Mike Abkin

Planners continue North Forty talks to allow more discussion

Some residents want less commercial, more parks

By Nathan R. Huff

Members of the community had a lot to say about how the North Forty Specific Plan should direct development in the largest open area remaining in Los Gatos. So much, in fact, that the hearing had to be continued to the commission's next meeting on Oct. 27.

But whether the plan will end up meaning anything a year from now was as much the subject of the Oct. 13 Planning Commission meeting as the plan's specifics.

The town is eager to get a specific plan in place to regulate and guide any development applications that could be submitted in the near future. However, the plan--which designates the area as primarily mixed-use commercial--may be rewritten partly or entirely if the revised General Plan, due out next year, reflects a different vision of the area.

If the town does adopt a plan now--however short-lived it may be--those at the meeting asked that the commission reconsider the emphasis on commercial and retail and consider other uses as well, particularly civic and community. Housing, previously discussed as a way to avoid ending up with 40 acres of asphalt, was put on the back burner in favor of parks and open space, partly because of concerns about burdening the school district.

Several speakers questioned why the 1997 Los Gatos Boulevard Plan, which placed high priority on public uses in the North Forty, was not followed more closely in the drafting of the Specific Plan. Neighborhood Alliance member Joanne Rodgers asked that the commission "better incorporate the Boulevard plan into the vision statement" of the Specific Plan.

Others saw playfields as a proper use for the area. "This valley has a lot of deep pockets to invest in children," Monte Sereno mom Michéle Jehenson told the commission. "It would be fitting as part of the plan to preserve an area as a sports facility. It would reflect well on the priorities Los Gatos would have."

Jehenson was not alone in her concern. Numerous community residents suggested that part of the area be left as open space. While civic uses are outlined in the Specific Plan, they fall below commercial uses such as destination retail and office space.


Joanne Rodgers




Several residents of the North Forty and nearby areas also supported the idea of public usages, but for different reasons. Burton Road resident and business owner Patricia Connell and Camino Del Sol resident Carol Joyal had serious traffic concerns about the already congested Los Gatos Boulevard area, and supported the idea of a sports or recreation complex to stagger traffic patterns.

The commission, in turn, questioned how the town would fund such development on land worth close to $1 million an acre. Funding suggestions presented at the meeting included private donations, community trusts, and encouraging North Forty developers to donate land by allowing underground parking garages to free up space.

Mike Abkin, who wrote a letter to the commission suggesting they consider community gardens and edible landscaping in their design guidelines, said that the meeting was not the proper place to discuss specific funding. "It's important in concept for the community to say [public uses] are part of the vision," Abkin said.

Los Gatos Union School District assistant superintendent Linda Latasa asked that the commission also consider setting aside space for a school. The commission asked her to come back with numbers to show that current overcrowding in Los Gatos elementary schools would still be a problem five to 10 years down the road, when a school could be built.

The North Forty consists of approximately 44 acres of land, bounded by Los Gatos Boulevard, Lark Avenue, Highway 85 and Highway 17. Some 75 percent of the land is owned by the Yuki family, which has shown no interest to date in selling or developing it. The remainder of the area contains several small businesses, two residential streets and a scattering of small undeveloped parcels.

By the end of the meeting only a small portion of the entire plan had been addressed. Chapters on land use and development guides as well as administration and implementation will be debated at the Planning Commission meeting on Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Council chambers.

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