08 Attachment 04 - August 26, 2020 Planning Commision Verbatim MinutesLOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 8/26/2020
Item #3, 14225 Walker Street (Market Hall)
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A P P E A R A N C E S:
Los Gatos Planning
Commissioners:
Melanie Hanssen, Chair
Kathryn Janoff, Vice Chair
Mary Badame
Jeffrey Barnett
Kendra Burch
Matthew Hudes
Reza Tavana
Town Manager: Laurel Prevetti
Community Development
Director:
Joel Paulson
Town Attorney: Robert Schultz
Transcribed by: Vicki L. Blandin
(619) 541-3405
ATTACHMENT 4
LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 8/26/2020
Item #3, 14225 Walker Street (Market Hall)
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P R O C E E D I N G S:
CHAIR HANSSEN: We will now move on to Item 3,
which is considering approval of a request for a
modification to an existing Architecture and Site
Application, S-13-090, to remove underground parking for
construction of a commercial building otherwise known as
the Market Hall in the North 40 Specific Plan. This is APN
424-56-017, Architecture and Site Application S-20-012. The
property owner and applicant is Summerhill N40, LLC. I
understand Ms. Shoopman will be giving the Staff Report for
this item.
JOEL PAULSON: Before you start, Chair, I think
Commissioner Burch has a comment.
CHAIR HANSSEN: Oh, I'm sorry.
COMMISSIONER BURCH: Yeah. Based on the proximity
of my home to the property I have to recuse myself at this
time.
CHAIR HANSSEN: Yes, of course. Thank you very
much, and thank you for making me stop before I…
COMMISSIONER BURCH: Of course.
CHAIR HANSSEN: Okay. All right, thank you.
LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 8/26/2020
Item #3, 14225 Walker Street (Market Hall)
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JOCELYN SHOOPMAN: Good evening. On August 2,
2017 the Town Council adopted a resolution to approve the
phase one Architecture and Site Application and Vesting
Tentative Map Application for the construction of a new
multi-use, multi-story, mixed-use development on 20.7 acres
of the North 40 Specific Plan Area. The approved
Architecture and Site Application included a multi-story
mixed-use building referred to as the Market Hall, with
residential units above, retail space, a community room,
and a four-story parking garage.
The applicant is requesting a modification to the
approved application to remove the below-grade level of the
parking garage. With the elimination of the below-grade
level the applicant is proposing to modify the remaining
three above-grade levels resulting in a total of 176
parking spaces being provided. This is 52 parking spaces in
excess of the parking requirements for the Market Hall
building.
Based on the analysis contained in the report
Staff recommends approval of the Architecture and Site
Application subject to the recommended Conditions of
Approval. This concludes Staff's presentation but we are
available to answer any questions.
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CHAIR HANSSEN: Do any Commissioners have any
questions for Ms. Shoopman? Commissioner Hudes.
COMMISSIONER HUDES: I don't know if you're going
to ask for disclosures about site visit but I did have
disclosure and a comment about site visit; I don't know if
this is the appropriate time.
CHAIR HANSSEN: You know, I should have asked if
anyone has visited the site in question. I assumed that
everyone had at one point or another but if there is anyone
that had visited the site that needed to make a disclosure
about their visit. Commissioner Hudes.
COMMISSIONER HUDES: I had a couple of points
here. First of all disclosure. I've been contacted by a
number of residents about this issue. I told them that I
was not permitted to discuss it and so I did not have a
discussion about it.
But secondly, after reading the comments that
came in from residents I grew concerned about other issues
with the site, including whether the reconfiguration to
exclude the basement parking has already occurred, and I
attempted to visit the site but it was locked, and since
the correspondence came in last night and noon today I did
reach out to Staff and I contacted the construction manager
but there wasn't time to do a site visit, and I think a
LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 8/26/2020
Item #3, 14225 Walker Street (Market Hall)
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visit to the site is in order, and that gets to my other
point.
I'm concerned about holding the hearing on this
important topic when residents aren't able to attend due to
wildfires. They either are not able to attend or not able
to participate in the timeframe on such an important issue.
There were still evacuation orders for areas adjacent to
our hillside neighborhoods even yesterday, and I know
things have gotten better but there were comments raised
about this by some of the residents as well and I think
it's about perception on this sensitive issue, that we need
to be cognizant to folk's concerns, not only about the
opportunity to give testimony but also the possibility of
action being taken not in full sunshine because of the
wildfire situation and the number of residents that are
concerned about this issue.
So, because of my inability to do a site visit
and the wildfire situation I believe that a continuance
would be in order in order have better due process for the
Town's residents.
CHAIR HANSSEN: Staff, could you comment on if we
were to continue this item to allow for more time for
public testimony as well as the opportunity for
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Commissioners to visit the site since it was locked when
this continuance would take place?
JOEL PAULSON: I can start and then if the Town
Attorney has anything additional. Should the Commission
believe that Commissioner Hudes' point raises an issue that
folks think a continuance is in order, then that is
something that the Commission can do. I think we have
about, let me just check, not including the applicant's
team probably ten to twelve folks in the attendee list. I'm
not sure how many of those folks are interested in speaking
but ultimately that is the choice of the Commission.
CHAIR HANSSEN: Commissioner Hudes, go ahead.
COMMISSIONER HUDES: Just to follow up, if we
were to do a continuance what would be the appropriate time
to have that discussion and introduce a motion?
JOEL PAULSON: I would look to the Town Attorney
for that, whether or not we should open the hearing and let
the applicant speak and ultimately let those in the
audience speak, or whether that should or could be done
prior to that.
TOWN ATTORNEY SCHULTZ: So, to add to that, it's
up to the desire of the Commission to decide that. There
are two ways we can handle in the past. One would be to
take up that motion for continuance right now and continue
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it to a date certain and take no public testimony. As you
know, in the past what we've done is taking the testimony
and then continued the hearing. The issue with that though
is if you take public testimony now it becomes difficult
for Staff as to trying to monitor people that are trying to
speak a second time, which wouldn’t be allowed during the
continued hearing of the public comment. So, although you
can continue it after hearing it, I would recommend that if
you're going to continue it that it should be done now so
that everybody knows the date that it's going to continued
and you hear all the public testimony at the same time, but
as I said, it's up to the Commission.
CHAIR HANSSEN: I'd like to hear from other
members of the Commission on the suggestion—it's not a
motion at this point—by Commissioner Hudes. Vice Chair
Janoff.
VICE CHAIR JANOFF: Thank you. I have a question
for Commissioner Hudes. Would you please elaborate on your
interest in seeing the stage of development of the proposed
site?
COMMISSIONER HUDES: Sure. There were at least
one or two residents raised that that construction has
progressed already as though it did not include a basement,
and I was interested in seeing that. Also, in terms of
LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION 8/26/2020
Item #3, 14225 Walker Street (Market Hall)
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understanding a little bit better about the way the
building would be reconfigured. I am not certain about all
that. It would be helpful to actually visit the site, but
more important was to visit the site to see what progress
has been made and has it actually gotten ahead of this
decision.
CHAIR HANSSEN: Vice Chair Janoff.
VICE CHAIR JANOFF: Just to follow up on that.
Could Staff elaborate whether the progress of the build of
this particular building, the Market Hall, has that begun?
JOEL PAULSON: They have been doing utilities.
Actually, the applicant would be the best one to ask about
that but what I can say is they have building permits in
for the building, which includes the underground garage,
and so ultimately they would need to do that earthwork.
They obviously have not done that earthwork yet and they
wouldn't do that earthwork until a building permit was
issued, which hasn't happened.
And just to answer Commissioner Hudes' other
comment, there are no exterior changes to the footprint of
the building, and so the only difference is you would no
longer have that underground portion, so it doesn't
actually have any exterior modifications.
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CHAIR HANSSEN: Any other Commissioners have any
comments on this? Commissioner Badame.
COMMISSIONER BADAME: Would it be possible to get
testimony from the applicant so we could make an inquiry as
to what has progressed so far, and then close the hearing
without getting public testimony from members of the
audience, and then decide whether we want the continuance
or not based upon the testimony of the applicant? Is that a
possibility or no? If not, I'm going to go for a
continuance.
TOWN ATTORNEY SCHULTZ: I'd say that's not. You
don't have the ability to open that issue up to just one
person. You can single out the issue but you're going to
have to let other people, because the applicant might have
a different testimony as to what's happening out there
compared to other people.
COMMISSIONER BADAME: Okay.
TOWN ATTORNEY SCHULTZ: I will say that issue is
somewhat irrelevant to this issue. If they've done work
that they weren't allowed to do then that's a code
compliance issue and it has nothing to do with the current
application in front of you. As Mr. Paulson said, I believe
they've even pulled their building permits to do the
underground garage yet but I could be incorrect.
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COMMISSIONER BADAME: Thank you.
CHAIR HANSSEN: I did want to make a comment on
this. With all gratitude towards all the people that came
to this meeting on Zoom tonight that might have wanted to
speak, and with all the gratitude to all the residents who
have already made comments, we did have at least one
comment if not more from the public saying that they felt
that there were people that wouldn't have an opportunity to
speak on this, and since the North 40 is such an important
topic to so many residents in our town it would be my
preference to continue just simply to make sure we have
captured all the possible public testimony that we can
either via additional written comments or people coming to
the meeting, and as Commissioner Hudes pointed out the
wildfires are an issue.
I would also advocate doing the continuance now
versus trying to proceed through the hearing and then
trying to track who had made comments and who didn't. So,
that would be my preference but I wanted to see if any
other Commissioners wanted to comments or make a motion on
the idea of continuing at this point. Commissioner Tavana.
COMMISSIONER TAVANA: I would definitely agree
with you, Chair Hanssen and Commissioner Hudes. I think
giving people a little bit more time, especially
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considering the circumstance, on the topic of the North 40
more time to review and/or attend the meeting if they
weren't able to tonight, so I would support a continuance
now as opposed to carrying everything out and making that
decision later.
CHAIR HANSSEN: Thank you for your comments.
Commissioner Barnett.
COMMISSIONER BARNETT: Based on the comments from
Town Attorney Rob Schultz I think that a continuance would
be appropriate, that for example we can't have testimony
from the applicant today and then expect people to comment
on it at a subsequent meeting.
CHAIR HANSSEN: Right, okay. So, then, if there
are no other comments from other Commissioners would one of
you like to make a motion to continue? Commissioner Hudes.
COMMISSIONER HUDES: If I could check with Staff
first on the date, would September 9th be available?
JOEL PAULSON: Yes, we can put it on the
September 9th meeting.
COMMISSIONER HUDES: I would move to continue
this item to September 9th, date certain.
CHAIR HANSSEN: Okay, and do I have a second?
Commissioner Badame.
COMMISSIONER BADAME: Second.
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CHAIR HANSSEN: Any other comments by
Commissioners? Commissioner Barnett.
COMMISSIONER BARNETT: I'd like to make it clear
that there is an opportunity for continued public input
during this extended period.
CHAIR HANSSEN: Absolutely. Thank you. I think
that's really important to point out. Commissioner Hudes.
COMMISSIONER HUDES: And I just wanted to inquire
about a site visit. Do I need to have a reason that people
agree with to do the site visit? What's the procedure for
moving forward with the site visit?
JOEL PAULSON: Staff will work with the applicant
to gain access. Obviously this is an active construction
site so you probably will need a hard hat and a vest at a
minimum, but I will work with the applicant to see when we
can schedule a site visit for yourself and anyone else on
the Commission who is interested in a site visit. You can
just email me and we'll move forward from there.
COMMISSIONER HUDES: Great, thank you.
CHAIR HANSSEN: All right, thank you. All right,
so then if there are no other comments then we will take
another roll call vote on this matter, so I will start with
Commissioner Tavana.
COMMISSIONER TAVANA: Yes.
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CHAIR HANSSEN: Commissioner Badame.
COMMISSIONER BADAME: Yes.
CHAIR HANSSEN: Commissioner Hudes.
COMMISSIONER HUDES: Yes.
CHAIR HANSSEN: Commissioner Barnett.
COMMISSIONER BARNETT: Yes.
CHAIR HANSSEN: Vice Chair Janoff.
VICE CHAIR JANOFF: Yes.
CHAIR HANSSEN: And I vote yes as well, so it
passes unanimously. Director Paulson, are there any appeal
rights on this item?
JOEL PAULSON: Thank you, Chair. There are not
appeal rights on a continuance and we will come back to
this item on September 9th.
CHAIR HANSSEN: Okay. Sounds great.
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