Item 2 - Addendum with Attachment
PREPARED BY: JENNIFER ARMER, AICP
Senior Planner
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
MEETING DATE: 03/18/2021 ITEM: 2 ADDENDUM
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
GENERAL PLAN UPDATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
REPORT
DATE: March 17, 2021
TO: General Plan Update Advisory Committee
FROM: Joel Paulson, Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Review and Discussion of the Revised Initial Draft of the Community Design
Element.
REMARKS:
Attachment 32 contains comments from a Committee Member.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachments previously received with the November 5, 2020 Staff Report:
1. June 11, 2020 Community Workshop and Online Survey Summary
2. Initial Draft of Land Use Element
3. Initial Draft of Community Design Element
4. Public Comment received by 11:00 a.m., Friday, October 30, 2020
Attachments previously received with November 5, 2020 Addendum:
5. Committee Member Comments
6. Public Comments received between 11:01 a.m., Friday, October 30, 2020 and 11:00 a.m.,
Wednesday, November 4, 2020
Attachment previously received with the November 5, 2020 Desk Item:
7. Committee Member Comments
Attachments previously received with the November 19, 2020 Staff Report:
8. November 17, 2020 Town Council Staff Report with Attachments 1-7
9. Committee Member Comments
Attachments previously received with the November 19, 2020 Desk Item Report:
10. Committee Member Comments
11. Public Comment
PAGE 2 OF 3 SUBJECT: Revised Initial Draft of the Community Design Element March 17, 2021
N:\DEV\GPAC\GPAC Staff Reports\2021\03-18-21\Item 2 - Addendum.docx
ATTACHMENTS (continued):
Attachments previously received with the January 7, 2021 Staff Report:
12. Revised Initial Draft of Land Use Element
13. Comment Response Summary Table – Land Use
14. Revised Initial Draft of Community Design Element
15. Comment Response Summary Table – Community Design
16. Updated Potential Housing Production Table
Attachments previously received with the January 7, 2021 Addendum Report:
17. Committee Member Comments
18. Public Comment
Attachments previously received with the January 21, 2021 Staff Report:
19. Maps of the Area Described in a Public Comment
20. Committee Member Comments
Attachment previously received with the January 21, 2021 Addendum Report:
21. Historic Preservation Committee Comments
Attachment previously received with the January 21, 2021 Desk Item Report:
22. Committee Member Comments
Attachments previously received with the February 4, 2021 Staff Report:
23. Updated Comment Response Summary Table – Community Design Element
24. Committee Member Comments
Attachment previously received with the February 4, 2021 Addendum Report:
25. Committee Member Comments
Attachments previously received with the February 18, 2021 Addendum Report:
26. Committee Member Comments
27. Public Comment
Attachment previously received with the March 4, 2021 Addendum Report:
28. Committee Member Comments
Attachment previously received with the March 4, 2021 Desk Item:
29. Public Comment
PAGE 3 OF 3 SUBJECT: Revised Initial Draft of the Community Design Element March 17, 2021
N:\DEV\GPAC\GPAC Staff Reports\2021\03-18-21\Item 2 - Addendum.docx
ATTACHMENTS (continued):
Attachments previously received with the March 18, 2021 Staff Report:
30. Community Place Districts Introduction
31. Committee Member Comments
Attachment received with this Addendum Report:
32. Committee Member Comments
This Page
Intentionally
Left Blank
Memo
To: General Plan Update Advisory Committee 2040
Fr: Carol Elias Zolla
Suggested changes to chair and vice-chair’s suggested changes to Community Place Districts:
Second Paragraph in introduction to Downtown Business District :
The Downtown Business District is composed of many retail shops, boutiques, coffee shops,
restaurants, and hotels. [Note, what do you mean by “hospitality-oriented uses”? If you mean a
movie theater, say that… otherwise, one could infer bars (we have many), live theater (we have
none), and unsavory uses that we don’t want in Town that are euphemistically referred to as
“hospitality”.] Being that the Downtown [check spelling] is the original historic center of the
Town, it is naturally home to some of the iconic architectural styles that make Los Gatos unique
and showcase architectural excellence. Located within and adjacent to this District, are the
Town’s Historic Districts which are meant to honor and preserve Los Gatos’s roots as a rural
foothill community. [How does the rail line fit in here?] This District is home to many outdoor
public spaces including the Town Plaza Park, Los Gatos’s civic space [I would argue that the
grassy area in front of the Town hall/library is the “civic space”. Is that its designation?] , which
hosts several popular community events that draw visitors throughout the region.
Harwood Road District :
Starbucks is gone. Perhaps include the gas station instead.
Second to last sentence in introductory paragraph:
The district is surrounded by low-density residential, with a few medium density residential
designated parcels intermixed that use the center for primary daily needs. What does this
sentence mean? The parcels don’t use the center, the residents who live in the properties on
the parcels use the center. They also can’t possibly use the center for “primary daily needs” as
there’s no supermarket. Perhaps a better sentence: The district is surrounded primarily by
low-density residential, intermixed with a few medium density residential parcels. Nearby
residents utilize the center for convenient shopping.
Lark Avenue District
Second to last sentence in introductory paragraph. Please change to:
ATTACHMENT 32
Office parks in this area are reminiscent of the technology boom in the early 1980s, containing
single-story buildings and an abundance of parking.
Vision paragraph. Suggested re-work:
The Lark Avenue District encapsulates modern office park planning and development by
integrating the District’s natural features and encouraging outdoor recreation. This District
includes multi-story buildings and subterranean parking. Residential growth and sustainability
are accomplished by adding live/work buildings and neighborhood-serving commercial.
Removing surface lots increases outdoor gathering spaces for residents and employees.
Developments include entrances along University Avenue and along the Los Gatos Creek Trail,
allowing cyclist commuters to get to work without relying on heavily-used streets and corridors
and promoting use of the nearby Creekside Sports Park. Development is open to the natural
terrain of Los Gatos Creek and the trail and allows a seamless transition between the natural
and built environments.
North Santa Cruz
I noticed Safeway is called “a national retail chain store” in this section but a “national chain
grocery store” in the Union Avenue District. The term grocery store or supermarket should be
consistent throughout.
Pollard Road District
Why do you mention Safeway in the North Santa Cruz section but use “grocery store” here?
Suggested re-work of introductory paragraph:
The Pollard Road District at the intersection of Pollard Road and More Avenue borders the City
of Campbell. This district is anchored by the Rinconada Shopping Center, which contains
Safeway and CVS pharmacy, along with local dining and neighborhood services. The layout of
the center is automobile-oriented with street-fronting surface parking and access points on
either side of the intersection. The center is neighborhood-serving, surrounded by largely
residential neighborhoods that rely on the center for daily needs, and the families whose
children attend nearby Rolling Hills Middle School. Pollard Road is less travelled than other Los
Gatos arterials, which emphasizes the neighborhood focus.
Winchester Boulevard District
What do you mean by “variety of entertainment venues”? The nearby movie theater is in
Campbell. The word “seamless” should be changed to “seamlessly”.