Planning and
Development Services booth
at Town events at least once a
year. Promote educational
materials and resources
through at least three
different mediums
(paper/hard copies, social
media, direct mailers, inperson events, website)

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 135
HE Programs or
Other Activities Specific Commitment Timeline Geographic Targeting 2023 – 2031 Metric Program E-1: Fair
Housing and
Mobility Education
and Counseling
Provide education and literature on fair
housing, housing mobility, and resolving
disputes; providing Health, Safety and Building
referrals; distributing landlord/tenant
guidebooks printed by the Department of
Consumer Affairs; provide Housing Choice
Voucher Assistance referrals; providing
counseling and resolution of housing
discrimination complaints.

Continuous and
Ongoing Town-wide
Increase inquiries to fair housing
specialist for information and
referral. Increase traffic and
downloads to the Town’s housing
website by 20 percent throughout
the planning period. Provide fair
housing and housing choice and
mobility materials at Planning and
Development Services booth at
Town events at least once a year.

Promote educational materials
and resources through at least
three different mediums
(paper/hard copies, social media,
direct mailers, in-person events,
website). Provide educational
materials to 50 people annually.

Program F-4: Fair
Housing Outreach
and Enforcement
In coordination with program D-3 and E-1,
continue to provide fair housing enforcement,
landlord-tenant mediation, and fair housing
information to residents and property owners.

Advertise the Town’s fair housing specialist as
a resource to resolve disputes and reports of
discrimination.

Continuous and
Ongoing Town-wide
Increase inquiries to fair housing
specialist for information and
referral. Increase traffic and
downloads to the Town’s housing
website by 20 percent
throughout the planning period.

Provide fair housing materials at
Planning and Development
Services booth at Town events at
least once a year. Promote
educational materials and
resources through at least three
different mediums (paper/hard

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 136
HE Programs or
Other Activities Specific Commitment Timeline Geographic Targeting 2023 – 2031 Metric copies, social media, direct
mailers, in-person events,
website)
Program G-1:

Housing
Information
Continue to improve and expand the use of
the various media to inform and promote the
use of Los Altos Hills housing programs to its
residents and developers by creating a
dedicated webpage on the Town’s website.

Include the resources listed in G-3 on the
webpage, in addition to information about
new and existing residential units.

Establish webpage
by Q1, 2024; other
efforts continuous
and ongoing.

Town-wide
Monitor and increase website
traffic and downloads to the
Town’s housing website by 20%
throughout the planning period.

Provide fair housing materials at
Planning and Development
Services booth at Town events at
least once a year. Promote
educational materials and
resources through at least three
different mediums (paper/hard
copies, social media, direct
mailers, in-person events,
website).

Program G-2: ADU
conversion and SB
9 Education
Develop and implement a comprehensive
marketing program to advertise the ability of
homeowners to create conversion units, ADUs
and SB 9 units on their properties.

The program will contain information for
residents who may be unaware of the ability
to build or incorporate an ADU and/or JADU,
Develop marketing
plan by Q1, 2024;
implement marking
program by Q1,
2025
Town-wide
Construction of 20 ADUs per year
throughout the planning period.

Construction of 32 SB 9 units
throughout the planning period.

Conversion of 50 single family
homes to duplexes or triplexes
throughout the planning period.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 137
HE Programs or
Other Activities Specific Commitment Timeline Geographic Targeting 2023 – 2031 Metric SB 9 unit, or conversion units on their
properties, as well as detailed guidance on
how to go through these unit
construction/conversion processes and what
financial resources are available, including
available incentives for units made available to
lower-income households.

The Town will also provide a pamphlet with
detailed information on ADU/JADU, conversion
units, and SB 9 opportunities in the Town. This
will include a FAQ and detailed guidance on
how to utilize these processes in the Town.

The Town will provide pamphlets on the Town
website and at Town Hall with detailed
information on the SB 9, conversion units,
ADU, and JADU processes.

Disproportionate Housing Needs – High Priority
Program A-6:

Inclusionary
Housing Ordinance
Conduct an inclusionary zoning feasibility
study to identify appropriate inclusionary
requirements that will not constrain housing
production. Upon a demonstration of
feasibility, develop and amend the Zoning
Ordinance to establish inclusionary housing
requirements so that new developments
reserve up to 15 percent of the total units for
lower- and moderate-income households.

The ordinance will
be adopted by Q1,
2026
Town-wide
With a determination of feasibility
based on inclusionary zoning
study, the Inclusionary Housing
ordinance to be adopted by Q1
2026. Creation of 50-75 affordable
units through the inclusionary
zoning process.

Program A-12:

Conversion to
Duplex or Triplex
To increase housing opportunity and mobility
beyond identified RHNA sites, the Town will
amend the zoning ordinance to allow existing,
Amend Zoning by
Q1, 2027
Focused on areas of
high resource
Conversion of 50 single family
homes to duplexes or triplexes
throughout the planning period.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 138
HE Programs or
Other Activities Specific Commitment Timeline Geographic Targeting 2023 – 2031 Metric conforming single family residences to be
converted to up to three units (i.e., into a
duplex or triplex), subject to objective
development standards to be prepared by the
Town. These conversion units would be
permitted in residential areas in specific
portions of the R-A zone that are in lower fire
hazard areas with adequate water and sewer
service availabilities, as determined by the City
Council through the zoning ordinance
amendment process, which goal is to identify
areas that increase housing choice and
mobility throughout Town and will include
areas equal to at least 25% of conforming
single family residences in the Town. The Town
will conduct a mid-cycle evaluation to examine
progress of the conversion units program.

Program B-9:

Reasonable
Accommodations
Procedure
The Town will adopt a clear and objective
procedure to follow for reasonable
accommodation requests for land use and
zoning decisions and procedures that ensures
that housing for people with disabilities is
attainable without discretionary review. The
reasonable accommodations procedure will
include procedures and findings to ensure
certainty and provide for clear decisionmaking standards for the process.

By Q1, 2025 Town-wide Adopted Reasonable
Accommodations procedure
Program E-7: Senior
Center funding
Continue to provide financial support to the
Community Services Agency and the Los Altos
Senior Center for the provision of such
Annually in the
budgeting process Town-wide Maintain or increase annual financial support

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 139
HE Programs or
Other Activities Specific Commitment Timeline Geographic Targeting 2023 – 2031 Metric services as emergency assistance, nutrition
and hot meal programs, information and
referral, and senior care management.

Program F-6:

Regional
Participation in
Housing Mobility
Efforts
The Town will participate and with regional
efforts to encourage housing mobility through
promotion of affordable units in a common or
countywide registry and other County
incentives, such as Santa Clara County
Housing Authority’s cash incentive for first
time HCV landlords, and mobility assistance.

Continuous and ongoing Town-wide
Promote available regional
resources to 10 households
annually.

Program G-3:

Source of Income
Protection/Housing
Mobility
Within one year, conduct a meeting or
workshop to inform residents of sources of
income protection and state rent control laws
such as AB 1482. Afterward, conduct outreach
to inform landlords and tenants of recent
changes to state law that prevent source of
income discrimination. Ensure that it is known
that HCVs are allowed to establish a renter’s
financial eligibility.

Initially by Q1,
2024. Afterwardcontinuous and ongoing
Town-wide
Conducted workshop within one
year. Outreach to 10 landlords
and tenants per year throughout
the planning period.

Access to Opportunity – High Priority
Program A-1:

Availability of
Adequate Sites for
New Housing for
Regional Housing
Needs Allocation
(RHNA)
Rezone at least 1934 acres via an overlay
zone and rezone to ensure that the Town
fully meets RHNA capacity within three
years of the adoption of the housing
element, including a buffer of 15% of the
RHNA to ensure adequate capacity.

Create a high density multifamily infill
overlay zone that requires a minimum of
By January 31,
2026, or as
required by state
law
RHNA sites
distributed in various
census tracts
throughout the Town
Provide adequate sites to
accommodate the Town’s
entire RHNA allocation.

Selection of consultant by
end of Q1 2023. Creation
and implementation of
multifamily housing zone

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 140
HE Programs or
Other Activities Specific Commitment Timeline Geographic Targeting 2023 – 2031 Metric 20 du/ac and a maximum densitypermits
densities of at least 2430 du/ac for at
least 1519 acres on institutional
properties.

Rezone 4.515 acres from R-A to a new
multifamily zone with a minimum density
of 20 du/ac and a maximum density of 24
du/ac.

The combined rezone and overlay zone
will include capacity for at least 377 units
as identified in the sites inventory.

The Town will amend the zoning code to
ensure compliance with all by-right
requirements pursuant to Government
Code section 65583.2, subdivisions (h)
and (i) through Program A-4.

The Town will initiate the rezoning
process, including the retention of a
consultant to create a multifamily zone
and multifamily overlay zone with
appropriate and objective development
standards and design guidelines (see
Program B-4B-4).
and overlay zone by Q1
2026, or as required by
state law. Rezone
approximately 1934 acres
to allow densities of 20-
2430 du/ac.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 141
HE Programs or
Other Activities Specific Commitment Timeline Geographic Targeting 2023 – 2031 Metric The overlay multifamily zones and any
future zones will allow for a variety of
uses as identified in the constrains
analysis of the Housing Element. This
includes allowing for multifamily housing,
SROs, and transitional and supportive
housing as required by state law.

The Town will conduct a mid-cycle review
of development progress and the
effectiveness of the new zone in 2027.

The review will address the availability of
sites, progress toward development and
likelihood of residential development.

Should the mid-cycle review or a
subsequent review in 2029 find that the
zone and sites are not effective in
facilitating residential development in the
planning period, the Town will either
identify additional incentives for existing
sites, or identify and make available
additional sites for multifamily
development for and complete the
overlay zone or rezoning within one year.

Program A-6:

Inclusionary
Housing Ordinance
Conduct an inclusionary zoning feasibility
study to identify appropriate inclusionary
requirements that will not constrain housing
The ordinance will
be adopted by Q1,
2026
Town-wide
With a determination of feasibility
based on inclusionary zoning
study, the Inclusionary Housing

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 142
HE Programs or
Other Activities Specific Commitment Timeline Geographic Targeting 2023 – 2031 Metric production. Upon a demonstration of
feasibility, develop and amend the Zoning
Ordinance to establish inclusionary housing
requirements so that new developments
reserve up to 15 percent of the total units for
lower- and moderate-income households.
ordinance to be adopted by Q1
2026. Creation of 50-75 affordable
units through the inclusionary
zoning process.

Program A-12:

Conversion to
Duplex or Triplex
To increase housing opportunity and mobility
beyond identified RHNA sites, the Town will
amend the zoning ordinance to allow existing,
conforming single family residences to be
converted to up to three units (i.e., into a
duplex or triplex), subject to objective
development standards to be prepared by the
Town. These conversion units would be
permitted in residential areas in specific
portions of the R-A zone that are in lower fire
hazard areas with adequate water and sewer
service availabilities, as determined by the City
Council through the zoning ordinance
amendment process, which goal is to identify
areas that increase housing choice and
mobility throughout Town and will include
areas equal to at least 25% of conforming
single family residences in the Town. The
Town will conduct a mid-cycle evaluation to
examine progress of the conversion units
program.

Amend Zoning by
Q1, 2027
Focused on areas of
high resource
Conversion of 50 single family
homes to duplexes or triplexes
throughout the planning period.

Program A-8: Preapproved Plans
The Town will develop pre-approved, “model”
plans for ADUs that meet building and fire
codes, height and size requirements, including By Q1, 2025 Town-wide Develop four (4) pre-approved
plans for ADUs. Target
development of 20 ADUs per year,

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 143
HE Programs or
Other Activities Specific Commitment Timeline Geographic Targeting 2023 – 2031 Metric designs that are ADA accessible. The Town will
work with the Santa Clara County Housing
Collaborative on the option of creating a subregional program of pre-approved ADU plans that are available to all residents and cities in
Santa Clara County. The Town may use
models developed by other cities.

The Town will require development of five or
more units to include an ADU option in their
development.
for a total of 160 during the
planning period
Program F-1: PlaceBased Community
Improvements –
Streetscape and
Right of Way
Improvements
Develop programs and strategies to create
place-based improvements through
investments in the public right of way. Specific
actions include:
• Streetscape improvements adjacent to the
lower-income RHNA sites to ensure safe
pedestrian and transit access, where
applicable.
• Provide technical assistance to property
owners and future developers to assist in
the design of any required infrastructure
improvements
Between 2029 and
2031 RHNA Sites
Adopted programs and strategies
to pursue place-based
improvement son RHNA sites
Program E-10:

Incentives for
Senior
Development
Create a set of incentives for development of
senior housing on RHNA sites zoned for
multifamily development. Specifically, the
Town will:

Initially by Q1,
2025; Biennial
outreach to
developers
RHNA Sites Adopted set of incentives for
senior housing.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 144
HE Programs or
Other Activities Specific Commitment Timeline Geographic Targeting 2023 – 2031 Metric • Develop a process for expedited review
of senior housing projects
• Reduce parking standards for senior
housing projects
• Biennially, contact developers to inform
them of the opportunity to develop
senior housing in the Town and help
connect developers to property owners
to facilitate their development
Program G-3:

Source of Income
Protection/Housing
Mobility
Within one year, conduct a meeting or
workshop to inform residents of sources of
income protection and state rent control laws
such as AB 1482. Afterward, conduct outreach
to inform landlords and tenants of recent
changes to state law that prevent source of
income discrimination. Ensure that it is known
that HCVs are allowed to establish a renter’s
financial eligibility.

Initially by Q1,
2024. Afterwardcontinuous and ongoing
Town-wide
Conducted workshop within one
year. Outreach to 10 landlords
and tenants per year throughout
the planning period
Program F-3: Town
Affordable Rental
Unit Registry
Create a registry of affordable rental units as
the units are built. The Town will create a
webpage with information about the units and
advertise any vacant units.

As affordable units
are created. Town-wide
Affordable rental unit webpage
and registry. Advertise 10 units on
the affordable rental unit registry
throughout the planning period.

Program F-6:

Regional
Participation in
Housing Mobility
Efforts
The Town will participate and with regional
efforts to encourage housing mobility through
promotion of affordable units in a common or
countywide registry and other County
incentives, such as Santa Clara County
Housing Authority’s cash incentive for first
Continuous and ongoing Town-wide
Promote available regional
resources to 10 households
annually.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 145
HE Programs or
Other Activities Specific Commitment Timeline Geographic Targeting 2023 – 2031 Metric time HCV landlords, and mobility assistance.

Quantified Objective: Promote available
regional resources to 10 households annually.

Program G-5:

Tenant Matching
and Outreach
Developing materials for applicants who may
be seeking tenants for their ADUs, SB 9 units,
and any conversion units created through
Program A-12. Materials will be provided to
applicants at the time they apply for a building
permit or ADU permit. These affirmative
marketing materials will include contact
information for housing service providers
(such as the home share programs) and nonprofit housing organizations that serve lowerincome tenants in the surrounding region.

Interested residents can use these materials
to find prospective tenants in a larger market
area beyond Town limits, including residents
of all races, ethnicities, ages, and abilities.

The Town will conduct a survey of ADU
tenants and owners by Q1 2028 to evaluate
the demographics of tenants to monitor the
success of ADU, SB 9, and unit conversion
programs for increasing housing choice and
mobility in the Town.

By Q1 2025; ADU
Survey by Q1 2028 Town-wide
Construction of 32 SB 9 units
throughout the planning period.

Construction of 20 ADUs per year
throughout the planning period.

Achieve 50 percent of occupants
from outside Los Altos Hills,
including those who work but do
not live in the City.

Integration and Segregation – Moderate Priority
Program A-6:

Inclusionary
Housing Ordinance
Conduct an inclusionary zoning feasibility
study to identify appropriate inclusionary
requirements that will not constrain housing
production. Upon a demonstration of
The ordinance will
be adopted by Q1,
202
Town-wide
With a determination of feasibility
based on inclusionary zoning
study, the Inclusionary Housing

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 146
HE Programs or
Other Activities Specific Commitment Timeline Geographic Targeting 2023 – 2031 Metric feasibility, develop and amend the Zoning
Ordinance to establish inclusionary housing
requirements so that new developments
reserve up to 15 percent of the total units for
lower- and moderate-income households.
ordinance to be adopted by Q1
2026. Creation of 50-75 afford
Program F-4: Fair
Housing Outreach
and Enforcement
Create a registry of affordable rental units as
the units are built. The Town will create a
webpage with information about the units and
advertise any vacant units.

Quantified Objective: Affordable rental unit
webpage and registry. Advertise 10 units on
the affordable rental unit registry throughout
the planning period.

As affordable units
are created. Town-wide
The Town will seek to increase
awareness and understanding of
fair housing through access to
and use of fair housing
resources.

Metrics include the following:
• Increase inquiries to fair
housing specialist for
information and referral
• Increase traffic and
downloads to the Town’s
housing website
• Provide fair housing
materials at Planning and
Development Services booth
at Town events at least once
a year
• Promote educational
materials and resources
through at least three
different mediums
(paper/hard copies, social

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 147
HE Programs or
Other Activities Specific Commitment Timeline Geographic Targeting 2023 – 2031 Metric media, direct mailers, inperson events, website)
Program G-3:

Source of Income
Protection/Housing
Mobility
Within one year, conduct a meeting or
workshop to inform residents of sources of
income protection and state rent control laws
such as AB 1482. Afterward, conduct outreach
to inform landlords and tenants of recent
changes to state law that prevent source of
income discrimination. Ensure that it is known
that HCVs are allowed to establish a renter’s
financial eligibility.

Within one year of
Housing Element
Adoption.

Afterwardcontinuous and ongoing
Town-wide
Conducted workshop within one
year. Outreach to 10 landlords
and tenants per year throughout
the planning period.

Program E-11:

Incentives for
Lower-Income
Housing
Development
Create a set of incentives for the development
of housing affordable to lower-income
households, especially extremely low-income
(ELI) households. Specifically, the Town will:
· Amend the zoning ordinance to adopt a set
of density bonus incentives beyond state law
for ELI housing units
· Develop a program that would provide for
financial assistance for infrastructure studies
related to sewer and water improvements
necessary for affordable housing. Annual
contact of affordable developers to identify
housing opportunities and assist with funding
and various other incentives to facilitate
housing development.

By Q3 2025 Town-wide Development of 62 ELI housing
units.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing 148

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Constraints on Housing 149
Constraints on Housing
There are constraints from both the governmental and market sectors of the community that are capable of limiting efforts to maintain and provide housing. Such constraints should be addressed to provide new housing, particularly multifamily and affordable housing. Some constraints may be minor enough that market conditions are able to easily overcome problematic situations. Other types of constraints can be significant enough to discourage development altogether. Constraints fall into two general categories: governmental constraints and nongovernmental constraints.

Governmental Constraints
Governmental constraints can limit or deter the operations of the public, private, and nonprofit housing development sectors, making it difficult to meet the demand for housing and limiting supply in a region. Such constraints can result in limited access to housing mobility and housing choice and prevent lower-income segments of the population from having adequate housing opportunities. Governmental constraints may include, but are not limited to, land use controls, development standards, local procedures and processing times, and permitting fees.

In Los Altos Hills, governmental constraints include General Plan Land Use designations, zoning code provisions, enforcement requirements, processing and permit procedures, fees, and on-site and off-site improvement requirements. These constraints are discussed in this section.

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Constraints on Housing 150
Land Use Controls
General Plan Land Use Diagram
Adopted in 2008, the Town of Los Altos Hills General Plan is a comprehensive, long-range general policy document that establishes the overall character and development patterns of

Town of Los Altos Hills Housing Element
Constraints on Housing 151
the community. The Land Use Element of the General Plan provides a clear vision and intent to maintain the semirural character of the community.

There is one residential designation and four nonresidential designations in the Los Altos Hills Land Use Plan. The land use designations include the following:
▪ Residential (R): One primary single-family dwelling is allowed per parcel. In addition, one Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), one Senate Bill 9 (SB 9) unit, and a Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit (JADU) are all permitted by right. The Town adopted an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Ordinance in 2020 and a SB 9 Urgency Ordinance in 2021 to be consistent with the new requirements under state law allowing multiple units on residential lots. Agricultural activities and conditional uses such as religious facilities and schools may also be allowed. The Residential designation accounts for 93 percent of the total land use in Los Altos Hills.
▪ Institutional (I): This designation identifies academic, governmental, and community service uses and lands that are either publicly owned or operated by nonprofit organizations. Institutional land uses account for 2.7 percent of the total land use in Los Altos Hills.
▪ Open Space Preserve (OSP): This designation is applied to undeveloped natural areas that provide wildlife habitat, scenic views, and opportunities for nature study and lowimpact outdoor recreation such as hiking and horseback riding. The primary purpose of this designation is the preservation and enhancement of the natural state of the land and its plants and animals. Allowable development includes paths and trails, informational signs, restrooms, open fencing, parking for the use of open space and Public Recreation Areas (see designation below), and other incidental uses that are consistent with the protection of open space and the enjoyment of low-impact outdoor recreation. Open Space Preserve areas account for 3 percent of the total land use in Los Altos Hills.
▪ Public Recreation Area (RA-PB): This designation identifies publicly owned open space lands used primarily for recreation. Development related to recreation is allowed. Public Recreation Areas account for 0.3 percent of the total land use in Los Altos Hills.
▪ Private Recreation Area (RA-PR): This designation identifies privately owned lands used primarily for recreation. Development related to recreation is allowed. Private Recreation Areas account for 0.9 percent of the total land use in Los Altos Hills.

The Land Use Element creates constraints on housing production by limiting the densities for residential uses in the Town to one dwelling unit per parcel (irrespective of ADUs, JADUs and SB 9 units) and prohibits the Town from permitting multifamily housing projects.

However, the Town is actively addressing this limitation and seeking to meet its RHNA by creating a zone andn overlay zone to allow for multifamily uses.