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Photograph by Dai Sugano
Architect Greg Stowers, a Town Chamber of Commerce board member, looks at the job ahead. He is helping get the building ready for the Chamber to move in.
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Chamber moving into Wolf Camera site
Council asks for amendment to prevent precedent
By Nathan R. Huff
The Town of Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce's two functions will soon be integrated into one location, following an Oct. 2 town council motion to allow the Chamber to open in the former Wolf Camera building at 349 N. Santa Cruz Ave.
As part of the motion, council members stated that they would like the town staff to return with an ordinance at a future date that would classify the Chamber as a unique business to prevent creating a loophole in the town's zoning ordinance. The ordinance governing the downtown area prohibits office uses on the ground floor.
The Chamber had approached the planning commission on Sept. 27, seeking clarification of its business classification. The commission ruled that, while the Chamber did have an office use component, it also provides a service to the public and business owners that includes retail sales and the promotion of retail uses.
"As I understand, this continues to be a gray area of language open to interpretation," Chamber Chairwoman Diane McNutt said. "I think the staff and the planning commission have come up with language that helps us out, but does not set up a dangerous precedent for the future."
Councilman Joe Pirzynski agreed, saying the work done by the staff and commission had adequately addressed the concerns raised by the council when the Chamber's plan to move was first raised. Other members of the council, however, felt the town should further protect itself.
Councilman Randy Attaway said he believed the wording was "a little weak," adding that he feared an office that sold pens at the front desk could try to use the Chamber's precedent to open at ground level on N. Santa Cruz Avenue. Councilwoman Linda Lubeck agreed, asking staff to return with an amendment to the ordinance.
On their part, Chamber representatives were excited with the opportunity to move forward. The group will close down its public information and assistance booth in Bank of America and its office on Bean Avenue and move--hopefully by Nov. 1--into a single story building on N. Santa Cruz Avenue between Highway 9 and Almendra Avenue.
"This building is a godsend," Chamber Executive Director Sheri Lewis said. "It's just such a boon to be located in a place with such visibility for residents and visitors."
Lewis said the move was made possible largely due to the work of McNutt and fellow Chamber board members Margaret Smith and Keith Plottel. While declining to state the rent for the new space, she also expressed her gratitude to building owner Tony Cedolini.
"I just know that he was very, very accommodating and that it just felt right to him," Lewis said.
Cedolini said that while there were a number of interested parties, the Chamber fit the bill of what he was looking for in a tenant. "As a person in business, you always want to give credence to people trying to help business," Cedolini said. "And the location was a perfect fit." He added that while he "reduced the rent substantially" to make the lease possible, the Chamber agreed to make a number of improvements to the building.
Even with comparatively low rent, the Chamber will still spend a lot more for its floor space than it now does. The Bank of America donates the space for the Chamber's information desk, and Pro Color Inc. greatly subsidizes the Chamber's office rent. Pro Color owner John Robertson has also donated many hours of design time for the Chamber's brochures and literature.
Lewis said that, while there was no structural work to be done with the new site, the Chamber intended to repaint, recarpet and complete a lot of other cosmetic work before moving in. Local developer Bill Hirschman is donating his time with fellow board member and architect Greg Stowers to renovate the interior. Lewis said the Chamber's goal is to move in as quickly and inexpensively as possible.
Once opened, the office will house the Chamber's half dozen employees and its many volunteers. Furniture is being "almost donated" by S. Levy Inc., a Campbell consulting firm that Lewis said has helped furnish Chamber offices in the past.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
