Exhibit 6 - Letter of JustificationEXHIBIT 6
July 19, 2024
Job No. 20-207(rev 2)
Sean Mullin - Senior Planner
Town of Los Gatos - Community Development Department
110 E. Main Street
Los Gatos, CA 95030
Subject: 120 Oak Meadow Drive -- Letter of Justification
Dear Mr. Mullin,
The proposed deviations from the Office Zoning Code for FAR, Lot Size, & setbacks of the new
lot and residence are minor compared to the already built townhouse units of the PD Zoned
project.
In response to your July 16, 2024 request, we address the deviations as follows (our reply is in
bold-italicized text):
A) Parcel A - FAR The existing historic residence is 400 SF over in size is
insignificant as compared to Lot 7 where a 1906 SF townhome sits on a 3,059 SF lot
for an FAR of 0.62
B) Parcel B: Lot area is 5249 SF where 8,000 SF is required by zoning. Again, the
existing townhouse lot sizes are 3,350 SF, 3163 SF, & 3,059 SF.
C) Parcel B: FAR exceeds zoning standards - this is irrelevant compared to B above.
D) Parcel B: Reduced setbacks are larger than the various zero setbacks of the
townhouses.
Parcel A :
a) Parcel A proposed lot coverage of 4,800 sf (40.3%) (as indicated on Sheet C-1) exceeds
the allowable lot coverage of 4,762 sf (40.0%) by merely 38 sf.
Parcel B:
a) Parcel B has a lot area of 5,793 sf, where 8,000 sf is required by the zoning. However,
1776 TECHNOLOGY DRIVE, SAN JOSE, CA 95110
408-452-9300 MAIN 408-837-7550 FACSIMILE
WWW.TSCIVIL.COM
Sean Mullin - Senior Planner
Job No. 20-207
Page 2 of 3
July 19, 2024(rev2)
by comparison, at least three of the townhouse lots are just under 3100 sf.
b) Parcel B reduced setbacks for residence with attached garage:
Required Proposed
Front 25 6
Rear (through lot) 25 7
Side 10 3
It should be noted that many of the townhouse units have zero setbacks.
c) Parcel B proposed lot coverage of 2,470 sf (42.6%) exceeds the allowable lot coverage
of 2,317 sf (40%) by 153 sf.
d) Parcel B a portion of the proposed residence (approximately 36 sf) is located outside
the least restrictive development area.
e) Parcel B driveway slope of 17.5% exceeds maximum allowed by the Hillside
Development Standards and Guidelines of 1 5%. Were we to comply with 15% the
garage slab would be 2’ lower and the cut and fill guidelines would be violated with an
excessive cut at the 32” oak tree near the driveway bridge. The fire dept will not use
this driveway but they do allow up to q 20% slope.
In summary, the 1979 PD Zoning was well intended to provide a creative buffer and transition
from medical office to residential uses on this tree studded site. The residential unit types were
stylish at that time, with high vaulted ceilings and triangular architectural components built with
woodsy and natural exterior materials. Setbacks, FAR, & lot sizes were all ignored in the unit
designs. These appear to have been approved within the era when the Town used Planned
Development Zoning to avoid compliance with the base zoning district standards. Back then, it
was considered progressive and artsy to design clustered townhomes. and “Z” lots.
1776 TECHNOLOGY DRIVE, SAN JOSE , CA 95110
408-452-9300 MAIN 408-452-9301 FACSIMILE
WWW.TSCIVILENG.COM
Sean Mullin - Senior Planner
Job No. 20-207
Page 3 of 3
July 19, 2024(rev2)
Best regards,
TS/CIVIL ENGINEERING, INC.
Terence J. Szewczyk, P.E. C35527
Principal Engineer
1776 TECHNOLOGY DRIVE, SAN JOSE , CA 95110
408-452-9300 MAIN 408-452-9301 FACSIMILE
WWW.TSCIVILENG.COM
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