The Town of Mountain View held a town-wide public workshop to discuss the recently updated Comprehensive Plan and how best to prioritize the work of implementing the plan. In order to encourage participation and allow for everyone to have enough space to join the meeting, the Berkeley Church graciously hosted the meeting in their cafeteria/meeting room. Paster Dan and his wife, Jeri attended as community members. About fifty other community members also attended.
During the public comment period of the meeting, many residents came forward with their thoughts about what the most important next steps are for the Council to consider for the Comprehensive Plan. Community members stated they loved the town and were proud to live in the town. They appreciated all the recent work to plant trees, improvements made to sidewalks, litter and weeds in the alleys, the professional and friendly police department, and the events hosted by the town. Their biggest concerns were speeding and the large residences being built in town, especially since the buildings are not consistent with the goals of the recent updated Comprehensive Plan.
During the workshop, community members presented a petition to the Mayor, Council, and Town Administrator, calling for a moratorium on building permits for large residences, saying that the current design standards are not consistent with the community’s express wishes, as documented in the Comprehensive Plan. The plan states that the community wants to retain the feeling of connectedness, charm, and affordability. The increase in property taxes as a result of very large homes was one of the community concerns. Others pointed to the need to prioritize the quaint style of the smaller residences historically built in town. And additional community comments were critical of the negative impact on the environment when the town has been working to emphasize the importance of sustainability.
Council agreed that there could be changes to the code that might improve the types of residences that could be built, making them more consistent with existing homes, but said they also wanted to protect people’s property rights and it was important to take time and make thoughtful decisions.
After the workshop, at the regular portion of the meeting, Council voted unanimously to direct staff to bring an emergency moratorium on residential building permits for consideration at the next meeting.
Town staff is also preparing for a residential building design workshop at the October 21st council meeting. The workshop will focus on how current building design standards were developed and the process for making future changes.
