Los Gatos Weekly-Times Ogilvie clears last hurdle for downtown hotel By Jeff Kearns The Town Council granted approval for Diane Ogilvie's proposed downtown hotel and restaurant Dec. 21, narrowly approving the project with a 3-2 vote. The zone change was the last major hurdle Ogilvie needed to clear for the hotel, which will be located at 220 E. Main Street, across from Los Gatos High School. "Now we can really go to work making this the most beautiful place we can," Ogilvie said after the meeting. But while Ogilvie now has the planned development zone change, she still needs to get a final approval from the Planning Commission for the hotel's architecture, and a conditional-use permit for the restaurant. At this point, plans outline 83 hotel rooms, a 166-seat restaurant, five conference rooms, and above-ground and underground parking lots. Twenty-nine of the hotel rooms are planned as upscale suites with small kitchen facilities that would be marketed to long-term corporate customers. Randy Attaway and Mayor Jan Hutchins voted against the project. Attaway said the plan was the best use proposed so far for the hotel, but still didn't think that it had enough parking and depended on "phantom parking spaces" Ogilvie has paid for in the town's parking district. "To have one-third of the parking not on-site and to expect that this is going to work out with 50 cars on Main is doing a disservice to the community," Attaway said. Hutchins said he wasn't voting for the zone change because he believed the project was too large for the area and "not small-town enough." Architect Jim Starkovich says that he and Ogilvie are still in the preliminary stages of finding an operator for the hotel, but should have a final decision within about two months. Starkovich says he wants to set up a study session with planning staff, planning commissioners and neighbors before the hotel's architecture and site application goes to the commission. "The major hurdles are over, but we still have some refinement and tinkering to do on the design," Starkovich said. Ogilvie could apply for architecture and site and CUP approval at the same Planning Commission hearing, which could be as early as February. The commission takes final action on the plan, unless the decision is appealed to the council. The planned development zone change approved last week doesn't necessarily lock Ogilvie into the current design. She may still decide to cut the number of rooms and add more space for conference rooms. Demolition of the three buildings on the site was approved by the Planning Commission Nov. 4, when it decided that the Kerful Cleaners building was of dubious historical significance. Retail uses are also allowed for in the commercial zoning. Ogilvie doesn't have any retail in the plan right now, but could add a gift shop or other retail space later. Any retail uses would need to fit within the existing parking for the hotel. Town code requires 154 parking spaces at the hotel, but the plan has a total of 172 spaces: 53 above ground and 54 below ground, in addition to 65 spaces in the district. Opposition to the project was tame, with only three residents speaking against the development. "Villa Avenue is entirely residential. I look out my window and see this towering over my house," said Rosemary Bittmann, who lives on Villa Avenue, which runs behind the site. Bittmann also criticized what she called the hotel's "Mediterranean palace" style of architecture as being out of character with the rest of the commercial district on E. Main, and said that a hotel would only worsen the afternoon traffic bottlenecks associated with the high school. Another resident, Joanne Rodgers, echoed Bittmann's concerns about traffic. Rodgers also handed in 300 signatures of residents she said were opposed to the hotel because it would create traffic problems and tilt the business mix in the area to serve visitors instead of residents. Michael Hadow of the First Church of Christ Scientist, which is next door to the hotel site, said that church officials were in favor of the project because it would help beautify the street and put more tax money into the town's coffers. Planning staff estimate that the hotel would bring in at least $337,187 per year in hotel taxes, in addition to an increase in property taxes from the redevelopment of the site. [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, December 30, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.