Item 2 - Desk Item and Attachment 3
PREPARED BY: JENNIFER ARMER, AICP
Senior Planner
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
MEETING DATE: 6/18/2020 ITEM: 2 DESK ITEM
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
GENERAL PLAN UPDATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
REPORT
DATE: June 18, 2020
TO: General Plan Update Advisory Committee
FROM: Joel Paulson, Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Review and Discussion of the Initial Draft of the Public Facilities, Services, and
Infrastructure Element.
REMARKS:
The Los Gatos Community Health and Senior Services Commission has authorized their chair,
George Rossmann to speak on its behalf at this meeting. Attachment 3 contains the remarks he
plans to make during the public comment period for this item.
In addition to these comments, staff has received verbal inquiries as to whether this General
Plan element is the right location to include policies addressing pandemic response and social
equity and justice. While both of these topics are relevant to the Public Facilities, Services, and
Infrastructure Element, they also warrant a larger discussion than is possible at this meeting.
Staff recommends that the GPAC consider these topics at a separate meeting that will be
scheduled in the near future so staff and the consultant can provide examples of possible goals,
policies, and/or implementation programs to consider, and discussion of where these topics
can be incorporated into other elements of the General Plan. For example, the pandemic
response may also be appropriate in the Hazards and Safety Element, and the social equity and
justice may rate an icon (like we have for sustainability) throughout the General Plan.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachments previously received with June 18, 2020 Staff Report:
1. Initial Draft of Public Facilities, Services, and Infrastructure Element
2. Comments from the Youth Commission
Attachment received with this Desk Item Report:
3. Comments from the Chair of the Community Health and Senior Services Commission
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GPAC Meeting
June 18, 2020
Good evening. My name is George Rossmann, and I am the chair of the newly named
Community Health and Senior Services Commission. The name change is not simply a response
to the current pandemic, but a recognition that the public health needs of the Los Gatos
community are more substantial than the goals, policies, and actions that were identified in the
2020 General Plan.
Evidence of these needs is reflected in numerous ways. Assessments of community health needs
have been undertaken at the county and city level throughout the nation, and out of ten essential
public health services, our county prioritized Behavioral Health (Mental Health and Substance
Abuse) and Chronic Disease/Healthy Eating and Active Living. Los Gatos has responded by
awarding a number of multi-year community grants to organizations responsive to these needs:
Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence, Counseling and Support Services for Youth, Parents
Helping Parents. The town is also participating in the county’s Healthy Cities Program and
through it hopes to reduce the incidence of chronic disease and injury. The recently formed Los
Gatos Service Providers has focused its attention on mental health awareness and showcased
local providers of behavioral health services.
We see more clearly than ever that social services are a necessity. The 2040 General Plan needs
to consider the strengths, assets, and resources that Los Gatos possesses at the same time as it
recognizes our weaknesses and vulnerabilities. COVID – 19 has made all of us acutely aware of
those. We cannot simply rely on our nearby hospitals and residential health care providers to
fulfill the growing health needs of our entire community. We need to rethink the Public Health
policies proposed in the draft 2040 General Plan. Our commission intends to make constructive
proposals to that end.
ATTACHMENT 3
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