Town wants development to cater to seniors

By Gloria I. Wang

Too many of the new housing developments in Los Gatos are homes that cater to a certain segment of the population. So now the town is looking for multi-unit developments that serve a different segment of the community--seniors.

Town officials explored the possibilities at a recent design committee meeting at which they reviewed plans for a development on Winchester Boulevard.

Los Gatos Vice Mayor Sandy Decker indicated that there were few places in town for retirees who were selling their big homes but wanted to stay in the area. Those members of the community, Decker said, preferred one-story homes with ample yard space for gardening.

"There's that pent-up market that has no place to go," Decker said.

Classic Communities' proposal, which came before the town's Conceptual Development Advisory Committee March 13, was the opposite of what Decker wanted. The property in question was a 2 ¹/2-acre piece sandwiched between Highway 85 and Courtside Club.

Called "Classic at Vasona Ranch," the developer proposed two options.

The first proposal was a 23 single-family home alternative, with the residences between 1,800 and 2,100 square feet. Classic offered to enter two of those homes into the town's below-market price program, which ties household income with housing costs.

The other plan would be for 29 townhomes, ranging from 1,600 to 1,900 square feet; three of those units would be at below-market price. According to Classic's Scott Ward, the townhomes are fourplexes with two-car garages.

Both options called entirely for two-story buildings.

Although Mayor Randy Attaway said he liked Ward's efforts to make the townhomes fit in with the surrounding properties--the "court-style" housing near Courtside--the mayor was not in favor of the design. Not only was there very little open space for both plans, there were almost no parking spaces available.

"Traditionally, we never have enough off-street parking," Attaway said, adding the proposals were too "cookie-cutter."

Planning commissioner Paul Dubois said the designs did not promote activities in front of the houses. The commission, Dubois said, was "encouraging the use of porches--usable porches."

Dubois said he liked Decker's idea of meeting a niche in the community.

Decker pointed out that the houses had almost no backyards and the development would resemble a bunch of two-story buildings "with a sea of garages."

After doing some research and speaking to some real estate agents, Decker said she found that each home in the proposed development would probably sell from $550,000 to $650,000. "We do a great deal in this particular price range," Decker said.

Even the houses in the below-market price program would hardly qualify as low-income housing, Decker said.

When the committee members were questioned on what kind of development was appropriate at the site, however, they had differing opinions.

Bud Lortz, director of community development, asked, "Would it be more appropriate to look at office use instead of residential use?" Lortz mentioned that there were no residences on Winchester north of Lark except for the recently approved Sobrato development, which will have apartments that will be far off the street, behind a large research-and-development campus.

Dubois said he saw the lot as strictly residential use because there would be less traffic and impacts to Winchester generated by homes.

Decker, on the other hand, disagreed. Decker said more cars would come out of a housing development than from a commercial use, such as a medical-supply business. And because the Community Hospital of Los Gatos and other commercial facilities were nearby, Decker said she could support office use.

Attaway said he would consider either use, as long as the potential traffic impacts were studied and dealt with by the developer.

Ward, representing Classic, wanted to garner the town's opinions on usage from the meeting. Only if he received positive feedback would he proceed to design specifications, Ward said.

The Conceptual Design Advisory Committee is the initial town body that gives feedback to planning applicants. Committee members advise developers on the feasibility of their plans and what the town is looking for to give approval.

"The question that we always ask ourselves is, 'Is this the right change for the town?'" Lortz said.

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