The issue surfaced April 14 when Planning Commissioner Michael Burke remembered that he owned a residential property close to the area under the moratorium. Two other commissioners, Lee Quintana and Morris Trevithick, also noted that they had property close to the area under the moratorium.

Under the Fair Political Practices Act, individuals who own property within 500 feet of the area affected by the decision are assumed to have a conflict of interest and must recuse themselves from the vote or meeting. The act makes no distinction for the difference in the property zoning.

All three properties were determined to be within 500 feet of the moratorium area.

With Chairwoman Jeanne Drexel and Vice Chairman Philip Macciche absent that night, the commission only had five members present, with only two members without a conflict of interest under the act.

Four members are required for a quorum on any vote or decision.

The act allows for the situation that a quorum cannot be reached and allows individuals with conflicts of interest to participate in the vote. However, this provision can only be applied sparingly and only if there are no other ways to form a quorum.

Both commissioners who were absent do not appear to have any property close to the moratorium area.

Commissioners and town officials apologized for the inconvenience, saying that no one had caught the conflict before the meeting. Members of the planning commission did not participate in the discussion on the moratorium last year; only the town council heard the matter.

The council passed the moratorium last September banning personal-service businesses from occupying the ground floor of buildings in the downtown area. The ban stretches around N. Santa Cruz Avenue from Los Gatos­Saratoga Road to just past W. Main Street. The town defines "personal-service businesses" as beauty salons, cosmetologists, spas and tanning salons, along with other related services.

The moratorium expires Aug. 1. Town officials want to conclude public hearings as soon as possible to avoid temporarily extending the ban.

Property owner John B. Lochner told the council that he was upset by the delay, saying that both business and property owners had already suffered tremendous losses during the past seven months under the moratorium.

"I'm very distraught that this was not resolved before," he said. "We're talking about a hardship situation that's affecting a lot of people."

Lochner, a former Los Gatos mayor, owns a building on Village Lane, which is under the moratorium. In a letter to the planning commission, he stated that he had to turn down nine prospective tenants for his building because of the moratorium and was unable to fill the space for five months.

The planning commission will reconsider the personal-service-business moratorium May 21 at 7 p.m. in council chambers, 110 E. Main St.