Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Planning Commission ought to play fair

Developer Diane Ogilvie says the dream is leaving her. Small wonder. The Planning Commission has rejected her project once again, this time after she made all eight changes the commission asked her to make when she appeared before the body in April.

Only Commissioner Wes Peyton took the position that Ogilvie, having met the demands of the commission, should be permitted to build La Strada, her mixed-use project that incorporates condos, a small European-style hotel and street-level shops.

Other commissioners argued that the 65 parking spaces she's paying for didn't really count because they are the town's famous "phantom" spaces.

That's an interesting bit of logic: To build the project, Ogilvie had to buy 65 spaces that don't exist. Then when she reports that she has met the town requirement, the town tells her: But those spaces don't really exist so your customers won't have any place to park. You can almost hear the commissioners whisper: "Gotcha!"

Planning Director Lee Bowman later told the Los Gatos Weekly-Times that the parking spaces aren't a legitimate reason to deny a project. But no one mentioned that at the Planning Commission meeting.

The commission also wants Ogilvie to move the project back from the street, even though it will leave her with half the condos she needs to make the project viable. Commissioners further complained about the height of the hotel even though she's trimmed it by four feet at the commission's request.

And Commissioners Sandy Decker and Len Pacheco think it would be nice if the hotel had an open plaza in front which would allow for more parking--even though the same Planning Commission is telling prospective developers on Los Gatos Boulevard that cars should be hidden and structures should be close to the street and thus "pedestrian-friendly."

But then, isn't that what this is really all about? Some sharp-tongued critics have shot barbs at the Planning Commission because they're upset about the design of the Byer Center under construction at the corner of Los Gatos Boulevard and Blossom Hill Road.

Pacheco said at the meeting: "We already know how people feel about having their view blocked out by in-your-face buildings."

Never mind that many of the complaints came from residents of the area who woke up one morning to discover a towering wall of plywood blocking their familiar view.

With the addition of windows and various design features, the structure looks very different than it did at first. Commission members, some of whom are well-versed in design, should know that anything new and daring has traditionally been met with hostility.

Now, it seems, the commissioners want Ogilvie to pay the price for forcing them to deal with yet another bold project.

It's unconscionable for the commission to require changes and then brush off the changes as if making them were as simple as rebuilding a Lego structure. Although Ogilvie herself has a history of flamboyantly changing her mind, she has jumped through hoops at the behest of the Planning Commission. It's time for the town to admit that fair is fair.