OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Mountain View EPC Meeting: R3 Zoning Update and Officer Elections - January 7, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, January 7, 2026
BodyMountain View, California
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, January 7, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
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Joining us in person, please note that due to our hybrid environment, audio and video

0:03

presentations can no longer be shared from the lectern. Request to show an audio or video

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presentation during a meeting should be directed to EPC at mountainview.gov by 4 30 p.m. on the

0:13

meeting date. Additionally, due to our hybrid environment, we will no longer have speakers

0:17

line up to speak on an item. Anyone wishing to address the EPC in person must complete a yellow

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speaker card. Please indicate the name you would like to be called by when it's your turn to speak

0:27

and the item number on which you wish to speak.

0:29

Please complete one yellow speaker card for each item on which you wish to speak

0:32

and turn them in to the EPC clerk as soon as possible,

0:36

but no later than the call for public comment on the item you are speaking on.

0:39

Instructions for addressing the commission virtually may be found on the post-it agenda.

0:43

Before we start today's meeting, I'd like to welcome our new commissioner.

0:47

I'm going to try my best to say your last name here, Subramaniam, to the Planning Commission.

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Welcome.

0:55

Thank you.

0:57

Now we'll ask the APC clerk to proceed with roll call.

1:03

Okay, we'll do a manual roll call.

1:07

Commissioner Zubermanian?

1:09

Present.

1:10

Commissioner Pham?

1:11

Here.

1:12

Vice Chair Gutierrez, sorry, Nunes, my mistake.

1:16

Here.

1:17

Chair Gutierrez?

1:18

Here.

1:19

Commissioner Donahue?

1:20

Here.

1:21

Commissioner Dempsey?

1:22

Here.

1:23

Commissioner Cranston?

1:24

Here.

1:25

All commissioners are present.

1:27

Great.

1:28

Thank you, Clerk.

1:29

Seeing that we don't have any meeting minutes to approve, we'll skip over section 3 and

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we'll go to section 4, oral communications.

1:36

This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons wishing to address the EPC in any manner,

1:40

not on the agenda.

1:41

Speakers are allowed to speak on any topic for up to three minutes during this section.

1:45

State law prohibits the commission from acting on non-agenda items.

1:48

If anyone in attendance would like to provide comments on non-agenda items, please fill

1:52

out a yellow speaker card and provide it to the APC clerk. If anyone on Zoom would like to provide

1:57

a comment on non-agenda items please click the raise hand button in Zoom or press star 9 on your

2:02

phone. Phone users can mute and unmute themselves with star 6. Do we have anyone? No speakers at

2:12

this time. Great okay moving on to new business 5.1 R3 zoning district update development standards

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and strategies recommendation.

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We will take this item through a special deliberation process

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due to commissioning conflicts of interest.

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First we will have a staff presentation,

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then public comment.

2:30

At the closure of public comment,

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the commission will have an opportunity

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to ask general questions,

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then discuss individual topics,

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including any questions about those topics.

2:39

Let's begin with a staff presentation

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from planning manager Eric Anderson.

2:50

Okay, looking good.

3:01

Thank you so much, Commission, Chair Gutierrez.

3:04

This item is regarding the zoning district update, the R3 zoning district update.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
General Plan█████████████████████████████████████████████54%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████15%
Affordable Housing█████████████15%
Procedural███████8%
Economic Development███4%
Parks and Recreation██2%
Community Engagement█1%
Transportation Safety█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Mountain View Environmental Planning Commission Meeting - January 7, 2026

The Environmental Planning Commission (EPC) held a meeting to discuss the R3 zoning district update, including development standards, retail/live-work approaches, parking, lot consolidation incentives, and non-conforming ordinance revisions. Following deliberation, the Commission voted on recommendations to City Council and held elections for 2026 officers.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • James Kuzma (partially for Mountain View YIMBY, personally) expressed support for many aspects of the update but recommended allowing commercial in all R3 zones, eliminating minimum parking standards, reducing massing breaks and setbacks, and criticized the proposed front setbacks as too large. He also favored more density near R1 zones.
  • Leslie Friedman (Livable Mountain View and Green Spaces Mountain View) supported the staff recommendation, calling it rational.
  • Isaac voiced overall support but cautioned that the many new standards might accidentally restrict good projects, giving examples of existing courtyard apartments that would become noncompliant.
  • Robert Cox (Steering Committee, Livable Mountain View) largely supported staff’s work but emphasized the need for parking standards and asked about the basis for minimum density requirements.
  • Hala Alshawani (Livable Mountain View) thanked staff for following city council goals (pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, transitions, tree canopy) and supported the proposed development standards, including habitable ground floor space, parking placement, and exceptions.
  • Daniel appreciated the overall direction but urged a more systematic approach to pedestrian cut-throughs and questioned the effectiveness of massing breaks in improving aesthetics.
  • Alex Brown supported universal ground floor retail, simpler codes, and recommended consolidating all R4 into R3D ("all D, all day").
  • Matthew Martin expressed concern that the lot consolidation incentive would reduce density on small lots without guarantee of consolidation; he also argued that 15-foot setbacks are excessive for pedestrian pathways.
  • Manuel Salazar (SV@Home) thanked staff and community for the long process, supported the proposal, but called for alignment with recent state laws (SB 79, SB 684) to be proactive.
  • David Watson (Mountain View YIMBY) recommended removing density limits in form-based code, increasing FAR in R3B, replacing lot consolidation with positive incentives, reducing front setbacks to zero, offering massing break alternatives (e.g., ornamentation), and allowing retail everywhere.

Discussion Items

  • Staff Presentation (Eric Anderson, Planning Manager) covered: general plan designations, draft R3 development standards (height, FAR, setbacks, open area), retail/live-work (allowing live-work throughout R3, commercial only in R3D), parking reductions (minimum 1 space/unit for 1BR, 1.5 for 2BR+), lot consolidation incentives (limiting density on parcels <20,000 sq ft in R3D unless consolidated), non-conforming ordinance updates, and integration of R4 into R3. Staff’s recommended standards were based on outreach, council goals, and feasibility analysis.
  • Commissioner Questions and Deliberation:
    • Commissioner Cranston asked about pedestrian cut-throughs, SB 684 implementation, minimum density impacts on townhomes, retail viability in R3C, and public open space credits.
    • Commissioner Pham inquired about live-work examples, operational standards, and lot consolidation incentives in other cities; staff referenced Sunnyvale’s code.
    • Commissioner Subramanian sought explanation of density progression, SB 79 interactions, habitable depth rationale, exceptions for height, and width standards for habitable frontage.
    • Commissioner Dempsey queried the acreage distribution of R3 sub-districts (R3B: 564 acres, R3C: 134, R3D1: 138, R3D2: 138, R3A: 61) and the prevalence of state density bonus usage (nearly all projects in recent years).
    • Vice Chair Nunez discussed the relationship between general plan “allowed density” and feasibility, deemed density for FAR calculations, and questioned the logic of cutting density on small R3D lots as an incentive; staff argued it encourages consolidation by limiting alternatives.
    • Chair Gutierrez raised parking concerns and asked about the rationale for reducing minimums; staff cited feasibility, developer practice, and state preemption.
  • Deliberation and Votes:
    • Commissioners recused themselves for certain designations due to proximity conflicts (Donahue on R3A/Res12/Res20; Dempsey on Res12).
    • Residential 12 and Residential 20/ R3A: By consensus, the Commission supported staff’s recommendation for these designations without change.
    • Lot Consolidation Incentive: A majority opposed staff’s proposal to lower base density on small R3D lots, directing staff to explore positive incentives (carrots) rather than punitive measures.
    • Ground Floor Retail: The Commission recommended expanding retail allowances beyond R3D to at least R3C, with some support for R3B; consensus favored letting the market determine viability.
    • Design Standards (massing breaks, setbacks, habitable depth): No majority support for modifying staff’s proposals; staff recommendation stands.
    • Parking, Non-Conforming Ordinance, R4 Integration: All supported as presented.

Key Outcomes

  • Recommendation to City Council: The EPC voted to forward a recommendation incorporating the following:
    • Approval of staff’s draft general plan designations (except Residential 20 which was already supported) and R3 development standards (excluding R3A-specific standards already approved).
    • Direction to revise the lot consolidation incentive to use positive inducements (e.g., density bonuses, expedited review) rather than limiting density on small lots.
    • Expansion of ground floor commercial use to R3C (and potentially R3B) beyond the proposed R3D-only restriction.
    • Support for staff’s approaches to live-work, parking minimums, non-conforming ordinance updates, and consolidation of R4 into R3.
  • Officer Elections (2026):
    • Commissioner Alex Nunez was elected Chair (unanimous).
    • Commissioner Paul Donahue was elected Vice Chair (unanimous).

Meeting Transcript

Joining us in person, please note that due to our hybrid environment, audio and video presentations can no longer be shared from the lectern. Request to show an audio or video presentation during a meeting should be directed to EPC at mountainview.gov by 4 30 p.m. on the meeting date. Additionally, due to our hybrid environment, we will no longer have speakers line up to speak on an item. Anyone wishing to address the EPC in person must complete a yellow speaker card. Please indicate the name you would like to be called by when it's your turn to speak and the item number on which you wish to speak. Please complete one yellow speaker card for each item on which you wish to speak and turn them in to the EPC clerk as soon as possible, but no later than the call for public comment on the item you are speaking on. Instructions for addressing the commission virtually may be found on the post-it agenda. Before we start today's meeting, I'd like to welcome our new commissioner. I'm going to try my best to say your last name here, Subramaniam, to the Planning Commission. Welcome. Thank you. Now we'll ask the APC clerk to proceed with roll call. Okay, we'll do a manual roll call. Commissioner Zubermanian? Present. Commissioner Pham? Here. Vice Chair Gutierrez, sorry, Nunes, my mistake. Here. Chair Gutierrez? Here. Commissioner Donahue? Here. Commissioner Dempsey? Here. Commissioner Cranston? Here. All commissioners are present. Great. Thank you, Clerk. Seeing that we don't have any meeting minutes to approve, we'll skip over section 3 and we'll go to section 4, oral communications. This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons wishing to address the EPC in any manner, not on the agenda. Speakers are allowed to speak on any topic for up to three minutes during this section. State law prohibits the commission from acting on non-agenda items. If anyone in attendance would like to provide comments on non-agenda items, please fill out a yellow speaker card and provide it to the APC clerk. If anyone on Zoom would like to provide a comment on non-agenda items please click the raise hand button in Zoom or press star 9 on your phone. Phone users can mute and unmute themselves with star 6. Do we have anyone? No speakers at this time. Great okay moving on to new business 5.1 R3 zoning district update development standards and strategies recommendation. We will take this item through a special deliberation process due to commissioning conflicts of interest. First we will have a staff presentation, then public comment.

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