For the Los Gatos Weekly Times
By Judy Peterson
An overflow crowd squeezed into the town council chambers Sept. 16 to hear the elected leaders of Los Gatos debate the pros and cons of the proposed North 40 development. About two hours into the meeting, the town council voted to postpone the certification of an environmental impact report and asked for more time to gather information about school and traffic impacts.
The motion, proposed by Vice Mayor Marcia Jensen and seconded by Councilwoman Barbara Spector, passed with a 3-2 vote, with Mayor Steven Leonardis casting the deciding vote. Council members Joe Pirzynski and Diane McNutt were both opposed to the motion and in favor of certifying the EIR.
The development project will be halted for nine weeks so that town staff can study not only potential traffic and school impacts but those of other projects underway in the area, particularly the Dell Avenue Area Project in Campbell.
“The fact is we have a document before us that has not been recommended by [the planning commission or North 40 advisory committee] that’s been working on this for so long,” Jensen said. “This is not putting a halt or starting over. What it’s doing is asking for additional information … that allows us to make the best decision we can.”
In response, McNutt asked, “How much time is ever enough?
“There will always be a reason to want more information,” she added. “We should move ahead so we can get to the specific plan.”
Despite the council’s decision not to hold another public hearing on the matter, residents forced one by cleverly avoiding to mention “North 40” on their comment cards and during their remarks at the podium. Instead, they focused on the existing problems of overcrowding at the schools and traffic congestion.
The 3-2 decision prompted loud applause both within the council chambers and the overflow room. Carol Hargett, owner of Dolce Spazio Gelato, said she was “very happy” that planners are taking more time.
“There are too many unanswered questions,” Hargett said.
Years of discussions led to the North 40 Specific Plan that would allow 580,000 square feet of commercial and retail development, and up to 364 homes to be built. The plan also requires that 13 acres be set aside for open space.
The North 40 is the last large parcel of undeveloped land in Los Gatos. The approximately 44 acres is bordered by Lark Avenue, Los Gatos Boulevard and highways 85 and 17.
Grosvenor Americas and SummerHill homes are the primary developers.
Traffic, building heights and schools have emerged as the major issues that Los Gatos residents want to see resolved before the development moves forward.
The Sept. 16 hearing was the second time the town council took up the North 40–the council also held a public hearing on Sept. 2 that brought new information about schools to the forefront. At that time, Los Gatos Union School District board president Scott Broomfield said the proposed North 40 homes would add an estimated 180 students to the elementary and middle school population. He argued the developer should be required to set aside two acres of land for a new school building and two acres for playgrounds.
“If we had four acres of land, which is what we would need to build a school, we would float a bond that would be voted on, of course,” Broomfield said. “We presently have $20 million in bonding capacity within the school district.”
Since the North 40 Specific Plan already allocates 13 acres of open space, Broomfield and LGUSD superintendent Diana Abbati suggested the town and school district form a partnership, whereby the district owns the school buildings and the town owns the playground areas. Abbati cited the Ross Valley School District in Marin County as an example of how such a partnership would work.
“The school district was responsible for maintaining the use of those facilities, and it was used during the school day for the schools. But after that it was a community asset, meaning fields for the town, green open space,” Abbati said.
Khalida Sarwari contributed to this story.
Link: Town Council votes to postpone certification of EIR for North 40
