Attachment 1 - Public CommentATTACHMENT 1
From: Anne Roley
Sent: Monday, October 17, 2022 8:01 PM
To: Town Manager <Manager@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: RE: 10/18/22 Town Council Meeting - 2040 General Plan
EXTERNAL SENDER
Los Gatos Town Manager and Town Councilmembers,
I encourage you to consider the following items when making decisions for the 2040 General Plan. Only Up Zone the density of land necessary to meet the State Mandated 1,993 homes. Be creative in how you implement housing development without up zoning our residential neighborhoods. Spread development out over the next 20 years.
We need a strategic growth plan for the future housing developments in Town, which includes traffic, schools, utilities, police, and fire. Financial consideration is an important element of all plans for development. We need transparency for a balanced budget regarding future growth and development.
Uphold the Town's current #1 Land Use Goal "to preserve, promote, and protect the existing small-town character and quality of life within Los Gatos. Keep Our Town a Small Town. Put “small-town” back as a Land Use Goal in the 2040 General Plan With Appreciation, Anne Robinson Roley Los Gatos, CA. 95032
ATTACHMENT 1
From: Bill Kraus
Sent: Monday, October 17, 2022 10:36 PM
To: Rob Rennie <RRennie@losgatosca.gov>; Matthew; Marico Sayoc <MSayoc@losgatosca.gov>; Town
Manager <Manager@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: General Plan - Housing In Los Gatos
EXTERNAL SENDER
Dear Town Manager,
Please assure the email reaches the two council members who I do not have addresses for. Dear Mayor, Council, and Town Manager: Our household is against the Town housing element that exceeds the state mandate. Our household is also FOR affordable housing. Those two stands are NOT mutually exclusive.
Just increasing the housing stock does not make housing more affordable. Look at cities like New York and Tokyo where housing densities are high and prices are high and neither has the Los Gatos quality of life most residents wish to retain.
When housing densities increase in a highly desirable Town like Los Gatos, the prices don't decrease but
the quality of life does. By meeting the minimum housing element numbers required by the state, the Town will be compliant and impact the character of the Town no more than necessary.
Now those new housing units in the housing element can be properly planned so housing is more
affordable for critical workers, others climbing the economic ladder, and under-represented folks that many desire to join our community. How can that be done? One simple approach is as the Town allows
more density, then have it come at a cost where the property owner does not get all the increase in value.
An example: say the Los Gatos Lodge wants to redevelop as housing and the current zoning allows three stories and 20 units per acre. The Town could have a benefit for the landowner that they could add a
story and 33% more density IF 50% of the extra units are added to the deed restricted BMP (Below Market) program. That means the Town would allow 27 units per acre and four stories IF 3.5 units per
acre are added to the BMP program.
The result is more units for the housing element and more units for the BMP program where those we wish to join our community can find a home. This can be police, fire fighters, teachers, and under-
represented folks that can't afford to live in Town but could with the extra units in BMP.
Some might say it is too difficult to craft something like this and yes it is not easy to balance property rights, state mandates, and affordable housing but if we don't both manage the growth and maximize the
fairness of distribution of new housing, then we will have the worst of sprawl and inequity.
So please change our approach to only meet minimum mandates while maximizing the fairness of the distribution of the added units to folks who otherwise could not afford to live here.
Thank you,
Bill Kraus - Los Gatos resident for 59 years