Draft Minutes of the March 8, 2023 Planning Commission Meeting
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
PLANNING COMMISSION
REPORT
MEETING DATE: 03/22/2023
ITEM NO: 1
DRAFT
MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
MARCH 8, 2023
The Planning Commission of the Town of Los Gatos conducted a Regular Meeting on
Wednesday, March 8, 2023, at 7:00 p.m.
MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AT 7:00 P.M.
ROLL CALL
Present: Chair Jeffrey Barnett, Vice Chair Steve Raspe, Commissioner Susan Burnett,
Commissioner Kylie Clark, Commissioner Kathryn Janoff, and Commissioner Emily Thomas
Absent: Commissioner Melanie Hanssen
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS
None.
CONSENT ITEMS (TO BE ACTED UPON BY A SINGLE MOTION)
1. Approval of Minutes – January 11, 2023
2. Approval of Minutes – January 25, 2023
3. 202 University Avenue
Variance Application V-22-003
APN 529-04-001
Applicant: Jay Plett, Architect
Property Owner: Tyler and Kristine Shewey
Project Planner: Sean Mullin
Requesting approval for construction of an accessory structure requiring variances to
accessory structure lot coverage standards and side and rear setback requirements in
the University-Edelen Historic District on property zoned R-1D:LHP. Requesting item be
continued to a date certain of April 12, 2023.
MOTION: Motion by Vice Chair Raspe to approve adoption of the Consent
Calendar. Seconded by Commissioner Burnett.
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MINUTES OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF MARCH 8, 2023
VOTE: Motion passed unanimously.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
4. 144 Wood Road
Building Permit Application B22-0025
APN 510-47-045
Property Owners/Appellants: Omari and Kavita Bouknight
Project Planner: Sean Mullin
Appeal of a Santa Clara County Fire Department decision denying a request for an
exception to the State Minimum Fire Safe Regulations on property zoned HR -5.
Categorically Exempt Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15303: New Construction.
Sean Mullin, Senior Planner, presented the staff report.
Opened Public Comment.
Omari Bouknight, Property Owner/Appellant
- We submitted our application in January 2021 and received a letter of approval on June 23,
2021 based on a detailed review by Fire, including site access. We submitted a request in
October 2021 to receive our grading permits, but we have still not been able to start our
approved project. This hearing is about an obscure and broken process that has resulted in
unreasonably long timelines and has cost us tens of thousands of dollars. PRC 4290 was
supposedly expanded in July 1, 2021 in a way that would apply to the majority of Los Gatos.
These actions were not in accordance with Town process, including a rigorous technical
review, which helps determine final conditions of approval, and we now face an alteration
of those conditions. We had no hint that PRC 4290 was coming into play until more than
seven months after July 1, 2021 and have been asked to go through a supplemental review
procedure not codified in the development guidelines after approval at significant cost to
us. Most other counties, if not all, are waiting for clarity around regulation amendments or
they have introduced common sense interpretations. The required significant re-
engineering of Wood Road would constitute a taking under three different legal doctrines.
The project meets the intent of providing defensible space consistent with PRC 4290
regulations.
Kyran Prosod
- I support the Bouknight family’s appeal. My wife and I have taken a particular interest in
this project, and what the Bouknights have been through is completely excessive and
unnecessary, and altering the final conditions of approval after Planning Commission
approval is highly inappropriate. Their proposal significantly improves the fire safety in the
area as compared to leaving the lot vacant. I urge the Planning Commission to approve
their appeal this evening.
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Margaret Belska
- I am a landowner in unincorporated Santa Clara County who is also impacted by PRC 4290.
As part of my conditions of approval I was required to make significant and costly
improvements to the existing subdivision road leading to my parcel, which were so
unaffordable it rendered my parcel unbuildable. The Santa Clara County Fire Department
denied my request for exception, but when I appealed my case to the Santa Clara County
Planning Commission, they agreed that what was asked of me was a violation of my
constitutional rights and could qualify as a taking, and my appeal was granted. Los Gatos
appears to be the only holdout in the state still requiring infeasible and unconstitutional
improvements as conditions of single-family home construction. I hope the Planning
Commission approves the Bouknight’s appeal.
Eugenia Givens
- I am a Los Gatos resident and homeowner. I support the Bouknight’s appeal, as I believe
the project meets the spirit of the fire safe regulations and would improve fire safety in the
area. Getting single-family homes through the approval process in Los Gatos is known to
be long and challenging, and that needs to change. Asking homeowners to re-engineer a
public road that they are not responsible for is not appropriate. I hope the Planning
Commission approves this appeal tonight.
Eric Wade
- I support this application. This meeting is about whether or not this Planning Commission
believes Santa Clara County Fire is lawful in its interpretation of PRC 4290 and whether
retroactively imposing it on previously approved projects is appropriate. The question is
does denial of this application constitute a regulatory taking? The Commission has ruled
that it does on all previous applications facing the same restriction. Denial of this
application would impose a regulatory taking on the applicant, who will respond with a
lawsuit against the Town and will win in the end.
Ed Chow
- I second Mr. Wade’s comments regarding the regulatory taking. There are approximately
55 residences within a seven-mile radius of downtown Los Gatos that are affected by PRC
4290. The fiscal liability of losing a regulatory taking lawsuit would be significant , and
unnecessary if the Planning Commission would approve the applicant’s project. Edith
Hannigan, Executive Officer of the Board of Forestry, who finalized the revision of PRC
4290, told me personally that local jurisdictions absolutely have the authority to grant
exceptions to PRC 4290 when they deem it to be out of line with the local master plan, and
this is the perfect opportunity to do that.
Vip
- The Bouknight’s experience with Town of Los Gatos has been prolonged and I urge the
Commission to help the project move along. The City of Saratoga recently streamlined its
approach to PRC 4290, and it would be good for Los Gatos to do that as well. This has been
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an unnecessarily prolonged process for the Bouknights, and the Planning Commission
should approve the appeal tonight.
David
- I offer my support to the Bouknights, who have tried everything in their power to deal with
a difficult situation. Back peddling on the previously approved plans in the post-
entitlement phase is not appropriate. It is simply wrong that PRC 4290 is being applied
only by our fire department, and there is no evidence that anywhere else i s applying it in
this manner.
Michael Strahs
- I’m here as a Los Gatos resident in support of the Bouknight family’s appeal. I’ve followed
this saga for several years and encourage the Planning Commission to grant the appeal
tonight, because it is the fair thing to do given the circumstances. It is almost impossible to
make Wood Road fully compliant, the Bouknights have agreed to reasonable mitigation,
Santa Clara Fire conducted their operational assessment without incident, and there is a
constitutional argument.
Julie Southern
- I live on Wood Road and my home there burned down in 1997. I ask that the Planning
Commission not take any shortcut or exceptions in the name of fire safety just because
they are a nice family. I am a nice person too, and it took a long time to rebuild my house.
Omari Bouknight, Property Owner/Appellant
- A fire was started on our vacant property in November 2022, and it is not uncommon for
people to trespass on the property, which contrasts with having a fire safe dwelling with
defensible space, significant water access, and reasonable road access. I’m grateful for the
significant public support we have received. We have done everything the right way as
we’ve navigated this obscure process. It has been nearly 18 months since we submitted for
our grading permits in accordance with our conditions of approval, and it is time to
complete that process. We have demonstrated that our project aligns well with the spirit
and intent of PRC 4290 and improves fire safety in the area. Please approve our appeal.
Closed Public Comment.
Commissioners discussed the matter.
MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Janoff to grant the appeal of the Santa Clara
County Fire Department decision denying a request for an exception to
the State Minimum Fire Safe Regulations on property zoned HR-5 for 144
Wood Road. Seconded by Commissioner Thomas.
VOTE: Motion passed unanimously.
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MINUTES OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF MARCH 8, 2023
5. 15600-15650 Los Gatos Boulevard
APNs 424-14-028 and -036
Property Owner/Applicant: Steve Lynch, Sand Hill Property Company
Project Planner: Jocelyn Shoopman
Requesting approval for construction of a new commercial building, a formula retail
business (Whole Foods) greater than 6,000 square feet, a merger of two lots into one, a
Variance from the required number of parking spaces, and removal of large protected
trees on properties zoned CH. Categorically Exempt Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines
Section 15332: In-Fill Development Projects.
Commissioner Thomas and Commissioner Clark announced that they live within 500-1000 feet
of the subject site and would recuse themselves from participating in the public hearing for
15600-15650 Los Gatos Boulevard.
Jocelyn Shoopman, Associate Planner, presented the staff report.
Opened Public Comment.
Steve Lynch, Sand Hill Property Company, Applicant
- We’ve had projects in Los Gatos over time, such as the Netflix campus, the development at
Blossom Hill, and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation building.
Ken Rodriguez, Architect and Master Planner, Applicant
- With this building we’ve tried to take the types of material that are very consistent in the
community, such as cut stone, integral colored hand-troweled plaster walls, and wood
siding. The trellis elements on the building would be a positive visual piece, with
landscaping growing up and over many of those elements. We’ve also included a large
glass element along Los Gatos Boulevard to be transparent and project sunlight into the
building. We propose an outdoor patio, a prepared food area off the Boulevard, outdoor
seating, and then an entire 20-foot deep outdoor sales area to encourage pedestrian and
bicycle traffic. Lastly, we placed the building up on the street edge per the design
guidelines, with screened parking at the rear.
Steve Lynch, Sand Hill Property Company, Applicant
- With respect to the parking variance request, staff found no significant impact from this
project; in fact they found the architecture met the Town’s guidelines and the use met the
Los Gatos Boulevard policies for a use in this area. With respect to the environmental
review, this is a Category 32 exception, which is very rare and only used when no impact or
perceived impact from the project is found from the outset. The environmental review
also looked at the parking, which is not a project impact, or an impact at all; it’s just a
conflict with the Town’s code, which in this case is fairly antiquated. We had the Town’s
traffic engineer; our own transportation engineer, Hexagon; and the Town’s consulting
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engineer, TJKM, review this parking variance and they all felt that it could be justified. We
are seven spaces short, which is 4 percent of our overall parking count.
Catherine Somers
- I am the Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce and I ask what the Boulevard
should look like 20 years from now? We somehow have to connect those 40 floating acres
near Highway 85 into that vision, and the time is now. This project offers so much, but
most importantly it is an anchor. That site has been vacant for many years, and we have to
activate that Boulevard. The potential sales tax revenue speaks for itself, and the Town’s
budget is facing a deficit. This project is the necessary starting point to an economic boom
on the Boulevard. The Sand Hill group has proven itself over and over again, and done
extensive research and been met with mostly positive support. This is a huge opportunity
we cannot pass up. Approve it tonight.
Nick Lamson
- I am with McCarthy Ranch, a local developer and property owner in Town, and we own the
property across the street from the subject site. I want to express my support of this
project. This development would play a vital role in the Town’s overall vision to revitalize
the Los Gatos Boulevard corridor. This site has been vacant for quite some time and this
project is an opportunity to transform that vacant lot into a vibrant retail center that would
serve the surrounding businesses. It’s also important to note that the North Forty
development down the street is bringing in new residents to Los Gatos, and this serves as
another draw to this area.
Jim Foley
- I’m a local business owner and resident of Los Gatos. A decade ago I was part of a group
that looked at a similar development for the site and Whole Foods was a name that came
up, so this has been contemplated for a long time and appears to be a really good fit for
this location. We’re fortunate to have this project in front of us now and there is
tremendous community support. I agree with prior speakers’ comments regarding vitality
on Los Gatos Boulevard. Over time we’ll see projects on the Boulevard that look different
and don’t necessarily fit into the traditional boxes we’re used to, so a little variance on
parking here or there that makes this project work should be considered.
Alok (phonetic)
- I’m in favor of the project. If we look at it from a long-term perspective it’s imperative that
we encourage pedestrians and bicyclists and try to make that a priority. They should
consider a much friendlier access to pedestrians and bicyclists coming in from the Los
Gatos Manor and dedicate Los Gatos-Almaden to pedestrians and bicyclists.
Chris Zaler (phonetic)
- My family lives across from the subject site. The shipping and receiving area and the Los
Gatos-Almaden Road driveway would greatly increase the noise, dirt, and disturbances at
our property and for the neighbors around us with cars, trucks, and delivery vehicles early
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in the morning and throughout the day. The driveway off Los Gatos-Almaden would add a
lot more congestion to that intersection, which is confusing and has had multiple accidents
over the years. It is hard to get in and out of our driveway and this would create even more
disturbance and safety issues.
Jim Barth
- My wife and I own an apartment building on Carlton Avenue, one street away from Los
Gatos Boulevard, and we are delighted with this opportunity to have Whole Foods this
close to all the residents on Carlton, which is all condos and apartments. I’m a little
disappointed that Town staff couldn’t see beyond the lack of seven spaces, because I’m
sure that formula was based on things in the past, but we have a lot of residents living
within walking and biking distance of Los Gatos Boulevard, particularly this location, so I
believe they will have vacant parking spaces. I like the design of the project and everything
about it and I’m in full support.
John Zavoshy
- My wife and I own an apartment building immediately behind the proposed project. I am
here to appeal to save the enormous oak tree that is 12 feet away from the fence on our
property; that would entail sacrificing two parking spaces at most. It provides shade for
our tenants. It would be a shame to cut something like this down, as it must be at least 130
years old. I do not oppose the project and welcome it; it would be a great addition to the
area. With respect to the number of parking spaces, I have visited the Whole Foods
locations on Los Gatos Boulevard and in Cupertino, and 30-40 pecent of the parking spaces
are not utilized.
Michael Strahs
- My home is just a half-mile walk from this location and my family could not be more
thrilled to welcome Whole Foods in a full sized store to the neighborhood as quickly as
possible. I look at the potential deficiency of seven spaces out of the 171 as effectively
compliant. The Town should look at reducing the parking ratios anyway.
Julie Mersick (phonetic)
- My issue is with the wall that is being created all the way up the Boulevard and around the
corner on Los Gatos-Almaden Road. Even though this project is well designed with nice
landscaping, there is no engagement. Across the street where Philz is, there is always
activity at that intersection in the carved out patio, and there is an opportunity here to do
something similar but in a more visible place toward the corner.
Gary Kohlsaat
- I support this project and think it would be a huge step in the overall transformation of Los
Gatos Boulevard and commend Ken Rodriguez and his team. The architecture is fabulous,
fresh, exciting, and forward thinking, which is what the Boulevard should b e. The siting of
the building close to the sidewalk is really what we should be doing instead of parking lots.
I have it on good authority that Whole Foods has been looking at doing this for over ten
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MINUTES OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF MARCH 8, 2023
years. Los Gatos deserves a better Whole Foods and I commend Sand Hill Properties for
putting this application forward.
Steve Lynch, Sand Hill Property Company, Applicant
We have gone to great extent to save as many trees onsite as we can, but a lot of the trees
were planted as parking lot trees in patches of ground wherever they could when this was
Anderson Chevrolet. Some of the street trees are worth saving, and some are not.
Unfortunately, this site has had no maintenance, meaning no irrigation or watering for the
trees. The oak tree in the back that John Zavoshy spoke about is a significant sized tree, but we
will be lowering the grade in the back and raising it in the front and it would be very difficult,
but not impossible, to save that tree; it would entail losing more than two parking spaces to do
it and that is the fundamental problem.
Ken Rodriguez, Architect and Master Planner, Applicant
- I appreciate staff’s comment regarding struggling with this variance, because I know
Variances are difficult, particularly in Los Gatos. We need help with parking in this
particular case, and as all the speakers said, most of the Whole Foods stores that were
over-parked under other ordinances have unused parking stalls, and none of us want
asphalt, we want activity, and I encourage a dialogue to try to find reasons for this
Variance.
Closed Public Comment.
Commissioners discussed the matter.
MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Janoff to approve construction of a new
commercial building, a formula retail business (Whole Foods) greater
than 6,000 square feet, a merger of two lots into one, a Variance from
the required number of parking spaces, and the removal of large
protected trees on property zoned CH. Seconded by Vice Chair Raspe.
VOTE: Motion passed unanimously.
OTHER BUSINESS
REPORT FROM THE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Jennifer Armer, Planning Manager
• The Town Council:
o Approved the Housing Element, per the Planning Commission’s
recommendation, on January 30, 2023;
o Approved code amendments for lot mergers, per the Planning Commission’s
recommendation, on February 7, 2023;
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MINUTES OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF MARCH 8, 2023
o Approved the first reading of a Planned Development amendment for the
Shannon Valley Ranch subdivision and discussed SB 9, but did not make any
changes to that Ordinance, on March 7, 2023.
• The Housing Element Advisory Board will meet on March 16, 2023 to review the revised
version of the Housing Element, and we expect to have the revised version online by the
end of the week.
SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS/COMMISSION MATTERS
Historic Preservation Committee
Vice Chair Raspe
- The HPC met since the last Planning Commission meeting regarding moving an ADU at 202
University, which was continued.
Commission Matters
None.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 9:53 p.m.
This is to certify that the foregoing is a true
and correct copy of the minutes of the
March 8, 2023 meeting as approved by the
Planning Commission.
_____________________________
/s/ Vicki Blandin
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