Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Council gives SummerHill OK to develop on Blossom Hill

Town accepts dedication of 89 acres of open space

Developer puts in $262,900

By John Pancharian

What began in controversy in 1996 ended in compromise July 6 as the Los Gatos Town Council unanimously gave SummerHill Homes the approval needed to proceed with its planned development at 14734 Blossom Hill Road.

Among the issues the council had to consider were a general-plan amendment to change the land-use designation from agriculture to hillside residential, a zoning change and a reduction in minimum lot size.

Neighbors of the proposed 20 acre, 44-house development in the flat orchard land fronting Blossom Hill packed the Council Chambers during a public hearing preceding the decision, many of them supportive of the plan. Many had been swayed by SummerHill's response to community input, as well as a promise to retain more than 80 acres of oak-dotted hillsides behind the houses as open space.

Open space seemed the deciding factor for the council. SummerHill had previously offered to donate almost 89 acres of the 103-acre property to the town as public open space, but the town balked at the offer, uncertain it wanted to pay for maintaining the land.

However, in 11th-hour negotiations between town staff and SummerHill, the developer agreed not only to turn over the land in perpetuity, but to pay $262,900 toward maintenance of the open space, as well as making one-time outlays for signs on proposed hiking and equestrian trails, garbage cans and an all-terrain vehicle.

Town staff's recommendation to the council found the SummerHill money "plus an amount to be contributed by the town, not to exceed SummerHill's contribution, would be sufficient to fund the maintenance of the open space for a minimum of 20 years."

In an interview following the July 6 meeting, Mayor Linda Lubeck said that though the agreement called for the town to augment the maintenance money "as needed," she was uncertain exactly how that would come about since it hadn't come up before the current budget was adopted.

The fate of the land became a public issue in 1990, when Sophie Heinz died. Before his death in 1979, Ralph and his wife had willed the property to the University of California. According to a 1997 letter by their son, the Heinzes intended for UC to sell the land however it saw fit in order to fund eye-disease research by the Proctor Foundation.

Before SummerHill stepped in, a development for 90 homes was proposed in 1992, but the town said that density was too high for the location. SummerHill made its proposal in 1996. At first it fared no better, attracting the ire of neighbors who complained the development was too big and dense, and would create a plethora of problems. But after a long string of meetings with neighbors and town officials, several redesigns and numerous compromises, SummerHill won over most critics.

At the July 6 meeting, those still opposed to the project raised many now-familiar issues.

"The downside is the increased traffic this will carry to the project to the annoyance of neighbors," resident Carl Handen said.

Others expressed concern over the size of four custom homes SummerHill plans to build on the land, the density of the project, noise pollution, increased parking by those using the open space and the number of proposed houses.

However, of the 26 residents who spoke at the public hearing, 14 voiced support for the project.

"If you want to stop all this development, somebody better come up with a better method of birth control," said one.

The council debated particulars of the plan before approving it, including the width of streets within the development. Originally set at 26 feet by SummerHill, the streets were narrowed to 24 feet during the initial approval process. But councilmembers thought the narrower streets were not worth the supposed traffic-calming effects they would bring.

In the end the council decided to set the street width at 26 feet and to narrow the sidewalks slightly to avoid the austere look of too much hardscape.

Among the concessions SummerHill made during the planning process were to move houses further back from Blossom Hill and down off of the hillside, add augmented storm drains, plant trees fronting Blossom Hill to simulate the old orchard, and restore the original Heinz residence and sell it along with the 43 new homes.

"We're very pleased," Elaine Breeze, SummerHill development manager, said. "These plans have evolved over a long time." She added that SummerHill will now begin architecture and site review and hopes to begin construction at latest following this winter. She expects the first new homes to close escrow no sooner than 2000.

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