12-03-20 Minutes - GPAC
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
GENERAL PLAN UPDATE
ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT
MINUTES OF THE GENERAL PLAN UPDATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
DECEMBER 3, 2020
The General Plan Update Advisory Committee of the Town of Los Gatos conducted a Regular
Meeting on December 3, 2020, at 7:00 p.m., via teleconference.
This meeting was conducted utilizing teleconferencing and electronic means consistent with
State of California Executive Order N-29-20 dated March 17, 2020, regarding the COVID-19
pandemic and was conducted via Zoom. All committee members and staff participated from
remote locations and all voting was conducted via roll call vote. In accordance with Executi ve
Order N-29-20, the public could only view the meeting online and not in the Council Chamber.
MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AT 7:00 P.M.
ROLL CALL
Present: Chair Melanie Hanssen, Vice Chair Kathryn Janoff, Vice Mayor Barbara Spector,
Committee Member Susan Moore Brown, Committee Member Todd Jarvis, Committee
Member Steven Piasecki, Committee Member Ryan Rosenberg, Committee Member Lee
Quintana, and Committee Member Carol Elias Zolla.
Absent: Mayor Marcia Jensen and Committee Member Kendra Burch.
Staff present: Jennifer Armer, Joel Paulson, Laurel Prevetti, Sally Zarnowitz, and Rob Schultz.
VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS
Brian Toy
- Commented that everyone wants a good life here in Los Gatos. A good life involves
getting a good stable job and relationship.
CONSENT ITEMS (TO BE ACTED UPON BY A SINGLE MOTION)
None.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
1. Review and Discussion of the Initial Draft of the Racial, Social, and Environmental Justice
Element.
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Jennifer Armer, Senior Planner, presented the staff report.
Open and Closed Public Comment.
Committee further discussed the matter and provided the following comments and
direction:
- Agreement with all comments provided in writing in Addendum and Desk Item
reports.
- The intent and tone in the introduction is that we should make this a hospitable
place for the people currently living in Town, but should be considering others who
might like to live here in the future too.
- Should be a welcoming attitude to all people who live, visit, and work in the Town.
- Our goal should be to increase diversity and affordable housing is one of the biggest
hurdles to this.
- Introduction should start with first sentence of third paragraph, then move on to
other paragraphs.
- Would like to have some way to measure how successful we have been with this
Element.
- Introduction should be a strong statement that we desire change.
- We don’t know how much change we can make to the diversity of Town, but we
need to try.
- Delete bottom paragraph of the blue box on the first page, and consider putting
some information about how our statistics relate to the County and State.
- Should have a specific goal or policies for the police department, and may be
appropriate under Section 2.1, or referencing policies elsewhere in the General Plan.
- The Town should have a committee or commission focusing on the issue of racial
and social justice.
- Should add religious/political beliefs to expand the meaning of diversity.
- Make this a welcoming Town as a near-term goal, and increase diversity as a long-
term goal.
- Add goal or policy to make Los Gatos a welcoming place by making it bias-free.
- Workforce development and diversity, including Town employees.
- Diversity and bias training should be for residents (expand Policy RSEJ-2.6).
- Change Goal 3 to talk about what Environmental Justice is.
- Policy 4.2 – Written comments had consensus that this policy should be rewritten
since it is hard to say what businesses will have health y or unhealthy foods.
- Consider rewording policy about schools.
- Policy 4.3 – Clarify. Add the word “and” after “neighborhoods.”
- Policy 4.4 – What does equitable investment in capital improvements mean – and
how might it be implemented. Add “and distribution.”
- Take infrastructure investments out of 4.1 to reduce overlap with Policy 4.4.
- Policy 6.2 – “diverse populations” rather than “youth and adults.”
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- Should reach out directly to people who have participated in the recent community
meetings on this topic.
- Expand Implementation Program C to include residents.
- Explore more translation services.
- Implementation Program G – Is this something that we already do? Or is it
complaint based? Consensus was in support of this Implementation Program, or
something similar without dictating specifics.
Chair Hanssen thanked the Mayor and Vice Mayor for the time and guidance that they have
provided in this process.
The next GPAC meeting will be on Thursday, December 17, 2020.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 8:27 p.m.
This is to certify that the foregoing is a true
and correct copy of the minutes of the
November 19, 2020 meeting as approved by the
General Plan Update Advisory Committee.
/s/Joel Paulson, Director of Community Development