Item 3 - Addendum with Exhibit 1.10 Charles Street
PREPARED BY: Erin M. Walters
Senior Planner
Reviewed by: Community Development Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● (408) 354-6872
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
PLANNING COMMISSION
REPORT
MEETING DATE: 04/23/2025
ITEM NO: 3
ADDENDUM
DATE: April 22, 2025
TO: Planning Commission
FROM: Joel Paulson, Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Consider an Appeal of a Community Development Director Decision to Deny a
Fence Exception Request for an Existing Fence Partially Located in the Town’s
Right-of Way and Exceeding the Height Limitations within the Required Front
Yard and Street-Side Yard Setbacks on Property Zoned R-1D. Located at 10
Charles Street. APN 532-36-022. Categorically Exempt Pursuant to CEQA
Guidelines Section 15303: New Construction or Conversion of Small
Structures. Fence Height Exception Application FHE-23-001. Property
Owner/Applicant/Appellant: Firouz Pradhan. Project Planner: Sean Mullin.
REMARKS:
Exhibit 1 includes public comments received between 11:01 a.m., Friday, April 18, 2025, and
11:00 a.m., Tuesday, April 22, 2025.
EXHIBITS:
1. Public Comments received between 11:01 a.m., Friday, April 18, 2025, and 11:00 a.m.,
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
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From: Kevin Chesney
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2025 10:52 AM
To: Erin Walters <EWalters@losgatosca.gov>
Cc: Cheryl Smith Joel Paulson <jpaulson@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: RE: 10 Charles Street - Follow up
[EXTERNAL SENDER]
Erin,
Please include the email below as well as the attachments as discussed.
Kevin
Kevin Chesney,
This email and any attachments may contain private, confldential and privileged material
for the sole use of the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, please
immediately delete this email and any attachments
From: Kevin Chesney
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2025 10:40 AM
To: 'Erin Walters' <EWalters@losgatosca.gov>
Cc: 'Kent E Anderson' ; 'Matthew Dailey'
'Cheryl Smith' <c ; 'Joel Paulson'
<jpaulson@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: RE: 10 Charles Street - Follow up
Hello Erin,
In my conversation with Cheryl Smith who is my long-time signiflcant other, the current
fence situation does not allow the driver to see unless they proceed into the crosswalk
which is quite dangerous and based on my understanding is also a driving violation. As she
has often commented, we as drivers are used to no fence being in the way. She is also so
concerned about the bushes that Firouz planted just behind the fence, which it makes it so
much more difficult to see through the lattice. Why have lattice for visibility if you
obfuscate the visibility with bushes?
EXHIBIT 1
So, please also include this feedback from Cheryl as well as the video, as attached, that
she took given her concerns over safety. As she sent me in an email this morning and
writes:
“This video demonstrates the lack of visibility of cars as well as pedestrians and cyclists as
you approach Los Gatos Blvd. The fencing along Charles Street blocks visibility of the
oncoming traffic as you approach Los Gatos Blvd. and the cars on the video appear as
blurs and that is driving at normal speed. The cars often go much faster as they race to
make the green light at the intersection. As you approach Los Gatos Blvd, in order to see
oncoming cars or pedestrians coming from the downtown direction, you must fully enter
the crosswalk in order to see clearly as the lattice fencing along Los Gatos Blvd. prevents
clear visibility. Firouz has also planted bushes on the inside of the lattice fencing along Los
Gatos Blvd. which has now grown enough to block the lattice making it virtually ineffective
as a “see through” fencing option.”
Finally, Cheryl recommended that I record a new video at a busier time when children are
present in the morning on their way to school, especially with how many cars are on road. I
will do that in advance of the next planning meeting since you stated that this issue will be
continued. Both Cheryl and I will be present to voice our concerns at the follow up meeting
as well as many other neighbors given all our safety concerns. We can also be there for this
upcoming meeting if you wish, as well as Kent Anderson, especially based upon my
conversation with him this morning, but I am uncertain if we are able to speak given our last
conversation.
If we can speak, then we all wish to attend, so please advise.
My neighbors and I are tired of the can being kicked down the road. So, please resolve this
issue soon as it has been years since Kent and I rose our safety concerns Firouz.
In summary, the planning committee should deny this exception for the safety the
neighbors, my family, and all the children traversing this path in our community.
With kind regards,
Kevin
Kevin Chesney, Chief Executive Officer -
This email and any attachments may contain private, confldential and privileged material
for the sole use of the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, please
immediately delete this email and any attachments
From: Kevin Chesney
Sent: Monday, April 21, 2025 6:16 PM
To: 'Erin Walters' <EWalters@losgatosca.gov>
Cc: 'Kent E Anderson' ; 'Matthew Dailey'
; Cheryl Smith ; 'Joel Paulson'
<jpaulson@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: 10 Charles Street - Follow up
Dear Erin,
Thank you again for speaking with me regarding the fence exception. I voiced my concerns
to Firouz the day he started constructing the fence, along with my neighbor Kent Anderson,
who lives at Los Gatos Blvd, the yellow farmhouse that is directly across Charles St
from Firoz’s home.
More speciflcally, I have numerous text messages dating back to December 22, 2022,
voicing my concerns as well as asking for a solution to the safety concerns. I have attached
a couple of them but will make them all available if you wish.
There are at least 4 neighbors who have voiced their concerns, but only Michelle and I
spoke at the last planning meeting. Each time, the can kept getting kicked down the road,
with options discussed with Firouz, but no commitment for change. In early 2024, I had to
fiy to Virginia to care for my mother and stepfather. I became their primary caregiver, and I
lost both parents, one on April 4, 2024, and the other on Christmas, 2024. As such, my
messages to Firouz stopped in 2024 as I was focused on other matters.
I am so thankful for the kindness and thoughtful advice you provided when we met. As you
must know, it is not easy to raise such objections, given that neighbors wish to remain
neighborly, but the safety of my family, my other neighbors, and the unrelated children from
Los Gatos High School, Fisher Middle School, and Van Meter Elementary School that
traverse these streets each weekday are much more important for us to protect.
It is so important for the planning commission to realize this risk to our community. A
potential insurance policy by the owner of 10 Charles Street is not enough, given if
someone dies from an accident due to this fence, my neighbors or I will be prosecuted for
involuntary manslaughter. The code for safety is clear, and our neighbor has violated it,
even though he is an educated contractor who knew the requirements when purchasing
the property.
I am hopeful the planning commission will make the right decision to protect us.
With kind regards,
Kevin
Kevin Chesney,
This email and any attachments may contain private, confldential and privileged material
for the sole use of the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, please
immediately delete this email and any attachments
INCLUDED WITH THE PUBLIC COMMENT WAS A
VIDEO FOR REFERENCE.
USE THE FOLLOWING LINK TO VIEW THE
RECORDING:
https://www.losgatosca.gov/DocumentC
enter/View/41900/Video---10-Charles-
Traffic
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