By Sue Fagalde Lick
A proposal to build a bridge across Santa Cruz Avenue connecting the existing Toll House Hotel with a three-story addition, complete with matching tower, received a cool reception from Los Gatos' Conceptual Development Advisory Committee June 12.
The committee is the first step for developers, offering a chance to test the waters before taking their plans into the formal planning process. In addition to the Toll House proposal, the committee also considered proposals for a Carl's Jr. fast-food outlet at the Carousel Restaurant site on Los Gatos Boulevard and a townhouse development on Lark Avenue. None of the developers received the answers they were hoping for.
Speaking for the Toll House, Wayne Levenfeld of Pacific Valley Investors, Inc. told the committee that the proposed 22,232-square-foot addition would enable the hotel to add 34 luxury rooms to house business meetings and conferences and would bring $80,000 in added transient-occupancy-tax revenue to the city. The addition would be built on town-owned land where a Peerless bus depot stands now.
The 36-foot-high bridge would connect the two sections of the hotel with an enclosed walkway and would offer a striking southern gateway to the town, Levenfeld said.Reactions from the committee varied from strongly negative to a tentative 'maybe.' They said the project was too massive, would hide the view of the hills and might not fit architecturally with the town's image.
Kathryn Morgan was the strongest opponent. Stung by blistering reactions to the dome the Planning Commission approved for the Byer Center at Blossom Hill Road and Los Gatos Boulevard, she said, "I regret the domed shopping center. This would have much more impact than that. I would hate to see this project built, and if proposed, I would fight it with everything I could muster."
Commissioner Sandy Decker agreed with Morgan. It's not what she wants to see as the focal point of that area, Decker said. "It appears that it's 'Welcome to Toll House Town.'"
Michael Abkin said he likes the towers, but fears the bridge is too big and will hide the view of downtown for those approaching from Highway 17.
Mayor Randy Attaway was less adamant. The proposal is a dramatic one, but it might work, he said. He defended the Byer dome, saying it will look good when finished. He suggested that because of the size of the Toll House project, the Town Council should have a chance to consider the concept before it proceeds.
Councilmember Linda Lubeck suggested that the developer come back with computer drawings to show how the bridge and building would look from different angles. "I see this as a wonderful gateway to that end of town," she said.
Levenfeld said later that he had expected strong opinions but thought the proposal would be closer to something the town would like than it turned out to be. He and his associates plan to study the committee's comments and see how they can adapt the design and still meet their own objectives. "We're not going to walk away from that meeting and give up," he said.
Woody DeMayo's proposal to tear down the vacant Carousel Restaurant on Los Gatos Boulevard and build a Carl's Jr., complete with drive-through windows, received even less encouragement.
Drive-throughs are generally forbidden in Los Gatos, the committee members said, noting that they just turned down McDonald's request to build one across the street.
They also didn't like the idea of demolishing the Carousel building, although DeMayo protested that the building is unsuitable for a Carl's Jr. and it would cost him more to adapt it than to raze it and start over.
Every restaurant housed in the old building has failed, DeMayo said, and it has been vacant for almost two years. Carl's food is a step above most fast-food restaurants, he maintained, adding that the restaurant would be an asset to the neighborhood.
Committee members offered little hope however. The could only encourage him to go ahead if he used the same building and skipped the drive-through. A standard Carl's Jr. simply doesn't fit their vision for Los Gatos Boulevard, members said.
Also not fitting their "vision" was Landmark Property's latest proposal for a housing development at 16673 Lark Ave. Landmark planned to build 40 1,300- to 1,600-square-foot townhouses, to be priced from $250,000 to $270,000. The units would be divided into 12 triplexes and two duplexes.
This was the seventh variation for which Landmark has tried to get town approval, spokesman Lawrence Guy said. Originally they wanted to build attached single-family homes, but the committee rejected that idea.
Guy told the committee that with this plan he struggled to include a large number of units, abundant parking and plenty of open space, as suggested by town officials in the past.
While Lubeck noted that Landmark had brought back the changes they had asked for, Decker insisted it was still not what they're looking for. They want smaller, more affordable units and a more creative design, she said. What they don't want is conventional townhouses, she said.
The committee asked for fewer buildings and more open space in the plan, although Guy protested that the company cannot keep the units affordable and make the changes they want.
Abkin said he would like to see the project proceed. Lubeck and Morgan also said they were not opposed to the current proposal.
Sent back to the drawing board with mixed reviews, a frustrated Guy said the project has strayed far from the company's original plan. "This is their project now," he added.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, June 19, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved