Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Setback becomes meaningless

Gymnasium's height is too imposing

By Gail Brady

Sending the Calvary Baptist Church expansion plan back to the Planning Commission was a step in the right direction. However, I have concerns about the larger implications of the Town Council's decision to not place additional restrictions on the size of the new Family Life Center/gymnasium. No matter how you slice it, a 200-foot long, 30-foot tall building on Robie Lane will never be appropriate.

When we looked at the zoning map before buying on Englewood Avenue, we saw low-density, R1 zoning stretching from Los Gatos Boulevard up into the hills. We felt secure in thinking the rural, woodsy character of the neighborhood would remain intact. We didn't think twice about living near a church, although we were taken aback by Calvary's poor maintenance of its property on the Robie Lane side.

My neighbors and I have building restrictions based on the size of our lots and strict setback and height limitations. Calvary Baptist Church has the same setback limitations. However, a 25-foot setback can be meaningless for a structure that can fit on a seven-acre lot. Imagine a building in your neighborhood that would stretch across three or four lots and rise 30 feet tall, blocking your existing view of the hills.

Can you imagine a benefit to the community that would be great enough for you to support the project? Would landscaping mitigate the negative impact and mask the building enough to maintain your home's property value?

When we bought our house, we had no idea that the type of large, commercial building Calvary is planning to build would be allowed in R1:8,000 zoning.

Although I disagree with the church as to the need for the proposed expansion, I can understand why they believe it is a necessary tool to help them achieve their goal of "growing the church" through conversions of the "unchurched." The expansion will draw children, youths, singles and families to the campus to take advantage of the attractive facilities: two regulation-size basketball courts, a racquetball court, an exercise room, a video arcade, a teen center, as well as numerous classrooms and gathering rooms.

Additionally, the Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, which operates on the campus, needs new classrooms and administrative offices to accommodate its growing student body. I believe Calvary is sincere in its belief that growth is God's mandate to them, thus they must aggressively pursue approval of this expansion.

However, the Town Council does not have a growth mandate. It does have a mandate to protect existing residential neighborhoods. The general plan has language throughout, specifying the types of protections, generally of the kind supported by those who don't wish to see commercial and high-density projects detract from the character of the town and who wish to preserve the peace and tranquillity of the neighborhoods in which they live.

In 1995, the Planning Commission took this mandate seriously, looked at the zoning code, applied the general plan guidelines to the project and denied it. The Town Council looked at the same project, claimed it met zoning requirements and approved the project based on greater benefit to the community.

We are still grappling with the real issue of the project--the Town Council's unwillingness to restrict the inappropriate expansion by the church into a residential neighborhood.

Where does this leave other neighborhoods in Los Gatos? If more churches become overzealous, will other town residents have to contend with enormous, blocky "public facilities" that provide recreational and educational services to the church's own community of believers, many of whom live outside the town? Where will our Town Council draw the line when it comes to preserving our neighborhoods vs. greater community benefit? If a developer were to buy four contiguous R1:8000 lots, would the town grant the rezoning to a higher-density, eight-home "planned development" for the benefit to the community of providing more housing?

I know where I stand on these types of development issues, and the general plan is clear in its guidelines, but where does the Town Council stand?

Gail Brady filed the appeal of the Planning Commission decision that gave approval to the Calvary Church project. The Town Council heard the appeal Jan. 5 and returned the application to the Planning Commission.

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