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17 Desk Item - 347 Massol Avenue~pW H OF ios>~ 05 COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT MEETING DATE: 12/15/08 ITEM NO: DESK ITEM DATE: December 15, 2008 TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL FROM: GREG LARSON, TOWN MANAGER ORRY P. KORB, TOWN ATTORNEY SUBJECT: ADOPT PLANNED DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE MAKING A ZONE CHANGE FROM RM:5-12 TO RM:12-20:PD FOR A FIFTY-SIX LOT RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISION TO CONVERT THE, EXISTING APARTMENTS TO CONDOMINIUMS AT 347 MASSOL AVENUE (APN 510-14-004) (BAY TREE APARTMENTS) 12FN/1A RKC" The attached information (Attachments 18-20) was received after the report on this matter was finalized. Additionally, staff prepared information regarding process alternatives for the Council's consideration (Attaclunent 21). A ttnchrnr _ntc- 1-17. Previously Submitted 18. Correspondence received December 12, 2008 from Linda Rodriguez (2 pages) 19. Correspondence received December 11, 2008 from Carla de Mos and William Kaschub(6 pages) 20. Correspondence received December 15, 2008 from Willim-n Kaschub (2 pages) 21. Process alternatives prepared by staff (2 pages) PREPARED BY IL BUD N. LORTZ COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR N:IDEVICNCLlU "I'512 0 0 813 4 7M~ssol3Desk.doc Reviewed by: Town Manager V63 j Clerk Administrator Finance Community Development Page 1 of 2 Joel Paulson - The Bay Tree Condominium Conversion What's Not To Like? From: "Linda Rodriguez" <Irodrlgu Cl apr.corn> To: <JPaulson r@losgatosca.gov> Date: 12/12/2008 12:54 PM Subject: The Bay Tree Condominium Conversion What's Not To Like? Dear Mr. Pa ulson, Belo w is an editorial le tter regarding th e con version of th e Bay Tree Apartments to Condominiums. I am requesting that this letter be included In the package thatgoes before the Council prior to next Monday evening's vote on Bay Tree conversion approval. Thankyou. Linda S. Rodriguez The proposal to allow the conversion of rental apartments to ownership condominiums of The Bay Tree is expected to come before the Los Gatos Town Council for final approval within the next month after a lengthy three year process. My question regarding the conversion is "What's not to like?". Start with a fifty year old 56 unit complex on Massol in the historic Almond Grove District that was built strictly according to town code as it existed then when only one parking space per unit was required and no one had even heard of energy efficiency standards. While the apartments were well built and large, the architecture was not at all in keeping with the surrounding homes. This was typical of attempts to "modernize" Los Gatos during the 1950's and 60's. Today the complex is very dated and completely out of place with the lovely homes in the surrounding Almond Grove. The owners of The Bay Tree have committed to a massive and multi-million dollar upgrade of the complex as part of the conversion process. First, each unit will undergo extensive remodeling. Next, Gaiy Schloh, perhaps Los Gatos most respected architect specializing in historic preservation, has designed an entire new facade to make the complex slated to be renamed The Almond Grove much, much more compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. Additionally, the owners will work with the town to inaximize energy efficiency of the units. Another huge plus for surrounding homeowners is that onsite parking will be nearly doubled. Renter turnover at The Bay Tree averages about 50% per year and all but 16 units are occupied by people who signed a letter of understanding that a conversion process was underway. All residents will receive a special package of benefits if a conversion occurs; and the 16 residents who have been there longer than three years will receive especially generous consideration, most notably the seniors, All residents are also expected to have a minfinuun of a year's notice prior to conversion. Every resident will also be offered an opportunity to buy the unlit of their choice at a significant discount before the homes become available for sale to the general public. The best benefit of all, however, is for the fitture owners of The Almond Grove who will be able to enjoy all the benefits of Dome ownership at a price expected to be on average hall' or less the cost of surrounding single family homes. Unfortunately they are not able to speak for themselves at this point, but if we fast forward ten years, each and every one would happily attest to the fact that they are able to enjoy permanent fixed monthly mortgage payments with no risk of rent increases, long term appreciation and all the tax benefits of ownership. These owners are expected to be "move down" seniors and "empty nesters" from the surrounding neighborhoods, many of whom would be able to transfer their Prop. 13 exemptions at a key point in their lives. The remaining buyers are expected to be Attachment 18 f leMADocuments and Settingsljpaulson. LOSGATOSCA1Local SettingslTemplXPgrpw... 12/15/2008 Page 2 of 2 first time home owners, also from Los Gatos. At present, there are virtually no homes available in this relative price range, especially for residents who want to be able to walk to shopping, restaurants and downtown activities. Now contrast this to the alternative. The Bay Tree stays the way it has been since the 1950's with inappropriate architecture, existing parking, energy inefficient units, and a renter population where moving trucks pull up several tines a month on average. Who would want to deny this unique home ownership opportunity to fellow Los Gatos seniors and first time buyers? Who would not rather live in a neighborhood enjoying the stability of home ownership? Who would not like to see millions of dollars spent on improving an aging and under parked complex? In short, what's not to like? Signed here by Linda Rodriguez Linda S. Rodriguez Linda Rodriguez Alain Pinel Realtors 750 University Avenue, Sane 150 Los Gatos, CA 95032 Direct: 408.357.8761 Cell: 408.234.6083 file:HCADoctuncnts and Settingsljpaulson.LOSGATOSCA1Local SeftingslTemp\XPgrpw... 12/15/2008 TO: TOWN COUNCIL, TOWN OF LOS GATOS RE: 347 Massol Ave (BAY TREEE) ATTENTION: JOEL PAULSON When I filed new submissions last week for tonight's Town Council Meeting, I did not include that of Carla de Mos, a renter from in Bay Tree. It was a mistake. Please do your best to put the enclosed copies before Town Council members before the meeting tonight, as she will be speaking. I have enclosed extras as I believe you require some for your files or distribution. I know this is an inconvenience for Town Council members and apologize for the mistake. Thanks, Wil ' J. Kaschub Attachment 19 To: Los Gatos Town Council From: Carla de Mos Subject: Concerns regarding the treatment of tenants prior to and during the proposed conversion of the Bay Tree apartments to condominiums Date: December 10, 2008 Dear Los Gatos Town Council, I am opposed to the conversion and after having read Lyon's latest "Proposal Highlights" dated December 4, 2008, 1 am deeply concerned about the future treatment of the tenants of the Bay Tree if the proposed condominium conversion is accepted. First, the treatment of the "Special Circumstance Senior Citizens" needs to be clarified and made official. What exactly are they being offered? Do they get to stay in the unit in which they now live and call home or will they be shifted into less desirable units? At what rate will their rent be increased? Will Lyon be able to add pass-through costs? No one will protect these people unless the Town Council does. Secondly there is no information as to how all the tenants that fall under the "Hardship Category" will be treated prior to and during the conversion. After experiencing major inconvenience in the past due to construction, many will not want to wait until construction begins again, and they should not be penalized for moving early. The proposed moving benefits should come into action immediately upon final approval from the Town Council and/or the Planning Commission. How will tenants be treated while everything around them is under construction? Lyon is proposing to put in double windows, a big job as the entire front of the apartments are windows. Will Lyon provide hotel stays or relocation costs during large projects? What about the tenants of the apartments on the street side where Lyon is proposing to update the exterior of the building? What about rental increases? Is Lyon allowed to continue to raise the rent during this time or add more pass-through costs? We currently have an issue with Lyon for adding pass-through costs to various tenants' rents with out being able to justify them. (Are we helping pay for the conversion?) Past experience has proven that Project Sentinel is ineffective in obtaining the documentation necessary to draw conclusions as to whether or not pass-through costs are justified, so tenants need security in these matters. For reference, I have attached relevant parts of Palo Alto's Municipal code. Sincerely, Carla de Mos 347 Massol Av. Apt. 207 Los Gatos (408) 395-2506. Chapter 21.40 CONVERSIONS OF RENTAL HOUSING TO CONDOMINIUMS AND OTHER COMMUNITY HOUSING PROJECTS 21.40.060 Approval of a map for conversion. (D) Extension of Leases. Tenants in the proposed community housing project on the date of recordation of the final map for said proj ect have been provided assurances that they will have the opportunity to remain in their respective rental units after conversion as tenants under extended leases. Such extended leases shall be subject to the following provisions: (i) Any tenant who has reached or will reach the age of sixty years at the end of the calendar year in which that tenant's unit is offered for sale shall be offered a lifetime lease to his or her rental unit. (ii) Any tenant who does not qualify for a lifetime lease pursuant to subsection (a)(1)(13)(i) above shall be offered a ten-year lease to his or her rental unit. (iii) Any lease(s) offered pursuant to subsections (a)(1)(D)(i) or (ii) above must: a. Be circulated to all tenants at least sixty days before the consent forms are required to be returned to the applicant for conversion, if the applicant for conversion procures tenant consents pursuant to Section 21.40.050(b)(2) above; b. Restrict the rent on each unit to the monthly rent charged two years prior to the date the conversion application is received by the city, with increases in the monthly rent for each ensuing year after such date not to exceed seventy-five percent of the preceding years increase in the Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco Bay Area for All Urban Consumers (all items), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor, or any other standard recognized cost-of-living index which is published by the United States Government in lieu of the index; c. Be subject to any "just cause" eviction ordinance adopted by the city; d. Not be subordinated to the CC & R's adopted by the community housing project with regard to tenants' rights and tenants' financial obligations or other liabilities; office. Be recorded by the applicant for conversion in the Santa Clara County recorder's (iv) The applicant for conversion, upon the request of the tenants of at least one- third of all the rental units, must pay the standard hourly fees for an attorney selected by those tenants to represent them in negotiating the terms of the lease(s) offered pursuant to subsections (a)(1)(D)(i) and/or (ii) above, provided that such expenses may not exceed the fees for more than forty hours. (v) The city's rental housing mediation task: force shall be available to mediate any disputes arising from any lease(s) offered pursuant to subsections (a)(1)(D)(i) or (ii) above. (vi) In the event that a tenant or tenants in a unit held by the city or its designee as below-market-rate rental housing pursuant to Section 21.40.050(b) is eligible to receive any available rental-housing assistance payments, such tenant or tenants may choose to enter into a lease providing for such rental-housing assistance payments in lieu of the extended lease required by this section. (E) Termination of Tenancy by Developer. Each of the tenants of the proposed community housing project who does not choose to purchase his or her respective rental unit or does not choose to enter into an extended lease pursuant to Section 21.40.060(a)(1)(D) above must have been given one hundred eighty days' written notice of intention to convert prior to termination of tenancy due to the conversion or proposed conversion. The provisions of this subsection shall not deter or abridge the rights or obligations of the parties in performance of their covenants, including but not limited to the provision of services, payment of rent, or the obligations imposed by Sections 1941, 1941.1 and 1941.2 of the Civil Code. (F) Termination of Tenancy by Tenant. The applicant for conversion shall permit a tenant to terminate any lease or rental agreement without any penalty whatsoever after notice has been given of the intention to convert the tenant's rental unit to a community housing project in accordance with Section 21.40.060(a)(1)(B) above, if such tenant notifies the applicant for conversion in writing thirty days in advance of such termination. Such right to terminate shall expire if the application for conversion is denied. (H) Remodeling. Repairs and/or remodeling proposed to be made in connection with the conversion shall not be performed without the tenant's consent during the ninety- day period from the date of issuance of the DRE report. If repairs and/or remodeling of the unit require the tenant's temporary relocation, the applicant for conversion must assume all moving costs and rent for comparable replacement housing for the tenant who is displaced on a temporary basis. Page 1 of 2 William J Kaschub From: Joel Paulson [JPaulson@losgatosca.gov] Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 3:11 PM To: William J Kaschub Subject: Re: FW: Subject Bay Tree Bill - I would suggest one or both of the following: 1. Modify the letter you dropped off today and drop a new copy off by 4:30; and/or 2. Revisit your request during public testimony on Monday night. (General note for your information: All Town of Los Gatos staff have new email addresses. All Town email addresses ending with "@townJos- gatos.ca.us" will now end with "@losgatosca.gov", my new email address is as listed in the "from" field of this email.) Joel Paulson, AICP Associate Planner Town of Los Gatos (408) 354-6879 "William J Kaschub" <wjkaschu b@comcast. net> 12/11/2008 3:02 PM Sorry, we asked for three years of owner occupancy in the interest of providing stability in governance.---Bill From: William J Kaschub [mailto:wjkaschub@comcast.net] Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 2:57 PM To: 'Joel Paulson' Subject: RE: Subject Bay Tree Whar about the request made earlier re: owner occupancy for a period of one year? It never got to and up-or- down vote. 1 guess that was an oversight.---Bill. From: Joel Paulson [mailto:]Paulson@losgatosca.gov] Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 2:46 PM To: Wilfrid Houde Cc: Bill Kaschub Subject: Re: Subject Bay Tree 12/12/2008 Page 2 of 2 Wil - We are aware of the requested exceptions. The Council has the purview to allow for exceptions to Town Code requirements of this nature and to date have not expressed an unwillingness to consider these requests. (General note for your information: All Town of Los Gatos staff have new email addresses. All Town email addresses ending with "@town.los- gatos.ca.us" will now end with "@iosgatosca.gov", my new email address is as listed in the "from" field of this email.) Joel Paulson, AICP Associate Planner Town of Los Gatos (408) 354-6879 Wilfrid Houde <wi11937@comcast.net> 12/10/2008 2:26 PM Hello Joel, Thanks for the quick response on the parking plan. It seems to me that we still have a "bogus" plan that does not comply with the development standards under 29.10.155. The discrepancies are as follows; Parking spaces marked (A) and (B) (Tandem) are listed as 17 feet in length when when the code says "Standard spaces shall be at least eight (8) feet six (6) inches by eighteen (18) feet" Also Driveways: (4) Driveways which serve more than twenty-five (25) parking spaces shall be at least twelve (12) feet wide if they provide either ingress or egress only, and not less than twenty-two (22) feet wide if they provide both ingress and egress. There are 31 parking spaces served by this driveway. These driveways are marked as 20 feet , two feet short of required and actually would be 4 feet short of required if the parking spaces were to code. Why are we allowing this? Sincerely, Wil Houde 12/12/2008 TO: TOWN COUNCIL, TOWN OF LOS GATOS RE: 317 MASSOL AVE. (BAY TREE) ATTENTION: JOEL PAULSON SUBJECT: Consultant, Dec. 15, Meeting We have retained a consultant who has examined the parking proposal submitted by Lyon for Bay Tree. He will speak tonight on the results of his examination. By way of this letter, I am requesting that he be allowed some time in excess of the minutes allowed for regular participants. I suggest 8 minutes which is less than the developer gets, but enough so he will not be rushing through his examination and conclusions. I am submitting this request in the interest of saving time tonight. Also included is a summary of his background that should avoid "qualifying" him before he begins. Thank you for your consideration, eKaschub ATTACUMNT 20 Victor Mendez 1027 Mallard Ridge Ct. San Jose, CA 95120 (408) 997-7420 DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT 2005 - Present Initial consultation with customer involving highest and beset use of property. Develop appropriate land use alternatives. Coordinate preparation of plans, applications and/or revisions as needed with subcontractors. Submit planning packet to City for review and approval. Respond to City/Community concerns. Present project to Planning Director, Planning Commission and or City Council, for action. Coordinate with subcontractors in preparation of building Permit application and or revisions. CITY PLANNER City of San Jose, San Jose, CA 1978 - 2005 Planning and Building Department Liaison. Extensive development review experience. Processed most planning and development permits. Public information Services. Worked closely with development community and property-owners. Presentation to Planning Director, Planning Commission, City Council and Community groups. PLANNING ASSISTANT City of Mountain View, CA 1977 Revised the Transportation Element of the General Plan. Developed land-use, population and employment projections. Prepared goals, policies and objectives for various community groups. Prepared Advance Planning and transportation studies. Processed minor permits. COORDINATOR Enumeration Task Force, San Jose, CA 1975-1976 Organized and recruited staff. Researched, collected data. Developed goals and objectives for community group. Prepared and submitted funding proposal. Supervised all operations. ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN MB Associates, Information Systems 1974 ELECTRONIC NAVIGATION SYSTEMS TECHNICIAN United States Air Force 1969-1972 EDUCATION Master's Degree, Urban Planning. San Jose State University 1975-1977 BA Environmental Studies, San Jose State University 1973-1975 BAY TREE PROCESS ALTERNATIVES The Town Attorney prepared an Addendum which proposes to modify the language of Condition 113 regarding BMP twits. The modified condition included the following language: • Prior to the recording the final subdivision map, the Town Council must approve amendments to the Town BMP Guidelines consistent with the applicant's Relocation Assistance Plan. • Prior to the recording the final subdivision map, the applicant and Town shall enter into an agreement(s) as deemed necessary and in a form approved by the Town Attorney, with covenant's that secure the applicant's obligation to provide the BMP units. The Town Manager is hereby authorized to approve said agreement on behalf of the Town. The applicant shall be responsible for any legal costs that may be incurred by the Town in the preparation and approval of these amendments and agreement(s) The Council has the following options to address the Town Attorney's concerns: 1. Direct modification of Condition 93 of the Plaimed. Development Ordinance and schedule the item for final approval at the next Council meeting; or 2. Provide direction to the Director Of' Community Development to address the Town Attorney's concerns in the approval of the Tenant Relocation Assistance Services Program prior to the recordation of the final subdivision map. This would include an agreement with the applicant securing the obligation to allow the Special Circumstance Seniors to remain as tenants after conversion. Additionally, the following items will be addressed (See italicized statements for timing) if the Planned Development Ordinance is adopted: • Parking - The CCR's shall include language clearly stating that the owner(s) of two bedroom units are permitted a maximum of two vehicles and owner(s) of the one bedroom units are permitted a maximum of one vehicle; and/or A Deed Restriction shall be required for all units clearly stating that owner(s) of two bedroom units are permitted a maximum of two vehicles and owner(s) of one bedroom units are permitted a maximum of one vehicle. These items ivill be addressed by the Comin nnily Development Director prior to the approval oj'the final Residential Parking Allocation Plan. • 13MP Units - Direct staff to prepare amendments to the I3MP Guidelines as outlined below that may allow the five Units with SCS to continue to live at Bay `free as owners or tenants: ATTACffiMKNT 21 Grant SCS who reside in the project extra ranking points to help theirs qualify to purchase Bay Tree BMP units (essentially create a first right of refusal opportunity) Direct staff to prepare amendments to the BMP Guidelines as outlined below that will allow the five units with SCS to continue to live at Bay Tree as tenants: Require the applicant to delay the sale of any of the live routs occupied by the SCS until they voluntarily vacate their units. The rent will be fixed at the rate the tenant(s) is currently paying with an annual increase consistent with cost of living (CPI). When the units are voluntarily vacated they will become part of the BMP program and sold in accordance with the BMP Guidelines. These items ivill he addressed by agreement ivith the applicant prior to (lie approval by the Community Development Director of the final Tenant Relocation Assistance Services Program, • Title 24 - Requirement to install double pane windows. This item ivill he addressed prior to the approval of'the Architecture and Site application for the exterior facade irnprovernents. N:1DEVIJOELITCIBay 'hrec\OrdinanceModification2.doe