M08-16-16
Town Council Meeting 09/01/16
Item #3
MINUTES OF THE TOWN COUNCIL/PARKING AUTHORITY MEETING
AUGUST 16, 2016
The Town Council of the Town of Los Gatos conducted a Special Meeting on Tuesday,
August 16, 2016, to hold a Closed Session at 6:00 p.m. and a Regular Meeting at 7:00
p.m.
CLOSED SESSION – 6:00 P.M.
CS-1 CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATOR (Government Code
Section 54956.8)
Property: 75 Church St. (Forbes Mill) (APN: 529-54-050)
Negotiating Parties: Town of Los Gatos
(Negotiator: Matt Morley, PPW Director) Potential Buyers and/or Tenants
Negotiations: Price and terms of potential sale or lease
Property: 4 Tait Avenue (Museum) (APN: 510-44-054)
Negotiating Parties: Town of Los Gatos
(Negotiator: Matt Morley, PPW Director) Potential Buyers and/or Tenants
Negotiations: Price and terms of potential sale or lease.
Property: 14850 Winchester Avenue (APN: 424-31-055)
Negotiating Parties: Town of Los Gatos
(Negotiator: Matt Morley, PPW Director) Potential Buyers and/or Tenants
Negotiations: Price and terms of potential sale or lease.
Property: 4 New York Avenue (Venue) (APN: 529 -27 -024)
Negotiating Parties: Town of Los Gatos
(Negotiator: Laurel Prevetti, Town Manager) KCAT (Negotiator: Melissa Toran)
Negotiations: Price and terms of lease.
Property: 20 Dittos Lane (APN: 529-29-034)
Negotiating parties: Town of Los Gatos
(Negotiator: Matt Morley, PPW Director) Potential Buyers and/or Tenants
Negotiations: Price and terms of potential sale or payment of lease
MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AT 7:00 P.M.
ROLL CALL
Present: Mayor Barbara Spector, Vice Mayor Marico Sayoc, Council Member Marcia
Jensen, Council Member Steve Leonardis, Council Member Rob Rennie.
Absent: None
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Annalisa Wales led the Pledge of Allegiance. The audience was invited to participate.
PRESENTATIONS
Mayor Spector presented a Small Business, Big Applause Commendation to Valerie
Speno of Nailworks. Ms. Speno and her son, Joseph, thanked the Town.
CLOSED SESSION REPORT
Robert Schultz, Town Attorney, stated Council met in Closed Session as duly noted on
the agenda and there is no report.
COUNCIL/TOWN MANAGER REPORTS
Council Matters
- Council Member Marcia Jensen stated she had nothing to report.
- Council Member Rob Rennie stated he chaired the Silicon Valley Clean Energy
Authority Board meeting and attended the Executive Committee meeting, and he
attended the Council Ad Hoc Parking and Infrastructure Committee meeting.
- Mayor Barbara Spector stated she attended the Council Ad Hoc Parking and
Infrastructure Committee meeting, the Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting for
Kumon Math, and the Conceptual Development Advisory Committee (CDAC)
meeting.
- Vice Mayor Marico Sayoc stated she attended the CDAC meeting, the Council
Policy Committee meeting along with Council Member Marcia Jensen, the Los
Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Promotional Ceremonial along with Council Member
Rob Rennie, and the Student Commissioner Orientation.
- Council Member Steve Leonardis stated he attended the West Valley Sanitation
District (WVSD) Board of Directors meeting.
Manager Matters
- Welcomed the students back to school and encouraged everyone to walk or bike to
school.
CONSENT ITEMS (TO BE ACTED UPON BY A SINGLE MOTION)
1. Approve Council Minutes of August 2, 2016
2. Authorize the Town Manager to execute the Restated Silicon Valley Regional
Interoperability Authority Joint Powers Agreement to accommodate Santa Clara
Valley Transportation Authority as an Additional Member to the Authority (Continued
from 8/2/16)
3. Adopt a Resolution making determinations and approving the reorganization of
territory designated as Marchmont Drive No.4, approximately 0.28 acres located at
RESOLUTION 2016-
16709 Marchmont Drive. APN 532-09-044. File #AN16-004.
044
MOTION: MotionVice Mayor Marico Sayoc
by to approve the consent
SecondedCouncil Member Steve
items 1 through 3. by
Leonardis.
VOTE: Motionpassed unanimously.
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VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS
There were no verbal communications.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
4. Architecture and Site Application S-13-090 and Vesting Tentative Map Application
M-13-014. Property Location: Southerly Portion of The North 40 Specific Plan Area,
Lark Avenue to South of Noddin Avenue. Applicant: Grosvenor USA Limited.
Property Owners: Yuki Farms, ETPH LP, Grosvenor USA Limited, Summerhill N40
LLC, Elizabeth K. Dodson, and William Hirschman. Consider a request for the
construction of a new multi-use, multi-story development consisting of 320
residential units, which includes 50 affordable senior units; approximately 66,800
square feet of commercial floor area, which includes a market hall; on-site and off-
site improvements; and a Vesting Tentative Map. APNS: 424-07-024 through 027,
031 through 037, 070, 083 through 086, 090, and 100.
-
Item #4 continued from August 9, 2016 and August 11, 2016 The Town Council
opened and closed the Verbal Public Comments for this item at the August 9, 2016
Special Meeting of the Town Council.
Council discussed the matter.
MOTION: MotionCouncil Member Marcia Jensen
by to approve the
application based on the history and content of the Specific Plan,
Motionfailed for lack of a
the Housing Element, and other factors.
second.
MOTION: MotionMayor Barbara Spector
by to deny the residential
component of the application for failure to comply with the Specific
Plan provisions and other items as follows: 1) the Specific Plan
suggests smaller cottage clusters in the Lark District and it speaks
to lower intensity residential in the vision for the Lark District in
paragraph 2.3.1; 2) Lower intensity shops, offices, and residential
land uses are envisioned in the southern portion of the
Specific Plan Area, paragraph 2.4. 3) Appendix C of the Plan says
that the development should address Los Gatos unmet needs,
identified as Generation Y and Baby Boomers. 4) Development
Standards in Section 2 provide that we should ensure future
development is compatible with surrounding areas, complement the
downtown, and contribute to the small town charm of Los Gatos.
The application should be consistent with the land uses and vision
as outlined in this chapter; 5) the Architecture and Site Ordinance
states in paragraph 4 that we must examine site layout, including its
appearance and harmony of the building, with adjacent
development. Paragraph 6 states we must address exterior
architectural design of the building and structures. The effect of the
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Town Council/Parking Authority August 16, 2016
height, width, shape, and exterior construction and design must be
examined; 6) The Specific Plan states in paragraph 3.4 that the
application for the development must seamlessly fit, must
complement the existing Town character and charm, and must
connect this part of Los Gatos to the rest of the Town; 7) On
January 9, 2012, the Council did a “reset” on the Specific Plan and
asked for a vision statement and guiding principles to answer the
question, should the North 40 be a continuation of Los Gatos past
Lark to Highway 85 or a distinct district; 8) On March 5, 2012,
Council unanimously answered the question with a vision statement
and guiding principles that continued the Los Gatos look and feel
past Lark to Highway 85. 9) The look and feel was identified in the
applicants’ Exhibit G to Attachment 17, where they talk about a
blend of elements, a variety, and the look and feel are identified by
pictures taken throughout the Town. That look and feel is consistent
with what is identified as the look and feel of what the Town looks
like. It is not uniformity, it doesn’t match, Los Gatos doesn't have
uniformity, but it blends. This application is a disconnect, not a
blending. There is a disconnect in the style, the size, and the
massing. It isn't that Los Gatos does not want modern buildings or
flat roof buildings, that's not the point. The point is that Los Gatos
wants an application, a development that blends. Los Gatos does
not want to have a distinct district that the Council in 2012
Motionfailed for lack of a second.
unanimously voted against.
MOTION: MotionCouncil Member Rob Rennie
by to approve the
application with the following modifications to the satisfaction of the
Community Development Director: 1) replace some of the trees that
block the view corridor down the west facing streets toward
Highway 17 with a shorter variety; 2) change the Highway 17 tree
screen type of tree to an evergreen type with a 40 to 45-foot high
tree at maturity; 3) plant the Highway 17 and Lark Avenue screen
trees as soon as possible and before the first building as is feasible,
insuring the survival of the trees; 4) the applicant to work with the
consulting architect to change the architecture of market hall and
the surrounding commercial buildings to choose materials that are
less cold steel and glass to materials that blend a little more with
the farm setting and the housing units; 5) change the architecture
and possibly materials on buildings 24 and 25 on Los Gatos Blvd.
to better blend with the existing commercial buildings and the rest
of the site; 6) change the flat roof row house elevation A style to a
Spanish or Mediterranean style; 7) change buildings numbers 1, 6,
12, 18, and 21 on Lark Avenue to either Spanish or Craftsman to
blend better with the neighborhood; and 8) integrate 10 more first
floor flats in the market rate condominium clusters to provide an
Amendment by Council
additional housing opportunity for seniors.
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Town Council/Parking Authority August 16, 2016
Member Jensen
: for items 6 and 7, have the applicant work with
the consulting architect to develop alternative styles to the
Seconded
satisfaction of the Community Development Director. by
Council Member Marcia Jensen.
VOTE: By show of hands, Motionfailed 2/3. Mayor Barbara Spector,
Vice Mayor Marico Sayco, and Council Member Steve
Leonardis voting no.
The Council discussed the matter further.
MOTION: MotionMayor Barbara Spector
by to deny the application based
the economic considerations of the application related to paragraph
2.4.2 that requires an economic study to assess economic
competitiveness of the proposed application vis-a-vis the
downtown. Appendix A of the Specific Plan contains a Market
Study. Attachment 17, Exhibit 7 (sic Exhibit F) contains the
applicants’ additional economic analysis in an attempt to address
issues raised by the Planning Commission’s recommendation for
denial when it found the economic study inadequate. The new
economic study found in Attachment 17 also fails because its
central opinion is that the North 40 does not have a leasing
advantage. The leasing advantage was not the information that the
economic study was intended to address based on the Specific
Plan. The economic study did not: (1) define the specific uses for
the 26,000 square feet of commercial space other than the market
hall; (2) address the Town’s identified commercial leakages, such
as general merchandising; (3) address the Town’s identified need
for commercial units 10,000 square feet or greater in size; (4)
address the new office and hotel uses which were suggested; (5)
address the number of commercial units by square footage (i.e., x
percentage at a certain square footage). For all of these noted
deficiencies in the economic study, it does not meet the mandated
Motionfailed for lack of a
requirement in the Specific Plan.
second.
MOTION: MotionCouncil Member Marcia Jensen
by to direct staff to return
with more information on the following questions: 1) have the
density bonus units been replaced adequately under the law (legal
opinion required); 2) how does the density bonus apply as asked in
public comment; 3) what are the Town’s litigation risks and their
ramifications; 4) how does this application comport with our RHNA
requirements - do we need to supply more low income housing,
what gets credited, and how does it get credited; and 5) provide
more information on economics study recognizing three studies
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Town Council/Parking Authority August 16, 2016
were done and included in the EIR. The information should be
provided in advance of the hearing continuance to September 1,
2016 with a closed session to discuss litigation matters if
Amendment by Council Member Leonardis
necessary. : staff to
contact the State to confirm the previously submitted RHNA
numbers are accurate, determine if there is an error in the Specific
Plan, and if the housing units do not add up, what would the
SecondedCouncil Member Steve
ramifications be. by
Leonardis.
VOTE: Motionpassed 4/1. Mayor Barbara Spector voting no.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 8:34 p.m.
Attest:
_____________________________________
/s/ Shelley Neis, Clerk Administrator
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Town Council/Parking Authority August 16, 2016