Courtesy of Kenneth Rodrigues & Partners

This is a rendering of Sobrato Development's 288,000-square-foot research and development building on Winchester Boulevard. The company must return to the planning commission for architecture and site approval.

Town Council gives Sobrato thumb's up

By Gloria I. Wang

In a landmark decision for the town, the Los Gatos Town Council approved a mixed-use development dubbed by many as the largest project the town has seen in its recent history.

Sobrato Development Companies was granted its request for a zone change on its 12.3-acre parcel on Winchester Boulevard, near Highway 85, on which the company will build a large research and development facility and apartment complex, anticipated to complement a future light rail station.

Council members made the decision at their first public hearing on the project Feb. 4. The 4-1 vote to approve the development--Vice Mayor Sandy Decker dissented--was preceded by a three-hour discussion with more than 50 speakers.

The project, which has evolved from a 275,000-square-foot research park into a 288,000-square-foot research building and 135 apartments, generated much publicity and local and regional interest over the past 1 ¹/2 years. Among those at the meeting were Ron Diridon, executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute, Valley Transportation Authority Planning and Programming Manager Jim Lightbody, and representatives from area real estate, housing and building organizations, as well as John Sobrato himself. Past and present community movers and shakers also came out in full force to hear the council's verdict.

The Los Gatos Planning Commission had scrutinized the development most recently on Jan. 9 and decided against making a recommendation to the town council. Commissioners struggled with everything from project specifications--such as traffic mitigation measures and the amount of housing--to town policy, on whether the development was appropriate at all. Answering those policy questions, they decided, was the charge of the town council and not the planning commission.

In his presentation, architect Ken Rodrigues briefly reviewed the community benefits of the development, including the improvement of the Los Gatos Creek Trail, $100,000 for art near the entry to Los Gatos, and 25 percent of the apartments going to either below-market renters or teachers. Another benefit was that Sobrato would operate a daily express shuttle from the development to the Campbell light rail station before light rail comes to Los Gatos, at a cost of $100,000 per year.

Sobrato Senior Vice President John Shenk emphasized that the project was "transit-oriented"--populated enough to meet the VTA's requirements for high-density developments near its light rail stations. Also, Shenk said he had found innumerable instances in the General Plan, the town's blueprint for development, in which the project fit under the town's guidelines and long-term vision.

"We are excited that our project meets so many goals and policies of the town, so many goals and policies of transit-oriented development, and so many goals and policies of our own project's objectives," Shenk said.

Of those in the audience who spoke, almost half urged council members to deny the project, citing traffic as one of the key reasons. Monte Sereno resident Doug McNeil, who lives near the intersection of Winchester Boulevard and Daves Avenue, said the development would only serve to worsen the traffic in the area--at his count, approximately 18,000 cars go through that intersection daily.

"I certainly support tax base, an increased tax base, maybe some additional housing," McNeil said, alluding to some of the stated benefits of the project. "But the size and magnitude of this development going in has a major effect on our local community along Winchester."

Gary Manning, who lives in the Charter Oaks Townhomes, said the residents already have a hard time turning left onto Lark Avenue. The additional traffic from Sobrato's development would present a bigger problem to the townhome residents, and he suggested some kind of remedy would be needed if the project was approved.

The primary objection from the public, however, was that the development did not fit into the General Plan and was not appropriate for Los Gatos.

Former planning commissioner Len Pacheco said he was disturbed by the exceptions that the town was making for this application, including exceeding the maximum allowable buildable height of 35 feet and allowing Sobrato to not put up netting or story poles.

"What precedent is being set here?" Pacheco asked. He suggested that the council either deny the zone change or return the application to the planning commission for more changes and requirements.

"If the applicant and the developer truly believe in giving our town the best possible development, the largest in the town's history, then we need to see truly meaningful community benefits. I urge a long, hard look at this proposal and thoughtful consideration of all its ramifications," Pacheco said.

Los Gatos resident Joanne Rodgers had been a member of the General Plan Task Force, the group that had studied and suggested the changes that led to the latest revision of the General Plan.

"This project, I feel, does not represent what we had in mind," Rodgers said. "Do you honestly believe that this Sobrato development represents a small town? I don't think so."

Mike Abkin, another former planning commissioner, said he objected to the "what, where and when" of the project. Abkin said the development "flies in the face of the General Plan ... bringing more jobs brings more growth, which brings more problems." The site was also inappropriate for that kind of project, Abkin said.

The "when" wasn't right because, Abkin said, if the town approved the project now without a guarantee of light rail from the VTA, the town would lose all negotiating power in the future. Abkin suggested a phased approach to the development, starting with something less dense so that there would be less impact on the town if light rail didn't come through.


Courtesy of Kenneth Rodrigues & Partners

The 135 apartments will be in the back of the Winchester Boulevard lot, near the Los Gatos Creek Trail.




Woody Nedom had been on the task force, along with Rodgers. Nedom said the project did not fit in with the task force's vision of the community. In addition, Nedom said, the benefits did not outweigh the traffic impacts; there was a "cumulative effect" from the new developments in the area.

"The project before you is in clear contradiction with the vision you so recently endorsed," Nedom said, referring to the council's adoption of the General Plan in 2000.

"I hope that 20 years from now you will drag people over there and say, 'I was a part of this; I approved this and I kind of helped create this.' I hope you feel like it's that kind of project. I don't," said Los Gatos resident Kaye Little. Little asked the council to base its decision on the merit of the project itself, not just because there was a "big open space" on Winchester Boulevard.

Supporters of the project, however, echoed Shenk's stated community benefits and said the development conformed to the General Plan.

Dale Hill, representing the League of Women Voters, reminded the council that while the interpretation of the General Plan was subjective, the application had passed through the General Plan Committee--which decides if projects adhere to the technicalities of the document.

Former task force member Peter Larko said projects "need to balance community values, regional needs and property rights," which he believed the Sobrato development did. Not many locations in town could support such a large and intense project, but Larko said the Winchester Boulevard and Highway 85 parcel was the perfect spot.

Linda Lubeck, former town council member, gave some historical perspective on the area when she mentioned that the town had envisioned establishing other forms of transportation along Highway 85. In the past, Lubeck said, the council had specified that the Highway 85 area be developed for high-density uses; in addition, the General Plan Task Force had been told to leave out that area when reviewing the General Plan because the town had different uses in mind.

"No, [light rail] is not quite funded yet. But boy, it's damn close," Lubeck said.

"Without this kind of opportunity to encourage the transit," said Los Gatan Stephan McNulty, "it might be another generation before we get a station next to our house."

Ron Diridon, executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute, pointed to the community benefits of any transit-oriented development, which included an increase in nearby property values and a reduction in urban sprawl.

VTA Planning and Development Director Jim Pierson was on hand to confirm that while the VTA had not formally committed to constructing a Vasona Light Rail station, the organization was supportive of the extension. Pierson also said the Sobrato development would make the Vasona station more appealing to the VTA.

"Without this project, would the Vasona project be more difficult? I believe absolutely, it would be," Pierson said. "We believe it would take something of this magnitude to encourage our board to make the decision to bring light rail to Los Gatos."

Pierson added: "More and more, the development and the commitment from the community to provide the kind of land use that we believe ... is necessary to support the investment of light rail."

Terry Rutledge, director of business development for the Community Hospital of Los Gatos, said the apartments would provide a place to live for some of the hospital's 900 employees. Sobrato's project would also help with continued development in the area, Rutledge said, and complement the hospital's plan for development and expansion.

The public also testified on the reliability of Sobrato Development Companies. Neil Struthers, from the Building Trades Council, admittedly did not know much about the project, but said, "There is no better developer, bar none, than John Sobrato."

"John Sobrato not only builds quality homes, he builds communities, because he is part of this community," said Carl Guardino, president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group.

In his rebuttal to the voices of opposition, Sobrato's John Shenk repeated that the project had previously been deemed consistent with the General Plan by the town. "Let's not forget that the writers of the General Plan have carefully considered this site and recognized that a project that supports mass transit is appropriate," Shenk said.

Architect Ken Rodrigues gave an impassioned appeal to the council.

"I can honestly tell you, my heart and soul will be in this project," Rodrigues said. "I would encourage you to have vision. I'll have vision with you."

Rodrigues made references to Old Town--"a project that I love and really, really believe says a lot about what Los Gatos is"--and Los Gatos High School, which he said was, "a project that if you had to have a postcard, and put something on it, and said, 'This is Los Gatos,' that would be one of the elements."

"That's the kind of project we want to do here," Rodrigues said.


Photograph by David Heller

John Sobrato Jr. (left) is all smiles as he talks to Peter Carter following the council meeting.




Council members evidently had few qualms with the project, as their discussion was limited, with almost no questions and no debate.

Vice Mayor Sandy Decker said she wanted to give the project more time; she made a motion, which failed for lack of support, to return the application to the planning commission for re-review.

"Let's take a look at this again and give it some time. My motion is that we stop for 20 seconds and give this application a chance to breathe," Decker said. "Let's partner with VTA, let's partner with Mr. Sobrato, let's make it our project."

Instead, her colleagues sided with Councilman Steve Glickman, who moved to approve the project. Glickman said he found the project to be consistent with the General Plan. "If we are truly committed to a project like this ... then no matter where we put it, there are going to be traffic impacts," Glickman said. "But if we were to do this anywhere else, the impact would be worse."

According to Glickman, the community benefits of the project--including improving a "blighted area," sprucing up the Creek Trail, and adding to housing--outweighed the traffic impacts.

"The charge to Sobrato will be that this project will set the example. Other communities are going to wrestle with exactly the same question we've wrestled with tonight. They're going to hear the same issues raised. And if this is not well-done, it will be used as an example of why it shouldn't be done elsewhere," Glickman said. "Now is the time to put up or shut up. This project meets everything we wanted."

Councilman Steve Blanton concurred. "Someone asked the question, 'Will you be proud of this project? Can you take people to this project and say I had hand in that on council, I approved that?'" Blanton said. "My answer is an emphatic 'yes.' I think that this project is a winner for Los Gatos and in a short period of time it's going to become a landmark for the area."

Blanton said he was "struck that both sides claimed the mantle of the General Plan. Both sides claimed ... to be here for the public good. Both sides have individuals from this community. Both sides have individuals from outside the community. Both sides have members of the General Plan committee. And to me, that speaks to diversity of opinion on a project such as this."

"Certainly to my reading, to my involvement in the history of this area, it is very much in conformance with not only the General Plan, but our other governing documents as well," Blanton said.

Councilman Joe Pirzynski commented on the application of the General Plan. "As I read the document most recently, I noticed innumerable times in which that small town character could not be, in effect, characterized by some image," Pirzynski said. "I think that image, if you look at our town, is a very heterogenous image. It has a multiplicity of applications. And our task as council is to prevent this community from becoming in great measure a single source, or a single use, or a single vision."

Pirzynski pointed to the different "districts" in Los Gatos, such as downtown and Los Gatos Boulevard, that each has its own character.

Pirzynski affirmed his own and the town's commitment to light rail. "No matter what, we want it," Pirzynski said. He added that the express shuttle to the Campbell light rail service was a definite community benefit.

Mayor Randy Attaway confirmed what Linda Lubeck had said. In 1995, the town council had asked the General Plan Task Force to refrain from working on Highway 85 guidelines; in 2000, the newly approved General Plan had only minor revisions in the Highway 85 section.

"We have to ask ourselves, 'Why did we create a special element in the General Plan that speaks to the land issues along the 85?'" Attaway said. "It's because we were planning for the future. And we made decisions that were consistent all the way through. And so today, I feel as if we're living up to what the council was committed to through those years."

Before taking a vote, council members approved a change in the language in the ordinance allowing the development. Instead of asking for a 288,000-square-foot facility, the ordinance would say "up to 288,000-square-foot research and development."

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