A dozen residents from the neighborhood where the homes are located met with representatives from Sunset and the town last week with demands for parking restrictions and a promise that Sunset will keep the premise litter-free and provide some security.

But what seemed to dominate the discussion most was the question of why residents were never told the side-by-side homes they have seen under construction for more than a year would become Sunset Magazine "Idea Houses," subject to tours by the public over a nine-week period. More than 20,000 visitors are expected to tour the two homes in Los Gatos between August and October, according to Sunset representatives.

"Had we been notified, I would have felt, 'Gee, my town cares about me,' " said resident Marlene Burak, who said repeatedly after the meeting that she was "disappointed" in her town government.

Residents said they aren't so much bothered that the houses are Sunset homes as they are by the idea that no one told them what the plans were and how that would impact their neighborhood. An earlier meeting between all parties involved would have greatly diffused much of the frustration, many said.

Lydia Lyons, home program director for Sunset, said the magazine had always intended to hold a meeting with neighbors, but this was not to occur until July. Sunset Magazine typically holds meetings with neighbors six weeks prior to the homes being open to the public, and a July meeting with Los Gatos residents would have been in keeping with that policy, she said.

The homes in Los Gatos mark the ninth and 10th Idea Houses for Sunset. Last year, the magazine opened up a home in Palo Alto and another in Willow Glen.

The purpose of not mentioning too early that the houses, still undergoing work by DeMattei Construction, will become Sunset Idea Houses is to keep curious onlookers from hanging around and disrupting the neighborhood, Lyons said.

Sunset Magazine has already started advertising in its publication and online that two of their homes will be open for tours in Los Gatos, though it has not given out the addresses of the homes.

"We have a really strict policy of keeping the location private," Lyons said.

While Sunset representatives explained their rationale for not wishing to make the homes' addresses public knowledge, Beth Whiteley, vice president of marketing for Sunset, said she understands why residents might feel caught off-guard.

"This causes us to change our process a little bit," she said, referring to how Sunset is reviewing whether they need to hold neighborhood meetings earlier.

Despite Sunset's explanation, residents said the town still should have called for a meeting in March—as soon as it found out that Sunset had chosen Los Gatos for its next project.

"As taxpayers, we feel the town did not protect us at all," said resident Phyllis Eisenbaum.

Assistant Town Manager Pamela Jacobs said the town immediately arranged last week's meeting as soon as the first resident called and requested it.

Also, Sgt. Dave Gravel said at the meeting that the Los Gatos­Monte Sereno Police Department, which issues special event permits, was planning to notify and meet with residents before issuing any permit to Sunset.

Four special events, including "thank you" celebrations hosted by the magazine for people involved in the two housing projects and a possible fundraiser for the Pacific Autism Center for Education, are proposed at the two homes this summer, with entertainment to take place in the backyard, according to Lyons.

The events take place during weekday afternoons, when most residents are at work. "There's been very little impact on the neighbors," Lyons said about similar special events held at previous Sunset homes.

As is the case with regular tours of the house, those attending the special events must meet at the municipal parking lot on Highway 9 between University and Santa Cruz avenues, and a shuttle will bus them to the homes.

Two house managers will be present at all times while the homes are open to the public, Lyons said. The homes will be available for viewing on weekends, including Fridays.

Sunset representatives also promised that the shuttles, scheduled to make stops every 20 to 30 minutes, will use Sunset's own property to turn around and will stay off residents' driveways. The company will provide Port-A-Potties to the public and have a crew to clean up the premises weekly. It will also hire a parking attendant to make sure nonresidents visiting the homes don't park in the neighborhood. The Sunset homes are situated on a small, dead-end street.

"We've had really smooth sailing with these open houses," Lyons said. "We've got a system; we know the system works. We have it pretty much down to a science."

To enforce the policy that those who wish to walk through the homes must meet at the designated parking lot and ride the shuttle, tourists will receive a ticket only once they are on the shuttle. Without this ticket, they will not be admitted into the homes.

After the meeting, resident Marshall Burak said he felt the Sunset representatives were "reasonable" and that residents' initial concerns that neither the town nor Sunset ever intended on meeting with them could have been prevented had someone just informed the neighbors that a meeting was planned for July.

Sunset representatives agreed to meet with residents again after the second weekend that the homes are open to assess the situation.