16 Attachment 7 - August 23, 2023, Planning Commission Verbatim MinutesLOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 8/23/2023
Item #4, Amend the General Plan to Include Description
of the Housing Element Overlay Zone, and Amend the Town
Code to Modify Affordable Housing Overlay Zone
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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
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 7
LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 8/23/2023
Item #4, Amend the General Plan to Include Description
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Code to Modify Affordable Housing Overlay Zone
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P R O C E E D I N G S:
CHAIR BARNETT: We’ll now move on to Agenda Item
4, which is a Request to Forward a Recommendation to the
Town Council for a Request to Amend the General Plan to
Include a Description of the Housing Element Overlay Zone,
and Amend the Town Code to Modify the Affordable Housing
Overlay Zone, Division 5 of Article VIII, Overlay Zones and
Historic Preservation, to be the Housing Element Overlay
Zone as Division 5 of Article VIII, Overlay Zones and
Historic Preservation.
Per Staff an Environmental Impact Report was
prepared and certified for the 2040 General Plan Update on
June 30th of last year, which includes the proposed General
Plan Amendments. No further environmental analysis is
required.
The Zoning Code Amendment Application is Z-23-
002, and the General Plan Amendment Application is GP-23-
002. The property location is Statewide, and the Applicant
is the Town of Los Gatos.
Could we have a Staff Report?
LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 8/23/2023
Item #4, Amend the General Plan to Include Description
of the Housing Element Overlay Zone, and Amend the Town
Code to Modify Affordable Housing Overlay Zone
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ERIN WALTERS: Good evening, Erin Walters,
Associate Planner. I will be presenting this evening. Good
evening, Planning Commissioners.
The six-cycle Housing Element includes
Implementation Program BG for the General Plan Amendment
and Program BF for the Zoning Code Amendments that involve
rezoning the parcels within the Town to allow modified
development standards. The purpose of these modified
development standards is to provide the development
capacity required by the State law to meet the Town’s RHNA.
On July 20, 2023 a special meeting of the General
Plan Committee reviewed the request and recommended
approval of the General Plan Amendments to the Planning
Commission and Town Council.
Tonight the Commission will consider and make a
recommendation to Council on the request to amend the 2020
General Plan Land Use Element and Zoning Ordinance by
adding a description of the Housing Element Overlay Zone,
which is also referred to as the HEOZ. This motion does not
include applying the HEOZ to any specific property and does
not propose any specific development.
The language on pages LU-17 and LU-18 in the 2020
General Plan Land Use Element is proposed to be amended to
LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 8/23/2023
Item #4, Amend the General Plan to Include Description
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describe the newly created HEOZ. Table LU-2 is provided on
page 4 of the Staff Report and describes the HEOZ
development standards for each land use designation.
Tonight the Commission will also consider and
make recommendation to Town Council on a request to amend
the Zoning Code to replace the Affordable Housing Overlay
Zone, known as AHOZ, with the new Housing Element Overlay
Zone per Division 5, Article VIII, Overlay Zones and
Historic Preservation. This action satisfies Item 1 of
Implementation Program BF of the Housing Element and can be
found in Exhibit 3.
Exhibit 5 of the Desk Item report provides a
comparison of the development standards for the 2020
General Plan and proposed Housing Element Overlay Zone.
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission
consider the General Plan Amendment and Zoning Amendments
and forward a recommendation of approval of the amendments
to Town Council per the findings that you can find in
Exhibit 1.
An Addendum was provided yesterday that includes
public comments that were provided after the preparation of
the Staff Report as well as the Desk Item that was provided
today.
LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 8/23/2023
Item #4, Amend the General Plan to Include Description
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This concludes Staff’s presentation and we’re
happy to answer any questions you may have.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you for that report. Are
there questions by Commissioners? I wonder if you or
another member of the Staff could contrast Item 4 and Item
5 on our calendar tonight?
JENNIFER ARMER: Just to make sure that it’s very
clear, we do have two interrelated issues on the agenda
tonight.
This is Item 4, and this is the creation of this
overlay zone. It is proposing to put language and a table
that describes this overlay zone both into the 2020 General
Plan Land Use Element and putting those details into the
Zoning Code.
Whereas Item 5, which we will hear next, involves
taking that new overlay zone and applying it to the parcels
within the Housing Element Sites Inventory. In addition,
there are a few changes to specific land use designations,
and we’ll get into those details as part of Item 5.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you very much. We’ll now
open the public portion of the public meeting. Commissioner
Burnett.
LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 8/23/2023
Item #4, Amend the General Plan to Include Description
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Code to Modify Affordable Housing Overlay Zone
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COMMISSIONER BURNETT: I just wanted to clarify
with Staff on numbers 5 and 6 on page 261, that those will
be separately amended in Implementation Program UVNZ?
JENNIFER ARMER: Yes, that’s correct.
COMMISSIONER BURNETT: Thank you.
CHAIR BARNETT: Other questions of Staff? If not,
I’ll open the public portion of the public meeting and
invite comments from members of the public. If you haven’t
already turned in a card, this would be a good time to do
that. We have two here. When you’re called on to speak,
please come to the microphone and state your name and
address, and you have three minutes to speak. We’ll begin
with Rosemary Harper.
ROSEMARY HARPER: Good evening, Commissioners.
It’s a pleasure to be here before you. I am Rosemary
Harper. I live on Alberto Way, 453 Los Gatos Commons; it’s
a 55 and older community.
We are very, very concerned about development of
the property on the corner of Alberto Way and Highway 9.
This is the second time around for this property. Prior it
was going to be a business development and now we’re moving
to residential.
LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 8/23/2023
Item #4, Amend the General Plan to Include Description
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I’m concerned about the height of the property.
Four stories are overwhelming to the area around it;
nothing is over two stories over there.
The volume of the increased traffic on a dead-end
street with one way in and one way out. In an emergency
such as what happened in Maui, it would be impossible for
all the residents to be able to evacuate.
The construction of this proposed property would
greatly impact the residents on this street, and the air
quality is also of a concern.
As you consider this piece of property and the
development I wish you would consider us as residents that
have lived there for quite some time and the more increased
traffic and high-density living. Thank you very much.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you. Before you go, let’s
see if you have any questions being presented by fellow
commissioners, and it doesn’t look like any.
I have a disclosure to make that many years ago
in my legal practice if represented Los Gatos Commons.
ROSEMARY HARPER: Yes, I remember you. I’ve been
in your office. Happy retirement.
LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 8/23/2023
Item #4, Amend the General Plan to Include Description
of the Housing Element Overlay Zone, and Amend the Town
Code to Modify Affordable Housing Overlay Zone
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CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you. That was a long time
ago and I’m sure that my experience will not be of
influence in this case. Next speaker would be Lee Quintana.
LEE QUINTANA: Good evening, again. I just have a
few comments.
One is that I believe that there is such an
interrelationship between Item 4 and Item 5 that they
should both be considered at the same time and at the same
meeting, and since there is a recommendation on Item 5 that
it be continued, I suggest that the same be done for this
item.
Part of my comments actually relate to Item 5,
and since there’s a question on how it relates to Item 4,
I’ll talk about it under Item 5, but to me the two are
related. The two are complicated and hard to understand and
I think they need to be addressed together, so I ask you to
continue this item as you are recommended to continue Item
5.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you, Ms. Quintana. Are
there questions by the Commissioners? I don’t see any.
Thank you very much. Mr. Paulson, do we have anyone on
Zoom?
LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 8/23/2023
Item #4, Amend the General Plan to Include Description
of the Housing Element Overlay Zone, and Amend the Town
Code to Modify Affordable Housing Overlay Zone
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JOEL PAULSON: Thank you, Chair. Anyone who would
like to speak on Item 4, raise your hand, please. I don’t
see any hands raised, Chair.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you. I note that the Staff
recommendation is to forward a recommendation of approval
to the Town Council on the following items: Amend the 2020
General Plan Land Use Element to include a description of
the Housing Element Overlay Zone (HEOZ), and amend the Town
Code to modify the Affordable Housing Overlay Zone (AHOZ)
to Division 5, Article VIII, Overlay Zones and Historic to
be HEOZ.
At this point I’ll ask if Commissioners have any
comments on the recommendation? Commissioner Hanssen.
COMMISSIONER HANSSEN: As you guys know, I am
Chair of the Housing Element and chaired the 2040 General
Plan Update, of which the Land Use Element and the
Community Design Element have been referended, and so
that’s why we’re here, because we have the Housing Element
and because we have a very large target for planning for
additional housing.
We’re using the 2020 General Plan right now and
the land use density and height standards are not
sufficient to get the product that we would need to plan
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Code to Modify Affordable Housing Overlay Zone
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appropriately for the 1,993 units that we’re tasked with by
the State, as well as the buffer.
I have a question for Staff, and we asked this
before, I think, at the General Plan Committee, but Table
LU-2, it was my understanding that this is the minimum
density improvements that we would need to be able to
achieve the density on the sites that are listed in the
Site Inventory, which are the only sites this will be
applied to, because we’re not amending the actual land use
standards in the General Plan other than for these sites?
ERIN WALTERS: Thank you for the question. Yes,
that is true.
COMMISSIONER HANSSEN: A follow up question I
would have is the only reason to continue on this, in my
opinion, would be if there were some disagreement about the
actual land use standards that we were making for the
houses in the Site Inventory, which I don’t think that’s a
question, because it’s been asked multiple times that this
is the minimum that we need to do to be able to meet our
Regional Housing Needs allocation.
I would be in favor of approving Item 4. I do
understand the interrelationship between Item 4 and Item 5,
but basically we have no other way to meet our numbers
LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 8/23/2023
Item #4, Amend the General Plan to Include Description
of the Housing Element Overlay Zone, and Amend the Town
Code to Modify Affordable Housing Overlay Zone
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other than to put this Housing Element Overlay Zone, which
is basically spot zoning at higher density for the sites
that are in the Site Inventory only.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you. Other comments?
Commissioner Thomas.
COMMISSIONER THOMAS: Thank you, Chair. I just
want to echo what Commissioner Hanssen said. Two of the
subcommittees that I served on was the General Plan Update
Committee and the Housing Element Advisory Board.
I know that changes to zoning can be really scary
for residents, but I think as Commissioner Hanssen said,
this is really to address the specific areas that have
already been targeted for hopefully development or
redevelopment in order to meet those RHNA numbers that are
mandated by the State, so I also support this
recommendation as is.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you. Other comments? I
don’t see any. I noted the approval of the General Plan
Amendment and zoning changes requires making of the
approvals and findings on page 265 of the Staff Report, and
I’m looking for a motion. Commissioner Janoff.
COMMISSIONER JANOFF: I move that we forward a
recommendation to the Town Council for a request to amend
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the General Plan to include a description of the Housing
Element Overlay Zone and amend the Town Code to modify the
Affordable Housing Overlay Zone, Division 5 of Article
VIII, Overlay Zones and Historic Preservation to be the
Housing Element Overlay Zone as Division 5 of Article VIII,
Overlay Zones and Historic Preservation.
An Environmental Impact Report was prepared and
certified for the 2040 General Plan Update on June 20,
2022, which included the proposed General Plan Amendments.
No further environmental analysis is required.
Zoning Code Amendment Application Z-23-002 and
General Plan Amendment Application GP-23-002.
The project location is Townwide and the
Applicant is the Town of Los Gatos.
I can make the required findings for CEQA, and I
can find that we have the required consistency with the
Town’s General Plan as noted in Exhibit 1.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you for that complicated
motion. A second? Commissioner Thomas.
COMMISSIONER THOMAS: I second.
CHAIR BARNETT: Discussion by the Commission?
Commissioner Burnett.
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Item #4, Amend the General Plan to Include Description
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Code to Modify Affordable Housing Overlay Zone
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COMMISSIONER BURNETT: I did ask Staff on this,
when we say project locations Townwide, I want it clarified
that we’re not saying Townwide, we’re saying at the Site
Inventory only.
ERIN WALTERS: Yes, that’s true.
CHAIR BARNETT: Any questions or comments? If
not, please raise your hand in support of the motion. It’s
unanimous. Thank you very much. And I assume there are no
appeal rights, because it’s a recommendation?
JENNIFER ARMER: That is correct.
CHAIR BARNETT: Thank you.
(END)
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