Town's planning process frustrates car dealers
By Gloria I. Wang
Los Gatans don't want to "drive a little and save a lot" when it comes to buying and servicing their cars, but their local car dealers may be making them do just that.
That's not to say car purchasers would spend a whole lot more if they stayed in town, but staying in town may not be an option in the near future.
Although the auto industry in Los Gatos is still going strong, auto dealers on Los Gatos Boulevard expressed a frustration with the town's planning process and regulations at an April 29 study session with the town council.
"We've talked about just bailing, several times, in the last few years," said Bruce Swanson of Swanson Ford. Swanson said his dealership needs to expand and needs additional storage space, but the town and neighbors have made it so difficult that they finally dropped a proposal to remodel buildings near Placer Oaks Road.
John Anderson, from Anderson Chevrolet-Oldsmobile-Geo, told the council that he also needs additional vehicle storage facilities. If the town does not change its policies, Anderson would not renew his lease in January and would move elsewhere.
McHugh Lincoln Mercury, which Jim McHugh had started in 1968, left town at the end of last year. At the time, Harlan McHugh said the Capital Expressway Auto Mall was more conducive to auto sales and had the space for expanded operations.
The town scheduled the study session for auto dealers to air their concerns and for town staff to begin addressing some of those issues.
Los Gatos Redevelopment Agency Manager Marty Woodworth had met with each of the seven car dealers in January. "The purpose was for me to figure out what's working and what's not working ... some common threads," Woodworth said.
Woodworth said he had found that residents liked to purchase their cars in town and have them serviced locally. "That's one of our goals in Los Gatos, to be, as much as we can, a self-sustaining community," Woodworth said.
Councilman Joe Pirzynski was one of those residents. Pirzynski said he had bought his last eight vehicles in the past few decades from Los Gatos dealerships and had "never been dissatisfied," Pirzynski said.
"Los Gatos seems to be a real strong niche market, especially for the higher-end vehicles," Woodworth said. That means that there is a potential for other "higher-end" car brands to come into town.
According to Woodworth, approximately $2 million, or 27 percent, of the town's General Fund comes from automobile sales tax revenues.
In talking to the different dealers, Woodworth said the main concern was that their facilities were both outdated and too small. Dealers were also perturbed that there wasn't a guarantee from the town that they could stay; most of their buildings were on land that didn't belong to them, and there was no specific zoning in town for automobile dealerships.
John Moore, from Moore Pontiac, Buick, GMC Trucks said Los Gatos Boulevard properties would be worth more if they were businesses other than auto dealerships.
Woodworth agreed. The land would be worth more as shopping centers than as car businesses, Woodworth said, and so there is the chance that landowners could convert their property uses in the future. On the other hand, Capitol Expressway Auto Mall is zoned specifically for dealerships--converting to shopping centers is not permitted.
While Mayor Randy Attaway said he was willing to look into that kind of zoning, Pirzynski said he did not want a zone change. Pirzynski pointed out that, in the town's Los Gatos Boulevard plan, there is a provision to concentrate on future auto dealerships north of Los Gatos-Almaden Road.
Moore also said it was virtually impossible to have any kind of renovations done in town. When his facility needed a new awning, his initial plan had a price tag of $20,000. After the proposal had been through the town's planning process, the cost had risen to $85,000 after changes required by the fire department and town codes.
"There's a lot of towns out there that bend over backward for the auto dealers," Moore said. The town should allow for certain kinds of remodeling--"I don't think any of us want to do anything garish," Moore said.
In response, Director of Community Development Bud Lortz said there is a "quick turnaround" for minor improvements to a building's exterior by way of the town's development review committee. Anything that requires additional interior square footage, however, would require a modification of the dealership's conditional-use permit, Lortz said.
"Maybe we can have a more generous minor modifications policy," said Councilman Steve Blanton. For example, if the changes could not be seen from Los Gatos Boulevard or the neighborhood, it would be approved. Blanton said while the town probably could not change its building codes, it should consider giving more latitude to auto dealers.
"We're afraid of doing anything," Swanson said. In order to modify its building, Swanson would have to re-apply for a conditional-use permit but was afraid that the town would impose new, tighter restrictions on the dealership in a new permit.
Since it is unable to expand its storage space, Swanson Ford is losing customers who do not want to drive to Swanson's Cupertino facility to look at inventory. Swanson said his business has the space to store 350 cars, whereas Frontier Ford on Stevens Creek Boulevard has space for 1,000 vehicles.
What little space he had to store cars is taken up by the town's requirement for landscaping, Swanson said.
Ron Battistella, owner of Los Gatos Auto Mall, brought up advertising. At one point, all the auto dealers had tried to form an advertising group which cost $25,000 to $30,000 total per month. Battistella suggested that the town somehow help out with advertising.
Councilman Steve Glickman said he was hesitant to spend town funds on the dealerships, but would be willing to offer the services of town staff.
"We're a partnership and we need each other," Vice Mayor Sandy Decker said, agreeing with Glickman.
The last time that the auto dealers had met with the town was in 1990; the result from that meeting was a change in town regulations allowing the dealerships to hold promotional events, Lortz said.
The town will next form a subcommittee that will review its building process and consider the suggestions offered by the dealers.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
