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Draft Mins 09.24.14DRAFT MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING SEPTEMBER 24, 2014 The Planning Commission of the Town of Los Gatos conducted a Regular Meeting on Wednesday, September 24, 2014, at 6:00 p.m. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER Chair Smith called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. ROLL CALL Present: Chair Margaret Smith, Vice Chair Kendra Burch, Commissioner Mary Badame, Commissioner Charles Erekson, Commissioner Tom O’Donnell, Commissioner Marico Sayoc, and Commissioner Joanne Talesfore Absent: None. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Commissioner Sayoc led the Pledge of Allegiance. The audience was invited to participate. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF AUGUST 27, 2014 AND SEPTEMBER 10, 2014 MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Talesfore to approve the meeting minutes of August 27, 2014 and September 10, 2014. Seconded by Commissioner Erekson. VOTE: Motion passed 7-0. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS Desk Items for Items 1 and 3. REQUESTED CONTINUANCES None. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS Historic Preservation Committee Matters Commissioner Badame - The 9/24/14 HPC meeting considered four items for demolition: - 16886 Mitchell Avenue - 15860 and 15880 and 15894 Winchester Boulevard - 140 Foster Road - 430 Los Gatos Boulevard VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS (AUDIENCE) Jeff Loughridge - Commented that there is currently no residential traffic policy in Los Gatos, which makes it difficult for Town officials to determine if there is too much traffic. Applying the Town’s intersection level of service is the wrong direction to go. Barbara Dodson - Commented on problems caused by the Town’s practice of having EIRs, and CUPs or Specific Plans considered for approval at the same hearing. CONSENT CALENDAR Consent item pulled. Page 2 of 10 Planning Commission Minutes September 24, 2014 NEW PUBLIC HEARINGS 1. 14178 Blossom Hill Road Conditional Use Permit: U-14-015 APN: 527-32-031 Property Owner: Blossom Hill Investments Applicant: David J. Elliot Project Planner: Jennifer Savage Requesting approval to operate a minor restaurant (Subway) on property zoned C -1. Chair Smith opened the public hearing. Jennifer Savage, Senior Planner, presented a staff report. Commission members asked questions of staff. David Elliot - Commented that they have thoroughly analyzed the project’s impact and agree with the Conditions of Approval. Commission members asked questions of Mr. Elliot. Lee Quintana - Asked how the traffic mitigation fees were calculated. Commented there will be people standing to order as well as patrons sitting and asked if the CUP could require more parking. David Elliot - Commented that he wasn’t sure how the traffic mitigation fees wer e calculated, but they worked with Planning staff and Public Works to resolve what the traffic impact was. Commission members asked questions of Mr. Elliot. Chair Smith closed the public input portion of the hearing and returned to the Commission for deliberation. Commission members asked questions of staff. Commission members discussed the matter. MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Sayoc to approve Conditional Use Permit U-14-015 subject to the conditions of approval as noted in Exhibit 3 of the staff report dated September 24, 2014. The required findings were made as noted in Exhibit 2 of the staff report dated September 24, 2014. Seconded by Commissioner Erekson. VOTE: Motion passed 7-0. Planning Manager Joel Paulson cited the appeal rights. Page 3 of 10 Planning Commission Minutes September 24, 2014 CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARINGS 2. 205/215 Westchester Drive (Tree Appeal) Tree Removal Permit: T-14-060 APNs: 523-35-030 and 031 Applicant/Property Owner: John Fritz Appellant/Property Owner: Daniel J. Roberts Project Planner: Jennifer Savage Appeal of a decision by the Director of Community Development denying a Tree Removal Permit on properties zoned R-1:8. Chair Smith opened the public hearing. Jennifer Savage, Senior Planner, presented a staff report. Commission members asked questions of staff. Dan Roberts - Commented that the Town Arborist failed to attend the scheduled meeting with the Applicant and Appellant on September 17th, which was the reason the Planning Commission had continued the last hearing. The Town Arborist then made an unscheduled visit the next day and made his written recommendations without attempting to contact the Appellant. Commission members asked questions of Mr. Roberts. Bonnie Fritz - Commented that not many people use the pathway, which is not public and cannot be accessed other than from someone’s backyard. She and her husband love the tree and do not want it removed. Commission members asked questions of Ms. Fritz. Dan Roberts Commented that he disagreed with Ms. Fritz on how many people use the path. The tree is more centr ally located on their property and is more of a concern to them. Commission members asked questions of Mr. Roberts. Chair Smith closed the public input portion of the hearing and returned to the Commission for deliberation. Commission members asked questions of staff. Commission members discussed the matter. MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Sayoc to deny the appeal of Tree Removal Permit T- 14-060, with the recommendation that future tree appeals include the Town Arborist participating with the Planning Commission. Seconded by Commissioner Talesfore Commission questions for staff followed. VOTE: Motion passed 6-1 with Commissioner O’Donnell opposing. Planning Manager Joel Paulson cited the appeal rights. Page 4 of 10 Planning Commission Minutes September 24, 2014 NEW PUBLIC HEARINGS (CONTINUED) 3. 300 Marchmont Drive Conditional Use Permit U-12-002 Environmental Impact Report: EIR-13-001 APNs: 532-10-001 and 532-11-011 Property Owner/Applicant: Hillbrook School/Mark Silver Project Planner: Jennifer Savage Requesting approval to modify a Conditional Use Pe rmit to increase school enrollment and modify operations of an existing private school (Hillbrook School) on property zoned HR -1. It has been determined that this matter may have a significant impact on the environment and an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has been prepared as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Chair Smith opened the public hearing. Jennifer Savage, Senior Planner, presented a staff report. Commission members asked questions of staff. Chuck Hammers - Commented that they are now teaching subjects they never have before, and to do so they need more children enrolled. More enrollment opportunities would take the pressure off the Los Gatos public schools, which are full. They have reduced their traffic in the la st decade with carpooling. Commission members asked questions of Mr. Hammers and traffic consultant Brian Canapa from Nelson Nygaard. Greg Dal Cielo - Commented that adding students to Hillbrook would add further traffic to the congestion already experienced by the Town, which would not make sense and there would be no benefit to the community. Commission members asked questions of Mr. Dal Cielo. Robyn Blum - Commented that they would like to see the counting device installed by a third party, not by Hillbrook, to ensure reliability, and they would like to see cumulative totals as the day progresses. She added that counting only the vehicles exiting at one of the two lanes at the gate would not provide an accurate trip count. Willem Dirven - Commented that the issue is not whether Hillbrook provides a quality education, the issue is land use and whether Hillbrook should be allowed to expand its nonconforming use into a residential neighborhood. Not everyone carpools to Hillbrook, because neighbors see cars go by with only one child. Kathleen Willey - Commented that young children are often playing near and crossing in the street she lives on, where there is already too much traffic. She added that Hillbrook’s expansion plans conflict with the Town’s General Plan. Page 5 of 10 Planning Commission Minutes September 24, 2014 Janhavi Gudal - Commented that the EIR should be rejected, because its conclusions are based on Hillbrook’s defective TDM plan, which is not a concrete plan with mandated policies and specific target goals; it is based on recommendations and parent participation is entirely voluntary. Darius Fanibanda - Commented that traffic in 2001, when Hillbrook’s Conditional Use Permit was last updated was much lighter than it is today. He sees children and parents walking to school and believes an increase in traffic will make the situation even more dangerous. Sharon Elder - Commented that it is not about bashing Hillbrook, it is about safety in the streets. An increase of students will increase traffic. Hillbrook’s mitigation plan is entirely optional and she do es not believe the honor system will work. Kim Vrijen - Commented that the majority of households around Hillbrook oppose student expansion due to the traffic, noise and pollution created by families commuting to school. Hillbrook’s increase in students will primarily be added to the middle school while the greatest overcrowding in Los Gatos’s schools is at the elementary level, which would not be alleviated. Charlie DiNapoli and Gabriella Underwood - Commented that they are the student co-heads for Hillbrook. They believe it is important for Hillbrook to grow so more children can benefit from the school, and it would benefit Hillbrook because sometimes their classes and sports teams are too small. Commission members asked questions of Ms. Underwood and Mr. DiNapoli. Ella and Camille Mulcahy - Commented that they would read from a letter written by their grandmother, Mary Gardener, a well-respected expert in education and leadership. Ms. Gardener commented that increasing the students at Hillbrook would provide more academic choices and better social interaction. Reuel Warkov - Commented that hundreds of neighbors have waited over a decade for the Town to address the significant decline in their quality of life due to Hillbrook’s unmitigated traffic and expansio n. He added Hillbrook has already expanded without permission with detrimental impact to the low - density residential zone it is in. Karen Anderson - Commented that she is a Hillbrook alumna and has seen the traffic change over the years. She noted the car counts were higher in the 1980s with no car drop-off lanes, and traffic was a nightmare. There have been great improvements since then. She presented a petition of supporters of the Hillbrook expansion. Commission members asked questions of Ms. Anderson. Rutger Vrijen - Commented that Hillbrook’s impact measures are based on averages, with their proposal subjecting the neighborhoods to an average of 960 vehicles per day, which ignores the flaw of averages as well as the pleas of the vast majority of neighborhoods surrounding the school to implement enforceable traffic mitigation. Bill Puterbough - Commented that there is a complete lack of trust between Hillbrook and its neighbors. For the past 13 years Hillbrook has not lived up to promises made when their CUP was modified in 2001, Page 6 of 10 Planning Commission Minutes September 24, 2014 nor have they complied with the CUP currently in place. Increasing Hillbrook’s enrollment would degrade the quality of life for all neighbors. Commission members asked questions of Mr. Puterbough. Brigid Moreton - Commented that during the only mediation that took place between neighbors and Hillbrook a mediator commented that there could not be a worse location for Hillbrook. Hillbrook is at the end of a narrow, dead-end street that all traffic goes up comes back down. Hillbrook promised to address their traffic problem during CUP hearings in 2000-2001, but lost interest once their CUP was approved. Jeff Loughridge - Commented that he has never seen a process fail as badly as the CUP process has failed the Marchmont neighborhood. Hillbrook private school is a business and should be treated as such. Opening the Ann Arbor gate could solve most of the neighborhood complaints. Commission members asked questions of Mr. Loughridge. Bob Buxton - Commented that Hillbrook is a wonderful school, but is in a bad location for their current size and their expansion request must not be approved. He did vehicle counts for nine months and found 74% of the total from 7:00 a.m.-8:30 a.m. were going to and leaving the school entrance. Commission members asked questions of Mr. Buxton. Tara Moseley - Commented that Hillbrook’s request to increase enrollment is a major breach of faith with the neighborhoods. The enrollment cap of 315 students was put in place in 1984 to protect the neighborhood from traffic and excessive noise, and people bought homes in the area believing the enrollment cap would remain in place. Barbara Dodson - Commented that the Conditions of Approval should not attempt to balance the needs of Hillbrook with neighborhood quality of life, as stated in the Staff Report, because neighborhood quality of life is enshrined in the General Plan. Hillbrook’s needs as a nonconforming use of a site have no such standing and should not be given equal status. Susan Buxton - Commented that the CUP asks for increased summer students, programs that run from 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, for the entire summer. The CUP also proposes that professional development activities be offered, which would be a further intensification of the school and impact the neighborhoods. Cecil Anison - Commented that the Final EIR did not evaluate the environmental impact of using the second access to Hillbrook at Ann Arbor, leaving the Town decision makers without needed important information. Ann Arbor Drive is a public, not private, street and for reasons of fairness and safety the Ann Arbor gate should be opened. Lee Quintana - Commented that the Staff Report indicates Town Staff has attempted to balance the interests of the school and the neighbors, however, a CUP is not intended to do a balancing act. Instead, a CUP is intended to eliminate any conflicts with respect to a non -residential use situated in a residential neighborhood. Page 7 of 10 Planning Commission Minutes September 24, 2014 Maria Ristow - Commented that a weekly reporting of car counts and hard limits would make the traffic situation more controlled and Hillbrook more accountable. She suggested a requirement that the original CUP must be followed for a year with no significant violations before any changes are considered. Jak Van Nada - Commented that the problem is Hillbrook’s new proposal for a 960 average daily vehicles cap, a number for which there is no ITE or other basis. The EIR bases its conclusions on the assumption that the TDM program will reduce traffic, but provides no data to support this assumption. Commission members asked questions of Mr. Van Nada. David Demaria - Commented that Hillbrook needs to take strong, enforceable measures to improve traffic for the Marchmont neighbors. Shifting the problem from the Marchmont neighborhood t o the Ann Arbor neighborhood is unfair, illegal, and does not provide true traffic mitigation. Commission members asked questions of Mr. Demaria. Heidi Collins - Commented that everyone agrees reducing traffic is a good idea and any measures to do so benefit Hillbrook and its surrounding neighborhoods. Opening the Ann Arbor gate would not minimize the traffic problem, only spread it around. Commission members asked questions of Ms. Collins. Gary Neuner - Requested that the Planning Commission support the Final EIR decision to not evaluate opening the Ann Arbor gate for Hillbrook access. Ann Arbor neighbors purchased their homes with the understanding that there would be no Hillbrook access through the gate, while the Marchmont neighbors purchased their homes knowing their street was the sole access to Hillbrook. Commission members asked questions of Mr. Neuner. Rachel Brodie - Commented that she supports approving the EIR and CUP, because the EIR showed no significant impact on traffic to the surrounding areas. Opening the Ann Arbor gate would completely change the neighborhood, the quality of life, and drastically decrease their property values. Robert Derham - Commented that his home is near the Ann Arbor gate and he was assured the gate would never be opened to traffic when he bought the home. Shifting the problem to Ann Arbor would not correct it. Jeannie Kimyai - Commented that Hillbrook has made efforts to improve neighborhood traffic by carpooling, busing and walking, and without opening the Ann Arbor gate. Addressing the problem at its source, not by moving it to another neighborhood, makes real traffic improvements. Implementation of penalties ensures Hillbrook has to make meaningful and measurable efforts to reduce their traffic. Richard McKim - Commented that Hillbrook has done an exceptional job of limiting the traffic on Marchmont. The CUP and EIR have found it is not necessary for traffic to go through the Ann Arbor neighborhood and he hopes the Planning Commission will find the same. Page 8 of 10 Planning Commission Minutes September 24, 2014 Kenneth Arendt - Commented that opening the Ann Arbor gate would not make traffic disappear, and it is not true that there would only be 11 homes impacted; in fact the impact would be huge. Commission members asked questions of Mr. Arendt. Bill Highstreet - Commented that if the Ann Arbor gate were opened it would pose a safety issue, because students would have to walk along busy Shannon Road and cross unprotected into Ann Arbor Drive. The real safety issues need to be addressed, not simply shifted from one area to an other. Jeffrey Barnett - Commented that the Final EIR’s conclusion finds approving the application would create no significant environmental impact, and it was reached after reviewing traffic engineering reports, statistics, data from neighbors, and neighb ors’ comments. The EIR is a comprehensive and objective report. Paul Brodie - Commented that living in a quiet neighborhood was a top criterion when they searched for their home a decade ago. They thoroughly researched their neighborhood and were reassured the Ann Arbor gate would not be opened to student traffic. He supports the Final EIR’s finding to not consider the gate as an option. Commission members asked questions of Mr. Brodie. Alo Khani - Commented that there should be a condition in the new CUP th at would limit the number of staff at Hillbrook, because Hillbrook has said that increased enrollment would not require too many additional Staff, which is hard to believe with the addition of 99 more students. Patti Elliot - Commented that the Planning Commission should closely evaluate how dramatically Hillbrook has intensified the use of its property since 2001, all without obtaining permission as required by Town Council. Since 2001 Hillbrook has increased its staff by over 42% and exceeded its enrollment cap in 11 out of the last 13 years. Jill Fordyce - Commented that they do not live on Marchmont, but wanted to support the neighborhood. Although Hillbrook noise was only addressed with respect to homes that abut Hillbrook on Longmeadow, they are one house over and can see the Hillbrook back field and they hear the noise every day, even in her house with the doors and windows closed. Commission members asked questions of Ms. Fordyce. Rebecca Dodson - Commented that trip cap penalties should be significantly high enough to encourage compliance and include reductions in enrollment, because Hillbrook would likely be more incentivized by the threat of losing students than by monetary penalties. Noel Preaseau - Commented that Los Gatos is now known for its traffic jams. He encouraged the Planning Commission to not approve increased enrollment at Hillbrook. Esther Puterbaugh - Commented that they bought their home knowing it abuts the Hillbrook playground, but the noise has changed dramatically in the last sever al years. It is not just during the day anymore; it is now Page 9 of 10 Planning Commission Minutes September 24, 2014 during the summer, during weekends, after school, and for long periods of time. She is concerned because the new CUP includes way more activities in the evenings and they would not be able to enjoy their back yard because of the noise. Michele Regan - Commented that she is concerned about traffic and safety and their quality of life. She appreciates Hillbrook’s effort to mitigate some of the excessive traffic, but the neighborhood shuttle program makes unsafe stops on Kennedy Road and Shannon Road near Blossom Hill Park. Burr Nissen - Commented that for eight years Hillbrook enrolled more students than were allowed under their CUP. He questioned if it was really unfair to require the Ann Arbor neighb ors to share in the traffic problems. Mark Jamieson - Commented that the Planning Commission needs to protect quality of life and public safety in Los Gatos by enforcing the General Plan Transportation Policies. Hillbrook’s Transportation Demand Management program does not constitute maximum mitigation, as called for in the General Plan. Debbie Wagner - Commented that Hillbrook’s current enrollment of 315 has caused traffic problems to date. Hillbrook claims to ease the impact on local schools, but has also acknowledged that more than half of its students reside outside of Los Gatos. Commission members asked questions of Ms. Wagner. Jan Ehrhardt - Commented that children heading to school tend to go down Fillmer Avenue, which doesn’t have sidewalks, and cars tend to cut through her neighborhood on that street, causing an unsafe situation. She urged the Planning Commission to deny the application. Bill Wagner - Commented that he lives on Hilow Road, the widest residential street in Los Gatos, which causes people to drive too fast, with also lots of pedestrians, school children, bikers, etc. Adding more traffic to that mix would cause a safety problem. He does not believe these issues are adequately addressed in the EIR and urges the Planning Commission to rejec t it. Darius Fanibanda - Commented that Hillbrook has violated its CUP in the past and is now asking for those violations to become the norm. He urged the Planning Commission to reject the EIR and Hillbrook’s request for an enrollment increase. Shannon Susick - Commented that she is not directly affected by Hillbrook traffic, but she believes the Hillbrook shuttle bus is a safety concern and recommended Hillbrook’s enrollment not be increased. William Meleyco - Commented that they live adjacent to Hillbrook. The preliminary EIR tested noise levels along their border with Hillbrook during a time when there was no activity at the school and thus concluded that the existing sound levels were within the accepted tolerance and no remediation was required at their property. Increased enrollment means increased noise levels. The testing was addressed in the Final EIR after he drew attention to it at the last hearing. Page 10 of 10 Planning Commission Minutes September 24, 2014 Mark Silver - Commented that what is essential to Hillbrook giving its students an extraordinary educ ation is their enrollment, with the need for a target class size of 18 -20 students, a well-respected number in educational circles. With their current enrollment size they end up with classes of only 8 -10 students or less in the middle schools, which is no t financially sustainable or good from an educational standpoint. Andrea Edwards - Commented that as an educator she has seen firsthand why it is so important to add more students to Hillbrook’s middle school. Hillbrook has to turn away Los Gatos families each year. Increased enrollment will allow Hillbrook to offer more educational opportunities to Los Gatos students and ease the pressure on the public schools. Thomas Archer - Commented that he supports a Hillbrook CUP modification to increase its enrollme nt. Hillbrook is an asset to Los Gatos, but they have empty seats in their classrooms while having to routinely turn down Los Gatos families who seek to enroll their children. Hillbrook has to limit its programming compared to schools that have 20 students per class. Commission members asked questions of Mr. Archer. Chair Smith acknowledged the lateness of the hour and suggested that the public portion of the hearing be continued to a date certain. MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Erekson to continue the public hearing for 300 Marchmont Drive to a special meeting on September 30, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. Seconded by Commissioner O’Donnell. Commission members discussed the matter. VOTE: Motion passed 7-0. NEW OTHER BUSINESS None. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 11:25 pm. TOWN OF LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION Wednesday, September 24, 2014 ___________________________________________ /s/ Margaret Smith, Chair APPROVED AS TO FORM AND ATTEST: _____________________________ /s/ Joel Paulson Planning Manager