Staff Report
PREPARED BY: JOCELYN SHOOPMAN
Associate Planner
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Attorney, Community Development
Department Director, and Finance Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 01/16/2018
ITEM NO: 17
DATE: JANUARY 10, 2018
TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
FROM: LAUREL PREVETTI, TOWN MANAGER
SUBJECT: PROPERTY LOCATION: 16212 LOS GATOS BOULEVARD
CONSIDER A REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF AN EXCEPTION TO THE STORY
POLE POLICY TO ALLOW AN ALTERNATIVE TO STANDARD STORY POLE
INSTALLATION TO ILLUSTRATE AND PROVIDE NOTICE OF THE PROPOSED
PROJECT. APNS 523-06-010 AND 011.
RECOMMENDATION:
Consider a request for approval of an exception to the Story Pole Policy to allow an alternative
to standard story pole installation to illustrate and provide notice of the proposed project.
BACKGROUND:
Historically, story poles have been used for two purposes. The primary purpose is to help
illustrate proposed building locations and heights for pending development applications.
Additionally, the story poles help alert the community of development applications that are
scheduled for consideration at a public hearing.
The existing Story Pole Policy was approved by the Town Council on August 5, 2013
(Attachment 1). The existing Policy specifies the conditions and process for a possible story
pole exception. Specifically, the Policy identifies that the applicant must clearly demonstrate to
the Town that the installation of story poles would: (a) cause a threat to public health and
safety; or (b) impair the use of existing structures or the site to the extent it would not be able
to be occupied and the business or residential use would be infeasible. The Policy requires the
Town Manager to determine if at least one of two criteria is met before the Council can
consider requests for exceptions to the story pole installation requirements.
PAGE 2 OF 3
SUBJECT: 16212 LOS GATOS BOULEVARD/PD-17-002
JANUARY 10, 2018
S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2018\01-16-18\17 - 16212 LG Blvd. Story Pole Exception\Staff Report FINAL.docx 1/11/2018 2:23 PM
BACKGROUND (Continued):
The Council is the deciding body for story pole exceptions. The public hearing for the request is
noticed to the properties within 300 feet of the proposed development site and information is
required to be posted under “What’s New” on the Town’s website.
On December 1, 2015, the Town Council granted a story pole exception for the subject property
for a previously proposed residential project. The Council required that the story poles be
installed for 10 days coinciding with a school break, either Winter break or Spring break,
whichever is closest to the Planning Commission hearing, photographs be taken and posted to
the Town website for public reference, and widespread notice be given to the public.
DISCUSSION:
The subject site is located at the northeast corner of Los Gatos Boulevard an d Shannon Road
and is currently occupied by Artisan Wine Depot, which was approved with a Conditional Use
Permit in 2013. Additionally, the excess parking onsite is leased as overflow parking to Yoga
Source, a tenant that occupies the building at 16185 Los Gatos Boulevard.
A Planned Development (PD) application has been filed by Scott Plautz to re -zone the property
from Commercial Highway (CH) to CH:PD with the intention of constructing a new two-story
commercial building and retaining the existing one-story commercial building. The General
Plan land use designation is Mixed Use Commercial.
Mr. Plautz has submitted a request for an exception from the Story Pole Policy requirements to
install the story poles for a maximum of 10 days based on public safety and the use of the site
by existing tenants (see Attachment 2). Attachment 3 contains the proposed site plan and story
pole plan for the new commercial building. In the Town Manager’s review of the request, only
one of the criteria for an exception was met in that the installation of story poles would impair
the use of the existing building and the parking lot by the lessees given the extent of the
development proposal. The applicant has proposed to install the story poles January 24, 2018
and remove the story poles February 3, 2018 to restore the site to full operations for the
existing tenant.
Pursuant to the Policy, the proposed exception was posted on the Town’s website under
“What’s New” and public hearing notices were sent t o properties within 300 feet of the subject
site.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends approval of the proposed exception to install the story poles for a maximum
of 10 days with the request that the story poles be installed during the week of the President’s
PAGE 3 OF 3
SUBJECT: 16212 LOS GATOS BOULEVARD/PD-17-002
JANUARY 10, 2018
S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2018\01-16-18\17 - 16212 LG Blvd. Story Pole Exception\Staff Report FINAL.docx 1/11/2018 2:23 PM
CONCLUSION (Continued):
Day holiday (February 19, 2018) based on the upcoming school break for the Los Gatos Union
School District and the length of time between the requested dates for story pole installation
relative to a Planning Commission hearing, which has not been scheduled given technical
analysis that still needs to be completed.
If the Council is inclined to grant the story pole exception, staff recommends that the Town
Council limit the approval to this specific site layout and require any modification to return for a
new story pole exception.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Continue the matter to a date certain with specific direction; or
2. Approve the applicant’s request; or
3. Deny the request.
COORDINATION:
The Community Development Department coordinated with the Town Manager’s Office in the
review of the applications.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
Action on the requested exception does not constitute a “project” as defined by section 15378
of the CEQA Guidelines because it is not an action which has a potential for resulting in either a
direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
Attachments:
1. Story Pole Policy
2. Exception Request from the Applicant, received January 9, 2018 (two pages)
3. Proposed Story Pole Plan, received January 9, 2018 (five sheets)
4. Public Comments received by 11:00 a.m., Thursday, January 11, 2018
Distribution:
Scott Plautz, 17066 Melody Lane, Los Gatos CA 95033
Eugene Sakai, 1000 S. Winchester Blvd, San Jose, CA 95128