Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Planners say no to truck dealership

The Planning Commission unanimously denied permission Sept. 25 for a truck dealership at 16212 Los Gatos Blvd., vacant since West Valley Dodge pulled up stakes there seven years ago.

Maxim Investments wanted to open a truck shop there for Anderson Chevrolet.

The commission's approval was needed to demolish buildings on the site and put up a 2,276-square-foot sales office and for a conditional-use permit to open the dealership.

Tearing down old buildings would have left clear the view of the Santa Cruz Mountains; the new building would have been shorter and farther from the street to preserve views.

Maxim Investments agreed to limit business hours, prohibit paging employees over loudspeakers and prohibit car-washing with noisy power-washers between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. Nevertheless, a number of neighbors spoke against the project at the meeting.

Commissioners said at the meeting that a truck dealership doesn't fit into the Los Gatos Boulevard Plan.

A diaspora of auto dealerships during recent years cost the town millions in sales tax.

This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, October 2, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved