Item 3 - 04-15-21 DRAFT Minutes
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
GENERAL PLAN UPDATE
ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT
MEETING DATE: 05/06/2021 ITEM: 3
DRAFT
MINUTES OF THE GENERAL PLAN UPDATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
APRIL 15, 2021
The General Plan Update Advisory Committee of the Town of Los Gatos conducted a Special
Meeting on April 15, 2021, at 6:00 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 Executive
Order N-29-20, the public could only view the meeting online and not in the Council Chamber.
MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AT 6:00 P.M.
ROLL CALL
Present: Chair Melanie Hanssen, Vice Chair Kathryn Janoff, Council Member Mary Badame,
Council Member Maria Ristow, Committee Member Susan Moore Brown, Committee Member
Todd Jarvis, Committee Member Joseph Mannina, Committee Member Steven Piasecki,
Committee Member Ryan Rosenberg, Committee Member Emily Thomas, Committee Member
Lee Quintana, and Committee Member Carol Elias Zolla.
Absent: None.
Staff present: Jennifer Armer, Joel Paulson, and Rob Schultz.
VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS
None.
CONSENT ITEMS (TO BE ACTED UPON BY A SINGLE MOTION)
None.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
1. Continued Review of the Revised Initial Drafts of the Land Use and Community Design
Elements.
Jennifer Armer, Senior Planner, presented the staff report.
PAGE 2 OF 4 MINUTES OF GENERAL PLAN UPDATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON APRIL 15, 2021
N:\DEV\GPAC\GPAC Staff Reports\2021\05-06-21\Item 1 to 3 - Minutes\Item 3 - 04-15-21 DRAFT Minutes.docx
Committee discussed the matter of what term to use for “Community Place Districts”
and provided the following direction:
MOTION: Motion by Committee Member Quintana to keep the use of
“Community Place Districts.” Seconded by Council Member Ristow.
VOTE: Motion passed 7-4-1 with Committee Member Quintana, Committee
Member Piasecki, Committee Member Rosenberg, and Council Member
Badame voting no, and Committee Member Thomas abstaining.
Open Public Comment.
Giulianna Pendleton
- Commented that as a lifelong resident she values our bike and walkways and
encourages expanding the path network and commented on unintended
consequences of additional paved areas that infringe on green space or street tree
space.
Jeffrey Suzuki
- Commented that the Land Use Element should acknowledge that housing is one of
the most important factors of the community’s racial, ethnic, and socio-economic
composition, and that the preservation of small-town character should be replaced
with a phrase that isn’t inherently preservationist.
Shani Kleinhaus
- Commented, as a member of the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, that Los Gatos
is blessed with diversity of wildlife, but artificial light can have impacts on ecosystem
health and human health.
Bruce Preville
- Commented, as a CERT lead, that we should make sure the Town is prepared for
climate change and wildfires.
Leonie
- Commented, as a long-term Los Gatos resident, that fire hazards are very important
and that beach traffic and congestion downtown need to be solved before the
development of additional housing.
Closed Public Comment.
PAGE 3 OF 4 MINUTES OF GENERAL PLAN UPDATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON APRIL 15, 2021
N:\DEV\GPAC\GPAC Staff Reports\2021\05-06-21\Item 1 to 3 - Minutes\Item 3 - 04-15-21 DRAFT Minutes.docx
Committee discussed the matter and provided the following comments and direction:
- Revise the introductory paragraph of the Land Use Element to describe the State’s
emphasis on expanded housing opportunities as an opportunity for the Town to
reevaluate our land use regulations to find opportunities for growth in a way that
welcomes new residents and creates resiliency for our community and housing
opportunities.
- Clarify Table 3.1 to provide clearer and more useful data.
- Add a footnote under Figure 3-5 to clarify that this is an example of the types of
housing, not a redevelopment of a whole block.
- Reorder the list of housing types, in Figure 3-5, so that accessory dwelling units are
listed first.
- Revise Policy LU-2.1 to reference a one-mile distance instead of 20-minute walk or
bike ride.
- Change maximum height in the HR designation to 25 feet, with language to be
added to the zoning code to provide a path for renovations of homes made non-
conforming by this change.
- Clarify language in mixed-use and commercial designations that residential uses may
only be developed in a mixed-use format.
- Revise Policy LU-3.5 to encourage multiple units instead of new single-family
development.
- Revise Policy LU-5.1 to remove “maintaining” and shifting emphasis to smaller units
and away from single-family development.
- Revise Policy LU-5.8 to use “compatible” rather than “blend.”
- Add a policy to limit the growth in the hillside areas, or provide reference to where it
is in another section.
- Add a new policy under Goal LU-9 to maintain existing Town identity.
- In Section 3.6 (Special Planning Areas), add details of where the AHOZ overlay zone
is used.
- Implement written comments for Sections 3.7 and 3.8.
- Policy LU-17.2 –-Clarify language.
- Policy LU-21.1 - Delete “that will help preserve the Town’s small-town character.”
- Add a “Sustainable Design” section with policies under Section 4.2.
- Modify CD-9.2 to include trees and bioswales.
- Add cross references to related policies in the Mobility Element.
The next GPAC meeting will be a special meeting on Thursday, May 6, 2021, at 6:00 p.m.
PAGE 4 OF 4 MINUTES OF GENERAL PLAN UPDATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON APRIL 15, 2021
N:\DEV\GPAC\GPAC Staff Reports\2021\05-06-21\Item 1 to 3 - Minutes\Item 3 - 04-15-21 DRAFT Minutes.docx
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 10:03 p.m.
This is to certify that the foregoing is a true
and correct copy of the minutes of the
April 15, 2021 meeting as approved by the
General Plan Update Advisory Committee.
Joel Paulson, Director of Community Development