Attachment 7 - Letter from the Applicant
From: Jim Foley
Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2021 4:12 PM
To: Council
Cc: Clerk ; James (Jason) Farwell ; Don Imwalle Jr.
Subject: 4 Tait Ave Rezone and General Plan Amendment - Tuesday's Agenda
Dear Madam Mayor and Honorable Town Council,
I just wanted to drop you a friendly reminder that the Zone Change and General Plan Amendment for 4
Tait Ave is on the upcoming Town Council Agenda on April 20th. This is related to the ground leases that
were approved by the prior Town Council for the restoration, re-tenanting, and management of the two
museum properties: 4 Tait Ave (the original Town Firehouse) and 75 Church St. (The Forbes Mill Annex
building). The rezoning and associated general plan amendment have been supported by Town Staff,
DRC, and Planning Commission as you can note by the recommendations for approval. This is a critical
part of the project in order to achieve the vision of the project and comply with the intent of the master
lease agreement in place for the property. We have conducted neighborhood outreach and have not
heard any concerns related to the rezoning of the property to C-2:LHP. There was some dialogue at the
Planning Commission hearing about using the site for residential uses, and specifically affordable
housing. This is not something that has been contemplated in the master lease and would be a
significant departure from a project that has taken over 4 years and a tremendous amount of effort by
us and the Town. This would not be compatible with the neighborhood, as an affordable housing project
would need to be very dense and have multiple units in order to be viable. The vison of the Town
Council was to restore and preserve the building as a piece of Los Gatos history. As such, the appropriate
zoning is C-2:LHP to be able to improve and restore the building in its current form, primarily the
interior, to accommodate a commercial use. Tait Firehouse, LLC is the private entity led by Imwalle
Properties in partnership with Pennant Properties, as the private arm of this public-private partnership
with the Town of Los Gatos. If you have any questions about this prior to the Town Council meeting
please feel free to contact me, I am available any time. We look forward to taking the next steps with
the project and restore the building to attract a first class tenant!
Thank you,
Jim Foley
Principal
(408) 813-7490
DRE # 01841825
ATTACHMENT 7
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