MINUTES OF THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Transcription

1 MINUTES OF THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 1, 2016 Town Council Meeting 09/20/16 Item #1 The Town Council of the Town of Los Gatos conducted a Special Meeting on Thursday, September 1, 2016, at 6:00 p.m. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AT 6:00 P.M. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Barbara Spector, Vice Mayor Marico Sayoc, Council Member Marcia Jensen, Council Member Steve Leonardis, Council Member Rob Rennie. Absent: None PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Spector led the Pledge of Allegiance. The audience was invited to participate. CONSENT ITEMS (TO BE ACTED UPON BY A SINGLE MOTION) 1. Approve Council Minutes of August 9, Approve Council Minutes of August 11, Approve Council Minutes of August 16, 2016 The Council discussed the items, noting that Mr. Picraux s testimony on August 9, 2016 was broader than the minutes indicated and questioning the use of sic corrections to motions. Motion by Council Member Steve Leonardis to approve the Consent Items 1 through 3 Seconded by Mayor Barbara Spector. Motion passed unanimously. VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS There were no verbal communications. PUBLIC HEARINGS 4. Architecture and Site Application S and Vesting Tentative Map Application M Property Location: Southerly Portion of The North 40 Specific Plan Area, Lark Avenue to South of Noddin Avenue. Applicant: Grosvenor USA Limited. Property Owners: Yuki Farms, ETPH LP, Grosvenor USA Limited, Summerhill N40 LLC, Elizabeth K. Dodson, and William Hirschman. Consider a request for the construction of a new multi-use, multi-story development consisting of 320 residential units, which includes 50 affordable senior units; approximately 66,800 square feet of commercial floor area, which includes a market hall; on-site and off-site improvements; and a Vesting Tentative Map. APNS: through 027, 031 through 037, 070, 083 through 086, 090, and 100. ITEM #4 CONTINUED FROM AUGUST 9, AUGUST 11, AND AUGUST 16, 2016.

2 Public Hearing Item #4 continued The Town Council opened and closed the Verbal Public Comment for this item at the August 9, 2016 Special Meeting of the Town Council. Council discussed the matter. Motion by Council Member Marcia Jensen to approve the application as submitted, and approve the resolution (attachment 23) with all of the findings and requirements included with the resolution. For purposes of the motion, the following items should be included in the record: (1) The evaluation contained in the HCD letter of August 25, 2016, from Paul McDougall regarding Government Code Sections C1 and H & I, which indicates: "While design review is allowed under the statute, by right decision making must follow development standards that are objective fixed, predictable, clear, quantifiable, written, warrant little to no judgement and should be applied in a manner that affirmatively facilitates development. (2) Vision Statement General Principles identified in Chapter 2, paragraph 2 are that the land use development standards form a comprehensive set of policies that will work in concert to steer future development. Section 2.3 paragraph 2: The overall goal is for all three districts to work together. Section indicates that the Plan, policies and guidelines work in concert with the zoning ordinances of the Town, however, when there is a conflict, the Plan takes precedence. (3) With respect to bullet one of the Vision Statement: The North Forty will look and feel like Los Gatos. Section the Specific Plan area should accommodate a mix of residential product types and sizes to create the character of an authentic neighborhood rather than a typical development project. The application proposes different types of residences: garden cluster, row homes, live/work lofts, affordable senior apartments. They comply with Table 2.2 of the Specific Plan. Commercial Design Guidelines for the look and feel of Los Gatos Section a - these guidelines are not intended to establish or dictate a specific style. Section (b) - proposals for new commercial structures should be developed within the context of Los Gatos' heritage and historic and agricultural heritage of the site. The application is consistent with the architecture that's called out in the Specific Plan, and is compatible. Section 3.4 Neighborhood Identity indicates the Specific Plan is a unique site in the Town, with its own identity. The Specific Plan area should be treated with a unique image or brand, appropriate to its history and relationship to the Los Gatos community. Branding elements include building materials and forms, trees and landscape treatments, street lights, benches, trash 2

3 cans, planters, walls, and signage. This application has given us a variety or architectural treatments that conform to the heritage of the land, it's consistent with the pictures that are illustrated in the Specific Plan, it includes planting of approximately 1800 trees, 540 of which are orchard trees, and that's reflected on application sheets 2.2, 4.1, and 4.3. (4) Bullet two of the Vision Statement - The North Forty will embrace Hillside Views, trees, and open space. The application does comply with all of the height limitations set in the Specific Plan, and it does plant 1800 trees, and with respect to open space Section 2.5.4, requires a minimum of 30% open space and this application gives us 39%. The open space, Section 2.5.4a includes both green open space and hardscape. Section 2.5.4c, the 30% open space requirement shall include a variety of green and plaza spaces with a minimum of 20% being green open space, the application provides 23%. Section 2.5.4d requires that 20% of the 30% open space shall be publicly accessible; the application has 85% of that space publicly accessible. (5) Bullet three of the Vision Statement - the North Forty will address the Town's residential and/or commercial unmet needs. Section 3.3 Residential Design Guidelines of the Specific Plan states residential products should be designed to meet the unmet needs of the community and provide a mix of market rate and affordable housing in a multi-family setting. The application sheets 1.0, 1.0(a) include proposed residential of market rate garden clusters, condominiums, row homes, live/work lofts, apartments, and senior affordable units. Section Retail Tenant Space Size. The Specific Plan allows for a mix of retail sizes, including smaller neighborhood serving stores that will support the new residential, as well as, larger space for commercial uses. The commercial is to serve the unmet needs for the new and surrounding businesses and residential neighborhoods subject to the following conditions: a) every application shall include a table that identifies the sizes of each retail space proposed. That has been submitted, Sheet 1.0a. b) the maximum individual commercial retail tenant size is 50,000 square feet. The application does not propose anything over 50,000 square feet. Section requires that new commercial square footage must present the proposal and an economic study to the Conceptual Development Advisory Committee (CDAC). That was done in this case both in October 2015, with the final decision on November 11, The minutes for CDAC indicate that it was examined and that "no additional analysis needs to be provided unless there are changes to the proposed commercial elements that the current analysis does not cover." (6) Vision Statement Bullet four is supported by Section 4.1 Policy C2: Traffic Minimize traffic impacts through site design, multimodal opportunities, land uses, the intensity of development, 3

4 access, and street and intersection improvements. The application complies with the mitigation measures identified in the EIR and provides infrastructure improvements that are called out in the Specific Plan - Tentative Map Roadway Improvement plans sheets 1.23 and Policy C5 Bicycle Planning Integrate bicycle facilities and amenities throughout the site. Development projects shall include multi-modal paths. The Tentative Map sheets 1.3 and 1.5 comply with that. Section 4.6 Intersection Improvements - all of those are provided on the Tentative Map sheets 1.23 and Section 4.10 Traffic Demand Management Plan - that comes with the Final Map if the application is approved. The applicant has indicated they will be following the requirements called out in the EIR. (7) The second part of Bullet four of the Vision Statement is addressed in Section 5.2 Policy 18: Address School Needs. Developers are encouraged to collaborate with School Districts to address school needs. There is an agreement with the Los Gatos School District included with the application. Other community services, the applicant has worked with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC) and transportation agencies along with the Town to meet other Town needs. The Objective Standards Matrix submitted by the applicant is not being relied on for the motion. Amendment by Council Member Rob Rennie: 1) change in Tree Planting Map to protect views (Exhibit F of Attachment 32, page 90); 2) plant the trees as soon as possible; 3) change the exterior architecture of market hall (Exhibit F of Attachment 32, page 87); 4) change the architecture of the two units on Los Gatos Boulevard (Exhibit B of Attachment 32, page 73); 5) optional elevation change to row home architecture (Exhibit of Attachment 32, page 81; 6) change the floor plans of the condo clusters to add an additional 10 units (Exhibit E of Attachment 32, Plan 4; and 7) change the architectural elevations of the units on Lark Ave (Exhibit C of Attachment 32, page 79). Seconded by Council Member Rob Rennie. Motion failed 2/3. Mayor Barbara Spector, Vice Mayor Marico Sayoc, and Council Member Steve Leonardis voting no. Recess at 7:53 p.m. Reconvened at 8:02 p.m. Motion by Council Member Marcia Jensen to adjourn to September 6, Seconded by Mayor Barbara Spector. 4

5 Motion failed 4/1. Mayor Barbara Spector, Vice Mayor Marico Sayoc, and Council Member Steve Leonardis, and Council Member Rob Rennie voting no. Motion by Vice Mayor Marico Sayoc to deny the application based on the following reasons: 1) The residential components of the Planning Commission s recommendation to the Town Council to deny the application; 2) Significant issues with the layout of the residential units and if there was an opportunity to spread the units, we would have had a better comprehensive site plan. For example; residential buildings 18 through 27 on Building Key Plan 1.0, surrounded by South A Street, Los Gatos Boulevard, and Lark Avenue, are an anomaly due to the existing commercial property on Los Gatos Boulevard (as clarified after discussion); 3) Site access on Specific Plan page 4-2 and Commercial Design Guidelines on page 3-2 guide the site plan development; 4) The ability to spread residential units gives better design. 270 units were allocated in the Housing Element for all 40 acres of the North acres were not designated to the southern Lark District, Transition District, or Northern District. This provides discretion to the deciding body. This is how land use decisions work in Los Gatos. When there is ambiguity, the deciding body makes the determinations based on look and feel, site layout, scale, mass, and neighborhood harmony. We should not be looking at this project any differently; 5) With the intention of applying the Specific Plan uniformly on all projects in the future, this application disproportionately hurts the chances of a better site design in the future; 6) Housing Element planned for an income distribution of 156 very low, 84 low, and 30 moderate income households for North 40 site (added by the maker of the motion and accepted by the seconder after discussion); and 7) Reducing the size of the proposed units and locating the proposed units outside of the Los Gatos School District boundaries are strategies for reducing the cost of the proposed units (added by the maker of the motion and accepted by the seconder after discussion). Seconded by Council Member Steve Leonardis. Motion 3/2. Council Members Marcia Jensen and Rob Rennie voting no. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:43 p.m. Attest: /s/ Shelley Neis, Clerk Administrator 5