Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Editorial

SummerHill did its homework

It was just a year ago that the Los Gatos Weekly-Times reported on a meeting set up by SummerHill Homes to discuss with neighbors plans for developing a parcel of land on Blossom Hill Road.

Not just any parcel of land, but a spot on the map wrought with history and emotion. A spot that each spring for as long as anyone can remember bursts into bloom heralding the coming apricot crop.

One neighbor at that meeting told SummerHill representatives, "It wouldn't be Blossom Hill if we didn't have blossoms."

The developer had an inkling of the intensity of the opposition when another member of the audience received resounding applause for saying: "Your project is an insult to this beautiful area, and I think you should just go back and redo the whole thing."

For some developers, those would have been fighting words. What SummerHill did was listen. And it is a testament to the developer's listening skills that many of the neighbors who originally opposed the project have now lined up behind SummerHill.

When SummerHill goes before the Planning Commission March 11 with its proposal for a 47-home development on property currently owned by the University of California, the proposal will be very different from the one discussed at that neighborhood meeting a year ago.

A linear park of flowering trees and natural grasses now provides a 100-foot buffer between the road--now 25 feet wider and featuring a turn lane--and the homes. The one- and two-story homes are clustered at 1.9 dwellings per acre within the developed area.

An asphalt path meanders through the frontage area and alongside the road that goes through the development. Beyond the homes are some 80 acres of oak-studded hills that, thanks to the developer, will welcome hikers and equestrians with a looping trail that connects with three other town trails.

SummerHill is proposing that the homeowners association pay for the upkeep of the linear park, approximately 212 acres. The developer wants to build the trails in the hills behind the homes and turn the property over to the town.

While the town is likely to balk at taking on the responsibility of maintenance and liability for the trails, we hope the question of who pays for the annual upkeep won't become an insurmountable obstacle.

The university is eager to sell the property; income from the sale is destined for research in ophthalmology, according to the wishes of Ralph Heintz, who left the property to the UC-San Francisco Medical School.

It is unlikely that any other developer would be so responsive to the concerns of the neighbors. And the 80 acres of open space and trails connecting to other trails in town certainly must be counted as a significant community benefit.

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