September 10, 2023
Re: September 12, 2023, Meeting, Agenda Item 6.1 – Gatekeeper Process Updates
Dear Mayor Hicks and Members of the City Council:
The League of Women Voters (LWV) supports policies that encourage the development of housing (particularly affordable housing), as well as adequate parks and transportation, and community input in land use planning.
The City should hold at least one Gatekeeper meeting per year, as required in the Housing Element. (Housing Element, p. 38, 1.3(g).) The City may want to hold additional meetings to catch-up on the projects that have been waiting in line. It may also be helpful for the City to compare its processes to those in neighboring jurisdictions. The City may want to consider simplifying the Gatekeeper pre-screening process along the lines of SB 330 preliminary application.
With respect to the proposed “Amendment Authorization Criteria” set forth in the box on page 5 of the staff report, the LWV considers all the factors identified in item 2 (affordable housing, public open space, environmental sustainability, and improved transportation) to be important.
Please send any questions about this letter to Kevin Ma, Co-Chair of the Housing Committee, at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Katie Zoglin
President
Los Altos-Mountain View Area LWV
C: Lindsay Hagan
Kimbra McCarthy
Aarti Shrivastava