Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Editorials

The town cares about its history

The Los Gatos Planning Commission last week ignored an architectural historian's report that suggested the house at 634 N. Santa Cruz Ave. was not worth saving. Commissioners decided that, in spite of the opinion expressed in the report, the home had historic integrity and should be saved.

Michael Shadman, who wants to replace the house with an office building, could still win over the Town Council in his appeal. Still, the action of the Planning Commission says something about Los Gatos.

This is a community that takes its history seriously.

The same cannot be said about neighboring Monte Sereno.

Last week Monte Sereno councilmembers all but scrapped that community's historic preservation ordinance.

Several years ago that city began an inventory of historic buildings on the premise that without a preservation ordinance many of the city's treasures might disappear.

But the preservation forces soon found themselves in a losing battle with those championing the cause of private property rights.

The historic preservation ordinance remains on the books, but last week's vote renders it worthless. Under the new ordinance, homeowners can choose if they want to be in the inventory; they can even go on the list and decide later to be taken off.

There are some who argue that the Los Gatos Planning Commission, and its advisory Historic Preservation Committee sometimes impede progress. That sometimes they make bad decisions, allowing old buildings with little integrity to stand in the way of projects that could improve the economic vitality of the town.

Progress is a formidable force, and, unlike history, it has time on its side. Los Gatos may not always make the best decisions about what to preserve and what to let go, but at least officials wrestle with the dilemma. At least they recognize it as a dilemma.

What do you think?

At a time when Los Gatos is facing unprecedented pressure to grow, the town has wisely brought together a diverse cross-section of the town to evaluate how well the general plan reflects the wishes of the community.

The task force's job is to find out how people feel about the direction the town is headed. What's acceptable to the community and what is not?

In addition to information members have accumulated among their own constituencies, the task force plans to cover all the bases by making sure every resident has an opportunity to respond to the questionnaire.

The survey will be included in the next town newsletter and will also be available at Safeway, in the Town Library and at the Planning Department.

Filling it out is the best way to ensure that your voice is heard.

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