Commission sends Sobrato project to town council without comment
Planners hope council will decide policy issues first
Lyon opposes the housing
By Gloria I. Wang
Sobrato Development Company's proposal for a massive mixed-use facility--quite possibly the biggest development that has ever come to Los Gatos--brings with it a host of policy questions that can only be answered by the town council.
While Los Gatos Planning Commissioners acknowledged that the 12.3-acre complex was a high-quality plan, their stance was to take no stance when it came to advising the Los Gatos Town Council how to vote.
Commissioners at a Jan. 9 meeting said that, because of the development's location on Winchester Boulevard at Highway 85, they would need to take into consideration the long-term vision for the entire surrounding area, examining traffic, housing plans and a potential light rail line. That vision, however, is a responsibility of the town council and not the planning commission, they concluded.
Each commissioner also had differing opinions on the suitability of the project to the town, the amount of housing proposed and the proper use of the site.
Sobrato's plan is to mix 288,000 square feet of research-and-development space with 135 apartments, ranging from studios to units with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and one den.
"Housing on this site is inappropriate," Chairman Jim Lyon said. "One hundred thirty units ... landlocked behind commercial [zoning] on two sides and the freeway on the third and the creek on the fourth doesn't allow that group to be part of the community." Lyon called the residences of the development an "isolated island."
"I think Sobrato has done a tremendous job of coming to a compromise here," said Commissioner Phil Micciche. At the same time, Micciche said that more homes were needed instead of a research facility.
Commissioner Suzanne Müller repeated the same comments that she had given at a September planning commission meeting about Sobrato. "I was hoping to see something really special about this project and I'm not seeing it. To me it looks very much like a typical office complex and does not have any small-town character to it," Müller said.
Commissioner Paul Dubois said, that while he liked many things about the project, he was troubled by Sobrato's claim that the development fit under the General Plan--the town's blueprint for development--and that there would be no significant effect on the area. "I'm not thoroughly convinced," Dubois said, "that we have looked at surrounding proposed developments, developments that are under construction, to the depth that we are fully seeing the cumulative effect."
During the extensive discussion which lasted nearly three hours, Sobrato Senior Vice President John Shenk and project architect Ken Rodrigues outlined how they had followed commissioners' suggestions from the Sept. 19 meeting. Those changes, Rodrigues said, included eliminating most of the third floor so that the building would be more compatible with the rest of the architecture in Los Gatos; increasing the number of apartments for rent at below market price--a town program that links housing rates with household income--to 34 units, 25 percent of the total units in the complex; contributing $50,000 to improvements on the street; and providing an express shuttle to the Campbell light rail station while there is no light rail in Los Gatos.
"We really have a direct link to light rail from day one. And that makes this site a transit-oriented site," Rodrigues said.
According to Shenk, the project is transit-oriented because it anticipates the arrival of the Vasona Light Rail extension. The Valley Transportation Authority requires high-density developments near its light rail stations. That requirement was weighed against the town's desire for projects that maintained a small-town feel, to come up with a development that incorporated just enough housing to meet VTA standards.
"We think that this particular project meets more items in the General Plan than at least anything I know I've brought before you in the past on other projects," Rodrigues said. That the development would be "the best project in Northern California is what my hope is," Rodrigues added.
The meeting was peppered with Los Gatans and representatives of various organizations alike asking the commission to approve the development.
"Whereas lots of cities are burying their heads in the sand and saying, 'We don't have any more space for housing, we don't have any more land,' you really ought to be commended for looking at this site and being creative about how you can build some more homes and specifically, affordable homes," said Shiloh Ballard, representing the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group and Housing Action Coalition.
Los Gatos hairdresser Michael Silva pointed out that the development would provide constant revenue to the town and increase the local tax base. "I think the project is absolutely a must. It's beautiful. It's gorgeous," Silva said.
Forrester Road resident Sherman Naymark told commissioners that, more than 30 years ago, he founded an engineering company housed in a building next to Sobrato's proposed development. At one time, Naymark said, the company had 600 to 700 employees, and no traffic problems stemmed from the volume of cars.
If he was a planning commissioner, Naymark said, "I'd put my arms around [Sobrato] and give them immediate approval before they left."
Only two people spoke against the proposal. Both Kyle Lanza and Kel Marchbank said there would be traffic problems generated on Winchester Boulevard and that the problems would affect even the Almond Grove area and Monte Sereno residences.
"I don't think that this is a bad project. I just think it's premature to say 'Yes, let's go ahead with it' until we can figure out how we're going to mitigate the impact on the residents in the area," said Lanza, a Monte Sereno resident.
VTA Planning and Programming Manager Jim Lightbody confirmed that while there were no concrete plans for the Vasona light rail extension, Los Gatos was a "strong candidate" to receive transportation funds for light rail. Of the seven different transportation corridors that the VTA identified, the Los Gatos extension would be the shortest and cheapest, costing $60 million. Sobrato's development would also factor into the VTA board's decision, which would happen "sometime in the next few years," Lightbody said.
"I think that if we have a commitment to--and this is the big if--to light rail transit and to achieving the goals in the housing element, then I think we have to take a chance," Commissioner Lee Quintana said.
Chairman Jim Lyon made a motion to forward the project to the town council without a recommendation for denial or approval, saying the commission needed more clarification of policy issues and hoping that the council would return the application to the commission.
The town council could, however, choose to make a decision at its meeting without sending the project back to the planning commission, since the council has the final say on applications requesting a zone change.
Sobrato's project is expected to come before the town council in February.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
