Kay Bae, the owner of Orchid Cleaners, is a Los Gatos resident who’s been running her dry cleaning business, located in the Ace Hardware building on Los Gatos Boulevard, since 1988.
And when three signs for a hulking condominium recently appeared along the edges of the parking lot she shares with Ace Hardware, she was surprised.
“It’s a shock to me,” she said. “I had no idea what’s the timeline. Not only that, we can’t get any more lease. So, when time comes, I have to close the shop.”
For months, Los Gatos residents have been up in arms about the high-rise proposal. As part of the Housing Element update, Council agreed to ease requirements for notifying the public about potential projects.
Residents have been complaining, saying they believe the removal of some “story pole” rules will keep locals in the dark about massive residential structures in the works, like this one.
And now, business owners at the Ace Hardware location say the signs that are supposed to direct people to accurate online representations of the project, are sowing confusion.
Dené Kanke, one of the owners of Ace Hardware, emailed the Town, on July 10, to express her dismay.
“Let me say that nothing says ‘GOING OUT OF BUSINESS’ more than three large signs on all sides of the property,” she said, “not to mention that these signs will be advertising ‘going out of business’ for at least a year, maybe more.”
And yet, she stated, she and business partner Bryan Matsumoto still have around 13 years left on their lease.
“Currently staff, managers, Bryan and I field questions daily about when we are closing, with a huge uptick since the signage has been installed. This strongly impacts employee morale, they see the signs, hear the questions and wonder if their job is in jeopardy,” she wrote. “We understand that the community needs to be informed, however, we are not sure if the change to the ordinance took these types of situations into consideration. Installing signage (especially in our situation where our property is surrounded by three streets and requires three signs) ten years before it possibly breaks ground jeopardizes the continued success of, and community support of, a beloved Los Gatos business.”
Arya Properties, LLC formally applied to build a 182-unit condo with commercial space at 15300 and 15330 Los Gatos Blvd. on May 10.
The letter written on the company’s behalf by Miller Starr Regalia’s Travis Brooks the prior day lays out how the Town’s hands are tied, because the pre-application was filed Nov. 14, while Los Gatos politicians were bickering about how to appease the Department of Housing and Community Development, and so didn’t have a compliant Housing Element.
“Because the Town did not have a substantially compliant 6th Regional Housing Needs Assessment (“RHNA”) Cycle Housing Element at the time the Preliminary Application was filed and the Project is a housing development project that will provide 20 percent of its units for lowerincome households, the Project is protected by the Builder’s Remedy,” Brooks wrote.
“Therefore, the Town cannot deny or condition approval of the Project in a manner that would render it infeasible, notwithstanding any inconsistency of the Project with the zoning or General Plan land use designation of the Project Site.”
The plans on the Town’s website shows a nine-story building with minimal architectural flourishes called “The Arya,” drawn by Campbell-based Anderson Architects, Inc.
This Silicon Valley residence plan appears to have more in common, aesthetically, with the low-rent towers that sprung up across North America in the middle of last century than architectural marvels you might find in other seats of economic power.
In his submission letter, Brooks downplayed the size of the building, calling it “one 7-story building,” not counting the structures on the roof as an additional story and leaving out the ground floor from the calculation.
It also features three levels of underground parking. In fact, the podium is 20-feet-tall, meaning the 114-foot building would actually rise the equivalent of 10+ stories.
Of the 182 units, 37 would be “offered at prices affordable to lower income households,” a justification letter from the developer states.
Council has spent hours upon hours—in a series of meetings over the past couple years—debating how to make signage requirements less onerous. In the end, Council agreed to allow some developers to forgo actual physical “story poles”—as long as signs on the property would send passersby to online representations of what might be on the way.
However, when the Los Gatan stopped by the property this week, the QR codes on all three signs directed you towards a generic Town Planning page listing many different proposals.
In fact, the first project you come to is 405 Alberto Way, which is by a different developer.
When the Los Gatan asked Anderson Architects’s Kurt Anderson why the link doesn’t take viewers to “The Arya,” he referred questions about this to the Town, who he says set up the system.
Anderson thinks having to three signs up is a bit much, but overall he’s not too phased by the rendering rules.
“It’s really keeping the town citizens informed,” he said. “In San Jose, we’ve been doing this for years.”
Before this reporter could ask about the arguably bland visuals on the signage, Anderson volunteered that they’re about to drop completely new drawings this Friday.
“We’ve listened to the comments from the community,” he said. “We’re incorporating more traditional design elements.”
They’re currently developing a 3D-flyover rendering with the help of a drone, he adds.
“We’ve made it much more attractive,” he said. “We’re just doing some really cool stuff.”
For example, they’re planning a rooftop bar and, he says, they’re even in talks with Ace Hardware to allow the business to continue operating on the ground floor.
“It’s so early in the process,” he said. “We’ve got all sorts of hoops that we’ve got to go through.”
He hopes to see construction start in a couple years.
The Town of Los Gatos will hold a study session about SB 330, Builder’s Remedy and Density Bonus laws on Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 5:15pm in Council Chambers, at 110 E. Main St.
We directly border this property and the new drawings they have submitted do not change the nature of this building nor do they address community concerns. This building will block all solar production from our solar panels, and have huge environmental impact to the area – at the most dangerous intersection in Los Gatos. The developer refuses to engage with neighbors – I have attempted to reach out 10+ times with no response.