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03-24-04 Minutes - GPCTOWN OF LOS GATOS 110 East Main Street, Los Gatos, CA 95030 (408) 354-6872 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- SUMMARY MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE GENERAL PLAN COMMITTEE OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS, MARCH 24, 2004 HELD IN THE TOWN COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CIVIC CENTER, 110 EAST MAIN STREET, LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- The meeting was called to order at 5:00 pm by Chair Michael Burke. ATTENDANCE Members present: Josh Bacigalupi, Barry Bakken, Michael Burke, Steve Glickman, Diane McNutt, Phil Micciche, Mark Sgarlato, Morris Trevithick Members Absent: None Staff present: Bud Lortz, Director of Community Development; Suzanne Davis, Associate Planner; Larry Cannon, Cannon Design Group VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS None ITEM 1 COMMERCIAL DESIGN GUIDELINES LM Zone Larry Cannon, Cannon Design Group, provided an overview of the area. He showed photos of buildings in the LM zone along University Avenue and Industrial Road and commented on variouse design aspects. Main issues in this area include building forms, front setbacks, building materials, visible side walls, signs and lighting. Landscaping is quite mixed. Industrial Road has C-1 on one side and is well landscaped and maintained. The LM side does not have these same elements. Fencing is primarily chain link, some with redwood slats, and a number of trash dumpsters are unscreened. Bud Lortz noted that the front setback in the LM zone is 15 feet. Some properties are nonconforming due to insufficient on-site parking. There is a complicated array of issues in the area and some unique solutions that were endorsed by Council. Some of the older buildings go right out to the street. A one-way concept for vehicular traffic was discussed at one time but was abandoned. Office is not permitted in the LM zone (except for ancillary offices supporting allowed uses). There are some pre-existing nonconforming offices. Activities allowed are retail, personal service businesses, service businesses necessary for the conduct of households, office activities approved before July 1982, limited manufacturing, wholesaling and wherehousing. Phil Micciche said he is more concerned about the appearance on University Avenue than Industrial Way. Mark Weiner agrees that it should be a pragmatic approach. Josh Bacigalupi said he likes the industrialness of it. He doesn’t like the idea of making the architecture look like residential. Mark Weiner agreed. Mark Sgarlato said he likes the area and doesn’t want to make it look like the Downtown. Diane McNutt is concerned about barbed wire and would like to have that removed if possible. She likes the funky buildings. She also does not like the residential look. Around Akeena Solar the overhead utilities are very prominent and it would be nice to have them placed underground. Industrial Way is not really a pedestrian area which is fine. Morris Trevithick likes the variety and thinks it is part of the history of the area. He would like to have the trash areas screened and trash collected on a regular basis. Mike Burke said there needs to be an area in Town where repair and . Likes a hands off approach and likes the uniqueness of the area. Josh Bacigalupi said business owners have commented on parking and the lack of enforcement. Larry Cannon said that new developments will likely be bigger. He asked about buildings with a fancy front where the remainder of the building doesn’t tie in well (no relationship). Parking bumpouts can cause blocking of the sidewalk. He suggested use of a different type and/or color of pavement to separate the sidewalk from parking area. There is a variety of signage, but only one really stands out (Big O Tires). Mark Weiner noted that the inconsistency and style of the Big O sign is too different. Josh Bacigalupi said it is too big. Steve Glickman said signs should help people find the business, but the Big O sign is large enough that it is just an advertisement. Mike Burke suggested including addresses on signs and possibly requiring the number height to be the same size as the letters for the business name. Morris Trevithick suggested having street numbers of a uniform size, height and location. Mike Burke expressed a concern about tall blank walls. Barry Bakken said he likes the Campo di Bocci building. He does not like vertical walls and thinks they could be broken up somehow. Other Committee members concurred. Diane McNutt said the transition between the LM and C-1 is good. Paying special attention to corners is a good thing. Kerful Cleaners has a lot of concrete in front which is too stark. General Plan Committee Regular Meeting of March 24, 2004 Page 3 of 6 Landscaping would help soften that. Steve Glickman said regardless of size and materials of signs and buildings, maintenance is important. The same applies to chain link fences. He would like to include standards or guidelines addressing maintenance and/or materials. Mike Burke said garbage receptacles should be addressed. Josh Bacigalupi would like to treat Industrial way should be treated as a separate entity. Chain link fences are appropriate on Industrial, but not on University. Larry Cannon suggested landscape guidelines for University Avenue, but not Industrial Way. Mike Burke commented that Industrial Way is the utility closet of Los Gatos. Josh Bacigalupi said corners need special treatment even if they back onto Industrial Way. Larry Cannon asked if the hands off policy should apply to treatment of blank vertical walls on Industrial Way. Barry Bakken asked why there can’t be goals to make Industrial way better. Mike Burke said the Town deosn’t want to restrict it to a point where necessary/desirable businesses will leave. Josh Bacigalupi agreed - there needs to a place to get cars repaired or lawnmower sharpened. Los Gatos Boulevard Bud Lortz commented that auto dealers might be treated differently than other areas. A meeting will be arranged with auto dealers so we can understand their perspective and marketing requirements. Mike Burke suggested an overlay zone with separate criteria for auto dealers. Larry Cannon provided an overview of Los Gatos Blvd. The LGB Plan talks about pedestrian orientation although there aren’t many things that are. He talked about the different types of development including older rustic commercial centers (Los Gatos Village Square), newer small scale commercial centers (Cornerstone), old strip centers (Lou’s, etc.), residential scale and form offices (mixed use building at the corner of LGB & Magneson Loop), commercial pad buildings (single use or single building with its own parking), and gas stations/car washes. Main issues include architectural scale and character, variable parking setbacks and landscaping, building setbacks, signs. He distinguished between Blossom Hill Pavilion (typically disliked) and Cornerstone (preferred). He discussed differences between the two projects and noted desirable features at Cornerstone including parking lot edges, strong entry feature/focal point, strong landscaped entry, small scale character, continuous pedestrian arcade and materials. Blossom Hill Pavilion design elements that don’t work as well include the emphasis on the entry, scale and the arcade. General Plan Committee Regular Meeting of March 24, 2004 Page 4 of 6 Diane McNutt said one of the big differences between the two is the materials. The other thing is the position of the buildings on the lot. Positioning buildings to encourage pedestrian traffic doesn’t seem to be effective. The parking lot is one of the worst in Town. Barry Bakken agreed it isn’t a walking area. The thing that stands out on Cornerstone is the design and care that goes into caring for the landscaping. It is very inviting. Blossom Hill Pavilion generates a lot of traffic and he agreed that it is a poor parking lot layout. Larry Cannon noted that the Cornerstone parking lot has a lot of trees in it and it feels cooler. Mark Sgarlato commented that the walk down Los Gatos Blvd. is a lonely one. Josh Bacigalupi said his vision for Los Gatos Blvd. Is to see it more pedestrian oriented even though it currently isn’t. He feels the street has too many lanes; it doesn’t encourage retail activity. Mark Weiner said some of the design values from Cornerstone should be pulled out and used. Better design improves the quality of the experience. Phil Micciche agreed that materials are a major issue and could be improved. The turret seems out of place. Larry Cannon said the building is mainly a box with some things added on. Steve Glickman commented that walking down Los Gatos Blvd. makes you feel exposed and it isn’t a pleasant experience. It needs to be more attractive. Guidelines might be destination specific. Larger centers with businesses that often result in multiple visits should have different criteria than single trip destinations. Mike Burke noted that Cornerstone is warm and inviting. Blossom Hill Pavilion is not. You can’t get into most of the businesses from the street. Bud Lortz shared three photosimulations showing different treatments to the same area. He noted that one of the main differences between the two centers is the property owner. The scale and materials of Cornerstone is a result of the owner. The other is classic corporate. The North 40 area is not addressed by the Los Gatos Blvd. Design Standards and will be treated as a separate area. In answer to a question from Josh Baciglaupi, Bud Lortz said that after a lengthy discussion, it was decided to use 11 foot lanes. That size lane does reduce speeds. In response a question about reducing the number of lanes from six to four, Bud Lortz said that it could be studied and may be able to be done in some places. General Plan Committee Regular Meeting of March 24, 2004 Page 5 of 6 Mark Sgarlato said if there were more people walking along the street it would help slow traffic down. Steve Glickman said he is strongly in favor of Los Gatos Blvd. being attractive and a safe drive. The boulevard is many neighborhoods’ way of getting places and it shouldn’t be unduly restricted. Diane McNutt commented on a drive down San Carlos between Lincoln and Bascom. The landscaping is attractive but many of the buildings are junky and don’t match the quality of the landscaping in the center median. Larry Cannon made two observations; pedestrian scale and locating buildings close to the street without blocking views if hills. Relative to auto dealers they are mostly older architectural styles. Issues include corporate buildings and signage prototypes. H e showed some photos of dealerships that have good components. Input is need on vision, setbacks, architectural scale and character and signage are the main questions. How much of this should be uniquely Los Gatos. Steve Glickman would like it to be upscale. It should be a little bit better than the average. Phil Micciche said the contained small area should be beautified and whenever possible buildings should be set back. Cornerstone should be the model. If buildings are attractive, people are more likely to want to go in. Mark Weiner said he likes the concept of the streets down the center of the street. Things that can be done to customize and provide community feel is good. Some of the larger office buildings need more consistency instead of being so random. Josh Bacigalupi said human scale is critical. The Jiffy Lube is a good mix of human scale, residential feel, and business use. Mark Sgarlato commented that most of the cars at dealerships on Los Gatos Blvd. are clean. There needs to be something to draw people in. Barry Bakken would like to see more landscaping down the center of Los Gatos Blvd. Underground parking could make a center like Blossom Hill Pavilion much better. Morris Trevithick said the scale and character of signage needs to work for both the dealers and the Town. Mike Burke said the Town needs to whatever we can to accommodate car dealers. Signs of a reasonable size and height should be allowed and corporate architecture should be allowed as long as it is tasteful and of high quality. General Plan Committee Regular Meeting of March 24, 2004 Page 6 of 6 ITEM 2: APPROVAL OF MINUTES Morris Trevithick made a motion to approve the minutes of March 10, 2004 as submitted. The motion was seconded by Mike Burke and passed unanimously. ITEM 3: ELECTION OF CHAIR & VICE CHAIR Steve Glickman nominated Phil Micciche for Chair and the Committee unanimously agreed. Mark Sgarlato was selected as vice-chair. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 pm by Chair Mike Burke. The next meeting of the General Plan Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, April 14, 2004 at 5:00 pm. It will be a second working session with Larry Cannon on the LM and Los Gatos Blvd. Prepared By: ___________________________ Suzanne Davis, Associate Planner N:\DEV\SUZANNE\GENPLAN\GPC\2004agendas\GPC-3-24-04.wpd