 |
|
|
|
|
Editorial
Another local business will soon disappear
What would be better for the residents of Los Gatos, a nursery or a high-tech company? It shouldn't be hard for Los Gatans to answer that one. One more high-tech company is just another Silicon Valley venture. The A to Z Nursery, on the other hand, is a home-grown business that fulfills the community's oft-spoken desire for service-oriented businesses that allow people who live here to do their shopping here.
And this particular nursery has a special hometown feel when owner Jon Anderson brings his exotic menagerie to share with visitors at his Christmas tree lot every year. It's one of those Los Gatos traditions residents will miss when the holidays roll around.
Nevertheless, A to Z Nursery will soon be gone, making way for one more Silicon Valley high-tech company.
This is the sort of change that Los Gatans of late have begun to decry. Residents see cute little bungalows transformed into huge two-story homes, chain stores replacing independent, hometown shops, mobile home parks becoming condos and apartments.
It's a move toward gentrification and away from the economically diverse community so many Los Gatans cherish.
Lots of people are unhappy, and the frustration level is high. There's a lot of finger-pointing. Those who happen to be in leadership positions are increasingly blamed for everything that seems to make this community something different than it once was.
The real culprit, however, is the economic boom. Anderson hit the nail on the head when he said the value of the land as commercial, office or research and development is so great today that it's impossible to run a nursery on it.
Money is also at the heart of the current effort by the Town Council and Planning Commission to figure out how to keep the commission meetings from going on so long, inconveniencing applicants who are continually delayed. Why are meetings so long?
It's not because there's been a sudden burst of nitpicking; it's because planning activity has more than doubled in the past year or so.
The town isn't changing because, as some are charging, the Town Council is hell-bent on turning Los Gatos into a metropolis. It's changing because there's so much money available that everyone wants to improve, upgrade and expand. And property values are soaring.
It's the rare soul who refuses to make a bundle when the opportunity presents itself.
While those in the planning process are understandably frustrated when they encounter delays, there are many in Los Gatos who are happy the commission is as nitpicking as it always has been.
It may not seem like much of a roadblock, but at least it makes it seem that the community is exercising some control over forces that, in truth, are pretty overwhelming.
|
|
|
|
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
