Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Los Gatos Weekly-Times file photograph

The former Guadalupe College will disappear and be replaced by five homes if plans meet with town approval.

Neighbors turn out to support development

By Clarence Cromwell

Developer Joe McCarthy's plans to demolish the former Guadalupe College and build five houses on the property won praise from the neighbors at a July 9 meeting of the Los Gatos Conceptual Development Advisory Committee.

The neighbors and CDAC members raised questions about the water supply, emergency access and how the houses will change views of the hillside, prominently visible from around Los Gatos. Nevertheless, most appeared pleased to see houses where before they've fought to stop a women's prison and various colleges of business, religion, art and health.

"That's a logical use compared to other uses we've had [proposed]," said Heidi Evers, a Foster Road resident.

McCarthy asked the town to change the college's three lots into five lots in exchange for a promise to preserve most of the land with an "open space easement," which would rule out further development. Five new houses would be situated around a cul de sac at the north end of the property.

McCarthy plans to demolish the college buildings, grind up their rubble at the site and use the material to construct an emergency-access road through the novitiate at the top of College Avenue.

The 14 neighbors who attended the CDAC meeting said water supply problems concern them most.

Residents of Foster Road already suffer from low water pressure and a limited water supply. Many rely on pumps to bring water up the hill, and they use storage tanks to ensure that they'll have enough water for firefighting and for everyday use.

"Right now, we have incredibly rinky-dink pump systems," Foster Road resident Peggy Dallas said.

The college has three wells, storage tanks and existing water service from San Jose Water Company, McCarthy's real estate agent Andre Walewski said, enough to supply five new houses and to help put out fires anywhere in the area.

Another concern is access to the proposed houses for fire trucks. Walewski said the proposed access road would offer the entire Foster Road area greater protection from grass fires by giving fire engines another entrance to the area.

As for views, the houses are likely to be less visible than the college, which can be seen for miles across the valley. McCarthy proposes to cluster the houses on the lowest portion of the property. Additionally, the houses would be subject to the hillside planning guidelines, which allow less mass and height than buildings can have on the valley floor, and which call for subdued color schemes and designs.

The approval process might prove elusive to neighbors following the matter, because the town won't mail notices of public hearings for McCarthy's project. Planning Director Lee Bowman said the project requires only a lot-line adjustment, a decision made by the Development Review Committee. A public hearing will take place before the DRC decides, but the committee doesn't mail notices of its meetings as the Planning Commission and Town Council do.

DRC members could potentially defer to the Planning Commission in this case, Bowman said. Deferring to the Planning Commission would mean better-publicized meetings.

Usually, controversial matters are deferred, Bowman explained. He added that McCarthy's houses are drawing a lot of attention, including the unusually large group of neighbors at the CDAC meeting.

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