Attachment 3 - January 25, 2023 Planning Commission Verbatim MinutesLOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 1/25/2023
Item #2, 300 Mountain Laurel Lane
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A P P E A R A N C E S:
Los Gatos Planning
Commissioners:
Jeffrey Barnett, Chair
Steve Raspe, Vice Chair
Susan Burnett
Kylie Clark
Melanie Hanssen
Kathryn Janoff
Emily Thomas
Town Manager: Laurel Prevetti
Community Development
Director:
Joel Paulson
Town Attorney: Gabrielle Whelan
Transcribed by: Vicki L. Blandin
(619) 541-3405
ATTACHMENT 3
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P R O C E E D I N G S:
CHAIR BARNETT: We’ll now move on to Public
Hearings and Item 2 on the agenda. This concerns a request
to the Commission for recommendation to the Town Council
for approval of modification of Planned Development
Ordinance 2172 to increase the maximum residence size
allowed on Lot 14 on property zoned HR-5:PD, located at 300
Mountain Laurel Lane, APN 567-24-023, and Planned
Development Amendment PD-22-001. The property owner is
Bright Smile Dental Office Defined Benefit Plan, and the
Applicant is Kunling Wu, Trustee.
I note that Staff has made a request for a
recommendation of approval of this item, but we’ll now
proceed and ask the Commissioners, by raised hands, if
they’ve had an opportunity to see the property? Thank you.
Are there any disclosures by Commissioners?
Ms. Armer, you had a comment?
JENNIFER ARMER: Yes, I wanted to share that I
believe Commissioner Hanssen needs to be recused because of
proximity to the project.
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COMMISSIONER HANSSEN: I did not know that, but I
do live on Santa Rosa Drive. Am I 1,000 feet from the
property? Then you can take me into the attendees.
CHAIR BARNETT: We’ll now move on and ask Mr.
Mullin if he is going to give a report this evening on this
Agenda Item 2?
SEAN MULLIN: Thank you, Chair, and good evening.
Before you this evening is a request to modify
the Shannon Valley Ranch Planned Development overlay to
allow an increase in the maximum residence size for Lot 14
and the average residence size allowed within the
subdivision.
The subject property is just over eight acres
located in the northern portion of the subdivision. A
single-family residence once stood on the property but was
destroyed by fire in 1997, prior to the 2004 subdivision.
Lot 14 is the last undeveloped residential property in the
subdivision.
As detailed in your Staff Report, the PD to allow
subdivisions to 14 lots was considered numerous times by
the DRC and the Planning Commission prior to approval by
the Council in 2002. During the final review by the
Planning Commission in January 2002 two members of the
public spoke and commented that any residence on Lot 14
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should be rebuilt in the original footprint and of similar
size. In response, the Commission forwarded the Planned
Development to the Council with an added standard that a
replacement residence on Lot 14 be similar in square
footage, mass, and scale to the original residence that was
destroyed by fire.
In March 2002 the Council adopted the PD
Ordinance adding the Lot 14 limitations, Performance
Standard 8, which other than Lot 14 limits homes in the
subdivision to 4,850 square feet with an average size of
4,650 square feet, and at least two-thirds of the homes
being single-story.
Town records for Lot 14 did not provide much
detail on the original residence. Included with your Staff
Report is a letter from 2016 indicating that the original
home was one story and approximately 2,400 square feet.
Other anecdotal information indicates that the size of the
original residence may have been closer to 3,000 square
feet. Given the incomplete nature of the records for Lot
14, Staff has messaged to the public over time that the lot
could be developed with a single-story residence with a
maximum size of 3,000 square feet, should be located in the
general area of the previous residence, and any new
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residence would be subject to an Architecture and Site
approval.
After recently purchasing the property the
Applicant contacted Staff to explore the development
potential of the property. Staff provided guidance on the
limitation imposed by the PD and referred the Applicant to
the Conceptual Development Advisory Committee to obtain
preliminary feedback on increasing the allowed residence to
6,000 square feet.
As detailed in your Staff Report, the CDAC
expressed some concerns with the preliminary proposal and
recommending that the maximum residence size be more in
line with the development in the subdivision. The Applicant
has revised their request in response and now seeks a
maximum residence size of 4,850 square feet. This increase
also requires a change to the average residence size from
4,650 square feet to 4,655 square feet. Exhibit 14 includes
Revised Performance Standard 8 reflecting the Applicant’s
request.
At this time no development is proposed. A future
proposal for a new residence would be subject to
discretionary review under a public hearing under an
Architecture and Site Application.
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Based on the analysis provided in the Staff
Report, Staff recommends forwarding a recommendation of
approval to the Town Council.
This concludes my presentation and Staff is
available for any questions.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you very much, Mr. Mullin.
Are there any questions of Staff from members of the
Commission at this time? Commissioner Clark.
COMMISSIONER CLARK: I have a question about the
request for the 5’ increase in the average size. Is that
just because this lot increases the total average to 5’
over what’s currently allowed?
SEAN MULLIN: Thank you for that question. Yes,
that’s the case. Currently the average only considers Lots
1-13, so the addition of Lot 14 at 4,850 would bump the
average up by 5’.
COMMISSIONER CLARK: Okay, thank you.
CHAIR BARNETT: Any other questions of Staff at
this time? There will be a further opportunity to do so
later in the meeting. I don’t see any, so we’ll now open
the public portion of the public meeting and give the
Applicant any opportunity to address the Commission for up
to five minutes. Ms. Armer, do we have the Applicant ready?
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JENNIFER ARMER: I see a hand raised, so we will
allow you to speak.
DERRICK: Hi, this is Derrick. I’m speaking on
behalf of Kunling Wu, Trustee for the Bright Smile Dental
Trust Fund for this property.
We have gone with Staff recommendations to
communicate with the HOA as well as the neighbors. We
understand that the HOA has given us some feedback
regarding any future site development and the concerns that
they have regarding building a driveway, potential drainage
issues, etc., however, according to Mr. Mullin as well,
this is not an actual proposal for any kind of development
on the site yet, simply a change to the size of what is
permitted to be built onsite, similar to Lots 1-13, which
is within the HOA neighborhood.
I believe we have done our very best as a non-
commercial entity to meet the Town’s requests regarding
this proposal. If there are any further actions we need to
take, we’ll be happy to do so. Thank you very much.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you. Are there any
questions for Derrick at this time? I’m not seeing any, so
at this time we’ll invite comments from members of the
public who may wish to speak on this matter, and again
remind them to use the raised feature on Zoom and speak
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when you’re called upon. Do we have any members of the
public who wish to speak, Ms. Armer?
JENNIFER ARMER: If we have anyone here this
evening to speak on this item, please raise your hand. I’m
not seeing any hands raised, Chair.
CHAIR BARNETT: Then we’ll move on and ask
Derrick if you wish to make any further comments to close,
and you have up to three minutes additional if you wish to
proceed with that.
DERRICK: Thank you very much for your time. We
will just ask any Commissioners if you guys have any other
comments or thoughts regarding an actual building of a
single-story home onsite for future reference in terms of
any considerations that we should look into in the planning
phase so as to not meet any significant challenges in the
future? We already got some feedback from the HOA, which we
will take into serious consideration in addressing those
concerns. Thank you.
CHAIR BARNETT: I appreciate that. Are there any
further questions of the speaker by members of the
Commission?
I had one question, Derrick, about the extent of
the public outreach. In our packet it looked like one of
the neighbors had shown approval, but we don’t have
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information as to the extent of the distribution of the
notice.
DERRICK: I am not 100% regarding which members
within the HOA have received our letters pertaining to this
particular request for amending the PD, but I believe it
has gone through the HOA. We did get more than one person’s
feedback from the HOA regarding potential drainage
concerns, traffic concerns, also considerations with an
adjacent hiking trail that is next to the site, so all of
those I think are great advice in terms of moving forward.
But there are neighbors that said to talk to the
HOA, from my understanding. I wasn’t personally involved in
the discussion, but from what I understand with Kunling Wu
is that the neighbors said just refer to the HOA’s feedback
and Council, and I believe the HOA has done a great job in
terms of reaching out to everybody within the community.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you for the comment, and if
there’s nothing further from Commissioners for the speaker,
I’ll close the public portion of the public hearing and ask
if Commissioners at this time have any further questions of
Staff, wish to comment on the application, or introduce a
motion? Commissioner Thomas.
COMMISSIONER THOMAS: I just wanted to confirm
with Staff for this recommended change that 4,850 square
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feet would be a maximum. They wouldn’t have to build a
house that size, correct?
SEAN MULLIN: That’s correct.
COMMISSIONER THOMAS: Okay, thank you.
CHAIR BARNETT: Vice Chair Raspe.
VICE CHAIR RASPE: Thanks, Chair. My initial
thoughts are I find this generally a reasonable request. If
the notion was originally considered that the home site
could only be as big as the original home, which was 3,000
square feet, that puts it well below the structures which
currently exist in Lots 1-13, which generally range from
4,315 square feet to 4,800-and-some-odd square feet, so
limiting any kind of future development there, 3,000 seems
to be an unreasonable limitation on that lot.
It seems to me that the Applicant in this
location has done a good job of listening to prior comments
in downsizing their size from 6,000 square feet to 4,850
square feet. They have the largest lot in the area at eight
acres, which would put them at the smallest FAR even at
their requested figure. They’ve agreed to limit the story
to one-story, even though there is a mix of one- and two-
stories in that development, so it seems to me that all
things considered, the Applicant’s request in this case
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seems reasonable and I would be inclined to forward a
recommendation to Council to allow it to proceed.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you very much for those
comments. We’ll move on to Commissioner Janoff.
COMMISSIONER JANOFF: Thank you. I would agree
with Vice Chair Raspe. I find that this request seems
reasonable. I do appreciate that they have reduced their
original request from 6,000 square feet down to the maximum
for the PD, so that makes sense to me, and it makes sense
to increase the average size by 5’ in order to accommodate
this additional lot.
I do have a question for Staff. Since this house
will be placed on the ridge, and it may not be a
significant ridge, would the Hillside Design Standards and
Guidelines apply with respect to the height of this
proposed structure? I know that’s not before us tonight,
but when it comes to Architecture and Site, or down the
line to the Planning Commission, I would ask Staff if the
18’ limit for a home that’s visible on a ridge would apply
to this potential site?
SEAN MULLIN: Thank you for that question. Under
an Architecture and Site Application the Hillside Standards
and Design Guidelines could certainly apply, and you are
correct, this ridge is not identified as a significant
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ridge in the Hillside Specific Plan. I think evaluation and
careful consideration of the visibility impact is needed,
and there is one viewing area where there is some potential
for visibility over by Leigh High School off of Los Gatos
Almaden. If it were found to be visible, obviously it would
be limited to a height of 18’.
Staff will have to look at the Architecture and
Site Application, or even some preliminary plans from the
Applicant, to definitively determine if that knoll or that
outcropping would qualify as, “silhouetting on a ridge” is
the language that’s used in the Hillside Guidelines. I
can’t remember the exact figure quoted in the Staff Report,
but it does sit some feet below the ridge that Santa Rosa
traverses, but looking a little bit more closely today it
does have the potential for visibility from that area near
Leigh High School, so we’d have to look at that carefully.
I would say that there is a performance standard
that’s not subject to this application that does limit
height in the PD, so it would obviously be subject to that.
The Applicant is proposing a single-story, which would be
part of the limitation, and we would continue to look at
things as the project details develop.
COMMISSIONER JANOFF: Thank you for that. I
wanted to confirm, because Performance Standard 9 or 10
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does give a limit of 25’ height, but as we know from our
item from last meeting’s agenda, we were looking for
something well under that height should it be visible, so
thank you for clarifying that Staff will be looking at that
closely.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you. We’ll move on to
Commissioner Clark.
COMMISSIONER CLARK: I feel comfortable with this
request, and I’ll just list off a few of my reasons.
I think it having the lowest FAR demonstrates
that this size increase is reasonable, and the fact that
any future development would still have to come to us makes
me also feel a lot better.
And we don’t even know the size of the original
development, which I think is worth considering, because
it’s guesstimating, and it also seems like that rule was in
place because of two public comments back in 2002, so it
makes sense that things would have changed since then.
I think that the size seems like a really good
neighborhood fit, so all of the aspects of the request seem
reasonable to me and I’m comfortable with it.
In terms of the Applicant’s question about
whether there are any considerations that they should take
into account during the process of designing this, I would
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say that the Planning Commission really heavily weighs and
values neighborhood outreach and engagement, and so if
there are any neighborhood concerns it’s always best to try
to work those out with your neighbors beforehand if at all
possible; it makes the process a lot easier.
Also, I was looking at the list of the different
guidelines, codes, and standards that will have to be
followed for a property in this location, so I would say
just do your best to conform to all of those. Thank you.
CHAIR BARNETT: Commissioner Thomas.
COMMISSIONER THOMAS: Thank you. I did have one
follow up question for Staff mainly to confirm for the
Applicant that it does say that the application would be
considered in a public hearing either by the Development
Review Committee or Planning Commission. Is that only true
because currently this would be the largest house in the
immediate neighborhood? If they decided to build a smaller
house, would it need to even go to the DRC or Planning
Commission?
SEAN MULLIN: Thank you for that question. Any
new residence requires an Architecture and Site
Application, and an Architecture and Site Application will
be reviewed regardless of the size of the house and
considered by the DRC, which is the streamlined process, or
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if there were concerns or an automatic trigger it would be
forwarded to the Planning Commission.
COMMISSIONER THOMAS: So if it were like largest,
it would come to us, otherwise it might just be streamlined
through the Development Review Committee?
SEAN MULLIN: There’s potential for that.
Obviously that’s based on the merits of the application
once we receive it.
COMMISSIONER THOMAS: Okay, thank you. I agree
that just following the Hillside Design Guidelines, working
with the HOA and getting feedback, and like Commissioner
Clark said, making sure you’re reaching out to neighbors,
asking Staff what would trigger it coming to the Planning
Commission; that might make the process longer. Thank you
for answering those questions. I appreciate it.
I also agree with what everyone has said. I’m
comfortable with forwarding this for all the reasons that
have been stated.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you, Commissioner. Thomas.
I have a couple of items to bring up and one is for Staff.
The Homeowners Association generally approved the
proposal but had a number of concerns, and would it be
correct that those concerns would be addressed downstream
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at Architecture and Site or otherwise, but are not
necessarily to be addressed at this hearing?
SEAN MULLIN: Thank you. Yes, I think that’s
correct. The HOA did express some concerns and talked about
architectural style. Obviously since no development is
proposed at this time, there’s nothing to respond to.
While we’re evaluating an Architecture and Site
Application in the future we would at least be asking the
Applicant how they have dealt with the concerns of the HOA,
and we would be asking for another letter from the HOA
voicing their support of the project, and obviously they
would have to meet all the rest of the Town’s standards in
the Planned Development Ordinance.
CHAIR BARNETT: Okay, great. That’s what I was
thinking. I had just a couple of comments to add to what’s
been brought up so far.
I think that the fact that there’s only a 5%
increase over the average home size resulting from the
4,850 is de minimis. I think that the fact that there’s a
small forest, as mentioned previously, is certainly in
favor of the application, and there’s general conformance
with the recommendations of the CDAC.
So from all those perspectives I certainly would
be in favor of a motion, and therefore will ask if anyone
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wishes to propose a motion at this time? Commissioner
Clark.
COMMISSIONER CLARK: I can try. I move to forward
a recommendation of approval to the Town Council on a
request for modification of PD Ordinance 2172 to increase
the maximum residence size allowed on Lot 14 on property
zoned HR-5:PD, located at 300 Mountain Laurel Lane. I can
make the finding that it meets the requirement set forth by
Section 29.80.095 of the Town Code, and that it is
consistent with the Town’s General Plan.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you for that motion, and
I’m looking for a second. Commissioner Thomas.
COMMISSIONER THOMAS: I second that motion. Do we
also need to acknowledge that it’s exempt from CEQA?
CHAIR BARNETT: Maker of the motion want to
comment on that?
COMMISSIONER CLARK: It can’t hurt, right?
COMMISSIONER THOMAS: I’m asking Staff, I guess.
Is that a requirement? Do we need to include that?
JENNIFER ARMER: Yes, that would be helpful,
thank you.
COMMISSIONER THOMAS: Okay, I will include that
in my second.
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CHAIR BARNETT: That satisfies the seconder.
Commissioner Janoff, do you have a comment?
COMMISSIONER JANOFF: Yes, I do. I wanted to ask
the maker of the motion if Exhibit 14 were part of the
motion, in particular because it includes the average
square footage going from 4,650 to 4,655 square feet and
strikes the language that would limit Lot 14?
COMMISSIONER CLARK: Yes, it is. The amended
Performance Standard 8 is also part of the motion, thank
you.
CHAIR BARNETT: Any further discussion of the
motion?
COMMISSIONER JANOFF: Does the seconder need to
be asked?
CHAIR BARNETT: I’m sorry.
COMMISSIONER THOMAS: Yes.
CHAIR BARNETT: You do approve that change?
COMMISSIONER THOMAS: Yes.
CHAIR BARNETT: It sounds like we’re ready to
vote on the matter, and I’ll call the roll. Let’s start
with Commissioner Janoff.
COMMISSIONER JANOFF: Yes.
CHAIR BARNETT: Commissioner Thomas.
COMMISSIONER THOMAS: Yes.
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CHAIR BARNETT: Commissioner Clark.
COMMISSIONER CLARK: Yes.
CHAIR BARNETT: And Vice Chair Raspe.
VICE CHAIR RASPE: Yes.
CHAIR BARNETT: And Commissioner Burnett.
COMMISSIONER BURNETT: Yes.
CHAIR BARNETT: I vote yes as well, so the matter
passes unanimously 6-0.
(END)
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