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Planners generally favor plans for JCC renovation
By Gloria I. Wang
The Jewish Community Center debuted plans to replace its existing buildings with one facility at the Dec. 5 meeting of the Los Gatos Planning Commission, and the proposal met with mostly rave reviews.
Planning commissioners, however, expressed some concerns about logistics and decided to hear the project on Feb. 27, after the applicant does some redesign and works with town staff.
Representatives of the center hope the new 115,855-square-foot building will allow for expansion of the current youth and senior programs as well as the school and daycare facility. Representatives of the center, located on Oka Road, said that the expansion would benefit all of Los Gatos, pointing out the center's involvement in the community and availability to all community members.
Planning commissioners agreed that the proposal offers benefits to the community. Commissioner Paul Dubois said he was "totally in favor of this project." The proposal would include more youth and senior services, and Dubois said there was also a "performing arts facility, which...we do not have in this community."
Commissioner Lee Quintana echoed Dubois, saying the center would bring "an incredible community benefit."
Los Gatos residents who spoke agreed. Phil Kipnis lives in the neighborhood and is a board member for the Jewish Federation of Greater San Jose, which is housed in the JCC. Kipnis testified that the services offered by the center would only improve with expansion. "These programs exist; they are well-respected; and they're well used by the community," he said.
Jon Friedenberg, executive director of the federation, presented the application to commissioners, along with JCC Executive Director Steve Makoff and architect Vince Vincent. Friedenberg said, in addition to the federation, three other organizations were located in the center: the Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center, the Yavneh Day School and the Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley.
The groups had acquired the site in 1984 with the intention of developing the existing, "dilapidated" buildings. The two main buildings and three portable classrooms would be consolidated into one main building, which would contain an auditorium, gymnasium, fitness center, art gallery and performing arts center for 250 people. The last facility, Friedenberg said, "will be of enormous benefit to the community. There is a shortage of rehearsal space and performance space [in the community]."
"We are convinced that this project will dramatically enhance the ability of the four agencies to serve the entire community," Friedenberg said.
According to Makoff, the current membership of the center is at 500 to 600 families. Most families are not involved in all of its programs; many become members so that their children will be able to attend the center's schools. Some enroll and attend events once or twice a year. And, Makoff pointed out, enrollment is not limited to Jewish families.
With the expansion, the center could potentially triple its membership in several years, Makoff said--which led to some concern from commissioners.
Commission Chairman Jim Lyon said a use and occupancy limit was needed in the center's conditional-use permit so that the center would not tax its facilities with too many members.
Commissioner Phil Micciche disagreed, however. "I have a hard time agreeing to any occupancy limit when we let Courtside run free," Micciche said. "As a nonprofit organization, the center should not be restricted in its membership, while Courtside Club should have had that kind of restriction."
Lyon made a motion to postpone making a decision on the application until Feb. 27. In addition to exploring the plausibility of an occupancy limit, Lyon wanted traffic issues to be worked out and the design to be slightly changed.
According to Community Development Director Bud Lortz, traffic at the major streets near the center--Lark Avenue, Winchester Boulevard and Los Gatos Boulevard--would be affected by the expansion. He said town staff needed to sit down with community center representatives and work out a plan to soften the traffic increase.
"The doors of this project cannot open until that impact is mitigated," Lortz said.
Lyon also took issue with the mass and scale of the proposed building.
Dubois and Micciche were opposed to Lyon's motion. Micciche said he liked the design of the building and thought the existing apartments across the street looked longer and larger.
Dubois, like Micciche, did not want to place membership limits on the center and said the project was architecturally compatible with the neighborhood. "This is actually raising the bar in terms of architectural design," Dubois said.
The other commissioners, however, agreed with Lyon, and the final vote was 5-2.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
