Draft Mins 09.26.12Planning Commission Minutes Page 1 September 26, 2012
DRAFT
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
ACTION MINUTES
TOWN COUNCIL CHAMBERS
110 E. MAIN STREET
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2012
ROLL CALL
Present: Chair Marcia Jensen, Vice Chair Charles Erekson, Commissioner John
Bourgeois, Commissioner Thomas O'Donnell, Commissioner Marico Sayoc, and
Commissioner Margaret Smith.
Absent: Commissioner Joanne Talesfore
Others: Deputy Town Attorney Mazarin Vakharia, Acting Community Development
Director Todd Capurso, Acting Assistant Community Development Director
Sandy Baily, Acting Principal Planner Joel Paulson, Associate Planner Marni
Moseley, Associate Planner Jennifer Savage, Assistant Civil Engineer Trang Tu-
Nguyen, and Recording Secretary Linda Rowlett.
Chair Marcia Jensen called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Led by Vice Chair Charles Erekson.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 12, 2012
Motion by Commissioner Thomas O'Donnell and seconded by Vice Chair Charles Erekson
to approve meeting minutes of September 12, 2012.
Motion carried 6-0 with Commissioner Joanne Talesfore absent.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
Chair Marcia Jensen noted that there was a desk item for Item #1.
Planning Commission Minutes Page 2 September 26, 2012
REQUESTED CONTINUANCES - ITEM #3
Motion by Vice Chair Charles Erekson and seconded by Commissioner John Bourgeois to
grant continuance of Item #3 (Zoning Code Amendment A-12-002) to October 10, 2012.
Motion carried 6-0 with Commissioner Joanne Talesfore absent.
SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
Historic Preservation Committee -- Vice Chair Charles Erekson reported that the committee
met this afternoon and approved Architecture and Site (A&S) applications for 44 Broadway,
202 Tait Avenue and 1-17 N. Santa Cruz Avenue; recommended approval of an A&S
application for 198 Broadway, and continued A&S applications for 236-238 Bachman Avenue
and 327 University Avenue. There were also two informational items for homes at 15880
Winchester Boulevard and 16405 Kennedy Road that are pre-1941 with requests pending to be
removed from the Historic Resources Inventory.
VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS (AUDIENCE) - NONE
CONSENT CALENDAR
1. *630 University Avenue - Conditional Use Permit Application U-12-014. Requesting
approval to operate a dance/pilates studio with alternating use of parking on property
zoned LM. APN 529-10-069. PROPERTY OWNER: Ron Martino. APPLICANT:
Marcie Ryken. PROJECT PLANNER: Marni Moseley.
Motion by Commissioner John Bourgeois and seconded by Commissioner Margaret Smith
to approve Consent Item #1, including the modification in Desk Item #1.
Motion carried 6-0 with Commissioner Joanne Talesfore absent.
CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARINGS - NONE
NEW PUBLIC HEARINGS
2. 268 Jared Lane - Architecture and Site Application S-12-041. Requesting approval to
modify an approved architecture and site application to construct a single family residence
and pool on property zoned HR-1. APN 532-34-069. PROPERTY OWNER: Stephen &
Anne Milligan. APPLICANT: Tom Sloan/Metro Design Group. PROJECT PLANNER:
Marni Moseley.
Chair Marcia Jensen opened the public hearing.
Associate Planner Marni Moseley noted that she did not have anything to add to the staff
report.
Planning Commission Minutes Page 3 September 26, 2012
Stephen Milligan, Applicant, gave a presentation on the proposed project.
Chair Marcia Jensen closed the public input portion of the hearing and returned to the
Commission for deliberations.
Chair Marcia Jensen
Asked if this project could have been approved by staff rather than being heard by the
Planning Commission.
Asked about the neighbor's concerns.
Associate Planner Marni Moseley
Commented that the modifications required an A&S application that could have been
processed through the Development Review Committee (DRC), but staff chose to bring it to
the Commission because it was previously approved by the Commission and staff anticipated
that the project may be appealed from DRC to the Commission.
Commented that the project was properly noticed and the story poles were installed prior to
any notification.
Motion by Vice Chair Charles Erekson and seconded by Commissioner John Bourgeois to
approve Architecture and Site Application S-12-041 subject to the conditions as noted in Exhibit
3 of staff report dated September 26, 2012. The required findings were made as noted in Exhibit
2 of staff report dated September 26, 2012.
Motion carried 6-0 with Commissioner Joanne Talesfore absent.
Acting Principal Planner Joel Paulson recited appeal rights.
3. Zoning Code Amendment - Zoning Code Amendment A-12-002. Requesting to amend
Section 29.60.320 of the Town code regarding permitted uses in the C-2 Zone.
APPLICANT: Hallway Partners LLC. PROJECT PLANNER: Marni Moseley.
Continuance granted to October 10, 2012. See Requested Continuances above.
CONTINUED OTHER BUSINESS
4. Sustainability Plan - Consider adoption of a Sustainability Plan to serve as the Town’s
GHG Emissions Reduction Plan and satisfy 2020 General Plan Action ENV-13.1. No
significant environmental impacts have been identified as a result of this project and an
Addendum to the 2020 General Plan EIR is recommended. APPLICANT: Town of Los
Gatos. PROJECT PLANNER: Jennifer Savage.
Chair Marcia Jensen opened the public hearing.
Planning Commission Minutes Page 4 September 26, 2012
Commissioner John Bourgeois
Thanked staff for the additional time to review the document and for the additional
information provided, and asked for clarification about the CEQA (California Environmental
Quality Act) analysis for projects.
Asked why the measure for intensification was focused only on Los Gatos Boulevard.
Associate Planner Jennifer Savage
Commented that the tiering would be allowed for a specific component of a project’s
environmental review. For projects that require an environmental review, they can use the
Sustainability Plan to tier off of for the greenhouse gas emissions evaluation in the CEQA
analysis. This does not mean that a project can forego any normal required analysis, but
rather refer to the specific analysis that is reviewed in the Sustainability Plan.
Commented that there was already a level of intensity along Santa Cruz Avenue and Main
Street that could not be increased at this point.
Commissioner Marico Sayoc
Asked what numbers were used in analyzing future impacts, particularly the North 40, when
creating the formulas to estimate GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions.
Asked about the rationale for moving the measure for water conservation efforts to 2015-
2020.
Asked who quantifies whether or not the Town is meeting its reduction and how the
information is reported.
Associate Planner Jennifer Savage
Commented that the numbers used were the numbers analyzed in the General Plan EIR
(Environmental Impact Report).
Commented that the Town does not want to waste water but Los Gatos is seen as a green
community with lush vegetation, so Council believed that it would be better to revisit this
matter at a later time to allow for a thorough analysis on how to address this matter.
Commented that the calculations for quantification were provided by the consultants who
would provide staff with the formulas. Staff could also use those formulas to do future
calculations. It has not yet been determined if the future calculations will be performed by a
consultant or a staff member. The information would be periodically reported to staff who
would update the Town to determine if the goals are being met.
Commissioner John Bourgeois
Asked about the rationale for removing the measure for promoting the use of reclaimed
water.
Acting Community Development Director Todd Capurso
Commented that removing the measure for the use of reclaimed water was discussed at
Council and the real time line for construction for bringing the waste water line out to the
west valley area is about 20 years out, so Council believed it did not belong in this plan.
Planning Commission Minutes Page 5 September 26, 2012
Commissioner John Bourgeois
Asked how the review of the Sustainability Plan will link up to the monitoring systems.
Asked how much of the Plan is feasible with the level of staffing available.
Associate Planner Jennifer Savage
Commented that the monitoring and reevaluation of the emissions will occur every year on
a piece-by-piece and measure-by-measure basis to see what the reductions are based on
the value of each measure or the value of each project using that measure.
Commented that there is the potential to implement some of these measures through grants
and there may be other opportunities for funding. The Plan does call for a staff member to
oversee the implementation of the Plan, but the staff person has not yet been determined.
Some decisions will involve staff and other issues that involve policies will come back to
deciding bodies.
Chair Marcia Jensen
Asked what kind of flexibility is built into the document as we go forward.
Associate Planner Jennifer Savage
Commented that above and beyond the federal and state regulations that the Town must
comply with that affect GHG emissions, the Plan provides flexibility if there is a portion of
the Plan that does not allow us to meet our target.
Commissioner Marico Sayoc
Commented that she would like to ensure that there is at least one body responsible for
ensuring that the Plan is being fulfilled and is consistent with the General Plan.
Asked how to advise Council about the Commission’s priorities for some of the 2012-2015
measures discussed tonight.
Commented that she would prioritize Green Building as item #1. Her concern is that a lot of
the measures require community participation.
Associate Planner Jennifer Savage
Commented that the Commission’s suggestions and priorities are very beneficial and it can
make recommendations on the update process and prioritization of the measures. Council
will receive verbatim minutes of tonight’s discussion to take into consideration.
Commissioner Marico Sayoc
Commented that she would prioritize Green Building as item #1 because a lot of the
measures in Transportation & Land Use require community participation.
Commissioner John Bourgeois
Agreed that Green Building should be priority #1.
Commissioner Thomas O’Donnell
Commented that while Transportation & Land Use may affect greater reductions, it may be
more difficult to implement because it requires voluntary community involvement
whereas Green Building is something that can be imposed on the community.
Planning Commission Minutes Page 6 September 26, 2012
Commissioner Marico Sayoc
Commented that there is more reassurance in knowing that you can make things happen
through regulation versus hoping that things will happen through voluntary change.
Vice Chair Charles Erekson
Commented that he would like the implementation schedule for GB-5 to be changed.
Commissioner John Bourgeois
Asked what discussion happened around leaf blowers and why it is not in the 2012-2015 time
frame.
Associate Planner Jennifer Savage
Commented that Council removed the leaf blower ordinance from the first iteration of the
Plan, but community members suggesting putting it back in during the community
workshops. The ordinance was put back into the second iteration that Council reviewed and
Council chose to consider it in the future.
Commissioner Marico Sayoc
Asked if there are different types of leaf blowers.
Acting Community Development Director Todd Capurso
Commented that there are at least two types of gas blowers and at least one type of electric
blower. This issue may come up sooner rather than later due to the noise issue rather than
GHG emissions.
Commissioner Marico Sayoc
Commented that she believes that Water and Wastewater are important for sustainability and
believes this should be priority #2 and would like to see it moved closer to 2012-2015.
Commissioner John Bourgeois
Commented that he concurs that Water and Wastewater should be moved up to priority #2 to
2012-2015. If Council’s concern is aesthetic, he does not believe that is a reason to move it
back.
Chair Marcia Jensen
Commented that she agrees that Water and Wastewater should be priority #2 and that the
Town has requirements in other adopted policies regarding water conservation and native
landscaping. The Town should support the other Town policies and lean towards plants that
do not require so much water.
Commissioner Marico Sayoc
Asked if the Town has been able to quantify if recycling has gone up since recycling
containers have been placed around Town.
Planning Commission Minutes Page 7 September 26, 2012
Commissioner Thomas O’Donnell
Asked about the timing for banning the use of plastic bags and if the measure could be
moved up sooner.
Associate Planner Jennifer Savage
Commented that recycling has gone up substantially.
Commented that there is a multiple-city organization that is looking into implementing a ban
on plastic bags in this area of the county so that may come sooner than the Town's plan.
Commissioner John Bourgeois
Asked about OS-1 and why parks were completely removed from consideration for
community gardens.
Acting Community Development Director Todd Capurso
Commented that none of the neighborhoods have expressed an interest in taking up existing
park land for use as a community garden space.
Commissioner Marico Sayoc
Asked what is considered "significant" in the removal of significant biomass that is not
planned for in the General Plan relative to upcoming projects that are currently open space.
Joanna Jensen, Consultant
Commented that there is no significant project in the Town, but the vegetation on the North
40 site is an amount that is large enough that it could make an impact on the Town’s GHG
emissions and could show a measurable increase in emissions if that biomass was removed.
Chair Marcia Jensen
Asked about heat islands and how this relates to the North 40 area.
Joanna Jensen
Commented that the concept of a heat island has to do with the color more than replacing
vegetation with a hard surface. Black parking lots and black rooftops absorb and
reflect more heat back which creates a heat island. The concept of heat island mitigation is to
use lighter color paving and roofing materials so that the sunlight is not absorbed and
reflected back after daylight hours.
Commissioner John Bourgeois
Asked about the Target and Gap Analysis.
Asked about monitoring of state and federal measures.
Asked if the prioritization was done with the gap in mind.
Joanna Jensen
Commented that part of the reason that Target and Gap Analysis is in the Plan is in
anticipation of the Bay Area Quality Management District review. The concept is to find out
how much the Town needs to do to add to the reductions that will occur as part of the state
Planning Commission Minutes Page 8 September 26, 2012
and federal measures as opposed to the Town doing nothing at all. The gap is the difference
between the estimation of emissions in 2020 based only on state and federal changes.
Commented that the monitoring of climate action plans and GHG emission strategies is
evolving and the only future year that there is any target at the state level is 2020.
Commented that the gap is more of a benchmark than a target. The implementation schedule
is based on what is most feasible for the Town and what Town staff can achieve.
Commissioner Marico Sayoc
Asked if any cities have reported out on the Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement for 2012
and if Los Gatos is expected to report out.
Joanna Jensen
Commented that she would get back to staff regarding reporting out on that program.
Commissioner Thomas O’Donnell
Asked if there is any problem if the Town does not report out.
Joanna Jensen
Commented that there is not an explicit law that a Sustainability Plan must be adopted. The
primary mechanism by which the state or regulatory agencies are urging jurisdictions to
adopt these plans is through CEQA.
Commissioner John Bourgeois
Asked if there are items that can be pushed back to allow the ability to move some of the
items forward.
Joanna Jensen
Commented that she did not foresee any problem with changing time frames for the
measures.
Vice Chair Charles Erekson
Commented that he would like to know staff capacity before agreeing to push any items
back.
Commissioner Thomas O’Donnell
Commented that staff will need to advise the Town what it is capable of doing.
Commissioner Margaret Smith
Asked why the item to train a Sustainability Coordinator is in 2015 when the plan is being
implemented in 2012.
Associate Planner Jennifer Savage
Commented that staff can change the time frame for the Sustainability Coordinator. The
responsibilities for implementation may be shared among several staff members.
Planning Commission Minutes Page 9 September 26, 2012
Vice Chair Charles Erekson
Asked if the Sustainability Plan will stand by itself or if the measures will be incorporated in
the way staff does business.
Commissioner Thomas O’Donnell
Asked what the cost to the Town will be to implement these measures and if the Council
should know what the cost implications are and where the money is coming from.
Joanna Jensen
Commented that she hopes that many of the measures can be integrated into existing
procedures. Other measures that are dedicated to municipal operations will require personal
responsibility among Town staff members for contributing to this community wide goal. The
cost is difficult to estimate but the cost savings will outweigh the cost of installing certain
measures or adopting procedures at the Town level.
Commissioner John Bourgeois
Thanked the staff and consultants and said that the Sustainability Plan and EIR Addendum
are very good.
Motion by Commissioner John Bourgeois and seconded by Commissioner Marico Sayoc to
forward a recommendation to Town Council for adoption of the Sustainability Plan and the EIR
Addendum as noted in Exhibits 3 and 4 of staff report dated August 8, 2012, with the following
recommended changes to the implementation schedule: Measures GP-5, RE-4, WW-1 through
6, SW-8 and CA-2 moved to the 2012-2015 time frame. It is also recommended that everything
in the Green Building section receive top priority and the Water and Wastewater section receive
second priority for staffing and work planning.
Motion carried 6-0 with Commissioner Joanne Talesfore absent.
NEW OTHER BUSINESS
5. Report from Director of Community Development
a. Acting Principal Planner Joel Paulson noted that the General Plan Committee, the
Historic Preservation Committee and the Planning Commission each have one
vacancy and the deadline for submitting applications is October 8. Interviews are
scheduled for October 22.
6. Commission Matters
a. Chair Marcia Jensen noted that Commissioner Smith has requested that she be
reassigned from the Historic Preservation Committee due to a schedule conflict.
Commissioner O’Donnell has agreed to switch and go to the Historic Preservation
Committee and Commissioner Smith will switch to the Conceptual Development
Advisory Committee.
Planning Commission Minutes Page 10 September 26, 2012
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
TOWN OF LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
___________________________________________
Marcia Jensen, Chair
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND ATTEST:
_____________________________
Joel Paulson
Acting Principal Planner