Distance Between Homes Under Review

When Simi Valley Councilman Steve Sojka bought his Wood Ranch home, it was still just a piece of dirt.

But during its construction, he realized his neighbors lived very, very close.

“We’re hearing the whole conversation in their house,” Sojka said.

Sojka wants the city to reconsider a policy that allows developers to build homes closer together than city guidelines intended. He wants a more cautious approach to approving developments made up of two-story homes less than 20 feet apart.

Developers like the chance to fit more houses into a given development, but Sojka said sometimes the price is not worth it.

“All we’re seeing lately is 3,500-square-foot houses smacked next to each other where you can walk roof-to-roof,” Sojka said. “It works in certain developments. But does it work in all developments? I don’t think so.”

On Oct. 20, the Planning Commission discussed the issue at Sojka’s request.

Currently, city standards call for five feet between the side of a single-story home and the property line and 10 feet for two-story homes. But with Planning Commission approval, the distance can be reduced to six feet for two-story homes.

The City Council could set a minimum distance between homes or limit them to only certain types of developments, according to a Planning Commission report. Other suggestions in the report include improving guidelines for deciding how close homes can be and ways to improve privacy by changing house designs.

Sojka wants exceptions to the 20-foot rule to be separately addressed by the Planning Commission.

Some change in policy may be warranted, Councilwoman Barbra Williamson said. Ultimately, however, people who don’t want to live close to their neighbors will not buy the homes, Williamson said.

“What’s going to set the criteria for what the developer’s going to do is whether or not the general public buys their houses,” she said. “Let’s face it: We’d all love to have 50-foot setbacks or more. We’d all like to live on half-acre estates. Unless you have the dollars in your pocket to pay for it, it’s not going to happen.”