City of Los Altos Government News Digest

The Los Altos City Council approved a new fee schedule for building, engineering and planning services after discovering it had been undercharging by up to $1.9M annually.

Los Altos is making incremental improvements to the downtown with new trash bins, e-bike stations, solar lighting and the introduction of "parklets."

The Los Altos City Council has denied Councilmember Lynette Lee Eng’s request to go on a $3,000 city-funded trip to a conference in Washington, D.C.

A Los Altos shopping center on El Camino Real that was engulfed by a fire on Christmas Day just entered its first phase of demolition.

Los Altos residents will soon be seeing firsthand the progress of Los Altos leaders’ efforts to restore a landmark heritage apricot orchard at the city’s civic center.

A federal appeals court has declined to reconsider its controversial April 2023 decision that mutes Los Altos’ and other cities’ attempts to require natural gas bans in new construction.

Although the front portion of 4600 El Camino Real has been cleared for demolition, crews postponed scheduled work. No official reason was given for the delay or when demolition could begin.

In a setback to the reopening of El Camino Real to traffic, the city of Los Altos announced that it has postponed its plans to demolish a shopping center building burned out by a massive fire last month.

Los Altos City Councilmember Neysa Fligor has been selected to serve as the next president of the Cities Association of Santa Clara County. Her term will expire in December.

Los Altos City Council members may again be taking up discussion on updating a tree protection ordinance intended to encourage healthy tree populations under the city’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan.

Students in the MTC mentor program are from vulnerable populations who have significant stressors in their lives that impact their mental health and social and school engagement.

Jonathan Weinberg was appointed Los Altos mayor. Following is a question-and-answer interview with the new mayor for 2024.

Inevitable change—and what to do about it—challenged Los Altos area residents throughout the past year.

Jonathan Weinberg, who was elected to the Los Altos City Council in 2020, was appointed to serve as mayor in 2024. Weinberg, who formerly served on the Parks and Recreation Commission, talks about what lies ahead in the coming year.

The majority of the Los Altos City Council agreed that going further in the process to determine the feasibility of such a partnership would involve too much staff time and perhaps cause more headaches when having to answer to a community with different priorities.

Over the impassioned pleas of orchard preservationists, the Los Altos City Council last week approved a new Los Altos main library expansion plan that will use space intended for a heritage apricot orchard.

The Los Altos School District's parcel tax measure received more than 75% support in the first set of results, well ahead of the two-thirds mark required to pass.

Los Altos School District is asking voters to approve renewing and growing an existing parcel tax levy in a special election. Measure A would enact a $295 annual tax on each parcel of land within the district.

The cost of holding special events in Los Altos will be lower for some groups as a result of a Los Altos City Council decision.

Residents within the Los Altos School District boundary area may have already received a ballot in the mail for the Nov. 7 special election, which includes only one item – the Measure A parcel tax. If Measure A is adopted, the current parcel tax benefiting LASD, set to expire in 2025, would be renewed at $295 per parcel, a $72 increase from the current rate of $223.

The Los Altos City Council was scheduled to pass the second reading and adopt a housing element implementation ordinance—a proposal that has prompted residents near Rancho Shopping Center to fret about the fate of supermarkets, coffee shops and other forms of retail.

Los Altos City Council will consider removing or disciplining a planning commissioner who requested that council create new rules for the Rancho Shopping Center.

The city of Los Altos recently announced that the state accepted its plans for future housing growth. The housing element sets the stage for 1,958 new units over the next eight years.

A Los Altos City Council meeting descended into a shouting match during a discussion about Councilwoman Lynette Lee Eng’s trips to out-of-state conferences.

At a Los Altos City Council meeting, the city agreed to further refine its license plate reader policy in response to feedback from the staff's ALPR regulations review.

Most Los Altos city employees are working four days a week under a new schedule offered by the city. Under this “4/10” schedule, employees are expected to work for 10 hours a day, in exchange for one day off each week.

Melissa Thurman has begun work coordinating with businesses, code law, and other responsibilities to keep the Los Altos economy running smoothly.

The mayors of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills will be holding their annual State of the Cities luncheon on May 5 at 11am. Besides the two mayors, the Santa Clara County Supervisor is expected to make a speech along with other government representatives.

The Los Altos City Council made a second attempt to gain approval for its housing element, as the city is required to provide data and conditions as part of a state mandate to build more units by 2031. Some portions of the plan were dropped to accommodate the mandate.

After natural gas restrictions were set in place for Los Altos residents, a federal court has thrown out the rules, leaving much up in the air in terms of law and resources.