Planning Commission

TOWN OF LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING APRIL 23, 2025 The Planning Commission of the Town of Los Gatos conducted a Regular Meeting on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AT 7:00 PM ROLL CALL Present: Vice Chair Kendra Burch, Commissioner Jeffrey Barnett, Commissioner Susan Burnett, Commissioner Steve Raspe, Commissioner Rob Stump Absent: Chair Emily Thomas PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS Eli Robus - I’m a field representative for Carpenters Union Local 405 and I’m here to address the need for labor standards in upcoming Los Gatos projects. Construction is a dangerous occupation and it is concerning that health care is often not guaranteed for workers. Another essential labor standard that should be considered is requirements to hire workers from an accredited apprenticeship program. CONSENT ITEMS (TO BE ACTED UPON BY A SINGLE MOTION) 1. Approval of Amended Minutes – April 9, 2025 2. Consider making a recommendation to the Town Council on an ordinance amending Chapter 29 (Zoning Regulations) of the Town Code for Senate Bill 9 (SB 9) in response to the provisions of Senate Bill 450 (SB 450). The proposed amendments to the Town Code are not considered a project under section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act, and in accordance with Government Code Section 66411.7(n) and 66452.21(g), Senate Bill 9 ordinances are not a project subject to the California Environmental Quality Act. Town Code Amendment Application A-25-002. Project location: Town wide. Applicant: Town of Los Gatos. Director Paulson indicated there were two speaker cards for Item 3, 10 Charles Street, to be pulled. 110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832 www.losgatosca.gov PAGE 2 OF 7 MINUTES OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF MAY 14, 2025 Item 3 was pulled from the Consent Calendar. MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Raspe to approve adoption of the Consent Calendar with the exception of Item 3. Seconded by Commissioner Stump. VOTE: Motion passed unanimously. PUBLIC HEARINGS 3. 10 Charles Street Fence Height Exception Application FHE-23-001 APN 532-36-022 Property Owner/Applicant/Appellant: Firoz Pradhan Project Planner: Sean Mullin Consider an appeal of a Community Development Director decision to deny a fence exception request for an existing fence partially located in the Town’s right-of-way and exceeding the height limitations within the required front yard and street-side yard setbacks on property zoned R-1D. Categorically exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15303: New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures. Director Paulson indicated that Item 3 was requested to be continued, but before continuing the item the Commission would hear from two public speakers. Opened Public Comment. Kevin Chesney - I am the owner of 2 Charles Street. I expressed my concerns last time. Like my neighbor, Kent Anderson, I was unaware of the violation the Town raised with respect to the fence until the appeal. We tried to work with my neighbor as far back as 2022 to address my concerns, telling him I thought it was unsafe, but he built the fence. My other neighbor, Matthew Daily, who also objected, would be here if he were not traveling. Kent Anderson - I live across the street from the appellant and would witness an accident there almost once a month. That’s one of the busiest places in Los Gatos, people go through there fast, and probably hundreds of children walk by there from 8:00am-8:30am. Vehicles cannot stop at the stop sign, as they must roll past the stop sign line, which is into the crosswalk, in order to see around the corner. This is a serious hazard. Additionally, the appellant’s lattice work does not meet code to be only 20percent obscured; his is probably double that. PAGE 3 OF 7 MINUTES OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF MAY 14, 2025 Closed Public Comment. Commissioners discussed the matter. MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Raspe to continue the public hearing for Item 3, 10 Charles, to the first available date certain. Seconded by Commissioner Barnett. The Maker of the Motion amended the motion to a date certain of May 14, 2025. The Seconder of the Motion accepted the amendment to the motion. VOTE: Motion passed unanimously. 4. 16548 Ferris Avenue Conditional Use Permit U-25-002 APN 532-07-127 Applicant: Rekha Mundkur, Mariposa Montessori School Property Owner: Faith Lutheran Church Project Planner: Maria Chavarin Consider a request for approval to modify an existing Conditional Use Permit for an increase in the hours of operation in a nursery school (Mariposa Montessori School) on property zoned R-1:8. Categorically exempt pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15301: Existing Facilities. Maria Chavarin, Planning Technician, presented the staff report. Opened Public Comment. Minal Singh - I’m the President of the Board of Directors for the Mariposa Montessori School, and we have our Executive Director, Rekha Mundkur, here as well. We are essentially extending our aftercare hours to meet the needs of parents who have requested this. Closed Public Comment. Commissioners discussed the matter. MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Burnett to approve a Conditional Use Permit for 16548 Ferris Avenue. Seconded by Commissioner Stump. PAGE 4 OF 7 MINUTES OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF MAY 14, 2025 VOTE: Motion passed unanimously. 5. 16511 Cypress Way Architecture and Site Application S-24-045 APN 532-24-004 Applicant: Michael Harris Property Owners: Jackie and Scott Kolander Project Planner: Suray Nathan Consider a request for approval to demolish an existing accessory structure and construct a new accessory structure exceeding 1,000 square feet in gross floor area, and site improvements requiring a Grading Permit on property zoned HR-2½. Exempt pursuant to CEQA Section 15303(a): New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures. Suray Nathan, Assistant Planner, presented the staff report. Opened Public Comment. Michael Harris, Applicant - I am the architect for the Kolanders. We are replacing the two-car garage with a three-car garage in the same place. The materials and colors are designed to match the existing house. The garage cannot be seen from the street, and from the back there is the bulk of the roof, which meets the LRV requirements. The southeast corner of the garage is steep, and in order to maintain the same garage level without having to redo the driveway or its approach, we have to do extra grading at that corner. Being that the site is in a high fire severity zone, we have gone through the alternate means and methods with the County Fire Department and received approval. Closed Public Comment. Commissioners discussed the matter. MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Barnett to deny an Architecture and Site Application for 16511 Cypress Way. Seconded by Commissioner Stump. VOTE: Motion passed 4-1 with Commissioner Raspe dissenting. Vice Chair Burch indicated that she would recuse herself from participating in the public hearing for Item 6, 15349-15367 Los Gatos Boulevard. PAGE 5 OF 7 MINUTES OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF MAY 14, 2025 6. 15349-15367 Los Gatos Boulevard Architecture and Site Application S-24-015 Conditional Use Permit U-24-006 Subdivision Application M-24-008 APNs 424-19-048 and 424-19-049 Applicant: City Ventures Property Owner: Jonathan Peck Project Planner: Sean Mullin Consider a request for approval to demolish existing commercial structures, construct a multi-family live/work development (55 units), a Conditional Use Permit for a live/work development, a Condominium Vesting Tentative Map, site improvements requiring a Grading Permit, and removal of large protected trees, under Senate Bill 330 (SB 330) on property zoned CH:HEOZ. No additional environmental review is necessary pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15162: Subsequent EIRs and 15168: Program EIR, since the proposed project’s environmental impacts were adequately addressed in the 2020 General Plan EIR and/or 2040 General Plan EIR, as applicable. Joel Paulson, Community development Director, presented the staff report. Opened Public Comment. Pamela Nieting, Applicant - I am Vice President at City Ventures, a Bay Area builder focused on infill developments and developments close to transit as part of our core belief in creating partnerships with municipalities. Our project is for 55 townhomes that provide eight below market rate units, four low AMI units, and four moderate units. The live/work units are along Los Gatos Boulevard, and the project would have two access points plus a parking lot. The existing site only has access to Los Gatos Boulevard, but now it would be off Garden Lane. The project would have access to VTA. Also included is a bulb-out at Garden Lane to access Oak Hill Park kitty-corner to the site. James Paulson - I live at 253 Oakdale Drive, the corner directly across from the back of this proposed addition. We go down to the playlot with our grandchildren all the time, and one of our concerns is obviously traffic. Garden Lane is a back way for everyone to get through our neighborhood, so this project will impact us if it goes through. The street already has a huge amount of parking issues from the many employees of local businesses parking there, so we’re concerned about a big increase in traffic. There are 15 SB 330 projects in Los Gatos coming up. What used to be a nice neighborhood is now turning into an urban environment, which we don’t want. PAGE 6 OF 7 MINUTES OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF MAY 14, 2025 Karen Yamamoto - I live off Benedict Lane, which is right off Garden Lane. This SB 330 build should not be approved right now; we want the SB 330 builds all together when the Planning Commission decides what to do, because they will have a big impact on us. This project needs to be put on hold, not approved right away, and the Planning Commission should take CEQA into consideration. All these constructions need to be analyzed by CEQA and looked at as a whole, not as individual projects. Lee Fagot - Ms. Yamamoto made good points about considering this development in the context of all the other developments being proposed along Los Gatos Boulevard, and then make a judgement. The Boulevard is facing some issues of the water table underneath that area, and it lies along a series of earthquake fault zones. Other infrastructure concerns include sewage, water, electricity, etc. This building is only 5-8 feet back from the street, and then goes up 45’, it doesn’t look like anything in Los Gatos Pamela Nieting, Applicant - We hired some of the best engineers to thoroughly look at capacity, sizing, etc. We did a lot of geotechnical studies, and we also are following and abiding by the AP Act. We had two different types of geotechnical engineers to make sure that we had the correct findings about the earthquake faults that are in the area. With regard to CEQA, the project is looked at individually and within the context of the Housing Element. We not only did the Vehicle Miles Travels and Level of Service, but also driveway counts along Garden Lane, specifically for the different concerns of the neighbors. For the last two weeks I’ve come at different hours of the day to kind of see what traffic patterns are, and there is different traffic patterns based on the end use, meaning if it’s residential versus commercial, but we care about the neighbors on Garden Lane, so we did that. Closed Public Comment. Commissioners discussed the matter. MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Raspe to approve an Architecture and Site application, Conditional Use Permit, and Subdivision application for 15349-15367 Los Gatos Boulevard, subject to recommendation for the applicant to work with staff on the consulting architect recommendations for design elements, and recommending the Town Council direct staff to develop a method to study the cumulative impacts of the SB 330 projects, including this project. Commissioners discussed the matter. Opened Public Comment PAGE 7 OF 7 MINUTES OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF MAY 14, 2025 Applicant answered Planning Commission questions. Closed Public Comment Seconded by Commissioner Barnett. VOTE: Motion passed unanimously. REPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT Joel Paulson, Director of Community Development • None. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS/COMMISSION MATTERS Historic Preservation Committee Commissioner Burnett - The HPC met on April 23, 2025: o Reviewed three requests to remove a home from the historic inventory. One item was granted, and the other two items will be returning to the HPC. o A review for exterior alteration and construction of a second story addition. o Discussed landmark designations. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:38 p.m. This is to certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the April 23, 2025 meeting as approved by the Planning Commission. _____________________________ /s/ Vicki Blandin