Fred Hawkes
Monte Sereno candidates talk of character, traffic
By Nathan R. Huff
Close to a dozen Monte Serenans showed up at the League of Women Voter's Sept. 27 candidates forum, making it the most well-attended Monte Sereno forum to date.
The three candidates vying for two council seats emerged as having more similarities than differences in the hour-long debate, which included both hard questions from audience members and a chance for traditional stump speeches.
Questions centered on preserving the character of Monte Sereno, the housing permit process and traffic safety, as well as a number of queries to individual candidates. The candidates are Fred Hawkes, appointed this past summer to replace former Councilman Joel Gambord; Dave Baxter, a high-tech executive who also applied for Gambord's seat; and Erin Garner, a businessman who unsuccessfully ran for council in 1998.
All three candidates emphasized their commitment to maintain the rural character of Monte Sereno by preserving open space and protecting the environment. Garner repeatedly emphasized that he was against any zoning changes that would allow for higher density development, and Baxter stated that he would be open to strengthening city codes that protect open space.
Some difference between the candidates emerged in response to a specific question over whether homeowners should be allowed to build to the maximum allowable square footage, height and mass that are allowed by town codes.
"As long as you're within the architectural guidelines and as long as your neighbors support your building modifications," Garner said, "I'm in favor of helping you get those permits as quickly as you can."
David Baxter
Baxter said he could not answer yes to the question because certain aspects of the town codes--particularly pertaining to neighborhood character--were more subjective in nature. "I believe better definition of neighborhoods and the character of those neighborhoods is needed," Baxter said, "so we all have better guidelines and the emphasis is on reducing surprises in the permit process."
While Hawkes agreed with the other two candidates that the permit process needed to be simplified, he said the issue had to be decided on a case by case basis. "I'm inclined to think we have allowed some oversized houses in the city," Hawkes said.
The issue of affordable housing, almost a contradiction in terms in Monte Sereno, drew similar responses from the candidates. None of the three favored rezoning or building higher density or low cost units.
Baxter and Garner talked about continuing city efforts to have secondary dwellings on properties count towards the state's affordable housing requirement, in conjunction with providing funds for developments in adjacent communities. Hawkes said he felt the issue needed more study, but noted that the state had rejected Monte Sereno's housing element because of its emphasis on secondary units.
Traffic was probably the second most talked about issue after town character, with questions focusing primarily on the intersection at Winchester Boulevard and Daves Avenue. Baxter spoke in favor of putting a traffic light at the busy intersection as soon as possible. "We have been very fortunate there have not been any accidents there," he said.
Erin Garner
Garner said he was in favor of a professional evaluation of the area, which Hawkes noted the current council has listed as a goal for the upcoming year. Hawkes also said the town would have to work closely with Los Gatos, since the intersection is within Los Gatos' town limits.
The candidates were also grilled on their attendance records at council meetings. Hawkes said his record was nearly perfect and Baxter said he had also attended the majority of meetings during the last year, first because of an individual issue and eventually out of general interest. Garner said he had not attended a single meeting in the last two years, but said that it was mostly because of what was on the agendas.
"Most of our city council meetings have a lot to do with ... the personal business of our residents and I'm careful to not want to contaminate that at all," Garner said. "But the other thing I'll say is I'd really like to see community spirit put into our council meetings. I'd like to see more agenda items that would draw people."
Garner also answered a question on his newsletter, the Monte Sereno Monthly. The four page political newsletter cost a total of $800 to distribute, Garner said, adding that it was his way to "contribute to [the] community."
"It's a great way to perform outreach to our community and get community participation in a way that we don't really have now," Garner said, adding that he had received a very positive response to the mailing. Councilman Hawkes took the opportunity to point to a letter that appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, criticizing Garner's mailing as closely resembling the city's own newsletter.
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