Allowing balconies on Menlo Park's first high-density housing complex would allow intrusion on the privacy of nearby homes.
But without them, Menlo Park ends up with an arguably unattractive three-story building that more closely resembles a barn. Rejecting them also could make a mess of the City Council's efforts to encourage development of so-called affordable housing.
Those essentially were the arguments made Tuesday during a public hearing the Council held to decide whether to approve the balconies. The balconies won.
In a 3-2 vote, the Council on Tuesday upheld a recent Planning Commission decision giving a Menlo Park developer special permission to attach balconies to his proposed 26-unit complex on sixth-tenths of an acre at 2160 Santa Cruz Ave. near Sand Hill Road. Calvin Jones and Jack Morris cast dissenting votes.
"None of the neighbors want to have balconies," said Carolyn Jones, one of three residents who appealed the Planning Commission decision. "The original ordinance was designed to protect privacy in a single-family neighborhood."
The ordinance to which Jones referred was passed by the Council in 1988 and set limits on how close to neighboring properties balconies can be built. It was designed specifically to address concerns of residents who complained that looming balconies posed a threat to their privacy.
But developer Steve Ackley of Pacific Peninsula Group said the ordinance was never intended to apply to high-density projects like the one he wants to build.
Ackley said that when the Council in 1992 approved the rules allowing high-density housing it simply forgot to include separate provisions for balconies. He argued that the 1988 ordinance was intended only for single-family residential neighborhoods and does not apply to his project.
And with conditions the Planning Commission set down that Ackley reduce the size of the balconies, he pointed out that "these are not for throwing big parties."
Council member Gail Slocum said that when the 1988 ordinance was devised no one "had the intention that we'd end up with three-story-tall walls facing neighboring properties."
The Planning Commission is discussing possible alterations to the 1988 ordinance that would address the question of how to regulate balconies on high-density projects.
Despite Ackley's victory Tuesday, his project still faces a potential legal challenge from Jones and two other residents, Susann Wakefield and Lindsay Hogue, who through a group calling itself West Menlo Coalition said they may pursue a lawsuit to block construction of Menlo Court.
The group in November settled one lawsuit against Ackley and his partners with the condition that the developer conduct further studies on traffic impacts from the project and propose ways to deal with it. The two sides are now discussing the results of that study.
--Rufus Jeffris
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