Staff Report.General Plan Joint Study Session
PREPARED BY: Jennifer Armer, AICP
Interim Planning Manager
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Attorney, and Finance Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● (408) 354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
STUDY SESSION AGENDA
MEETING DATE: 09/20/2021 ITEM NO: 1
DATE: September 16, 2021
TO: Mayor, Town Council, and Planning Commission
FROM: Laurel Prevetti, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Joint Town Council and Planning Commission Study Session regarding the
Draft 2040 General Plan
RECOMMENDATION:
Discuss the Draft 2040 General Plan.
BACKGROUND:
On February 6, 2018, Town Council began the process of updating the 2020 General Plan with a
discussion of the scope and process for the General Plan update. At that meeting, the Town
Council indicated that the General Plan is serving the community well, and an update provides
the opportunity to refine the General Plan, address emerging trends and recent State laws, and
consider new issues.
Over the following three and a half years, the General Plan update process has included
multiple community engagement opportunities, meetings with the Planning Commission and
Town Council, and the following key milestones:
• On April 17, 2018, the Town Council established the General Plan Update Advisory
Committee (GPAC) and identified initial guiding principles to support their work.
• On July 9, 2018, after approval by the Town Council, the Town Manager executed an
agreement with Mintier Harnish Planning consultants for preparation of the General Plan
update and Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
• On October 30, 2018, the GPAC held its first meeting.
• On March 15, 2019, the Background Report (available online here:
http://losgatos2040.com/documents.html) was released.
• On June 20, 2019, the GPAC reviewed the Issues, Opportunities, and Constraints Report
(available online here: http://losgatos2040.com/documents.html).
PAGE 2 OF 9 SUBJECT: Draft 2040 General Plan DATE: September 16, 2021
BACKGROUND (continued):
• On August 20, 2019, the Town Council adopted the General Plan Vision and Guiding
Principles (available online here: http://losgatos2040.com/documents.html).
• In December 2019, the Land Use Alternatives Report (available online here:
http://losgatos2040.com/documents.html) was released.
• On March 3, 2020, the GPAC started review and discussion of the initial drafts of individual
elements of the General Plan.
• On April 7, 2020, the Town Council approved the Preferred Land Use Alternatives
Framework (available online here: http://losgatos2040.com/documents.html).
• On May 6, 2021, the GPAC recommended approval of the Draft 2040 General Plan (available
online here: http://losgatos2040.com/documents.html).
• On June 18, 2021, the Draft 2040 General Plan was released for public review.
• On July 31, 2021, the Draft EIR (available online here:
http://losgatos2040.com/documents.html) was released for public review. The public
comment period ended on September 13, 2021.
Over the course of two and a half years and 35 meetings, the GPAC has worked with staff and
the consultant to create an updated General Plan. The GPAC reviewed each General Plan
Element to ensure a forward-looking document that is consistent and accessible. Each Element
was considered over multiple meetings (between two and five GPAC meetings per Element)
with the GPAC providing comments to staff and the consultant, and then further review and
direction on the implementation of those comments in a revised draft of each Element. The
Draft 2040 General Plan (Attachment 1, previously provided) is the result of this extensive work
and outreach.
Additional outreach activities conducted throughout the process have included social media
posts, online engagement activities, newsletters, two in-person community workshops,
numerous in-person and online community meetings, informational booths at the farmers
market, the library, Spring into Green, and Music in the Park.
DISCUSSION:
The joint study session is intended for a discussion by the Town Council and Planning
Commission before the formal hearings for consideration, recommendation, and final decision
on the 2040 General Plan and EIR.
A. GPAC Recommendation
After the thorough work described above, on May 6, 2021, the GPAC recommended
approval of the Draft 2040 General Plan. The discussion at this meeting also included a
recommendation for some modifications to the Vision and Guiding Principles to better
PAGE 3 OF 9 SUBJECT: Draft 2040 General Plan DATE: September 16, 2021
DISCUSSION (continued):
reflect the direction developed over the previous years’ work. These changes are shown in
Attachment 2 and summarized here:
• Revise the Vision for added clarity and add a sentence about racial, social, and
environmental justice;
• Delete “downtown” from the Community Vitality Guiding Principle so that it applies
throughout Town;
• Add a new Guiding Principle titled “Connectivity” to state the importance of connecting
all facets of the Town to build a strong sense of community through building design,
walkability, and safe streets;
• Delete “the Town’s” from the Fiscal Stability/Responsibility Guiding Principles; and
• Replace the word “Recognize” with the word “Value” in the Inclusivity Guiding Principle.
B. Summary of Proposed Changes
Through the General Plan update process, the GPAC has refined the goals of the update
based on direction from Town Council at the start and at key points throughout the process.
The initial direction from Town Council was that the 2020 General Plan was serving the
Town well, and this update provides the opportunity for the Town to refine the General
Plan, address emerging trends and recent State laws, and consider new issues. The work
that was done to fulfill this direction and provide opportunities for the approximately 2,000
residential units that were expected to be required by Regional Housing Needs Allocation
(RHNA), and the need for inclusivity that came to the forefront in 2020, lead to updates
within every Element of the General Plan. The most substantial changes are:
• A new Racial, Social and Environmental Justice Element;
• Increased housing opportunities for mixed-use developments in commercial areas and
missing middle housing in neighborhoods with design requirements;
• New Community Commercial land use designation;
• New Community Place Districts to provide more objective design standards and focus
on community form for all development;
• Shift in focus of transportation policies to street design, connectivity, and mobility for all
users (bicycles, pedestrians, vehicles, etc.) to reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled;
• New goals in the Environment and Sustainability Element; and
• Expanded policies to prepare for wildfire, climate change, and community health
threats.
The increased housing opportunities are provided through changes in the maximum
allowed densities and heights. The increases to the maximum allowed residential density
are seen in most areas, excluding the hillsides, with a focus on the commercial, mixed-use,
PAGE 4 OF 9 SUBJECT: Draft 2040 General Plan DATE: September 16, 2021
DISCUSSION (continued):
and medium/high density residential designations. This coincides with the location of the
Community Place Districts, where the Plan also includes new design standards. The next
section discusses the housing numbers in greater detail. The following table depicts the
changes in density and height for all land use designations:
Density Range (du/ac) Maximum Height
Land Use Designations
Existing
General Plan
Draft
General Plan
Existing
General Plan
Draft
General Plan
Hillside Residential 0 to 1 0 to 1 30 25
Low Density Residential 0 to 5 1 to 12 30 30
Medium Density Residential 5 to 12 14 to 24 30 35
High Density Residential 12 to 20 30 to 40 30 45
Mixed-Use NA 30 to 40 35 45
Neighborhood Commercial NA 10 to 20 35 35
Community Commercial NA 20 to 30 35 45
Central Business District NA 20 to 30 45 45
Office Professional NA 30 to 40 35 35
Service Commercial NA 20 to 30 35 35
Light Industrial NA None 35 35
Public NA None NA 35
Open Space NA None NA 30
Agriculture NA 0 to 1 NA 30
Albright Specific Plan
See
Specific Plan
No
Change
See
Specific Plan
No
Change
North Forty Specific Plan
See
Specific Plan
No
Change
See
Specific Plan
No
Change
C. Housing Units
As described above, the modifications included in the Draft 2040 General Plan include
increases to the maximum allowed residential density in most areas, excluding the hillsides,
and with a focus on the commercial, mixed-use, and medium/high density residential
designations. Throughout the process there has been an understanding that the updated
General Plan would need to have sufficient capacity to allow, at a minimum, the Housing
Element update to provide at least 2,000 dwelling units through vacant parcels,
redevelopment capacity, and new programs. While the Housing Element update is
conducted in a separate process from the General Plan update, and on an 8-year cycle
rather than the General Plan’s 20-year cycle, the regulations and policies in the General Plan
PAGE 5 OF 9 SUBJECT: Draft 2040 General Plan DATE: September 16, 2021
DISCUSSION (continued):
need to be consistent with the changes that will be needed to complete the Housing
Element to accommodate the Town’s RHNA.
The Town anticipated a high RHNA number of approximately 2,000 units for the next
Housing Element cycle and the Town Council approved a Preferred Land Use Alternative
Framework to accommodate the RHNA for the next Housing Element cycle. The following
list lays out how the housing numbers evolved through the General Plan update process:
• Land Use Alternative C in the Land Use Alternatives Report (available online here:
http://losgatos2040.com/documents.html): 2,303 housing units including Accessory
Dwelling Units (ADUs).
• GPAC Recommended Preferred Alternative: 2,464 housing units including ADUs and
downtown.
• Town Council adopted Preferred Land Use Alternative Framework: 2,464 housing units
including ADUs and downtown.
• Staff and the consultant developed an implementation of the Framework: 2,950 housing
units. This approximately 400-unit increase is primarily a result of an increase in the
assumed typical density for the Mixed-Use Designation (previously 26 dwelling units per
acre, currently proposed 36 dwelling units per acre), and inclusion of a new Community
Commercial land use designation so that Neighborhood Commercial designated
shopping centers like Pollard and Harwood could remain at a lower height and density.
• GPAC added 313 housing units to Office Professional and Service Commercial: 3,263
housing units.
• With the 475 existing/previously approved projects included: 3,738 housing units as
shown in the General Plan Buildout table in the Draft 2040 General Plan.
Staff has prepared the following table to present the information from the General Plan
Buildout Table (Table 3-1 in the Land Use Element of the Draft 2040 General Plan) along
with comparable information from the existing 2020 General Plan. Please note that Table
3-1 in the Draft 2040 General Plan represented changes to density and did not include the
Hillside Residential units on vacant land. The table below includes those units and staff will
be working with the consultants to clarify this in the Draft 2040 General Plan.
PAGE 6 OF 9 SUBJECT: Draft 2040 General Plan DATE: September 16, 2021
DISCUSSION (continued):
Land Use
Designation
Density Range
(du/ac)
Typical Density
(du/ac) Assumed
Redevelop-
ment
(Redev)
Existing
General Plan
Draft
General Plan
Existing
General
Plan
Draft
General
Plan
Existing
General
Plan
Draft
General
Plan
New
Housing
(Vacant
Land)
New
Housing
(Redev)
New
Housing
(Vacant
Land)
New
Housing
(Redev)
Hillside
Residential 0 to 1 0 to 1 1 1 0% 116 - 166 -
Low Density
Residential 0 to 5 1 to 12 4 12 5%
75
13
283
84
Medium
Density
Residential 5 to 12 14 to 24 10 20 10%
107
133
224
343
High Density
Residential 12 to 20 30 to 40 18 36 15%
53
111
110
268
Neighborhood
Commercial 10 to 20 10 to 20 16 18 10%
11
39
26
91
Community
Commercial 0 20 to 30 0 26 15% - -
156
Mixed-Use 10 to 20 30 to 40 16 36 20%
55
242
126
605
Central
Business District 10 to 20 20 to 30 16 26 15% 12 46 21 113
Office
Professional 0 30 to 40 0 36 15%
-
4
255
Service
Commercial 0 20 to 30 0 26 15%
-
10
44
Subtotal
429
584
970
1,959
Housing Units, New and
Redeveloped
1,013
2,929
Housing Units,
ADUs
500
500
Subtotal
1,513
3,429
Housing Units, Existing
Projects
475
475
TOTAL
1,988
3,904
PAGE 7 OF 9 SUBJECT: Draft 2040 General Plan DATE: September 16, 2021
DISCUSSION (continued):
The State is requiring jurisdictions to plan for housing and the GPAC, Planning Commission,
and Town Council have chosen to do so on our terms through Goals and Policies in the
Community Design Element of the General Plan. Additionally, the Town has begun an effort
to create Objective Standards to provide additional requirements for new development to
address the character of the Town. Planning for these State mandates provides the Town
more control than if the General Plan did not to plan for them. However, as can be seen in
the Housing Element Annual Progress Report (Attachment 3), the planned housing units do
not always get built. A table showing the full RHNA allocation for all jurisdictions within
Santa Clara County is available as Attachment 4.
Many jurisdictions have appealed their RHNA allocations. The Town did not choose to file
an appeal. Appeals are nearly always unsuccessful absent unique extenuating
circumstances. For example, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is
on a slightly different Housing Element cycle than the Bay Area and they have already
concluded their appeals process which resulted in two jurisdictions receiving reductions in
their RHNA of the 47 jurisdictions that filed appeals. Appeals also often provide false hope
to residents that there will be a significant reduction in their RHNA as evidenced by the
SCAG appeal process.
D. Public Outreach
As described in the background section of this report, in addition to the 35 public meetings
held by the GPAC, the General Plan update process also included extensive public outreach.
Since the GPAC’s final meeting on May 6, 2021, the Town has received public comments on
the Draft 2040 General Plan, which are included as Attachment 5. Many of the public
comments include concerns about the potential impact of the new housing that would be
allowed under the Draft 2040 General Plan. As described under Environmental Assessment
Section below, the Draft EIR has been prepared and includes analysis of many of the
subjects of concern mentioned in the public comments including utilities, wildfires, and
transportation.
COORDINATION:
This report has been coordinated with the Town Manager’s Office and Town Attorney’s Office.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
A Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) analyzed the Draft 2040 General Plan as required
under State law. The Draft EIR evaluated a wide range of topics as listed on the next page.
PAGE 8 OF 9 SUBJECT: Draft 2040 General Plan DATE: September 16, 2021
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (continued):
• Aesthetics;
• Agriculture and Forest Resources;
• Air Quality;
• Biological Resources;
• Cultural and Tribal Cultural Resources;
• Energy;
• Geology and Soils;
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions;
• Hazards and Hazardous Materials;
• Hydrology and Water Quality;
• Land Use and Planning;
• Noise;
• Population and Housing;
• Public Services and Recreation;
• Transportation;
• Utilities and Service Systems; and
• Wildfire.
The Draft EIR found that the Draft 2040 General Plan would have the potential to cause
significant and unavoidable impacts with Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Transportation. For a
community without high quality public transit, it is common for there to be significant
unavoidable impacts in the areas of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Transportation. The Draft
EIR does show that while these emissions and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) would increase
under the proposed Plan, the focus on infill development helps reduce the per person emission
and VMT.
The public, government agencies, and other organizations were given 45 days to comment on
the environmental document. A Final EIR is currently being prepared with responses to
comments received on the Draft EIR.
CONCLUSION:
The GPAC recommended Draft 2040 General Plan includes changes and updates, including
increases in housing capacity to meet State requirements. To ensure that this is accomplished,
there are multiple factors beyond the 1,993 housing units required by RHNA. These factors
include a State Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) recommendation for
an additional 20 to 30 percent buffer in the number of housing units. It is also a best practice
that a General Plan should have capacity for multiple different methods for meeting the Town’s
RHNA in recognition of the fact that HCD may not certify a Housing Element if it disagrees with
the assumptions, housing sites, or programs. A certified Housing Element is essential for the
PAGE 9 OF 9 SUBJECT: Draft 2040 General Plan DATE: September 16, 2021
CONCLUSION (continued):
Town to receive State infrastructure dollars. The GPAC completed its work on the Draft 2040
General Plan by listening to the community and Town Council and by identifying goals, policies,
and action items to protect the special character of Los Gatos, meet emerging needs, and plan
proactively for State requirements.
Staff looks forward to additional public input and the Town Council and Planning Commission
discussion regarding the Draft 2040 General Plan.
NEXT STEPS:
The next steps in the General Plan update process include:
• Community Meeting via teleconference at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 6, 2021.
• Planning Commission review and recommendation on the Draft 2040 General Plan and
Final EIR, pending completion of the responses to the EIR comments.
• Town Council consideration of the Draft 2040 General Plan and Final EIR.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachments previously provided:
1. Draft 2040 General Plan (available online here: http://losgatos2040.com/documents.html)
Attachments received with this report:
2. GPAC Recommended Changes to the Vision and Guiding Principles
3. Housing Element Annual Progress Report
4. Santa Clara County RHNA Allocations
5. Public Comments received by 11:00 a.m. on September 16, 2021