Item 2 - Staff Report.16212 LG Blvd
PREPARED BY: JOCELYN SHOOPMAN and RYAN SAFTY
ASSOCIATE PLANNER ASSOCIATE PLANNER
Reviewed by: Planning Manager and 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: 06/12/2019 ITEM NO: 2
DATE: JUNE 7, 2019 TO: PLANNING COMMISSION FROM: JOEL PAULSON, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR SUBJECT: PLANNED DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION PD-17-002 AND NEGATIVE DECLARATION ND-19-002. PROJECT LOCATION: 16212 LOS GATOS
BOULEVARD. PROPERTY OWNER/APPLICANT: 16212 LOS GATOS BLVD. LLC. REQUESTING APPROVAL OF A PLANNED DEVELOPMENT TO RE-ZONE TWO PROPERTIES ZONED CH TO CH:PD TO ALLOW FOR CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW COMMERCIAL BUILDING. APN 523-06-010 AND -011.
RECOMMENDATION:
Forward a recommendation to Town Council to adopt the Negative Declaration and approve
the Planned Development (PD) application, subject to the recommended performance
standards.
PROJECT DATA:
General Plan Designation: Mixed Use Commercial
Zoning Designation: Restricted Highway Commercial, CH
Applicable Plans & Standards: General Plan; Los Gatos Boulevard Plan; Commercial Design
Guidelines
Parcel Size: 0.94 acres
Surrounding Area:
Existing Land Use General Plan Land Use
Designation
Zoning
North Mixed Use and Residential Mixed Use Commercial
and Low Density
Residential
Office (O) and Single-
Family Residential (R-1:8)
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CEQA:
It has been determined that the project will not have a signification impact on the environment
and adoption of the Negative Declaration is recommended.
FINDINGS:
That the project will not have a significant impact on the environment and adoption of the
Negative Declaration is recommended.
That the PD to rezone the property is consistent with the General Plan.
That the project is consistent with the Los Gatos Boulevard Plan.
That the project is consistent with the Commercial Design Guidelines.
ACTION:
Forward a recommendation regarding Negative Declaration ND-19-002 to the Town
Council.
Forward a recommendation regarding PD application PD-17-002 to the Town Council.
BACKGROUND:
The 0.94-acre site (41,038 square feet) is comprised of two parcels and contains a 2,312-square
foot commercial building currently occupied by Artisan Wine Depot. The subject site is a corner
lot, fronting on both Los Gatos Boulevard and Shannon Road. The site was redeveloped in 1997
as the used car sales lot for the Honda Dealership previously located at 16213 Los Gatos
Boulevard. The General Plan provides an option for projects on sites larger than 40,000 square
feet to be processed as a PD.
On February 14, 2016 the Planning Commission reviewed a PD proposal at the subject site for
demolition of the existing 2,312-square foot commercial building and construction of 11 single-
family homes on individual lots (Exhibit 4). On April 19, 2016 the Town Council denied the
application, stating that a future application at this site should be for commercial, not
residential development.
South Commercial and Residential Mixed Use Commercial
and Low Density
Residential
Neighborhood
Commercial (C-1)
East Residential Low Density
Residential
R-1:8
West Commercial and Residential Mixed Use Commercial CH and CH:PD
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BACKGROUND (continued):
On August 10, 2016, the Conceptual Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) reviewed a
revised proposal at the subject site for commercial development with three different
conceptual design options. The minutes from that meeting are included in Exhibit 5.
On February 24, 2017, the applicant submitted a development application for construction of a
new, two-story commercial building. A Negative Declaration (ND) was prepared for the
development application and circulated for a 20-day public review period from May 17, 2019
through June 6, 2019 and was previously provided to the Planning Commission on May 17,
2019.
Future required approvals would include an Architecture and Site application (including
roadway and right-of-way improvements, and recordation of easements) for the construction
of the new commercial building.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
A. Project Summary
The applicant is requesting approval of a PD overlay which would include the following
elements on the 0.94-acre site:
• Maintain the existing 2,312-square foot commercial building;
• Construction of a new two-story mixed-use commercial building with 7,047 square feet
of commercial space on the ground floor and 4,270 square feet of office on the second
floor;
• 58 parking stalls; and
• Landscaping, parking lot, and other right-of-way improvements.
The proposed project would include removal of 12 protected trees (seven on-site trees and
five street trees). Four existing trees will be transplanted elsewhere on the site.
B. Planned Development Application
The application is a request to create a PD overlay. A PD application is being requested
because the applicant is requesting a reduced front yard setback due to required frontage
improvements that would be installed pursuant to the Safe Routes to School Plan. Pursuant
to the General Plan, “The PD overlay zone is intended to ensure orderly planning and quality
design that will be in harmony with the existing or potential development of the
surrounding neighborhood.”
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PROJECT DESCRIPTION (continued):
The Planning Commission shall make a recommendation regarding the merits of the PD
application to the Town Council, who will be the final deciding body. If adopted by the
Town Council, the proposed PD Ordinance (Exhibit 12) would allow the Development
Review Committee to approve a future Architecture and Site application.
C. Location and Surrounding Neighborhood
The project site is located at the northeast corner of Los Gatos Boulevard and Shannon
Road. There are mixed-use (office below residential) and single-family residential uses to
the north, commercial and single-family residential uses to the west and south, and single-
family residential uses to the east.
D. Zoning Compliance
The CH zoning designation permits both retail and office activities.
DISCUSSION:
A. Conceptual Development Advisory Committee
The CDAC reviewed three conceptual plans for the site on August 5, 2016, each of which
proposed some form of a new commercial building located along the Los Gatos Boulevard
frontage. The CDAC preferred the smaller of the development options, expressed concern
regarding medical and residential uses, and supported the idea of incorporating
underground parking. Additional feedback is included in the meeting minutes (Exhibit 5).
B. Planned Development
The PD application is proposing to rezone the two properties from CH to CH:PD. The CH
zoning would be compatible with the General Plan Designation of Mixed Use Commercial
and the variety of zoning classifications found on adjacent properties, including O, R-1:8, C-
1, CH, and CH:PD.
Approval of the PD application would establish regulations through an ordinance (which
would include the development plans) under which the following actions would be allowed:
• Lot merger of the two separate parcels;
• Removal of protected trees and construction of associated site improvements; and
• Construction of a two-story commercial building through a future Architecture and Site
application.
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DISCUSSION (continued):
The proposed PD application complies with all provisions of the CH zone and Los Gatos
Boulevard Plan, except for the item listed below, which is proposed to be allowed through
the PD ordinance:
• Reduced front setback along Los Gatos Boulevard of five feet, when Town Code requires
25 feet based on the proposed building height of nearly 30 feet.
The applicant discusses the requested exception listed above in Exhibit 10.
The PD application is proposing to rezone the property which would provide specific
guidance for the future commercial development. The PD Ordinance would define the
maximum allowable development, including the maximum floor area and building height.
An Architecture and Site application would be required to implement the proposed project
if the PD is approved.
C. Commercial Design Guidelines
The proposed PD application complies with all applicable guidelines of the Commercial
Design Guidelines, except for the items listed below:
• CDG Section 5.A.1 – Basic Design Principles:
o “Projects will maintain a strong landscaped setback along street edges, and will
seek to create visual contiguity along the street front,” when minimal landscaping
is proposed within the reduced front yard area along Los Gatos Boulevard.
• CDG Section 5.A.2.1 – Los Gatos Boulevard setbacks should be substantially landscaped:
o “A minimum landscaped setback of 15 feet shall be maintained from fronting
sidewalks,” when only five feet of landscaping is proposed along Los Gatos
Boulevard.
The applicant provides justification for deviating from the items listed above in Exhibit 10.
D. Site Layout and Building Size
1. Access
Access to the site is currently provided through two driveways: one approximately 25
feet from the northern property line on Los Gatos Boulevard, and the second
approximately 20 feet from the eastern property line on Shannon Road. The applicant
proposes to reconfigure each driveway to comply with Town standards, maintain the
current driveway location along Los Gatos Boulevard, and shift the driveway location
along Shannon Road roughly 20 feet to the east, further away from the intersection.
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DISCUSSION (continued):
2. Coverage
The proposed project has a building coverage of 9,359 square feet (22.8 percent). The
maximum permitted building coverage for the CH zone is 50 percent.
3. Height
The proposed two-story commercial building would be a maximum height of 29 feet, 11
inches. The existing commercial building is 29 feet. The maximum permitted height for
the CH zone is 35 feet.
4. Setbacks
The CH zone specifies setback requirements for all properties within the zone, as well as
increased setback requirements for property lines which abut or across the street from
a lot in a residential zone. Additionally, proposals greater than 20 feet in height are
required to be setback even further. The proposed building is adjacent to residentially
zoned parcels to the east, and the proposed building would be nearly 30 feet tall. The
applicant is proposing a reduced front setback from what is required in the CH zone.
The following chart is provided for comparison and clarification:
Setback Requirements:
Zones: Front Side Street Side Rear
CH 15' 0' 15' 0'
CH (required for proposal) 15’ 0’ 15’ 30’
Proposed Commercial Building: 5’ 51.5’ 15’ 156.5’
Existing Commercial Building: 100’ 22’ 87’ 50’
E. Trees
The application was reviewed by the Town’s Consulting Arborist (Exhibit 7). There are 26
protected trees within the project area: 14 on-site, seven street trees within the public
right-of-way, and five trees on neighboring properties to the north. The applicant is
requesting to remove 12 of these trees: seven of which are on site and five within the public
right-of-way. The applicant is also proposing to transplant four of the remaining seven on-
site trees elsewhere on the property.
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DISCUSSION (continued):
In accordance with the Town’s Tree Protection Ordinance, the applicant would be required
to plant 35, 24-inch box trees to off-set the 12 tree removals. As outlined in Sheet L1.1 of
the development plans (Exhibit 12), the applicant is proposing to plant two, 15-gallon trees
and 27, 24-inch box trees; six of the new 24-inch box trees would be within the public right-
of-way. The applicant will be required to pay in-lieu fees for the eight, 24-inch box trees
that are not proposed to be planted on-site.
F. Los Gatos Boulevard Plan
The project is subject to the Los Gatos Boulevard Plan. The applicant details in their letter
of justification (Exhibit 6) how their proposal complies with the plan and the Town’s vision
for this portion of Los Gatos Boulevard.
G. Architectural Consultant Review
The Town’s Architectural Consultant reviewed the plans for the proposed development on
December 13, 2017 (Exhibit 8). The consultant identified several concerns with building
design and location, as well as consistency with the Town’s Commercial Design Guidelines.
The consultant recommended two different design approaches to address his concerns.
The applicant has chosen “Approach B,” which recommends pushing the proposed second
story back at the corner of Shannon Road and Los Gatos Boulevard, extending the second
story area to the north, increasing the glazing along the staircase on the rear elevation,
eliminating the ground floor gable, adding awnings and large carriage lights along the
ground floor elevation, and carrying the curved façade and awnings around the corner at
Shannon Road and Los Gatos Boulevard. The applicant incorporated each of these
recommendations in their resubmittal, except the recommendation to carry the curved
façade and awning around the corner of the building. The applicant’s response letter and
justification for the design is included in Exhibit 9.
H. Parking
Town Code requires one parking space for each 235 square feet of office or retail floor area.
The proposed project includes a total of 13,629 square feet of office and retail floor area,
requiring 58 on-site parking spaces. The applicant is proposing 58 parking spaces. These
spaces would be substantially screened from view along the street with the new two-story
commercial building fronting on Los Gatos Boulevard and landscaping and trees proposed
along Shannon Road.
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DISCUSSION (continued):
The site also currently provides additional overflow parking for Yoga Source across Los
Gatos Boulevard and Orangetheory Fitness across Shannon Road, and many Fisher Middle
School parents use the site as a drop-off and pick-up location. While these are amenities
that the property owner has previously permitted, the applicant is not required to provide
this in any future development of the site.
I. Traffic
Pursuant to the Town’s Traffic Impact Policy, a comprehensive traffic study is required to be
prepared for projects that generate 20 or more trips in either the AM or PM peak
hours. The proposed project is estimated to add 15 AM peak-hour trips and 34 PM peak-
hour trips. Therefore, a comprehensive Transportation Impact Analysis was required.
The Transportation Impact Analysis (TIA) was prepared by Hexagon Transportation
Consultants, Inc. The TIA is included in Appendix E of the ND, available online at
http://www.losgatosca.gov/16212LosGatosBoulevard. The TIA was reviewed by the Town’s
traffic engineer, traffic consultant, and environmental consultant. The purpose of the TIA
was to identify any potential traffic impacts from the additional commercial space
proposed. The report found that the proposed project would not cause a significant impact
in accordance with CEQA and the Town’s Traffic Impact Policy. In addition to the calculation
of trip generation and impacts to intersection level of service, the report provides
recommendations on queuing issues, site access and on-site circulation, and impacts to
pedestrian, bicycle, and transit circulation. The report provides recommendations on these
topics, which the applicant has incorporated into the plans, including:
• Frontage improvements to enhance pedestrian and bicycle safety as part of a Safe
Routes to School Plan, including:
o Moving the curb out ten feet along Los Gatos Boulevard to widen the sidewalk to
ten feet with a landscaped strip; and
o Adding a protected bike lane with a painted buffer and ground mounted
channelizers along the project frontage on Los Gatos Boulevard.
• Reducing the number of northbound traffic lanes on Los Gatos Boulevard from three
to two;
• Construction of a ten-foot sidewalk along the Shannon Road frontage, which ties-in to
the future proposed Class 1 bike path on Shannon Road per the Los Gatos Bicycle and
Pedestrian Master Plan;
• Reducing the pedestrian crossing distance by eliminating the pork-chop island and
right turn slip lane on Shannon Road;
• Enhancing bicycle safety by adding a bike box on Shannon Road; and
• Moving the crosswalk across Los Gatos Boulevard from north of Shannon Road to
south of Roberts Road to improve the intersection’s level of service.
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DISCUSSION (continued):
The applicant has agreed to these recommended improvements, as mentioned in the Safe
Routes to School Plan section of their Letter of Justification (Exhibit 6). Parks and Public
Works staff have included requirements for the dedication of a public access easement
along Shannon Road, public improvements along both street frontages, upgrades to traffic
signals, traffic impact mitigation fees, and a Transportation Demand Management (TDM)
plan to be prepared by the developer and approved by staff, which are included in the
proposed PD performance standards (Exhibit 12).
J. General Plan
The subject property has a General Plan Land Use Designation of Mixed-Use Commercial.
“The Mixed-Use Commercial designation permits a mixture of retail, office, and residential
in a mixed-use project, along with lodging, service, auto-related businesses, non-
manufacturing industrial uses, recreational uses, and restaurants. Projects developed under
this designation shall maintain the small-town, residential scale and natural environments
of adjacent residential neighborhoods, as well as provide prime orientation to arterial street
frontages and proper transitions and buffers to adjacent residential properties. This
designation should never be interpreted to allow development of independent commercial
facilities with principal frontage on the side streets.”
The applicant addresses compliance with the General Plan in their Letter of Justification
(Exhibit 6).
K. Story Poles and Neighborhood Notification
An exception to the Story Pole Policy was granted by the Town Council on January 16, 2018,
allowing the poles to be erected ten days prior to the scheduled public hearing date due to
public safety and the use of the site by the existing tenant. The story poles were installed
before June 2, 2019 and may be removed following the June 12, 2019 Planning Commission
hearing.
L. Environmental Review
A Negative Declaration (ND) was prepared for the project. As part of the environmental
review process a number of technical reports were prepared, including an arborist report,
architectural design review, geotechnical investigations, and traffic analyses. Reports that
were prepared by outside consultants were peer reviewed by Town Consultants.
The Notice of Completion and Availability for the ND was distributed on May 17, 2019, with
the 20-day public review period ending on June 6, 2019.
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PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Written notice was sent to property owners and tenants within 300 feet of the subject
property. Neighborhood outreach completed by the applicant is included as Exhibit 10. Public
comments received by 11:00 A.M. on Friday, June 7, 2019, are included as Exhibit 13.
CONCLUSION:
A. Summary
The project would allow the merger of two lots and construction of a new two-story mixed-
use commercial building. This project includes a PD application to rezone the property from
CH to CH:PD. Through the PD application the applicant is asking to allow the following
exception to the provisions of the CH zone:
• Reduced front setback along Los Gatos Boulevard of five feet.
With the exception of the item listed above, the project complies with the General Plan,
Town Code, and Los Gatos Boulevard Plan. The project also complies with a majority of the
Commercial Design Guidelines, except items related to front yard landscaping and front
setbacks. The applicant discusses the proposed exceptions and compliance with the
General Plan, Town Code, Commercial Design Guidelines, and Los Gatos Boulevard Plan in
Exhibits 6, 9, and 10. A draft PD Ordinance has been prepared with performance standards
to require the project to adhere to the aforementioned requirements (Exhibit 12).
B. Recommendation
Based on the summary above, staff recommends the Commission take the following actions
to forward the ND and PD applications to the Town Council with a recommendation for
approval of the proposed project:
1. Make the required findings (Exhibit 3);
2. Recommend that the Town Council adopt the Negative Declaration (Exhibit 1); and
3. Recommend that the Town Council adopt the Planned Development Ordinance (Exhibit
12) and approve the proposed project.
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CONCLUSION (continued):
C. Alternatives
Alternatively, if the Commission has concerns with the proposed project, it can:
1. Forward a recommendation for approval of the applications with modified performance
standards to the Town Council; or
2. Forward a recommendation of denial of the applications to the Town Council; or
3. Continue the matter to a date certain with specific direction.
EXHIBITS:
Previously received under separate cover:
1. May 2019 Draft Initial Study and Negative Declaration
Received with this Staff Report:
2. Location Map
3. Required Findings (one page)
4. February 24, 2016 Planning Commission Staff Report and minutes (22 pages)
5. August 10, 2016, Conceptual Development Advisory Committee meeting minutes (three
pages)
6. Project Overview and Letter of Justification received April 13, 2018 (three pages)
7. Consulting Arborist’s Report dated November 20, 2017 (37 pages)
8. Consulting Architect’s Report dated December 13, 2017 (ten pages)
9. Applicant’s response to Consulting Architect’s Report received June 7, 2019 (two pages)
10. Justification for Exceptions and Response to Comments, received June 7, 2019 (four pages)
11. Color and materials board received May 30, 2019 (one sheet)
12. Planned Development Ordinance (31 pages) with Exhibit A Rezone Area (one page) and
Exhibit B Development Plans, received May 30, 2019 (37 sheets)
13. Public comments received by 11:00 a.m. on Friday June 7, 2019
Distribution:
Scott Plautz, 16212 Los Gatos Boulevard, LLC., 101 S. Santa Cruz Ave #1090, Los Gatos, CA 95030
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