Provide Direction for Draft Land Use Alternatives
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TOWN OF LOS GATOS MEETING DATE: 06/20/2019 ITEM: 5 GENERAL PLAN UPDATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT DATE: JUNE 14, 2019 TO: GENERAL PLAN UPDATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE FROM: JOEL PAULSON, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR SUBJECT: PROVIDE DIRECTION FOR DRAFT LAND USE ALTERNATIVES. BACKGROUND: The Issues and Opportunities Report (Attachment 1) has been completed. The Report summarizes the input collected from the community between October 2018 and April 2019. The input received and summarized in the Report was used in the vision and guiding principles process and provides information that will also be used for the land use alternative and policy development phases of the General Plan update. Many of the questions in this Report were developed based on the input from the report. DISCUSSION: This meeting is the first discussion regarding Phase 4, Land Use Alternatives, of the General Plan update. This first, high level discussion is intended to provide direction to staff and the consultant for the development of the Land Use and Policy Alternatives Report, which will then return to the General Plan Update Advisory Committee (GPAC) for review. This Report will contain maps and descriptions for land use, circulation, and policy alternatives, and an evaluation of alternatives in terms of implications for land use and community character, development capacity, economic development, fiscal health, mobility and connectivity, public facilities and services, and the natural environment. Five potential General Plan Focus Areas have been created for the GPAC’s consideration (Attachment 2). The primary questions for discussion are: • Are the Focus Area boundaries appropriate? • Are there other areas of Town that should be considered as a Focus Area? • What should be analyzed for these Focus Areas? PREPARED BY: JENNIFER ARMER, AICP Senior Planner 110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832 www.losgatosca.gov PAGE 2 OF 3 SUBJECT: PROVIDE DIRECTION FOR DRAFT LAND USE ALTERNATIVES JUNE 14, 2019 Below is a list of the five potential Focus Areas and questions to begin the discussion. 1. Focus Area 1 – Hillside The Hillside Focus Area is located on the southern end of Town extending from the Town limits west of SR-17, east to the San Jose city limits at Begonia Drive and south to the County unincorporated area. This Focus Area has land uses that reflect the current General Plan designations of Hillside Residential and Open Space with pockets of Agriculture. • Should the Town decrease the density in the Hillside Focus Area? • To improve fire safety in the Hillside Focus Area, should the Town consider more stringent development standards? 2. Focus Area 2 – Downtown The Downtown Focus Area includes the Central Business District and surrounding neighborhoods. The Downtown Focus Area boundaries are Los Gatos Boulevard to the east, Wood Road to the south, Glen Ridge Avenue to the west, and Blossom Hill Road to the north. This area includes residential, commercial, and open space land uses. • Should the Downtown Central Business District encourage more housing types? • In order to attract additional businesses, are there land uses or development standards that should be modified to enliven the Central Business District? • What should the Town consider to enhance access to and throughout the Downtown Focus Area? 3. Focus Area 3 – University Avenue The University Avenue Focus Area runs along University Avenue from Blossom Hill Road, northeast to Lark Avenue. This Focus Area includes mainly light industrial, residential, and open space land uses, and abuts Vasona County Park. • Should the Town modify land uses or development standards to allow for more concentrated industrial and research and development uses along University Avenue? • Should there be greater emphasis on connection/access to Vasona County Park, Los Gatos Creek Trail, and other parts of Town from surrounding uses (existing and future)? • Should there be increased development restrictions in areas with the potential for flooding? N:\DEV\GPAC\GPAC Staff Reports\2019\6-20-19\Staff Report.docx PAGE 3 OF 3 SUBJECT: PROVIDE DIRECTION FOR DRAFT LAND USE ALTERNATIVES JUNE 14, 2019 4. Focus Area 4 – Los Gatos Boulevard The Los Gatos Boulevard Focus Area runs along Los Gatos Boulevard from Spencer Avenue, northeast to Burton Road and the San Jose city limits. This Focus Area contains primarily commercial land uses. • Should the allowed mixed-use (i.e., combination of housing and retail or housing and office) land use or development standards be modified to promote mixed-use development? • Should the Town prioritize multi-modal improvements along Los Gatos Boulevard to enhance the safety and accessibility for all modes of transportation in alignment with the Town’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan? 5. Focus Area 5 – Vasona Light Rail/Oka Road The Vasona Light Rail/Oka Road Focus Area runs along Winchester Boulevard from Lark Avenue, northeast to Division Street, and southeast to Highway 17. This Focus Area has mainly commercial and industrial land uses and includes the location for the potential VTA Vasona Light Rail Station. • Should the Town plan for transit-oriented development near the potential Vasona Light Rail Station? • Should there be greater accessibility between the North 40 and the Vasona Light Rail Station/Oka Road Focus Area? • In the absence of a future Vasona Light Rail Station, what other uses would be appropriate in this Focus Area that would benefit the overall community? NEXT STEPS: The next steps in the General Plan update process include: • Refine and confirm the General Plan Focus Areas; and • Prepare the Land Use and Policy Alternatives Report for consideration by the GPAC and recommendation to the Planning Commission and Town Council. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Issues and Opportunities Report (38 pages) 2. Maps of Potential General Plan Focus Areas (11 pages) N:\DEV\GPAC\GPAC Staff Reports\2019\6-20-19\Staff Report.docx This Page Intentionally Left Blank Issues and Opportunities Report June 2019 Introduction Los Gatos 2040: Update Overview The Town of Los Gatos adopted its current General Plan in 2010. While the existing General Plan is serving the community well, the Town is doing an update to refine the General Plan, in order to address emerging trends, and recent changes in State law, and consider new issues facing the community. This effort is intended to be a fine-tuning of the existing General Plan rather than a comprehensive overhaul of the document. This planning effort will also allow the General Plan to incorporate best practices in planning to ensure Los Gatos is resilient to future risks while also improving the community’s quality of life. The Issues and Opportunities Report presents data from the first General Plan Community Workshop, the General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC) Meetings #1 and #2, Spring into Green, online engagement exercises on engage.losgatos2040.com, and Town staff. The input received and summarized in this Issues and Opportunities Report will facilitate discussion and provide direction in the visioning and guiding principles process, land use alternative process, and policy development in the General Plan. Executive Summary Overall, the Issues and Opportunities input collected from the community is not surprising and focuses heavily around four topic areas: traffic and congestion, housing, development pressure concerns, and protection of natural resources. These issues are not necessarily unique to communities in the Bay Area; however, due to Los Gatos’ geographical location in the Silicon Valley, these issues have become more prevalent in the last decade as increasing employment growth creates growth pressures regionally. Traffic and the associated impacts of congestion are of the greatest concern to the community, not only local traffic within Town, but also weekend traffic heading over SR-17 to the coast and commuter traffic from the Peninsula and Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay Regions. Community members are also highly concerned with the increasing regional growth pressures in Silicon Valley and its effect on the high cost of housing, volatile real estate market, and housing availability. The increased demand for housing and its related affordability is not the only concerns relating to development. As the South Bay builds out, there is greater demand for retail, industrial, office, and manufacturing space, which have the potential to conflict with the established character the Town has maintained for the last half-century. Lastly, the community is concerned that the development pressures might conflict with remaining open space in and around Town. Los Gatos is very protective of its natural resources, and based on community feedback, this is of high importance to preserve. 1 ATTACHMENT 1 Issues and Opportunities Report June 2019 Sources of Issues and Opportunities The Issues and Opportunities Report includes input from the following sources. Los Gatos 2040 Community Workshop #1 Workshop #1 was held on October 17, 2018, at 6:30 PM in the Jewish Community Center (JCC), 14855 Oka Road in Los Gatos. The purpose of the workshop was to: • Provide an overview of the General Plan update; • Explain why the Town is updating its General Plan; and • Develop a list of issues and opportunities that should be addressed as part of the General Plan update. The workshop was attended by 17 individuals divided into three small groups. The workshop included a brief opening presentation that gave an overview of the General Plan purpose and process. As part of the presentation, the Town’s General Plan Consultants briefly explained areas of State law that have changed since the Town’s existing General Plan was adopted in 2010. General Plan Advisory Committee Meetings #1 and #2 General Plan Advisory Committee Meetings #1 and #2 were held on October 30, 2018, and December 11, 2018. The GPAC Chair and Town staff presented the GPAC with the results of Community Workshop #1. The GPAC discussed the issues and opportunities raised by the community and identified additional items to be addressed as part of the update at both meetings.