06 Attachment 8 - September 13, 2023 Planning Commission Verbatim MinutesLOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 9/13/2023
Item #2, Housing Element Overlay Zone (HEOZ)
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A P P E A R A N C E S:
Los Gatos Planning
Commissioners:
Jeffrey Barnett, Chair
Susan Burnett
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 8
LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 9/13/2023
Item #2, Housing Element Overlay Zone (HEOZ)
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P R O C E E D I N G S:
CHAIR BARNETT: Now we’ll move on to the public
hearings portion of our meeting, beginning with Item 2. On
this item we are asked to forward recommendations to the
Town Council on the following four topics:
Amend the General Plan to Modify the Land Use
Designation of 16492 Los Gatos Boulevard and APN 532-07-086
from Low Density Residential to Neighborhood Commercial.
Second, Amend the General Plan to Modify the
Designation of the Caltrans Right-of-Way from Low Density
Residential to Medium Density Residential.
Third, a Zone Change for the Caltrans Right-of-
way adjacent to 14685 Oka Road from R-1:8 to R-M:14-22.
Finally, Application of the HEOZ to the sites
included in the Sites Inventory of the 2023-2031 Housing
Element.
Per Staff an Environmental Impact Report was
prepared and certified for the 2024 General Plan Update on
June 30th of last year, which included the proposed General
Plan Amendments, and so per Staff no further environmental
analysis is required.
The Amendment Application is Z-23-003 and General
Plan Amendment Application is GP-23-003. The Applicant is
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Item #2, Housing Element Overlay Zone (HEOZ)
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the Town of Los Gatos, and the specific parcels affected
are identified on page 17 of the Staff Report.
Is there a Staff Report, Ms. Shoopman?
JOCELYN SHOOPMAN: There is. Thank you, and good
evening. Tonight’s item is a continuation from the August
23rd Planning Commission meeting.
The six-cycle Housing Element does include
implementation programs that involve amendments to the
General Plan and rezoning of parcels within the Town to
allow for modified development standards to provide the
development capacity required by State law and the Town’s
Regional Housing Needs Allocation.
In summary, the Commission will be providing a
recommendation to the Council on the following General Plan
amendments and zone changes:
The first being an amendment to the General Plan
to modify land use designation of 16492 Los Gatos Boulevard
and the adjacent vacant parcel at APN 532-07-086 from Low
Density Residential to Neighborhood Commercial.
Followed by an amendment to the General Plan to
modify the designation of the Caltrans Right-of-Way from
Low Density Residential to Medium Density Residential, as
well as a zone change from R-1:8 to R-M:5-12.
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Lastly is the application of the Housing Element
Overlay Zone to only the sites included in the Sites
Inventory of the Housing Element.
It was brought to Staff’s attention that the
density specified in Table 1A of Attachment 9 for the North
Forty Specific Plan should state the minimum and maximum
density range as described in the Housing Element. This
edit will be incorporated with a future Staff Report to the
Town Council.
This completes Staff’s presentation, but we are
available for any questions.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you very much, and are
there questions? Commissioner Thomas.
COMMISSIONER THOMAS: I just have a disclosure
that I live within 1,000’ of some of these parcels, and so
I will be recusing myself.
CHAIR BARNETT: Understood, and you’ll wait
patiently outside chambers. We can now proceed. So there
were no questions of Staff at this time, correct? We don’t
have any speakers, so we’ll close the public portion of the
public hearing on Item 2.
JENNIFER ARMER: Excuse me, Chair. Let’s check on
Zoom to make sure that we don’t have anyone who wishes to
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speak, and invite in case anyone in the audience would like
to fill out a speaker card.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thanks for that reminder.
JOEL PAULSON: Thank you, Chair. I do not see any
hands raised for Item 2.
CHAIR BARNETT: All right, so we will now close
the public portion of the public hearing on Item 2 and ask
if the Commissioners have any questions for Staff, wish to
comment on the proposed recommendations, or introduce a
motion regarding the recommendations for consideration by
the Council? Commissioner Hanssen.
COMMISSIONER HANSSEN: Because this item was
continued from the last meeting I thought it was important
to make a couple of comments about this.
The intent of these amendments and the zoning
change are to basically make our Housing Element possible
in that the zoning and the land use densities are not high
enough for us to meet our RHNA
At the last meeting we had approved the Housing
Element Overlay Zone, and what we’re doing is we’re
applying the HEOZ to only these specific sites that were in
the approved Sites Inventory, and there are a couple of
sites that, as mentioned by Staff, have to be adjusted to
be able to apply the HEOZ, so that’s what we’re doing here,
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and it’s the second part of what we were doing in the last
meeting, which was establishing the Housing Element Overlay
Zone for the Site Inventory.
Commissioner Janoff and I are both on the General
Plan Committee and the Housing Element Advisory Board as
well as Commissioner Thomas; we’ve seen this before, so
that’s why we didn’t have any additional questions.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you. Other questions or
comments?
JENNIFER ARMER: Through the Chair, I believe the
Town Attorney had a recommendation once the Commission gets
close to a motion.
ATTORNEY WHELAN: For this item, and actually for
the next item as well, the Staff recommendation is so
lengthy that rather than reading the Staff recommendation
into the record, it would be fine for the maker of a motion
to say that they’re moving for approval of the Staff
recommendation together with the findings that are set out
in the agenda packet.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you for that. I had one
question. Can you describe how the referendum that’s passed
interplays with the motion that we’re about to make?
JOCELYN SHOOPMAN: While the 2040 General Plan
Land Use Element did have increased densities, the
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implementation that’s part of the Housing Element is
proposing to take those densities but in a more focused
way, so instead of Town-wide, those increased densities are
being looked at for these specific sites only, so it’s a
much more focused way to get to the Town’s RHNA.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you. I didn’t see any
further comments, so are we ready for a motion?
Commissioner Hanssen.
COMMISSIONER HANSSEN: I move that we recommend
the four General Plan amendments and zoning changes as
noted in the Staff Report on page 17. We’re forwarding this
recommendation to our Town Council.
I can make the findings that no further
environmental analysis is required. I can make the required
finding that the General Plan Amendments are internally
consistent with the existing goals and policies of the
General Plan and its elements, and that the amendments will
provide for the development of housing for the sites in the
Sites Inventory to comply with the Town’s RHNA.
I can further make the required finding that the
proposed zone changes are consistent with the General Plan
and its elements and that the proposed zonings are
consistent with the proposed General Plan land use
designations.
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We’re going to forward the recommendation of
approval for the General Plan Amendments and Zone Change
Application to Town Council.
Do I need to add anything about the item that you
mentioned with the minimum and maximum density and the
table?
JENNIFER ARMER: You could include that as part
of your motion, if you would like.
COMMISSIONER HANSSEN: Since it wasn’t noted as
such in the Staff Report, we’ll include Staff’s adjustment
in the motion.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you. Is there a second?
Commissioner Janoff.
COMMISSIONER JANOFF: Second the motion.
CHAIR BARNETT: Any discussion? If not, I’ll call
the question. Raise hands if you’re in favor of the motion.
It passes unanimously. I assume there are no appeal rights
since it’s a recommendation, correct?
JENNIFER ARMER: That is correct. There are no
appeal rights.
(END)