The plans submitted to the Los Gatos Town Council called for the construction of four two-story buildings on about 1.44 acres, with the individual units ranging in size from 1,443 to 2,950 square feet—all larger than any of the four existing cottages.

The council on Jan. 21 voted to remand the application to the planning commission with explicit instructions to reduce the number of houses to three and not to exceed 8,000 square feet total.

Several neighbors expressed concern last week that the proposed houses were too big for the neighborhood and four houses were too much for a property of that size. Neighbors requested the project be scaled back to three homes.

Neighbors were also upset that the new homes might increase the number of cars on the street by about eight, which would double the amount of traffic that exists. According to neighbors, four families once lived in the now-vacant cottages, but only one household drove its car regularly, so traffic was not an issue. However, an Institute of Transportation Engineers traffic design manual indicates that the proposed designs would not increase traffic on that street.

Although Monroe Court does not see much traffic, neighbors said they are still worried because children play outside on what they describe as a narrow country road with no sidewalks.

"Having four big houses at the end of this road is much more than this tiny road can take," said Alicia Barela, who has lived on Monroe Court for 15 years.

David Pitzen, owner of the property in question, noted that since four homes already exist there, he is not adding more homes to the neighborhood but simply enlarging them.

Despite the neighbors' desire for only three houses, Pitzen was directed by the planning commission to design the project with four houses in mind, as the town's General Plan encourages developers to maintain the existing house stock.

In response to some residents' concerns that the proposed houses would bring down the property value of the neighborhood, Pitzen called such an idea "a silly concept." Since the four existing cottages once served as rental homes, they weren't helping to bring the property value up either, he said.

Pitzen has taken his plans before the planning commission and town council a handful of times, with his request denied each time because the designs were too large in scale and not compatible with the neighborhood. Additionally, Pitzen learned that, as a condition of building next to the Los Gatos Creek, he had to dedicate approximately 40,000 square feet of land located within a riparian corridor to the town.

In accordance with that condition, Pitzen scaled back the size of two of the proposed lots. Yet with these changes, the council appeared concerned that the smallness of the lots would affect the quality of life for residents. The plans submitted to the council showed the lot sizes ranging from 4,925 to 6,245 square feet.

"We feel that we're doing a tremendous service to the town by giving property away," Pitzen said. "I don't think we should be penalized by giving a tremendous asset to the town of Los Gatos."

Council members brought up other concerns as well.

While the homes might offer some features that homeowners would find attractive, such as multiple stories and a formal dining room, Mayor Sandy Decker asked Pitzen whether he had considered keeping the homes cottage style, which is in line with what many homeowners in Los Gatos look for. She said she also feared that the construction project, as proposed, would block residents in the neighborhood from enjoying a view of the creek.

"The amenity that's salable in this town is the creek," Decker said. She went on to describe the property as potentially being a "platinum piece of gold" because it runs adjacent to the creek.

Agreeing with the mayor, Councilman Joe Pirzynski reminded Pitzen that the town of Los Gatos is unique.

"We don't have to appeal to the entire market; we just need to appeal to a niche, and that niche is Los Gatos," he said.

After further discussion about the small size of the four lots, the council voted 4-1 to remand the application and gave directions to bring the number of houses down to three.

Councilwoman Diane McNutt eventually sided with the majority of her colleagues, but only after making clear that her reason for doing so was because this would allow the town to continue discussion further. Otherwise, she expressed preference for four smaller units on the property. Neighbors will still be dissatisfied once they see the increased size of the units if Pitzen is to now plan for three homes as opposed to four, she said.

Vice Mayor Steve Glickman cast the dissenting vote. He said he voted against the motion because it did not stipulate that the remaining houses would have an adequate view of the creek. Because two of the houses proposed last week offered a view of the creek, Glickman had recommended the motion also specify that at least two homes retain this view in the new plans. But his recommendation was not added to the motion that eventually passed.