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19 - Gus Who a r--- FILING FEES mil Town of Los Gatos 1 S538.00(PLAPPEAL)Residential Office of the Town Clerk Y 52,161.00(PLAPPEAL),per 11 110 E.Main St.,Los Gatos CA 95030 Commercial,Multi-family,or •f Tentative Map Appeal II APPEAL OF PLANNING COMMISSION DECISION TRANSCRIPTION S500 PL I,the undersigned,do hereby a f . TRANS) e y appeal a decision of the Planning Commission as I OS _ follows;(PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT NEATLY) 1 LOS + a • ly.J /7 ./t • GATE OF P e$ �+L I„ rT� 4"1 C" • C' .' 11 ' C CANNING ON NO:COMMISSION DECISION:� AI i Z Co Farley Road traffic • DD PROJECT/APPLICATION LOCATCATIONND: "TZ ' ADDRESS LOCATION( ar' vyt' CATION: ' — — Pursuant to the Town Code,any interested person as efined in Section 25,50.020 ma � Planning Commission. yapp¢al tothe Council any decision of the are other neighborhoods next? Interested person means: I. Residential projects.Any person or persons or entity or entities who own property or reside within 1,000 feet of a for which a decision has been rendered,and can demonstrate that theiry the Farley Road furs walking several 2. Non-residentio/ondmixed-useprajects.Anygrope property ingintobedroomwindows. person or persons or entity or entities'wlho can demonstrate that their ision. NafgttdOrhood GOAIltian to the facility. will be injured by the decision. ty++enaber5 Residents are increasingly property travel to the site for five Section Zwill b in the notice of appeal shall statesimed concerned t d not rgency Commission or wherein its decision is not supported by s blstantlal in S is tceain the there .as an error or abuse of discretion by the Since the ts50s,our Los daily pray-era and earner- vehicles could notreliably 1. been neighborhood has ous additional activities— access the area. There was an error or abuse of discretion by the Planning Commission: 'k'e'r'$send-rural enclave up to 14 parday,On Friday iv��e_ >711 e C- Q in l 5 SCR i�MtM�� of single-family homes afternoons,traffic becomes A FAILURE OF non ce ,� G I545 Y a,� . nested among l.reea Our so conger that residents OVERSIGHT � � �OR dark quietstTeetswere L 2• The Planning Commission's decision is not supported by substantial evidence in the record: ran be trapped in their awn In 20�4,residents AG Ai r Ev (+ o n f b once defined by little driveways. b>h der • --—— mare than the sound of n reviewed W VM 4s Conti- - act intensifies. the bons]Use Premix(Clip) -- -- cirRrlas.Thatchanged iiupactintensifies.For3p anddiscoveredithade#iee- IF MORE SPACE 15NEEDED,PLEASE ATTACH ADDITIONAL SHEETS. in2018,whentheWest consecutive nights.ac4v. tivelgilLheriteddecades- IMPORTANT: 1�� tv t�,,,,,� 1 Appellant is responsible for fees for transcription of minutes.A$500.00 deposit is required at the time of filing. Valley Muslim Association it f begins before'inin,sunrise th previ als gs antL whose 2. Appeal must be filed within ten(10)calendar days of Planning Commission Decision accompanied by the required filing fee. rW�"R.rIA)Tnaved Iota the_ and rsng.'V h.iel i speed.- Lile F'CSiiakl5 ere I..L,ess Deadline is 4:00 p.m.on the 10.day following the decision,If the 10.day is a Friday,the appeal must be filed by 1:00 P.M. L' __,t If the 10'^day a Saturday,Sunday,or Town holiday,then it may be filed on the workday immediately following the 10'^day, farmer on Parley Witness eliP_Filt3�,Ve'w'uysS Speed, operdtir .s vveTe far less usually a Monday. c}lurcll an F`aTley hbor block dri vewaya end crowd intensive.The former 3. The Town Clerk will set the hearing within 56 days of the date of the Planning Commission Decision(Town Ordinance No. the Today,our year -rc neighborhood snarrow idewalks_ with ao rhutth held just two 4. Once filed,the appeal will be heard by the Town Council. experiences year-row:id $idswtlllc Pedestrians, weeklySE7rV1CC5 and did not 5. If the basis for granting the appeal is,in whole or in part,information not presented to or considered by the Planning ingha disruption tees build- Including families with or su tai OVCTfIaW parkuig Commission,the matter shall be returned to ther'Planning Commission for rerlew. mghaS a stated capacity yaultgChi nea Wallin the OT sustained[rafl-iC_ DATEPRIN?NAME: ,#,na a ZItivS 44 GVS y2�b SIGNATURE:— of 1,200 people but only roadway in near-rota]darie Whteen residents raised J I ADDRESS: �r,v� -�-5 Anse,,,,{. 1$0on-sitepar'�.gy� n 1,ateatnigfl[,neigh- conc erns,Town sniff PHONE: et,Y r: (tireP1 F'U /)RJY. n )EMAIL: i NO US L A' 1`yYa 1,11•. Theresrilt is predictable: hors are kept awake b5'car acknowledged that ovesiiowparking onresi- alarms,slamming doors, ***OFFICIAL USE ONLY*** dealslreeets,with visi- wires and headlights shin- seeTRAFFICon Page A20 DATE OF PUBLIC HEARING: Pending Planning Department Confirmation DATE TO SEND PUBLICATION: — DATE OF PUBLICATION: N:WEN FORMS fP1.100.0025-26 Forms On Progress-to not Usellpp eals\Word DossL Appeal-PC.dcs 06/2025 Farley Road traffic nightmare; are other neighborhoods next? Farley Road By: ? - Date April 17, 2026 Neighborhood Coalition. Los Gatos WEEKLY TIMES - Page 5 Since the 1950s, our Los Gatos neighborhood has been a semi-rural enclave of single family homes nestled among trees. Our dark, quiet streets were once defined by little more than the sound of cicadas. That changed in 2018, when the West Valley Muslim Association (WVMA) moved into the former Jehovah's Witness church on Farley Road. Today, our neighborhood experiences year-round disruption. WVMA's building has a stated capacity of 1,200 people but only 180 on-site parking spaces. The result is predictable: overflow parking on residential streets, with visitors walking several blocks to the facility. Members travel to the site for five daily prayers and numerous additional activities - up to 14 per day. On Friday alternoons, traffic becomes so congested that residents can be trapped in their own driveways. During Ramadan, the impact intensifies. For 30 consecutive nights, activity begins before sunrise and extends late into the evening. Vehicles speed, block drivewas and crowd narrow roads with no sidewalks. Pedestrians, including families with young children, walk in the roadway in near-total darkness. Late at night, neighbors are kept awake by car alarms, slamming doors, voices and headlights shining into bedroom windows. Residents are increasingly concerned that emergency vehicles could not reliably access the area. A FAILURE OF OVERSIGHT In 2024, residence reviewed WVMA's Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and discovered it had inherited decades old approvals granted to the previous tenant, whose operations were far less intensive. The former church held just two weekly services and did not generate overflow parking or sustained traffic. When residence raised concerned, Town staff acknowledge that applying updated operating parameters, consistent with other religious institutions, seemed reasonable. The Town indicated it would help. Two years later, little has changed. Neighbors have reported at least 30 CUP and town code violation complaints to the Town of Los Gatos Code Compliance officer, providing photo and video documentation in most instances. Yet to date WVMA has received six administrative warnings and never once been cited. This raises a fundamental question: Why expand permissions for an organization that has not complied with existing ones? THE REALITY ON THE GROUND At the March 31 Planning Commission meeting, Commissioner Rob Stump described Farley Road as "a disaster waiting to happen" He noted that traffic has increased to approximately 4,000 vehicle trips per week, a dramatic escalation from about 400 on a narrow, unstriped residential road. He also observed pedestrians walking in the roadway at night and expressed concern for public safety. This is not theoretical. Residents experience these conditions daily. WHY THIS MATTERS Approving a significantly expanded CUP in a residential (R-I) zone does not just affect one street; it establishes a precedent. If the Town allows near-round the-clock, high-intensity use here, it signals that similar expansions could be permitted in other residential neighborhoods across Los Gatos. In practical terms, it means any neighborhood with a similarly zoned property could face comparable traffic volumes, parking overflow and safety risks. Farley Road would not be an exception; it would become the model. THE BROADER CONSTRAINT WVMA has argued that its operations are protected under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). While the law serves an important purpose, its application in cases like this can limit a town's willingness to enforce local zoning standards. This issue is not about religion. It is about land use, public safety and the responsibility of local government to enforce its own codes in a fair and WVMA has argued that consistent manner. ASKING FOR BASIC PROTECTIONS Our Farley Road Neighborhood Coalition represents approximately 70 households within a six- block radius. We include seniors, families with young children and working professionals - residents who rely on the Town to safeguard basic quality-of-life standards. Instead, we have seen reliance on developer-funded noise studies and inaccurate infrastructure data. When the Town reported incorrect street width measurements, residents conducted their own field measurements to correct the record. Even when impacts do not exceed technical thresh-olds, they are real. A finding that noise is "within limits" does not mean residents can sleep, or that their health and safety are unaffected. We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking the Town to do its job: • Enforce existing CUP conditions and municipal codes; • Conduct independent and unbiased traffic, noise and environmental studies; • Evaluate public safety risks, including emergency vehicle access; • Apply consistent stan-dards, as seen in comparable cases such as Hillbrook School. The Planning Commission has asked residents to participate in and split the cost of mediation with WMA. As noted by Town Attorney Gabrielle Whelan, it is reasonable to expect the applicant, who is seeking expanded entitlements. to bear that cost. At a recent meeting, Commissioner Jeffrey Burnett described this as the most difficult decision of his six years on the commission. For resi-dents, however, the issue is straightforward. We are not experts in zoning law, traffic engineering or fire safety. We are simply asking to live safely and peacefully in our homes. The Town has the responsibility, and the authority, to ensure that outcome, not just for Farley Road but for every residential neighborhood that could be next.