Attachment 17Presentatior, .J the Town of Los Gatos Plannin� Jmmission
Regarding the Proposed Renovation of #11 Peralta Avenue
Art Monk (33 Peralta) February 13, 2019 RECEIVED 17'1 12-t i:2, -�
Preamble FEB 1 3 2019
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TOWN OF LOS GATOS Mr. Chairman and honorable counsellors, my name is Art Monk. For 15�nN�fe1SION
and I have lived at 33 Peralta on the Northern boundary of the merged lot known as
11&15 Peralta. These two parcels form a merged lot under Town Code 29.10.070 due
to common ownership. I note that both parcels have sold simultaneously on 2
occasions in the last 15 years to identical new owners. Such events likely void the
Certificate of Compliance on the property that was filed in 2000. We believe the Town
must consider issues concerning the entire merged lot and not just applications
directed to an individual parcel. The implications of this will be discussed in a moment.
We are not opposed to the proposed renovation project -we have a few concerns that
we have discussed with the owners and wanted the planning commission to be aware
of them.
Trees
We are concerned about the potential loss of the Coast Live Oak labelled #476 on the
arborists plan which is located at the Southeast corner of the property and the impact
such a loss would have on the look of the West side of Peralta. Please note that no
statement of instability appears in the arborist report for tree #476 and it is the ONLY
Coast Live Oak on the property indicated as being in GOOD condition while all others
are indicated as being in FAIR condition.
The owners have committed to implementing the recommendations of the Town
Arborist. We are skeptical that these recommendations are sufficient to protect the
tree from attack by those who wish it removed as initially written into the building
plans since there have been instances in the neighborhood when trees oddly became
diseased and had to be taken down 6 months after a removal permit was denied. On
November 27th the planner for this project wrote to the neighborhood that 11 lt ls
uncertain whether the Oak tree at the front of the property will survive ... The tree is
massive and could cause a great deal of damage if it falls." This fear-mongering
statement in the planner's letter is an attempt to ameliorate the future loss of the tree,
particularly if it happens in a manner that could have been prevented I
We want the loss of the tree prevented ... with cladding around the tree as per the
arborist report, continuous surveillance of the tree, and signage indicating that the tree
is under surveillance at all times.
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ATTACHMENT 17