Attachment 7 - Public Comments received by 1100 a.m., Thursday, June 15, 2023DATE: April 25, 2023
TO: Los Gatos Planning Commissioners
FROM: Catherine Somers, Executive Director, Los Gatos Chamber
Jim Foley, President, Board of Directors, Los Gatos Chamber
SUBJECT: Public Comment on Item # 2 4/26/23 Planning Commission Agenda
Writing on behalf of the Board of Directors for the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce, we would like to
express our appreciation of the Staff’s continued work on economic recovery and the streamlining of the
new business permitting process. Certainly, the June 2020 Economic Recovery Resolution did create
flexibility and increased opportunities for existing and new businesses. We particularly appreciated the
subsidies provided to the businesses who wanted to update their CUPs. Those updated CUPs have,
without a doubt, positively impacted the vitality and vibrancy in Town.
Tonight, we will be here to support almost everything staff recommends in this report as it relates to
making the 2020 Resolution permanent and we will encourage you do so as well. As indicated above,
the Chamber supports any steps taken toward streamlining the building process and making it easier for
business to happen in Town. – with a few exceptions.
We hope tonight you will take a little closer look at the language around specialty retail and how it might
relate to the coffee industry. The Downtown core currently has a unique and abundant variety of coffee
businesses. We feel the discretion provided at the Development Review Committee level will be
appropriate to guide any newly proposed coffee businesses in C-2. In other zoning districts in Town a by-
right use could be considered.
We also want to point out that formula retailer’s 5,000 sq. ft. was a policy meant to regulate larger box
retail. In hindsight, that number could have been altered or addressed a few years ago when this
Resolution was put in to place but was not. There are some spaces in the commercial core (c-2) that
would benefit from marketability of what would be considered a ‘formula’ use as an approved use within
the zone. There are leases in place, building size, and other constraints that self-regulate the concern of
overly competitive big box retailers entering the market and creating destructive competition for the
mom and pop retailers we cherish. The notion of formula retail is antiquated. With the aggressively
changing landscape of retail, we almost want to welcome the few quality retailers that are left to bolster
our shopping experience and gain tax revenue. We suggest eliminating this limitation completely. If you
are not ready to take that step, the minimum should be increased. We believe that 10,000 sq. ft or
potentially larger would create enough discretion to vet uses that could potentially have a negative
impact to the established business community.
Lastly, we also think the definition of banks and financial institutions needs to be even more straight
forward. Recalling the planning commission meeting a year ago, you unanimously agreed to allow
Charles Schwab to open in the now-vacated Gap space. The Chamber appealed that decision, and it
went to the Council who ultimately denied it as they did not think it qualified as a banking institution but
was an office. Offices are not typically approved on the ground floor in the C2 district. While it is not out
of the question, at some level, office uses on the ground floor in C-2 may be warranted. It needs to be
carefully studied before allowing that to happen to ensure the integrity of the central business district is
not unduly compromised. Council upheld the appeal and denied the project. That night, their definition
of a bank was quite different than what is proposed here. One of the qualifications was that the bank
ATTACHMENT 7
needed to have cash on hand and an ATM. We think you should include that description in your
definition.
Again, the Chamber Board and our members approve the elements of the Economic Recovery Resolution
and would like to see code amendments put in place to make them permanent. The Development
Review Committee has done an excellent job and has certainly provided the correct level of discretion
when it comes to ensuring that the Central Business District has the right mix of business types that
enhance and do not compromise the charm of Los Gatos. We still have work to do around making the
process even more streamlined and will keep advocating for further streamlining.
Thanks.
From: M Millen <>
Sent: Tuesday, June 13, 2023 10:48 AM
To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>
Cc: Monica Renn <mrenn@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Coffee shop carve out
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Hi,
As a small business owner and a commercial property owner, I am writing to voice my
opposition to requiring new coffee shops to get a CUP as a “restaurant”.
My understanding is that all other specialty food businesses will be exempt from this CUP
requirement, and it makes no sense to treat coffee shops differently from a yogurt shop or
something similar.
I have a new tenant that is a yogurt shop and it would benefit my tenant to require all other ice
cream or yogurt shops to have to struggle through the time and expense of a CUP just to open
the doors (just like the town forced my new tenant to do). There is no rational justification to
drop barriers to entry for a yogurt/ice cream shop but to keep those exact same barriers in
place for a coffee shop.
The town should not be protecting certain businesses from competition or favoring certain
businesses by erecting or maintaining barriers to entry.
Please eliminate the CUP restaurant requirements for all coffee shops, and treat them like
every other specialty food business.
Thank you,
Mark Millen
Los Gatos, CA
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