Conceptual Development Advisory Committee

TOWN OF LOS GATOS CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT MINUTES OF THE CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING FEBRUARY 12, 2025 The Conceptual Development Advisory Committee of the Town of Los Gatos conducted a regular meeting on February 12, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AT 4:00 PM ROLL CALL Present: Chair Jeffrey Barnett, Vice Chair Mary Badame, Councilmember Maria Ristow, Planning Commissioner Kendra Burch, Commissioner Steve Raspe. Absent: None. VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CONSENT ITEMS (TO BE ACTED UPON BY A SINGLE MOTION) 1. Approval of Minutes – August 8, 2023 MOTION: Motion by Councilmember Maria Ristow to approve the consent calendar. Seconded by Councilmember Badame. VOTE: Motion passed (3-0) with Commissioners Burch and Raspe Abstaining. PUBLIC HEARINGS 2. 401 Surmont Drive Conceptual Development Advisory Committee Application CD-24-001 Consider a Request for Preliminary Review of a Proposal for Subdivision of One Lot into Three Lots on Property Zoned HR-2½. APN 527-20-002. PROPERTY OWNER: Srikanth Kasa APPLICANT: Jason Chan PROJECT PLANNER: Ryan Safty Project Planner presented the staff report. 110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832 www.losgatosca.gov PAGE 2 OF 3 MINUTES OF CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING OF FEBRUARY 12, 2025 Open Public Comment. Jason Chan, Applicant The goal is to see what the CDAC thinks of the proposal of a three lot subdivision at 401 Surmont. We are curious to see what can be done with each of the properties and how these proposals tie into the hillside guidelines and zoning. Bob Hughes, Neighbor There is access now to public water at the site as the watermain for this property was brought from Blossom Hill Road to the terminus of Surmont Drive a few years back. Jason Chan, Applicant  The lot split will allow for the future buildings to all be within LRDA.  We expect the water meters would be at the street level. The owners would be responsible for anything on the private property.  The plans show potential road and driveway locations that would go to the homes and are shown at different slopes. The access to Surmont could be driveways onto the private road that then leads to Surmont Drive. Dr. Edward Laucroni, Neighbor There are a lot of problems associated with this lot. The water drainage being one of them. If anything is built there, there is going to need to be a lot of drainage work. Madhura Joshi, Neighbor I share the same concerns about the drainage from this lot. The former owner did put in French drainage before they sold, but there are still issues. The plans also didn’t really show the roads, so it is hard to determine what the traffic might be like since that corner is a dead-end. Jason Chan, Applicant I hear the concerns about the drainage issues, and we will have our engineer review this. Closed Public Comment. Committee members discussed the matter and provided the following questions and comments:  Confirmed with staff that drainage is reviewed during the development review process and that Engineering has standards that need to be complied with.  It’s a very large acreage and plenty of room, so the concept of a three-lot subdivision seems feasible. Given the recent fires in LA, it might be a tough time to build in hillside as there might be changes in Town Code that won’t allow building there by the time you submit your application.  It’s not an ideal location, but we know people want to live in our wonderful Town, so let’s develop it properly. Try to be in conformance with having the entire structure in C:\Users\MeetingsOfficeUser11\AppData\Local\Temp\tmpAB62.tmp PAGE 3 OF 3 MINUTES OF CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING OF FEBRUARY 12, 2025 the LRDA, work closely with Fire given the risks including water access and roadways to allow a turnaround, and look at the drainage issue and work closely with soils and geo- tech engineers.  Work with staff now to help guide you in what steps need to be taken to move in the right direction. Keeping the home in the LRDA and making sure Fire has access to all the homes is important. Be sure to reach out to the neighbors early as it helps in ensuring a successful project.  Consider fire-hardening the homes with construction materials and ensure that defensible space around the homes is provided. It will be hard to support exceptions to our Hillside Development Standards and Guidelines at this time and that includes the LRDA. The three-lot subdivision is okay, but there is a risk factor with fires on sloped properties.  Architecture styles do not need to be identical for the future homes, but they should be compatible with each other.  Consider where to dedicate open space per the General Plan policy. OTHER BUSINESS 3. Election of Chair and Vice Chair MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Bruch to approve that Chair Barnett remain as Chair. Seconded by Councilmember Badame. VOTE: Motion passed unanimously. MOTION: Motion by Councilmember Badame to nominate Kendra Burch as Vice Chair. Seconded by Councilmember Ristow. VOTE: Motion passed unanimously. 4. 2025 Conceptual Development Advisory Committee Meeting Calendar ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 4:42 p.m. This is to certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the February 12, 2025, meeting as approved by the Conceptual Development Advisory Committee. /s/Joel Paulson, Community Development Director C:\Users\MeetingsOfficeUser11\AppData\Local\Temp\tmpAB62.tmp