Attachment 11 - Public Comments received between 1101 a.m., January 12, 2022, and 1100 a.m., March 31, 2022ATTACHMENT 11
From: Niki Omidi
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2022 11:52 AM
To: Sean Mullin <SMullin@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: 110 Wood Road project concerns
EXTERNAL SENDER
Hi Sean,
I had left a voicemail on your answering service last week to discuss my concerns regarding 110 Wood
Road, but I never heard from you. In any case, the story poles went up just before the holidays and it’s
very concerning to me how huge and visually invasive they are into the hillside, especially from my
house’s view (I’m at ). Is the height of Villa C (or perhaps Villa D, I can’t tell which
from the story poles) necessary need to be so tall? I’ll be glad to include photos, if you ask for them. The
visual impact of these buildings is on par with the Sacred Heart Jesuit Center (Testarossa winery), except
the Center enjoys both a historical status as well as the fortune of being set quite aways back up into the
hills. This Covia project on 110 Wood Road is proposing the same visual girth or magnitude as the Jesuit
Center, but smack dab on top of those of us who enjoy south east views of the hills from our elevated
vantage points.
Is this topic up for discussion? Please email me back, or call me at .
Niki Omidi
From: Julie Southern >
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2022 12:22 PM
To: Sean Mullin <SMullin@losgatosca.gov>
Cc: Matthew Southern >; C So >
Subject: 110 Wood Road comments for 12 Jan 2022 meeting
EXTERNAL SENDER
Hello Sean
I hope this is not too late for today's meeting.
I attended the Open house that the Meadows held on Monday as well as almost all prior 9 Open Houses.
I have also attempted to attend all counsel meetings that have discussed this project.
I am an interested neighbor!
Overall I am in favor of the rebuild. The Meadows services are greatly needed.
As a 30+ year resident of Wood Road though, I have a few (more) thoughts now that the orange poles
are up:
1) The 30+ additional feet with the higher 3+ story buildings are quite visible. Though none directly
block my across the valley view, the bulk does block view.
2) I like that they are proposing Solar, though I hope that does not add more than a foot above the
existing flags today.
3) More parking is good for the workers but it will add more traffic to the Wood Road traffic. Before they
closed, workers that parked offsite walked up the road.
4) Wood Road is getting LOTS of attention by people on foot and by car, especially that the flags are up -
many driving to the top/end of Wood Road, and really adding to the traffic flow. This also exasperates
the fact there is only a side walk a few feet up the Road. It might be nice to have some sort of sidewalk
or street marking where bikes or people could walk safely when they rebuild. I understand a sidewalk
may be out of the question due to tree roots, etc. but might be nice.
5) This also leads to my consistent request that they not close off the Broadway exit to neighbors.
i) It saved us during the 1997 fire. And with increased traffic, it would be a shame to remove this access
to cars.
ii) It would also give neighbors an alternative during summer traffic months that sometimes are
impossible to get off of Wood Road.
iii) And it seems like cars are now driving even faster on South bound S. Santa Cruz Avenue making it
again difficult and sometimes unsafe to exit Wood Road.
6) The PG&E (and Comcast) line on the back of Meadows, on the Road edge is a key candidate
for underground work. It serves most all the other houses on Wood Road and is quite 'sketchy' looking
now (leaning).
7) Water pressure. I mentioned it at the Open House, but was curious if the water pressure would be
impacted favorably with the project? Some homes suffer from water pressure.
8) The white roofs today are an eye soar. Will the new structure be able to use more
friendly waterproofing colors?
Thank you - I will try to state this by raising my hand tonight, but have had technical difficulty before.
Best Regards,
Julie
From: Clare Southern <>
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2022 3:08 PM
To: Sean Mullin <SMullin@losgatosca.gov>
Cc: Julie Southern <>; Matthew Southern <>
Subject: Re: 110 Wood Road comments for 12 Jan 2022 meeting
EXTERNAL SENDER
Hi Sean,
Here are alternative views of the Meadows. Want to highlight two concerns that a few people brought
up on the call related to the size of the increase + the powerline.
Mass increase:
Severely leaning powerline. (Hillside burned in 1997 due to PG&E fire).
From: noreply@civicplus.com <noreply@civicplus.com>
Sent: Friday, January 28, 2022 8:41 AM
To: Town Manager <Manager@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Online Form Submittal: Customer Feedback Form
EXTERNAL SENDER
Customer Feedback Form
We'd like to hear from you! Please complete the online form to share your
concerns, suggestions, or praise with us.
Contact Information
Name: Claudia Galbo
Address:
City: Los Gatos
State: CA
Zip: 95033-8330
Home Phone Number:
Daytime Phone Number: Field not completed.
Email Address:
Please let us know how we
are doing or what we can
do for you!
I would like to express deep concern about the HUGE UGLY
EYESORE MONSTROSITY that appears to be planned above
the downtown area(west side). I cannot believe that the town
would approve such a huge, out of place building that
overpowers the view and is literally all you can see as you
enter town from the west. Los Gatos is known for its natural
beauty and location, PLEASE don’t destroy it by allowing this
monstrosity. It is/will be a huge detriment to the city’s
reputation.
From: Jennifer Armer <JArmer@losgatosca.gov>
Sent: Monday, February 14, 2022 8:51 AM
To: Morgan Slain <>
Cc: Sean Mullin <SMullin@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: RE: Thanks and comments on Los Gatos Meadows proposal
Good Morning Morgan,
Thank you for stopping by the Town’s booth at the Farmers Market yesterday, it was a pleasure to talk
with you. By copy of this message I am forwarding your comments to Senior Planner Sean Mullin for
inclusion in future public meetings’ staff report materials (along with all Public Comments) regarding the
proposed project at 110 Wood Road.
As the primary staff liaison for the project, Mr. Mullin can be reached at SMullin@LosGatosCA.gov or
408-354-6823 should you need anything further at this time.
Thank you for reaching out to the Town of Los Gatos and voicing your comments.
Sincerely,
Jennifer
Jennifer T.C. Armer, AICP ● Planning Manager
Community Development Department ● 110 E. Main Street, Los Gatos CA 95030
Ph: 408.399.5706 ● jarmer@losgatosca.gov
www.losgatosca.gov ● https://www.facebook.com/losgatosca
General Plan update, learn more at www.losgatos2040.com
Housing Element update, learn more at https://engagelosgatoshousing.com
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From: Irving MITSUNAGA <>
Sent: Monday, March 28, 2022 12:30 PM
To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Los Gatos Meadows
EXTERNAL SENDER
TO: Town Council, Los Gatos
FROM: Irving & Evelyn Mitsunaga
RE: Los Gatos Meadows Project to Re-build
We support the rebuild of The Meadows on Wood Road, Los Gatos. We feel Los Gatos needs
more living spaces exactly like the residential community that Covia is planning.
We have lived at our current address () since 1974. Because
Broadway residents are considered neighbors of the project, we have been invited to attend
Town Halls and Informational meetings, in person before Covid 19 shutdowns and then via
Zoom during the pandemic. We have been impressed with the re-build team's willingness to
listen to and address neighbor's concerns. We especially appreciate their commitments to
providing a fire-safe site and to maintaining the natural woodland area.
This project is personal for us, because the more we learn, the more we want to live at the Los
Gatos Meadows, a residental community with purpose and connectivity to the town. We are
active, social seniors who want to stay near downtown and continue to enjoy and contribute to
community affairs, as we have for more than 45 years. Obviously we don't move often, and we
want our last move to be the right move. We think there is a significant number of town
residents who are in our age category and want to stay within walking distance of
downtown. However, we are concerned that continuing delays to this project mean that we, and
many other long-time residents, will not be here to enjoy this beautiful facility.
We encourage the Town to allow this re-build to go forward. Thank you.
Irving & Evelyn Mitsunaga
Los Gatos, CA 95030
From: Laverne Nolan <>
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2022 10:24 AM
To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Meadows Rebuild
EXTERNAL SENDER
As a resident of Los Gatos and a senior I strongly approve of the Meadows being rebuilt.
It was terrible that they didn't stay open during the process of permitting the rebuild.
There is nothing in the immediate area that compares with the services that the Meadows
provided.
The senior services in our Town are sorely lacking. We need to step up the game. Speed
up the permitting
process.
Laverne Nolan
From: Gillian Verga >
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2022 10:03 PM
To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Support for Los Gatos Meadows rebuild
EXTERNAL SENDER
Dear Town Council,
I’m writing in support of the Los Gatos Meadows rebuild to be presented on April 5th. I believe the
benefits of making this retirement community more modern and a better place for seniors are far more
important than the impact on the neighborhood’s view.
I live on Broadway, and I can see the story poles from my living room window - so I am definitely
impacted by the view. But my thinking is this: when I look out my window, or walk around town, I see a
mix of buildings and greenery. When the Meadows is built, and we're all used to seeing it, it will just be
one more building mixed with the greenery. I don't think it dominates more than other buildings I see
around town. I have walked around the Almond Grove, and from many - even most - places, you can’t
see the story poles at all.
On the other hand, I'm now looking at retirement homes for my mom, so I can appreciate the need for this
housing. The places she's considering are all new construction, modern, nicely appointed facilities with
full services. Many of them are semi high-rise buildings. She'll be selling her home of 53 years, so she
can afford a nice roomy place, maybe even a 2-bedroom unit. When I think about the Meadows from the
perspective of a potential resident, their designs make perfect sense to build a beautiful community for
seniors.
I also love the Meadows plan to have a self-driving shuttle that takes people down the hill onto Broadway,
right across from my house. That means the residents can walk the remaining flat half-block into town
and enjoy the coffee, shopping, restaurants, etc. One of the biggest challenges for seniors is having to
stop driving, so walking access to downtown is huge for this facility and its residents.
Frankly, it seems pretty selfish to stand in the way of this development and deny hundreds of seniors a
place to live - many of them near families in Los Gatos - just because our view will change a little. And,
we could stall, talk about it for months - but we have a housing shortage, and I’d rather Covia get this
built, make the housing available, and move on to build something else as soon as they can. Let’s stop
the delays and discussions that make it so hard to build new housing in our area. Let’s approve this
project and get more senior housing in Los Gatos.
Sincerely,
Gillian Verga