Attachment 3LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 4/11/2018
Item #3, 221 Almendra Avenue
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A P P E A R A N C E S:
Los Gatos Planning
Commissioners:
D.Michael Kane, Chair
Matthew Hudes, Vice Chair
Mary Badame
Kendra Burch
Melanie Hanssen
Kathryn Janoff
Tom O'Donnell
Town Manager :Laurel Prevetti
Community Development
Director :
Joel Paulson
Town Attorney:Robert Schultz
Transcribed by: Vicki L. Blandin
(619)541 -3405
ATTACHMENT 3
LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 4/11/2018
Item #3, 221 Almendra Avenue
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P R O C E E D I N G S:
CHAIR KANE: So we move to the public hearings
portion of our agenda and consider Item 3, which is 22 1
Almendra Avenue; Zone Change Application Z -17 -001; property
owner is Joey McCarthy; Applicant is Bess Wiersema;
requesting approval of a zone change for 0:LHP, Office with
a Landmark and Historic Presentation Overlay, to R -1D:LHP,
Single -Family Residenti al Downtown with a Landmark and
Historic Preservation Overlay. This is APN 510 -14 -044. Our
Staff Report tonight will be provided by Mr. Safty.
RYAN SAFTY: Thank you. Good evening,
Commissioners.
Before you tonight is a request for a zone change
from Offi ce with a Landmark and Historic Presentation
Overlay to Single -Family Residential Downtown with a
Landmark and Historic Presentation Overlay, located at 221
Almendra Avenue.
The property was originally developed with a
Residential use in the 1900s, but was converted to a n
Office use. The proposed zone change will be consistent
with the pattern of land use and zoning in the surrounding
Residential neighborhood.
LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 4/11/2018
Item #3, 221 Almendra Avenue
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For these reasons, and the analysis provided in
the Staff Report, Staff recommends that the Plann ing
Commission make the required findings in Exhibit 4 of your
Staff Report and forward a recommendation of approval to
the Town Council.
This concludes Staff’s presentation, and we are
happy to answer any questions.
CHAIR KANE: Thank you, Mr. Safty. Ma y I see a
show of hands from Commissioners who have visited the
property under consideration? Are there any disclosures?
Are there questions for Staff? Commissioner Hanssen.
COMMISSIONER HANSSEN: I just had one question;
it was kind of a history question. We always like to see
the zoning line up with the General Plan, and clearly this
is an application that’s going in that direction, but I did
note that all the General Plan designations for that entire
area off of Santa Cruz are all Medium -Density Resident ial
in the General Plan, but then there are quite a few of
these properties that are actually General Plan
Residential , but they’re Office, and I was just wondering
how that came to be, because it’s considered a Residential
area from our General Plan. Was that a trend that started
many years ago, and is that something we should be
considering versus just this one property?
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JOEL PAULSON: I’ll jump in, and then if Mr.
Safty has anything additional. All you should be
considering is this application. Ther e are a number of
areas —and this happens to be one that has a lot of them —
where you had probably uses that were Office , but the Town
would have made a General Plan amendment, probably decades
ago, and said ultimately we want this to be a Residential
area off of North Santa Cruz, and so that’s why they have a
General Plan designation of Residential .
Up the street there are two properties that
converted to houses, and one option there is to do a
Conditional Use Permit, and so they actually were approved
with Cond itional Use Permits, but they still have the
Office zoning.
As of late we’ve been encouraging , based on
recent decisions , where we have these conflicts between
zoning and General Plan designations , that the applicants
actually make those conform with each other.
COMMISSIONER HANSSEN: Okay, thank you.
CHAIR KANE: I meant to say to my fellow
commissioners regarding the Zone Change Application, our
job is to recommend approval or denial to Town Council, to
continue the matter to a date certain with specifi c
direction to Staff.
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Are there other questions for Staff? Seeing none,
I will turn to the Applicant. Ms. Wiersema, will you be
representing the Applicant tonight? Give us your name and
address. You will have ten minutes.
BESS WIERSEMA: I promise to tak e less than ten.
I think this one is pretty straightforward. Bess Wiersema,
representing Studio 3 and the property owner, Joey
McCarthy.
I think that Ryan probably provided you guys with
all the information about the property, pretty
straightforward. We ju st always, as you know, provide you
with some project data so you understand what can happen on
this property when it is converted. We are intending to
return it to its Residential use from its current
designation.
If you look at the FAR tables and charts , I think
we’re talking about potentially as a future for this
project as a single -family residence, or obviously in
keeping with FAR, if you go around the neighborhood the
house of about 2,500 square feet on this property , I think ,
is reasonable, so I thi nk that returning this also is
consistent with newer homes and existing homes in the
immediate and expanded neighborhoods.
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Interestingly, we sit right on the line, and you
can see we share a side property line with the Bank of
America, and then these cont inuous parking lots that kind
of wrap around and aren’t so fantastic back behind, so
we’re the first house in the Residential zone. It
definitely feels Residential , I think, when you walk by it,
with the exception of the drive -through prescription window
o r whatever was there in the 1940s. These two adjacent
properties were converted —I think that was what Joel was
talking about with the use permit —some time ago, and new
custom , single -family homes were built on those.
This is just a little bit of the histo ry going
all the way back. Original use, Residential ; built in 1900;
modified use Commercial in 1941. It is consistent; it seems
to be in the 40s and 50s with all the houses that we deal
with in my office when houses got converted to commercial
use, so it’s kind of interesting during that time;
obviously something was going on downtown that allowed
that.
Our requests are to rezone from Commercial to
Residential . Per the guidelines and rules, any future
Architecture and Site application will show the require d
two onsite parking for the Residential use. Based on the
finding the property has served two functions, first as a
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home and then as commercial space, and we’re just asking to
return it. This property does have some parking space
allocated in the PAD, and no variance is requested; we’re
just holding those as part of the project. If you do have
questions about that, I don’t think that they came up much
in the Staff Report and they may be somewhat irrelevant
now, I don't know, Ryan, but we can talk about tha t , should
you have questions.
Just to remind you of the look and feel, we have
the bank to the left, and then the two newer houses are the
upper right -hand corner and the lower left -hand corner, and
then the quirky one at Almendra, which I love that front
porch on that project. Surrounding neighborhood photos
going around. You guys obviously know downtown; I think we
all kind of do.
This is our existing property. Obviously I don’t
think that came in 1900, but nice, simple form. Backside of
the projects. Ex isting footprint. You can tell it’s very
Residential ; it even matches some of the adjacent
buildings. We do have existing floor plans and elevations
if you want to see that if you weren’t able to make it.
That just concludes my very brief presentation
toni ght. I don’t think we’re discussing anything of unusual
character for this particular one.
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CHAIR KANE: Thank you. Are there questions for
the speaker? Seeing none, I want to thank you for your
comments and invite members of the public who wish to speak
on thi s item. I f you haven’t already turned in a card, do
so now, and I have one card from Mr. Dean Turkal.
DEAN TURKAL: Hi, my name is Dean Turkal; I live
at 22045 Hutchinson Road, Los Gatos, so a long way from you
guys here. But my wife actually does own a property where
Thai Spice is downtown, so she’s not here and asked me to
come in and ask a question. Pretty much she wants to know
whether, if you do change this ordinance, would it affect
any noise or traffic ordinances as well for the businesses
in the area? That’s my only question.
CHAIR KANE: Well, we’re not necessarily in
response mode. Do you want to say anything, Mr. Paulson?
JOEL PAULSON: Staff will respond after we close
the public hearing and you’re in deliberations.
CHAIR KANE: Okay. You un derstand that?
DEAN TURKAL: No.
CHAIR KANE: We don’t do Q&A during the public,
but when we’re done with that we’ll do some A. Questions
for the speaker? Thank you very much.
DEAN TURKAL: Thank you.
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CHAIR KANE: I will recall the Applicant, who
will ha ve up to five minutes to rebut anything that she’s
heard, or add any additional information.
BESS WIERSEMA: No.
CHAIR KANE: Then I will open my mike and close
the public portion of the public hearing, and look to my
Commission for questions, comments, or someone make a
motion. Commissioner Badame.
COMMISSIONER BADAME: I’ll try a motion. This
property was originally developed for Residential use.
Residential use is principally permitted within the R -1D
zone, so therefore I move to forward a recommendation of
approval for Zone Change Application Z -17 -001 requesting
approval of a zone change from O:LHP to R -1D:LHP, and I can
make the finding s per Exhibit 4.
CHAIR KANE: Do we have a second? Commissioner
Burch.
COMMISSIONER BURCH: I’ll second.
CHAIR KANE: Is there any discussion? Seeing
none, I’ll call the question. All in favor, say aye.
Opposed? Passes unanimously. Are there appeal rights on
this matter, Mr. Paulson, and also would you give us an
answer to the question we received from the public?
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JOEL PA ULSON: Yes, thank you. There are not
appeal rights, as this is a recommendation to the Town
Council. In regard to this action, it does not affect
parking, traffic, or anything else on any other parcel,
except for this parcel specifically.