Accessory Dwelling Units-- Addendum and Exhibit 9PREPARED BY: SALLY ZARNOWITZ, AIA, LEED AP
Planning Manager
Reviewed by: Community Development Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6874
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
PLANNING COMMISSION
REPORT
MEETING DATE: 09/27/2017
ITEM NO: 3
ADDENDUM
DATE: SEPTEMBER 26, 2017
TO: PLANNING COMMISSION
FROM: JOEL PAULSON, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
SUBJECT: CONSIDER AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 29 (ZONING REGULATIONS) OF
THE TOWN CODE REGARDING ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS. TOWN
CODE AMENDMENT APPLICATION A-17-003. PROJECT LOCATION: TOWN
WIDE, APPLICANT: TOWN OF LOS GATOS.
REMARKS:
Exhibit 9 includes additional public comments received between 11:01 a.m., Friday, September
22, 2017 and 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, September 26, 2017.
EXHIBITS:
Previously received with September 27, 2017 Staff Report:
1.Senate Bill 1069
2.Assembly Bill 2299
3.Chaptered changes in Government Code Section 65852.2
4.ARTICLE I. DIVISION 1. Sec. 29.10.020 Definitions
5.ARTICLE I. DIVISION 4. Sec. 19.10.150(c)(2) Parking
6.ARTICLE I. DIVISION 7. Sec. 29.10.305-335 Accessory Dwelling Units
7.ARTICLE IV. DIVISION 1. Sec. 29.40.015 Accessory Buildings
8.Public Comments received by 11:00 a.m., Friday, September 22, 2017
Received with this Addendum Report:
9.Public Comments received between 11:01 a.m., Friday, September 22, 2017 and 11:00 a.m.,
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
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J.KRETSCHMERIARCHITECT
101 Old Blossom Hill Road
Los Gatos , CA 95032
September 25, 2017
Sally Zarnowitz, AIA , LEED AP
Planning Manager
Joel Paulson
Community Development Director
Town of Los Gatos
110 E. Main Street
Los Gatos, CA 95030
phone 408.221.0771
jen@jkretschmer.com
Dear Town Planning Staff, Community Development Director , Planning Manager Sally
Zarnowitz, and Commissioners,
The Governor's bills AB 1069 and AB2299 address the need for affordable
housing in California by redu c ing roadblocks for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs),
which in the Town of Los Gatos are currently called Second Dwelling Units .
As a resident of th e Town and a local architect, I am in s upport of making th e
regulations less obtrus ive for homeowners here in Los Gatos. For one , we've seen higher
density projects proposed in Town that attempt to put th e low in come hou sin g clustered
together in o ne part of Town. This created a segregation of th e Town 's populus . AD Us
would a llow for better integratioin and lower density affordable house.
As an architect, I am known to he lp homeowne rs design and gain approvals for
these units. I thin k if you Google "Granny Unit Architect" it 's lik e ly that my name will
show up on th e first page. So I have experience he lping homeowners navi gate the various
regulation s throughout the municipalities in the Bay Area.
What I have seen that ha s created thi s need for ADUs in the Bay Area is both
financial and c ultural. Most homeowners who come to me to help them get an ADU are
doing it so that ad ult family members can liv e independently but close to other family.
Most are built for aging parents a nd in-Jaws and a few are for children returning home
with a college degree e mbark ing on their ne w careers. Sti ll others are building ADUs to
help temselves financially to stay living on their property by moving into the ADU
themselves and renting t he main hou se. In that way an ADU would help a homeowner to
have some flexibility with utilizing th eir property as they age in place and could he lp
younger re s id e nts who cann ot yet afford to own a home become part of an established
community.
I've reviewed the Planning Staff report an d would like to address th e following questions,
offering you my opinions developed from working directly with homeowners in various
municipalities and tho se specifically in the Town of Los Gatos.
I . Parking s hould be reduced to one uncov ered space that is allowed in the front
setback on a n existin g or new driveway. Tandem spaces should be a llowed.
EXHIBIT 9
The parking requirement should be exempted if compliance to st a te mandated
exceptions can b e met.
2. All lots in all zoning designations should be allowed, provided that the ADU
can conform to all o ther municipal regulations regarding FAR, lo t coverage,
etc .
3. Second story attached or detached ADUs should be a llowed so long as the
main house is two story. All proposed two story AD Us mu st go through a
planning review, at least a Minor Res idential Application, and may require a
Planning Commission hearing giving discretion to the Pl a nning Commission
to reject inappropriate applications.
4. (Most Importantly) Exceptions to the current FAR must b e considered.
Consider aligning with other local municipalities o n FAR for the purpose of
allowing an ADU only. For example, a llow ADU to exceed standard FAR to a
.45 FAR of net lot and maintain a maximum 40 % lot coverage.
Other things to consider:
5. Deed restrictions should not be required unless the homeowner has applied for
the BMR (Below Market R a te ) program and has received some financial
compensati o n or relief (s uch as a reduction in p ermit/approval fees). However,
ADUs shall never be sold as a separate property or create a lot split.
6. Property owners should be given the flexibility to li ve in either the main ho u se
or the ADU as their primary residence. Property owners should be allowed to
rent both units so long as doing so does not violate any other law or
regulation.
With these modifica ti o n s to the zoning reg ul a tions, homeowners will be give n
more flexibility with their properties to add ADUs. But do not expect a huge rush to
overpopulate Town lots with ADUs. When San Jose firs t imple mented it s Second Unit
Pilot Program more than a decade ago (November 2005), they decided to put a cap of 100
units for concern a large influx of units would be applied. They were surprised to find
that after one year only 15 permits were issued of 26 applications. The program was
extended for several years until ADUs became part of their Zoning Ordinance.
The reality is th a t AD Us are jus t as expensive to build as any home. Even pre-fab
units a re hundreds of thousands of dollars. So, a homeowner c h oosin g to build an ADU
will likely have a very valid and reasonable reason to purs u e s uch a financial endeavour.
Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully ,
Jennifer Kretschmer, AIA
Principal Architect
CA license #C-29615 and NCARB Certifie d
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From : Paul Prouty [mai lto:pa u lprouty@ gm ail.com ]
Sent: Monday, September 25, 2017 12:29 PM
To : Sally Zarnowitz <SZarnowi t z@ losgatosc a.gov>
Subject: RE : Comment on accessory dwelling units .. ,
He l lo Sally,
I wou ld like to have my voice added to public comment on the ADU rule changes. I want to urge the
co u nci l to include the HR-1 and HR -2.5 zoning in the modifications to allow ADU's as long as th ey ad h ere
to and follow the guide lines for lot slope density and FAR scores. Please let me know if t here is anything
else I can add so t he council wi ll adopt the cha nge .
My best,
Pa u l
Paul Prouty
Real Estate Broker
Keller Williams Realty
Executive Real Estate Services
BRE#01171285
paulprouty@gmail.com
408-806-3393
16185 Los Gatos Blvd. #205
Los Gatos, Ca 95032
Sally Zarnowitz
From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
Dear Ms. Zarnowitz,
Linda Swenberg <swenberg@me.com>
Monday, September 25 , 2017 3:29 PM
Sally Zarnowitz
Planning
Accessory dwelling units compliance with state law
My name is Linda Swenberg. I am writing to. provide input for the item 3 on the agenda for this Wednesday night:
"CONSIDER AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 29 {ZONING REGULATIONS) OF THE TOWN CODE REGARDING ACCESSORY
DWELLING UNITS. TOWN CODE AMENDMENT APPLICATION A-17-003. PROJECT LOCATION: TOWN WIDE, APPLICANT:
TOWN OF LOS GATOS ."
I own a home with a legal secondary dwelling unit which, due to the current outdated town codes, we had been
prohibited from converting into a full legal rental. We have lived in Los Gatos since 1995. Our first home was in one of
the unincorporated areas on Shady View Lane off of Shannon Road near Blossom Hill Park. In 2004, we purchased our
current home at 128 Mary Way. The home came with a brand-new, permitted, habitable pool house (finished in 2003).
It is a beautiful 1 bedroom apartment detached with everything included except for a kitchen. It has a full bathroom,
fireplace, sprinklers, etc. We were properly notified, either at the time of purchase or when we went to planning for our
later remodel, that the house would never be allowed to have a permitted kitchen installed and could never be
converted to a legal rental.
All of this really perplexed us . Our lot is 2 parcels deep and "'13000 sq ft (we combined the APNs after V"e purchased it
and for some reason, it is still zoned R1 :8 even after the parcels were combined). The pool house is very private, has a
full sprinkler system, conditioning, etc. We understand that the code which you now need to modify in order to comply
with state law is to blame. The biggest obstacle to it being converted to a legal rental is parking. Our lot is too narrow to
allow for 2 additional off-street parking spots in front. {We have the spots available but they would have to be tandem in
front of the garage.) We do not live in the downtown zone and there is plentiful parl<ing on our street. The parking
restriction does not prevent us from having overnight guests. They just park on the street. What's the difference to the
neighborhood? It would be "uglier" for us to eliminate our front ya r d for this parking requirement.
I understand that one of the questions on this matter is "Should parking requirements for accessory dwelling units be
reduced to one space per accessory dwelling unit or eliminated?" In cases such as ours, parking requirements should be
eliminated in my opinion.
In 2008-2009, our entire family lived in the guest home while our main residence was remodeled. The quarters were a
bit cramped, to say the least! It would have been a lot easier on our family if we had been allowed to build a kitchen in
the guest home prior to the remodel of the main house . We understood that this was prohibited, so we made due with
a microwave, paper plates, and a refrigerator.
A few years ago , we invited my mother-in-law to move into the guest home when she lost her apartment i n San Jose
after getting in financial trouble . We were lucky to have the option to provide her with housing. We have a lways wanted
to build a kitchen in her house to make her as comfortable as possible during her retirement, but we knew that this ·
would be prohibited.
Allowing granny units to be included in the buildi ng inventory in Los Gatos makes sense on many leve l s. We heard about
the amendments to Government Code Section 65852.2 regarding second (accessory) dwelling unit regulations in 2016
and we have been hopeful that the Town would respond accordingly. We agree with the intent of Bill 1069 which was
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signed by the Governor to make this happen: "In single-family or multifamily residential zones provides additional rental
housing stock, and these units are an essential component of housing supply in California." The Town should do
everything possible to encourage the legal use of guest houses such as ours to increase the rental stock in our
community. Our guest house and many others could go a long way towards meeting the below market value
requirements which the town government has struggled with meeting. We look forward to enjoying the full use of our
property while helping the Town to combat the housing crisis in Silicon Valley.
I have one request I would like a response to: Is there any way to readily look up deed restrictions on our property? If
there is a deed restriction preventing the addition of a kitchen in our guest house, how do we request the removal of the
restriction once the town codes are amended?
Regards,
Linda Swenberg
128 Mary Way, Los Gatos, CA 95032
(408) 569-4411
swenberg@me.com
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