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Fyijcju!D! Laurel Hill Valley 6. The Laurel Hill Plan supports the South Hills Study standards. In general, alteration of land contours shall be minimized to retain views of natural features and retain as much of the forested atmosphere as possible. Aside from purely aesthetic considerations, these hillsides demand care in development because the topsoil is thin and the water runoff is rapid. Proposed developments shall respect the above considerations. The Valley hillside policy applies to all land with an average slope, from toe to crest, of 15 percent or greater. (A 15-percent slope is one in which the land rises 15 feet per 100 horizontal feet.) b/!If, in the opinion of the responsible City official, an adverse conservation or geological condition exists upon a parcel of land proposed for subdivision, or before any major hillside clearing, excavation, fill or construction is contemplated, the requirements of the Uniform Building Code, Chapter 70, Excavation and Grading, and those sections of the code relative to foundation design may be invoked. ! c/!Considerable latitude shall be allowed the developer in shaping, depth, and required street frontages of lots where it is necessary to preserve terrain. ! The above policy can be summarized as providing direction to preserve the aesthetics of hillsides, and functions of soil on hillsides. The proposed amendments update tree preservation standards to provide more specific standards, and also add more stringent tree preservation requirements for properties located at a higher elevation. The amendments also update the requirements for geological and geotechnical analysis, adding additional standards with the intent of identifying any existing or potential stability issues on a given site. Both updates are supportive of the above policy because they add more robust standards that can be applied to applications filed under clear and objective criteria. ! River Road-Santa Clara Urban Facilities Plan (1987) The following policies from the River Road-Santa Clara Urban Facilities Plan appear to be applicable to the proposed code amendments: 1.0!Recognize and maintain the predominately low-density residential character of the area consistent with the Metropolitan Plan. 2.0 Provide diversity of housing types in the area. Available techniques include encouraging reinvestment and rehabilitation of existing housing stock and the use of development standards that provide for cluster or planned unit development. One of the main goals of the proposed amendments is to remove barriers to housing by The proposed amendments are intended to provide clarity and promote efficiency in development, which can open up the possibility for providing denser housing and/or a wider variety of housing types. More available housing stock should increase the opportunity for home ownership within the plan area. To the extent that the amendments will increase development, the proposed transition standards reduce impacts of higher intensity development when located near property zoned for lower intensity development. Qbhf!24!pg!32!