Item 1 - Draft Minutes of June 12, 2019
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
PLANNING COMMISSION
REPORT
MEETING DATE: 07/10/2019 ITEM NO: 1
DRAFT
MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
JUNE 12, 2019
The Planning Commission of the Town of Los Gatos conducted a Regular Meeting on
Wednesday, June 12, 2019, at 7:00 p.m.
MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AT 7:00 P.M.
ROLL CALL
Present: Chair Matthew Hudes, Vice Chair Melanie Hanssen (arrived late), Commissioner Mary
Badame, Commissioner Kendra Burch, and Commissioner Tom O'Donnell
Absent: Commissioner Kathryn Janoff, Commissioner Reza Tavana
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Chair Hudes led the Pledge of Allegiance. The audience was invited to participate.
VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS
None.
CONSENT ITEMS (TO BE ACTED UPON BY A SINGLE MOTION)
Chair Hudes requested Item 1, Approval of Minutes May 22, 2010, be pulled from the Consent
Calendar and amended them to include: Item 3, Town Code Amendment A-19-001 – Hillside
Fences, show that Chair Hudes made a motion to not recommend the actions to the Town
Council which failed for lack of a second.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
1. Approval of Minutes – May 22, 2019
MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Badame to approve the Minutes of May 22, 2019, as
amended. Seconded by Commissioner O'Donnell.
VOTE: Motion passed 4-0.
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2. 16212 Los Gatos Boulevard
Planned Development Application PD-17-002
Negative Declaration ND-19-002
APNs 523-06-010 and 523-06-011
Property Owner/Applicant: 16212 Los Gatos Blvd, LLC
Project Planner: Ryan Safty
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.
Ryan Safty, Associate Planner, presented the staff report.
Opened Public Comment.
Eugene Sakai, Studio S Squared Architecture
- He submitted ten letters of support as a Desk Item. In 2016 the Town Council denied their
proposed project and advised the Applicant to explore a purely commercial option. In
2017, they presented a retail proposal that preserved and renovated the existing one-story
dealership building while adding a retail building at the corner. They have made a number
of revisions to the building, such as reducing the mass of the second floor at the corner to
provide a reduced scale at the intersection and better views of the mountains, broken up
rooflines on the parking lot side to express the stair tower between the two floors, refined
the second floor roof massing, simplified the rooflines along the boulevard, and broken up
the glass at the corner by adding a stone portal. Their project proposes a modestly-sized
development on an extremely underutilized site.
Kathryn Parker, 16475 Ferris Avenue
- She lives near the subject site and is against the proposed building because it does not
conform to many of the basic design principles regarding setbacks, views, and Los Gatos'
qualities of small scale and pedestrian-friendliness. A 30-foot wall looming up from the
sidewalk is not appropriate for Los Gatos Boulevard, especially as this is a corner where the
guidelines say the buildings should be limited to one story.
Jeffrey Barnett, 101 Mullin Way
- He represents himself and a number of his neighbors. Their concern is that the proposed
building has only a nominal five-foot setback rather than the generous setbacks on most of
the other buildings on the boulevard. The project is not in compliance with the Los Gatos
Boulevard Plan whose goal is to preserve the character of the Town. The proposal does not
follow the Commercial Design Guidelines that stress the importance of a strong landscape
setback.
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Barbara Dodson, Marchmont Drive
- The Commission should reject the plan because the setback from the sidewalk is
insufficient to allow creation of a green space between the sidewalk and building, and the
two-story building blocks residents' views of the mountains. She is also concerned about
the loss of a dedicated right-turn lane on Shannon Road and the loss of a third lane on Los
Gatos Boulevard, which would create new traffic congestion.
Paul Grams
- Why is a huge 30-foot high building proposed for a residential area when it is opposed by
all the neighboring residents and serves only to generate more profits for the developer?
The proposed five-foot setback is outrageous when no other structure along Los Gatos
Boulevard has such a short distance from the curb to the sidewalk. A subterranean garage
would allow the building to be set back more.
Roy Moses, 16529 La Croix Court
- The intersection in question is very congested. He respects developers' rights to develop
their property and earn a profit, but the people living around the site must also be
considered. The building needs to be set back farther from the curb to make it more
aesthetic and views of the mountains preserved. The other big issue is taking out the right
lane. Kids walk on the edge of the road and removing the right lane would jeopardize their
lives.
Scott Schork, Engineer
- The curb will be moved out 10 feet, making the setback much wider. The first floor was
moved nine and a half feet forward with the curb so they would be set back six inches
farther from the future curb than they were in the prior proposed development. The
second story was moved back about one and a half feet, creating better views and making
the development consistent with the neighborhood. Porkchop island removal and lane
narrowing are Safe Routes to School requirements that improve the traffic flow and reduce
the length of time children are in the crosswalk.
Closed Public Comment.
Commissioners discussed the matter.
MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Burch to recommend denial of Planned Development
Application PD-17-002 located at 16212 Los Gatos Boulevard based on concerns
regarding setbacks, hillside views, whether there is a requirement for the
modifications made based on Safe Routes to School, and how traffic on Los
Gatos Boulevard would be impacted by losing a lane. Seconded by
Commissioner Badame.
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Commissioners discussed the matter.
Commissioner O'Donnell requested the motion be amended to recommend denial of the
application on the basis stated in the hearing.
Commissioners discussed the matter.
The Maker of the Motion declined to amend the motion.
Commissioners discussed the matter.
The Maker of the Motion amended the motion to include language that the recommended
denial is based on, but not limited to, concerns regarding the setbacks, views, Safe Routes to
School, and losing a lane on Los Gatos Boulevard.
The Seconder of the Motion accepted the language amendment to the motion.
VOTE: Motion passed 4-0.
3. 17528 Tourney Road
Architecture and Site Application S-18-051
APN 537-04-019
Applicant: Hunt Hale Architects
Appellants: Beverly and Steve Miller
Property Owner: Kevin Ebrahimi
Project Planner: Ryan Safty
Consider an appeal of a Development Review Committee decision approving a request
for demolition of an existing single-family residence, removal of large protected trees,
site improvements requiring a grading permit, and construction of a new single-family
residence on property zoned HR-2½.
Ryan Safty, Associate Planner, presented the staff report.
Opened Public Comment.
Steve Miller (Appellant), 17651 Tourney Road
- He and his wife Beverly have lived on Tourney Road for 23 years and are located directly
behind the project site. After reviewing the Applicant's plans, he enlisted the help of Tony
Jeans, who will speak on his behalf.
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Tony Jeans (Appellant Representative)
- He provided a review of the inconsistencies contained in the Applicant's DRC-approved
plans for the Commission's information packet. The Applicant has since corrected many of
the inconsistencies in the plans that are before the Commission, but some still remain. The
Applicant's civil engineer has adjusted the slope, which means a smaller FAR, but what
about the other square footage on this property? Due to areas not tabulated as floor area,
such as the California room and the carport, the FAR is over that which is stated. The
massing could be reduced by removing the attic and reducing the height of the master
bedroom tower and closet. A landscape plan was provided. The Appellants would like an
attempt made to save Tree 9, a Valley Oak that provides a visual buffer, and would like the
three Coast Live Oaks immediately adjacent to the driveway on the left to be protected by
Type 3 tree protection. They accept the Applicant's offer to install privets along the
property line for screening. The proposal to install four 36-inch box trees does not work
with the arborist report requirements.
Kevin Ebrahimi (Applicant), 17528 Tourney Road
- In late 2016 he met with the Appellants, and they stated their only concern was the ridge
height. He then submitted his plans, which reflected the Appellants' comments. He
brought the single-story portion of the ridge down to 20 feet, 10-inches, including the
2-foot pad drop, but was not agreeable to reducing the ridge height further. One of the
trees slated for removal is diseased and must be removed, but the other four trees are
being removed in order to lower the pad two feet. However, they are not touching the
three trees that are on the Appellants' property and outside the construction area. He
submitted a preliminary landscape plan, with new trees oriented to provide the most visual
screening for the proposed house.
Lee Quintana, 5 Palm Avenue
- The Hillside Design Standards and Guidelines clearly state that the FAR is not guaranteed
and projects need to meet the HDS&G standards and objectives. The Architectural Design
section of the HDS&G deals with minimizing bulk and mass and is key to this proposal:
"Buildings shall be designed to minimize mass and scale and volume, and the building shall
be designed to conform to the natural topography and contours."
Shawn Medved
- He is the previous owner of the subject property and had virtually the same experience
with the Appellants when he attempted to develop the site. His project was compliant,
they worked diligently with the Appellants and made expensive changes to protect their
view, but the Appellants kept moving the goal line. The Appellants would say everything
was fine and then new things kept coming up. They ended up in the front of the Planning
Commission and the Appellants appealed his project at the eleventh hour even though they
had verbally said everything was fine.
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William Yuan, Tourney Road
- He lives one house above (south) the Appellants. He is not opposed to neighborhood
development, but the story poles for this project appear very tall and close to the road.
Kevin Ebrahimi (Applicant), 17528 Tourney Road
- He asked the Commission to let him know of any concerns they have, because he has
looked at the project with staff and his architect and could not find any issues. He asks for
the Commission's concerns so he can resolve them and move on and build a home.
Tony Jeans
- He spoke with the Applicant who is possibly prepared to make a few little changes by
reducing some of the mass. He requested the Commission give specific direction to the
Applicant to revise the plan and return to the Planning Commission or DRC. The project
should not be approved today; it should come back one more time.
Closed Public Comment.
Commissioners discussed the matter.
MOTION: Motion by Commissioner O'Donnell to deny the appeal, subject to making
changes to the plans as illustrated in the Exhibit presented by the applicant as
entered into the record by the Planning Commission. Seconded by Chair Hudes.
Commissioners discussed the matter.
VOTE: Motion passed unanimously.
OTHER BUSINESS
4. Report from the Director of Community Development
Joel Paulson, Director of Community Development
• Town Council met June 4, 2019; introduced Demolition Ordinance modifications
considered by the Planning Commission and sent other modifications back to the Policy
Committee.
• GPAC meeting will be held June 20, 2019 to discuss potential land use alternative goals
and policies in preparation of the General Plan update.
SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS/COMMISSION MATTERS
Conceptual Development Advisory Committee
Commissioner Badame
CDAC met June 12, 2019 and considered 14926 Los Gatos Boulevard. ADJOURNMENT
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The meeting adjourned at 10:39 p.m.
This is to certify that the foregoing is a true
and correct copy of the minutes of the
June 12, 2019 meeting as approved by the
Planning Commission.
_____________________________
Vicki Blandin
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