Builder’s remedy project near Los Gatos High approved despite safety concerns

A controversial and embattled mixed-use progress near Los Gatos High School was approved by the Town Council at a special meeting on May The evolution was proposed twice and went through four rounds of back and forth with town staff before being approved by the Planning Commission on March It would be build on two lots that would total just under half an acre on East Main Street High School Court and Church Street The four-story building includes multi-family residential units with space for commercial or retail businesses on the ground floor The developers Kenneth Rodrigues and Partners Inc applied for it to be a builder s remedy project because six units or of the units would be designated for low-income housing The project was approved in a - vote with Mayor Matthew Hudes and Councilmember Mary Bedame dissenting Hudes mentioned he would not be voting in favor of the project due to concerns for children s safety near the project site The builder s remedy designation allowed for numerous exceptions including shorter setbacks and increased height The building s -foot height is seven feet above the town s limit The building design takes inspiration from the brick foundation of Los Gatos High School which was designed by architect William Weeks and the nearby hotel and the Masonic Hall Developers also stepped the fourth floor back so the building wouldn t appear too bulky Staff informed council they did not find the growth in conflict with any building or zoning codes related to general wellbeing and safety However the developers need to take several measures to mitigate adverse environmental impacts These include scheduling construction between mid-September and mid-January to avoid bird nesting season having an operational air filtration system prior to receiving a building permit and requiring the final enhancement to be all electric as well as striping areas of the street for loading and to prevent parking Two underground parking structure designs were proposed for the project The first would be a two-level garage with parking stalls that would be shared by both retail customers and residents Although it would offer more parking spaces it would also be more expensive to build The second option would single-level parking garage with parking spots While would be standard parking stalls the rest would be accessible by a parking stacker and would require people to use a cell phone app to access the stall Resident Desmond Camus spoke favorably of the project saying it was beautiful and well-placed near town services He reported adding residential buildings would allow young families to live near their child s future high school and give older adults the ability to downsize while maintaining an operational lifestyle I hope that the council sees the value in approving this project and other housing developments Camus explained not just for helping Los Gatos achieve its housing goals but because of the real people who look at the opportunity to live and thrive in this area Numerous of those that opposed the project revealed they were concerned about traffic in the area Erline Lund a resident of Bayview Avenue mentioned that there isn t enough parking and it s demanding to get in and out of the area She also spoke about the foreseen danger that the heightened traffic might present especially during evacuation scenarios Hudes commented he spent several hours at the project site and determined that it was one of the the greater part if not the the bulk dangerous intersections in our town Los Gatos High School Principal Dave Poetzinger mentioned the addition of or vehicles near the project site concerns and scares him adding that two students were sent to the hospital this school year due to car or bike crashes As soon as you add to more cars to that corner it s not a question of if there s going to be further incidents Poetzinger revealed It s when there s going to be further incidents A transportation research conducted by Hexagon Transportation Consultants Inc determined that the project would add around conveyance miles traveled resulting in an increase of only It would also only increase the number of daily trips in the area by The project s carriage miles traveled would have to exceed of the countywide motorcycle miles traveled for its impact to be important Although Councilmember Maria Ristow acknowledged the traffic and safety concerns she asserted that those issues were already existing We already have a traffic issue that we have not been able to wrangle effectively Ristow disclosed I don t think that means that this project is either the trouble or the method To mitigate this Vice Mayor Rob Moore appealed that the developer meet with the Los Gatos High School and town staff to discuss safety measures limit construction-related deliveries during peak school traffic hours and install visual and audio alerts at the parking garage exit