Sobrato looking to Town for some direction on its research facility
Light rail extension could mandate use as housing
Proposal inches forward
By Nathan R. Huff
If the Sept. 13 General Plan committee meeting is any indication, Sobrato Development Companies will be in for a long and difficult journey toward making its proposed research park a reality.
The committee voted 3 to 2 that Sobrato does not need a General Plan amendment to proceed with its proposed 275,000- square-foot research park on Winchester Boulevard. However, the committee's decision is only a recommendation to the planning commission, which could still require an amendment.
Sobrato finds itself in a bit of a Catch-22 situation. While a zone change is required for the "planned development" designation, the project fits the current light industrial zoning. However, the location is within the Vasona Light Rail Corridor, and the General Plan calls for high density residential land use upon the arrival of light rail.
"We're not sure that it's absolutely necessary, or not, to have a General Plan amendment," Sobrato senior vice president John Shenk said. "We're hoping for some direction."
Sobrato, which bought the property from Maxxim Medical earlier this year, is hoping to build a high-tech research and development facility. The research park would be partially located on the former A to Z nursery site, bordering Highway 85 and Winchester Boulevard.
Discussion at the meeting was fraught with the technicalities of zoning and General Plan law, but the question both the developer and committee members were left with was fairly simple. The town must decide if Sobrato should proceed with its application based on what exists now, or what may exist in the future.
Community development director Paul Curtis said that, as he saw it, if the town didn't require a General Plan amendment, the development could be at risk when the light rail did arrive.
"If the assumption is this area is supposed to be high-density housing eventually, then you have a problem," Curtis said. What that problem may or may not be is hard to determine. In theory, the research park could become a nonconforming use, which would require a change in use to residential over 20 years. However, light rail is still enough years in the future that the town could change its own plans for the area. The VTA hasn't determined exactly what type of station it will build at Winchester, which could also influence the consequences of the Sobrato development.
The committee spent time debating whether the proposed research park, which could hold as many as 800 employees, was consistent with the town and the VTA's goals of encouraging mass transit. Committee member and recent planning commission appointee Peggy Marcucci questioned whether the park might actually provide more ridership than high-density housing.
The question is particularly relevant given the difference between Los Gatos' definition of "high density" and the VTA's definition. In Los Gatos, 20 units per acre is usually seen as the densest development allowable. In San Jose, housing developments adjacent to light rail corridors are closer to 50 units per acre.
According to Shenk, if Los Gatos were to go by its definition of high density, the only economically feasible housing development would be small, single-family homes or town houses. Since home buyers place less emphasis than renters on proximity to the workplace, the end result would be less riders.
Following the meeting, Shenk indicated that Sobrato would probably keep the General Plan amendment as part of its application, and remove it if so instructed.
The project is currently undergoing the initial environmental studies. While no ruling has been made, the traffic impacts associated with the large facility and its high traffic location could trigger a full environmental impact report. No public hearing date has been set.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
