Town council tells developer to keep trying despite rejection
By Gloria I. Wang
In a strange twist of events, a San Jose developer was rejected by the town of Los Gatos a second time, but the town council encouraged him to try again.
David Pitzen of the Pacific Diversified Company tried to appeal the planning commission's Dec. 6 denial of his application. Pitzen proposed to demolish and replace four existing houses at 10 Monroe Court.
Customarily, town council denies requests and continues hearings to the planning commission for additional discussion. Due to miscommunication between the commission and Pitzen, however, council members felt that the best decision would be to start over.
At the Feb. 20 town council meeting, Pitzen spoke of his frustration over the miscommunication. Pitzen had worked with a town planner when he initially filed the application in 1998. Several different agencies were consulted, including the conceptual design advisory committee, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, and the Los Gatos Historic Preservation Committee.
Pitzen said that the agencies gave him conflicting advice on his project, and it was recommended that he ask the planning commission for guidance. Pitzen requested that commissioners hear his presentation, offer some suggestions, and then continue the item to give him time to revise his plan.
Instead, commissioners rejected the project, without allowing a continuance. According to meeting minutes, they cited the proposal's adverse environmental impacts, failure to meet General Plan guidelines, and lack of benefit to neighbors as reasons for the rejection. Commissioners thought that the time Pitzen spent with town planners should have led to an acceptable development, Pitzen said.
"I just wanted some concrete direction so I wouldn't have to design it three times," said Pitzen. He had hoped for some help from the commission without a formal hearing; commissioners had expected a finalized project.
Town council members were generally sympathetic to the situation. "There was a very different view from both sides of the table," said Councilman Steve Glickman. "I'm willing to accept the possibility that there was a misunderstanding here." Consequently, both the planning commission and the developer experienced feelings of frustration.
"I really do not see this as a case where there's any villain," said Councilman Steven Blanton. "This frankly is not the first time that tales of this sort have returned to me; of our interaction with the developer, or the planning commission's interaction with the developer."
Town council voted 4-1 to "deny the appeal without prejudice," meaning the developer could immediately submit an application for the same project without being subject to a one-year waiting period. Blanton was the sole dissenting vote. Pitzen will also work with acting Community Development Director Bud Lortz, who will give him specific guidelines.
Glickman said, "I don't want us to send the message that if you don't like the process, then roll the dice and try again."
Mayor Joe Pirzynski spoke of his desire to see the property cleaned up. "It has become an attractive nuisance for a series of vagrants and other undesirables who have trashed the place," said Pirzynski. "It's an absolutely pristine area, if you kind of squint."
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
