Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Development company tries again to build on old orchard

By Clarence Cromwell

The Cupertino Development Company will try again Aug. 27 for Los Gatos Planning Commission approval to build houses on the former orchard located at 16673 Lark Ave.

However, the plans still don't offer some changes commissioners asked for when they sent Cupertino Development back to the drawing board July 9.

At that meeting, commissioners said they wanted to see prettier houses and more green, in the form of a lawn and landscaping at the middle of the project, even if the green would mean fewer houses. They asked Cupertino Development to submit new plans to the Development Review Committee and then to the commission.

In plans submitted to the Development Review Committee Aug. 5, the company removed a central swimming pool and one house to make a central half-acre landscaped area. Now the houses wrap around the lawn in a horseshoe that opens toward Los Gatos Creek.

The Development Review Committee certified that the application is complete, but members also noted that the plan didn't appear to have as much green as the Planning Commission asked for. Because the horseshoe narrows just below the mouth, the creek area won't be visible from the far end of the lawn. The commission sought a wide band of lawn from the creek all the way to the heart of the property, planner Sandy Bailey said.

The houses are still 1,400 to 1,900 square feet, and the project includes 23 of them. Because the central parklike area is so large, front yards would only be about 15 feet deep. Architect Rodger Griffin said the tiny yards would still exceed requirements for lawns in such a dense project.

The alternative proposal also lacks hidden garages, which commissioners asked for. The current designs put all the garages toward the street, offering visitors a view of rows of garage doors.

Griffin said there's just not enough room on the two-acre site for a large lawn and for the driveways that would reach garages on the sides or rear parts of houses.

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