Planning Commission

TOWN OF LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING JUNE 11, 2025 The Planning Commission of the Town of Los Gatos conducted a Regular Meeting on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AT 7:00 PM ROLL CALL Present: Chair Emily Thomas, Vice Chair Kendra Burch, Commissioner Jeffrey Barnett, Commissioner Susan Burnett, Commissioner Steve Raspe, Commissioner Joseph Sordi, Commissioner Rob Stump Absent: None. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CONSENT ITEMS (TO BE ACTED UPON BY A SINGLE MOTION) 1. Approval of Minutes – May 28, 2025 MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Stump to approve adoption of the Consent Calendar. Seconded by Commissioner Barnett. Commissioner Raspe indicated that he was not present for the May 28, 2025 Planning Commission meeting and would recuse himself from voting on the motion. VOTE: Motion passed unanimously with Commissioner Raspe recused. 110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832 www.losgatosca.gov PAGE 2 OF 4 MINUTES OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF JUNE 11, 2025 PUBLIC HEARINGS 2. 45 Reservoir Road Architecture and Site Application S-22-048 APN 529-33-054 Applicant: Gary Kohlsaat, Architect Property Owner: Farnaz Agahian Project Planner: Sean Mullin Consider a request for approval to construct a new single-family residence with a reduced rear yard setback, site improvements requiring a Grading Permit, and removal of large, protected trees on a nonconforming vacant property zoned R-1:20. Categorically exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15303: New Construction. Commissioner Burnett indicated having a friend who lives on Reservoir Road, so she would recuse herself from participating in the public hearing to avoid the appearance of bias. Commissioner Sordi disclosed that he was not a member of the Planning Commission during the Planning Commission and Town Council hearings regarding Item 2; however, he had reviewed the hearing videos and minutes and was familiar with project and actions taken, and he had visited the site. Commissioner Stump clarified that he had visited the site in January. Chair Thomas indicated that she had interacted with the applicant after the last Planning Commission meeting, but they did not discuss the application. Sean Mullin, Planning Manager, presented the staff report. Opened Public Comment. Gary Kohlsaat, Architect The majority of what we are asking tonight are exceptions, and most of these exceptions are going to happen whether the house is as big as it was before, or whether it is 800 square feet, so it is inevitable that they will have four if not five of these exceptions for any project that would be on this lot. All the exceptions we are asking for: 1) the firetruck turnaround, which is the fill; 2) the retaining wall for that; 3) we’re out of the LRDA for the majority of the home, because the road takes up all the LRDA, and the road and firetruck turnaround is non-negotiable, and it is not possible to reroute the road.; 4) doing grading with a cut over 4 feet in the rear; 5) an exception on the tandem garage; and 6) an exception to the rear setback. We have moved the house back away from the road. Overall, we have reduced the massing, reduced the size, and reduced the excavation required. Putting a house on this property is a much safer and more fire-resistant option than to leave it vacant, because the unhealthy trees will only get worse, but we will remove them and plant healthy trees, so this is a positive for the neighborhood, especially with the firetruck turnaround. PAGE 3 OF 4 MINUTES OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF JUNE 11, 2025 Lee Quintana I’m speaking as an individual resident, not as a member of the Historic Preservation Committee. I believe the resolution in the staff report did not really reflect the Town Council’s discussion. I won’t concentrate on the setbacks or most of the exceptions, because this is a bad site and some exceptions are needed in order to allow development. However, the maximum allowable square feet for this extremely constrained site is 1,600; that is for a site that doesn’t have maximum constraints, but this one has everything that would constrain the site, and so calls for a much smaller home not maximizing the FAR. The Town’s consulting architect, Larry Cannon, said the mass and scale was not compatible with the neighborhood and to fix it might require some changes. I would like to propose a change that would address the concern of the house not being set back far enough from the street without reducing square footage, and that is to drastically reduce the size of the outdoor foyer entrance or even push it into the round area around the staircase; and reduce the size of the loggia, or at a minimum remove the roof from the loggia; that is what gives this house a more massive look. Gary Kohlsaat, Architect We are not sure what Ms. Quintana is referring to in the consulting architect’s report about this house not fitting the site, because we wouldn’t be here if we didn’t pass muster with staff by following Mr. Cannon’s recommendations. Mr. Cannon’s main comment was that the house was too close to the street, so we have pushed it back, but we also showed the Council several examples on Rogers Street and Reservoir Road of walls, houses, fences, and garages out there, so this is not out of character, and this is a very tight site. Also, this site has been reduced from 10,000 square feet to 4,600 square feet to determine the FAR, a drastic reduction to get the 1,600 or whatever it is. We are not seeking the maximum square footage, and it is a significant difference when you look at the percentage. The loggia has been one of the biggest elements of the house since the beginning; it is for outdoor entertaining, it has a view, and it not very large, about the size of a living room. It is an outdoor living room, and I don’t believe Mr. Cannon cited the loggia’s roof as a problem for massing. It is a flat roof that will provide shade, which creates depth and reduces the overall scale. Closed Public Comment. Commissioners discussed the matter. MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Barnett to approve an Architecture and Site Application for 45 Reservoir Road. Seconded by Vice Chair Burch. Commissioners discussed the matter. VOTE: Motion passed 5-1 with Commissioner Stump dissenting and Commissioner Burnett recused. PAGE 4 OF 4 MINUTES OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF JUNE 11, 2025 OTHER BUSINESS REPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT Joel Paulson, Director of Community Development  Town Council met June 3rd: o Special meeting regarding the Genuine Automotive project and approved the project. o Regular meeting during which the new Fire Hazard Severity Zones map was introduced. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS/COMMISSION MATTERS Committee Name None. Commission Matters None. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m. This is to certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the June 11, 2025 meeting as approved by the Planning Commission. _____________________________ /s/ Vicki Blandin