Planning Commission

TOWN OF LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING DECEMBER 10, 2025 The Planning Commission of the Town of Los Gatos conducted a Regular Meeting on Wednesday, December 10, 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 Absent: Commissioner Rob Stump PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS None. CONSENT ITEMS (TO BE ACTED UPON BY A SINGLE MOTION) 1. Approval of Minutes – October 29, 2025 2. Approval of Minutes – November 12, 2025 3. Annual Review of an Approved Conditional Use Permit for an existing Private School (Hillbrook School) on property zoned HR-1. Located at 300 Marchmont Drive. APNs 532- 10-001 and 532-11-011. Conditional Use Permit Application U-12-002. Applicant/Property Owner: Mark Silver/Hillbrook School. Project Planner: Jocelyn Shoopman. 4. Planning Commission 2026 Meeting Schedule Commissioners Sordi and Barnett indicated that they would recuse themselves from voting on Item 3 due to residence proximity to the subject site. MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Burnett to approve adoption of the Consent Calendar. Seconded by Commissioner Raspe. VOTE: Motion passed unanimously with Commissioners Sordi and Barnett recused from Item 3. 110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832 www.losgatosca.gov PAGE 2 OF 6 MINUTES OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF DECEMBER 10, 2025 PUBLIC HEARINGS 5. 620 Blossom Hill Road Architecture and Site Application S-25-026 APN 529-16-041 Applicant: Ali Yoosofi Property Owner: SHP-MINGMING, LLC Project Planner: Ryan Safty Consider a request for approval for renovation and expansion of an existing automotive dealership (Los Gatos Luxury Cars) on property zoned CH:HEOZ. Categorically exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301: Existing Facilities. Ryan Safty, Associate Planner, presented the staff report. Opened Public Comment. Ramin Naimi (Applicant) - I am the vice president of the organization. Rolls-Royce wants to expand their showroom by 894 square feet. It will be behind the building, and it is going to create an area for the customers and a congregation area. The remodel would be a huge improvement to the building, and the exterior will look very nice. Closed Public Comment. Commissioners discussed the matter. MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Raspe to approve an Architecture and Site Application for 620 Blossom Hill Road. Seconded by Vice Chair Burch. VOTE: Motion passed unanimously. 6. 4 Tait Avenue Zone Change Application Z-25-002 General Plan Amendment Application G-25-002 APN 510-44-054 Property Owner/Applicant: Town of Los Gatos Project Planner: Sean Mullin Consider a request for approval for a Zone Change from C-2:LHP (Central Business District with a Landmark and Historic Preservation Overlay) to R-1D:LHP (Single-Family Residential Downtown with a Landmark and Historic Preservation Overlay) and a General Plan amendment to change the Land Use designation from Central Business PAGE 3 OF 6 MINUTES OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF DECEMBER 10, 2025 District to Medium Density Residential. Categorically exempt pursuant to the adopted guidelines for the implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act, Section 15061(b)(3). Sean Mullin, Planning Manager, presented the staff report. Opened Public Comment. Steve McGrath - My family lives at 305 West Main Street, directly across from the subject property. I strongly support the zone change, as it would preserve the history of the neighborhood. Many areas of Los Gatos are changing quickly and we feel that this is a positive influence to maintain the unique character of our Town, and we feel strongly that this property should match the surrounding neighborhood. The single-family residential is appropriate in this area due to the adjacency of the nursery and elementary schools, and because it is surrounded on three sides by residential; anything other than that would be a significant change to the character of this historic area. Noise, traffic, and parking are already challenging in this area, and anything other than single-family residential would certainly generate more noise, traffic, and parking issues. Sergei Graff - My wife, Irina, and I are Los Gatos residents. We are also part of the St. Mary School and parish community. We request the Commission pause the zoning decision for 4 Tait Avenue so we can present an alternative, that this building be used to establish a children’s art museum that St. Mary’s kids and Gatos kids and teenagers can attend. We propose to fully preserve the architecture and design of this building. St. Mary fully supports the opportunity to collaborate with the art center. We are asking for a 30- or 60-day pause on the zone change proposal so we can create a full plan for funding our idea. Irina Graff - We have a concept of this art space as a combination between art innovation and technology, and we would like to serve our community with new technology from Netflix, Google, etc. Also, we have a lot of representatives from our community who have had cancer, and art therapy supports them. Kat Battaglia - My husband and I live at 300 West Main Street, on the other corner of West Main and Tait. We support reverting back to the original and historic zoning for the property for similar reasons as my neighbors. The character of that property is very residential and has never appeared to be a commercial style building, so the blend with the neighborhood seems to be a better fit. There are a lot of challenges for parking in the area, and Tait is really difficult. A commercial business there would exacerbate the problem and change the entire flavor of the neighborhood. It’s very much more residential feeling after a certain time, particularly in the evening, and that would completely change. There is also concern for PAGE 4 OF 6 MINUTES OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF DECEMBER 10, 2025 emergency response when we have these gridlocked areas. Residential is just calmer, and I think it keeps in the flavor of the area and that particular building. Mike Wasserman - I live at 303 West Main Street, and I think that the recommendation before you tonight is appropriate. To the north, west, and south of the property are single-family residential homes, and that’s important. The house faces Tait Avenue, a residential street, and to put commercial use out there is not appropriate, because it’s residential and residential fits there. There is a salon and such to the east, and that’s the line where commercial stops and residential continues from there. There is also a traffic issue there, and at my house I hear horns every day. Single-family residential use is a lot less intensive as far as parking or noise. Whether it’s one home or a duplex, parking can be off the street. In that area, Tait has parking only on one side, because St. Mary is down there. If it’s a commercial use, where are they going to park? It has to be in front of homes. If it’s a single-family, there’s enough space for a single-family or a duplex there with off-street parking, and noise would be less. Alexey Malykh - I understand it is pretty sensitive for the community, but I strongly believes in a long-term benefit of what will be the best usage of this space. I vote for changing the zoning, number one. Number two, from the perspective of education and contributing to the community, bringing in something as a value will, in my opinion, definitely bring a more positive long- term effect from a historical perspective and from today’s standpoint. As a Town, I think we will maintain better historical preservation for Los Gatos as compared to transitioning to the residential project. Natalia - I went through cancer in 2017, and I would have been so happy at that time to have such a center as the Graff’s presented today, to leave my kids there. I’m really happy to have the Graff’s here, because they organized an amazing St. Mary’s Carnival in the autumn, and they’re going to organize an art festival in the spring. Irina also has an amazing marketing background, and her husband Sergei is an amazing architect and designer, and I think it’s great to allow them to organize such kind of center in Los Gatos. This art immersive center with after-school programs would be great for the community, especially because kids are mostly within walking distance, so it’s not huge traffic for downtown. I think it’s great also to preserve the spirit of the fire station we used to have as a historical landmark. Suzanne Fiore - I live at 5 Tait Avenue, directly across the street from the subject site. I am strongly in favor of returning to the initial zoning of residential with historic for all the reasons the other speakers have mentioned. Parking is very difficult with only one side of the street, and our street is quite narrow and is not a place to be adding more traffic. My concern is noise if the site stays commercial, as this is a quiet neighborhood. As some of the other speakers PAGE 5 OF 6 MINUTES OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF DECEMBER 10, 2025 said, that property is three sides residential, and it suits the neighborhood. I agree with the speaker who said the building style suits the residential and historic nature of this neighborhood. Lisa Mammel - I live at 33 Tait Avenue, six houses from the subject site, and have lived on Tait for over 30 years. I strongly support reverting back to the Single-Family Residential District with Landmark Historic Preservation status. There is difficulty with ingress and egress of cars coming in and out of St. Mary. I live across the street from their parking lot, and at times I have had to park a block or two away. The addition of something commercial would only add to this traffic issue. This happened when the site was an art museum and had showings; we couldn’t access our own homes. Add the summer beach traffic, and this is a jammed street. We have also worried about emergency vehicles. There was a failed attempt to get a commercial tenant into this building, and now the building has gone into disrepair. We have an obvious housing shortage in Los Gatos, and this is an opportunity to chip away at some of that. Tait Avenue is a neighborhood, not a commercial district. Closed Public Comment. Commissioners discussed the matter. MOTION: Motion by Commissioner Barnett to recommend Town Council approval of a Zone Change Application and General Plan Amendment for 4 Tait Avenue. Seconded by Vice Chair Burch. VOTE: Motion passed unanimously. REPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Joel Paulson, Community Development Director • The Town Council held interviews for Planning Commission positions on November 24, 2025. Commissioner Barnett was reappointed, and former Planning Commissioner Adam Mayer, who will begin his duties in early 2026, was appointed to replace departing Commissioner Raspe. • The Planning Commission will hear the Twin Oaks project at a special meeting on December 17, 2025. • The Town Council will hold a special meeting on January 13, 2026 regarding the North Forty Phase 2 project, to begin at 5:00 p.m. rather than the typical 7:00 p.m. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS/COMMISSION MATTERS None. PAGE 6 OF 6 MINUTES OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF DECEMBER 10, 2025 ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:02 p.m. This is to certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the December 10, 2025 meeting as approved by the Planning Commission. _____________________________ /s/ Vicki Blandin