Presentation Dreher N40 Parking Town Council Aug 9 2016North 40
The Need for Underground Parking
Immediate benefits:
•preserving prime real estate,
•offering convenient, centrally located parking,
•removing parking structures from street
frontage
•removing added landscape density from parking
structures
•Analysis of Underground Parking Structure. Available from:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280132453_Analysis_of_Unde
rground_Parking_Structure [accessed Aug 7, 2016].
Long-term benefits include:
•A common pool of shared spaces with access to any building
above it, either residential or commercial.
•Convenience for residents who can move groceries and belongings
directly into an elevator serving their building, especially relevant
for senior citizens and for anyone in rainy, hot, or cold weather.
•More parking per square footage from greater efficiency in
parking layouts.
•Elimination of the need for condominium owners to purchase
designated parking spaces.
•Encouragement of car sharing with programs such as Zipcar.
http://urbanland.uli.org/economy-markets-trends/multiblock-
underground-shared-parking/
Supports our Specific Plan:
Creating more open space: section 2.5.3: open
space goals and policies, section 2, page 11:
“Goal: to integrate an interconnected system of
open spaces, parks, and plazas within the
Specific Plan area.”
2.5.4: open space standards; section 2, page 12;
“grass or landscaped areas,” not simply “trees
planted in tree wells.”
Supports our Specific Plan:
•Reducing building density: to “ensure
compatibility with the surrounding
neighborhoods and Los Gatos’ small town
character”: Land use and development standards:
section 2.5.1; see also maximum development
capacity, section 2, page 10; building height:
2.5.2. building height, section 2, page 11.
•Minimizing impact of parking: “The physical and
visual impact of parking should be minimized”:
section 3.2.3, page 3-5.
Supports our Specific Plan:
•Enhancing hillside views, allowing for re-
orienting of buildings: Vision statement, “The
North 40 will embrace hillside views and open
space,”page 1-1.
Supports our Specific Plan:
•Enabling the North 40 to “look and feel like
Los Gatos.”: Vision Statement , page 1-1;
•“Create the character of an authentic
neighborhood rather than a typical
development project.” Land Use and
Development Standards, section 2.7.3, page 2-
25.
Underground parking can support:
Aventino, Los Gatos
•More open space
•Less congestion
•More balanced
development
•The small town character of
Los Gatos