Item 2 - Staff Report and Attachments 1 to 4
PREPARED BY: Jennifer Armer, AICP
Planning Manager
Reviewed by: Community Development Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT
ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT
MEETING DATE: 06/14/2023 ITEM NO: 2
DATE: June 9, 2023
TO: Conceptual Development Advisory Committee
FROM: Joel Paulson, Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Conceptual Development Advisory Committee Application CD-23-002. Project
Location: 143-151 E. Main Street. APNs 529-28-001 and 529-28-002. Property
Owner/Applicant: CSPN LLC. Requesting Preliminary Review of a Proposal to
Demolish an Existing Building and to Construct a Mixed-Use Development with
Below Grade Parking, Ground Floor Commercial, and Three Stories of Residential
on Property Zoned C-2.
ROLE OF THE CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE:
The Conceptual Development Advisory Committee (Committee) advises a prospective applicant
on the overall consistency of a project with Town policies prior to submitting a formal
application and investing in the development review process. The Committee also endeavors
to identify the potential issues that will need to be addressed during the development review
process should the applicant wish to submit an application. The issues identified by the
Committee are not intended to be all-inclusive and other additional issues may be identified
during the formal development review process.
None of the Committee's comments are binding on the Town and in no way are they intended
to indicate whether the project will be received favorably by the various review bodies that are
charged with evaluating and deciding the application. As noted in this report, if an application
is filed, technical analysis would need to be done during the evaluation of the proposal. In
addition, public input is a required and essential component in the development review
process. Notice has been sent to residents and property owners within 300 feet of the project
site. In addition to the public comments received at this meeting, all applicants are strongly
encouraged to hold neighborhood meetings to receive input as the design of the project
evolves should they decide to proceed with the development review process.
PAGE 2 OF 4 SUBJECT: 143-151 E. Main Street/CD-23-002 DATE: June 9, 2023
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The applicant has submitted an application (Attachment 2), project description (Attachment 3),
and preliminary plans (Attachment 4) for 143-151 E. Main Street, a 0.42-acre property located
to the west of Los Gatos High School. The existing parcel contains an existing commercial
building and a small parking lot. Key elements of the proposed project, as listed on the project
description and plans submitted, are as follows:
• Demolition of the existing commercial building;
• Construction of a new three-story mixed-use building;
• 2,950 square feet of ground-floor retail/restaurant;
• Eight to 10 residential units on three levels for a total of 26 units; and
• 58 space, two level, underground parking garage.
EXISTING GENERAL PLAN, ZONING, AND PLANNING AREA:
1. General Plan designation: Central Business District designation applies exclusively to the
downtown and accomplishes the following:
a. Encourages a mixture of community-oriented commercial goods, services and lodging
unique in its accommodation of small-town style merchants and maintenance of small-
town character.
b. Maintains and expands landscaped open spaces and mature tree growth without
increasing setbacks.
c. Integrates new construction with existing structures of historical or architectural
significance and emphasizes the importance of the pedestrian.
2. Surrounding General Plan designations: Central Business District to the west, Medium
Density Residential to the north (across Church Street), Public to the east (across High
School Court), and Neighborhood Commercial to the south (across E. Main Street).
3. Zoning designation: C-2.
4. Surrounding zoning designations: C-2 to the west, R-M:5-12 to the north, R-1:20 to the east,
and C-1:PD to the south.
While the 2040 General Plan was adopted by the Town Council on June 30, 2022, the new Land
Use Element, with associated changes in land use regulations and policies, has been put on hold
as a result of a referendum qualifying for the ballot. In the interim, the regulations in the 2020
General Plan Land Use Element apply.
EXISTING CONDITIONS:
1. The project site is approximately 18,173 square feet (0.42 acres).
2. The project site is located on a corner with streets on three sides including E. Main Street,
High School Court, and Church Street (Attachment 1).
PAGE 3 OF 4 SUBJECT: 143-151 E. Main Street/CD-23-002 DATE: June 9, 2023
EXISTING CONDITIONS (continued):
3. Surrounding land uses: The Masonic Hall is on the adjacent property to the west; the Los
Gatos United Methodist Church is to the north across Church Street; Los Gatos High School is
to the east across High School Court; and Hotel Los Gatos and the Adult Recreation Center
are to the south across E. Main Street.
POTENTIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND ISSUES:
The following is a brief list of issues and topics for consideration by the Committee. Staff has
not reached conclusions on these topics. Staff is identifying them here to help frame the
discussion and to solicit input. The main question for the Committee is whether or not the
applicant’s concept for the project creates a high-quality plan appropriate for Los Gatos in this
location. If an application is filed, staff would evaluate the technical issues.
1. General Plan
a. General Plan Policy LU-10.4 states, “Encourage mixed uses to increase residential
opportunities in commercial zones Downtown, taking into consideration potential
impacts to the loss of commercial opportunities.” The proposal would retain a
commercial presence on a portion of the ground floor, but would add residential on
the ground floor and above.
b. A full analysis of consistency with the General Plan will depend on the timing of the
application submittal and what Land Use, Community Design, and Housing Elements
are in effect at that time.
2. Zoning
a. Project site is zoned C-2 and is surrounded by lots with a variety of designations, as
described above.
b. Height: The current maximum allowable height of a principal building in the C-2 Zone
is 45 feet. The proposed height is not specified in the preliminary plans.
c. Setbacks: The required setback from a property line abutting a street in the C-2
Zone is 10 feet, which can be reduced if the proposed setback is found to provide
adequate pedestrian circulation; is compatible with adjacent buildings, and
provides adequate clear sight vision for vehicular traffic. In addition, for the north
and eastern property lines that are across the street from property in residential
zones, the required setback is 15 feet plus one foot for each foot of building height
over 20 feet. It appears that the proposal would not comply with these setbacks.
d. The maximum allowable floor area ratio in the C-2 Zone is 60 percent. The
maximum allowed floor area for this site would be approximately 10,903 square
feet. The project description includes a floor area summary totaling 41,450 square
feet.
e. The maximum allowed residential density is 20 dwelling units per acre. The
proposed project is proposing 26 residential units, would result in a density of
approximately 62 dwelling units per acre.
PAGE 4 OF 4 SUBJECT: 143-151 E. Main Street/CD-23-002 DATE: June 9, 2023
POTENTIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND ISSUES (continued):
3. Below Market Price (BMP) Program
a. The Town’s Below Market Price (BMP) program requires that projects with 20 to
100 market rate units must provide BMP units as determined by the following
formula: Number of BMP units = 0.225 (total number of market rate units) - 2.5. If
the 26 units proposed include both market rate and BMP units the distribution
would be 23 market rate and three BMP units.
4. Open Space
a. For residential condominiums the open space requirements include 120-200 square
feet per unit of private open space and 100 square feet per unit of community
recreation space.
b. For multi-family developments that are not condominiums there is only a single
combined requirement of 200 square feet per dwelling unit which may be
composed of private area, community areas, or both.
5. Parking
a. Parking requirements for the retail/restaurant use is 10 parking spaces, based on
one parking space per 300 square feet. For the 26 residential units the requirement
will be between 65 and 78 parking spaces, depending on whether the proposal is for
condominium units (two spaces per unit) or rental (1.5 spaces per unit). In addition,
there is an optional requirement for up to one visitor parking space per unit, which
would be applied at the discretion of the Planning Commission. The total parking
requirement will be 49 to 62 parking spaces, plus up to 26 visitor spaces.
b. The project site is located within the Town’s Parking Assessment District and has an
allocation of 12 parking spaces that they can claim as credit towards fulfilling their
parking requirement.
c. The proposed parking onsite is 58 spaces (two levels of underground parking with
29 spaces each), which would result in 70 spaces provided for the project.
6. Design Standards
a. Depending on the type of application submitted for this project the new building
design would be reviewed for compliance with the Commercial Design Standards
and/or the Objective Design Standards for Qualifying Multi-Family and Mixed-Use
Residential Development.
7. Construction Impacts
a. The project location adjacent to the High School could compound existing traffic
and parking concerns in the area during construction.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Location Map
2. CDAC Application
3. Project Description Letter
4. Conceptual Plans
E MAIN ST
VILLA AV
CLELAND AV
CHURCH ST
CHICAGO AVHIGH SCHOOL CTMILL
STPAGEANT WY143-151 E Main Street
0 0.250.125 Miles
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Update Notes:
- Updated 12/20/17 to link to tlg-sql12 server data (sm)
- Updated 11/22/19 adding centerpoint guides, Buildings layer, and Project Site leader with label
- Updated 10/8/20 to add street centerlines which can be useful in the hillside area
- Updated 02-19-21 to link to TLG-SQL17 database (sm)
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ATTACHMENT 2
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To: Conceptual Development Advisory Committee
From: David Blatt
Date: May 8, 2023
Re: Mixed-use project at 143-151 E Main St, Los Gatos CA
CSPN LLC (the “Owner”) is the owner of the property located at 143-151 E Main St, an
18,173 square foot site comprising retail, and office spaces as well as a parking lot on
one level (the “Property”). The Owner is proposing to re-entitle the Property to allow for
26 housing units on three levels, retain the street corner retail and provide 29 stalls for
underground parking. The proposed building area would be demised as follows:
First Floor 15,100SF - Retail 2,950SF, Housing 12,150SF
Second Floor 15,650SF - Housing
Third Floor 10,700SF - Housing
Total Building Area 41,450SF
The town, county and state have identified an acute and growing housing shortage that
they are looking to alleviate through various legislation. This property would provide a
small contribution to achieving that end. Further, the high walkability factor of this
Property in a thriving downtown supports the environment and contributes to
affordability for those residents that want to eliminate the need for a car in their day to
day lives.
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