Tyler Brunner, Contributor
Housing policy dominated a Thursday night forum hosted by the League of Women Voters. Five of Los Gatos’ Town Council candidates participated (Mary Badame was unable to attend).
The moderator posed questions to the candidates that covered topics ranging from traffic and capital projects to police expansion and automatic-license-plate-reading cameras.
But it was “housing” that was in contention for most widely used noun of the night.
Candidates voiced frustration with the Town’s failure to provide a substantially compliant Housing Element to the State by its Jan. 31, 2023, deadline. The Town did not receive state certification until July 10, 2024, as a result.
“Our town is outraged. They’re pissed about this,” Heidi Owens said, adding this was her biggest takeaway from doorknocking and other conversations with residents.
As a result of the missed deadline, “fifteen Builder’s Remedy projects were submitted…Many high-rise, many high-density, and 10 are still in process,” Planning Commissioner Rob Stump lamented. “Missing a deadline doesn’t stop growth,” Stump said, “but it just takes away our residents’ voices.”
Stump pledged that, if elected, “we will never miss another State certification deadline again or a Housing Element (deadline).” Stump then outlined a four-step plan: hire a specialized housing and land-use firm early, establish a public timeline and submit ahead of the deadline, involve residents through workshops, surveys and town halls, and coordinate continuously with the State to address objections early.
The candidates largely agreed on how the Town should approach future Housing Element submissions. All five agreed on the need to start the submission process much earlier, hire consultants and work closely with State officials to address objections as they crop up.
Jeff Suzuki proposed forming a representative body of residents and restoring the Housing Element Advisory Board. Steve Raspe suggested establishing a single point of contact to collect and streamline community input.
Every candidate emphasized the importance of this sort of outreach to residents. Mayor Rob Moore said he sees the loss of local control as “the worst possible situation.”
Though housing dominated discussions, it did not rule the night entirely. Traffic concerns were also a hot topic.
The forum’s moderator asked multiple questions that were, in one form or another, related to concerns around traffic. One focused on major capital projects the town is considering. The three projects referenced included a new police building, a Town Hall renovation and the Highway 17 Corridor Congestion Relief Project.
All five candidates identified the Highway 17 Corridor Congestion Relief Project as a priority.
“I would also prioritize the Highway 17/Highway 9 congestion relief project,” Rob Moore said. “It has the potential to significantly reduce beach traffic…It would also reconfigure the most dangerous interchange in Los Gatos…(and) 90% of the funding for that project would come from VTA.”
Suzuki, who has served on Los Gatos’ Complete Streets and Transportation Commission and the Beach Traffic Ad Hoc Committee, also said the highway project was the most important of the three major projects. But Suzuki’s reasoning differed from the others. “This won’t necessarily solve beach traffic,” he said. For Suzuki, the importance of the interchange project has more to do with modernization and safety. He said the current design is outdated and does not accommodate the volume of traffic it could. Suzuki also raised the possibility for enhanced public safety and opportunities to better accommodate pedestrians and cyclists.
Owens argued that changes at the federal level could create additional grant opportunities for the projects. She therefore said she did not see a need to rank the three projects and believed all three could realistically move forward.
Stump raised concerns around the project’s potential impact and its cost. While he did say he sees the Highway 17/Highway 9 project as the highest priority among the three projects being considered, Stump questioned the possible impacts.
He said he had not seen enough verifiable data to say the project would have a significant impact and raised concerns that the municipality could be responsible for up to 20% of project costs. He said covering the Town’s share could potentially require additional revenue.
Stump questioned how much Los Gatos residents should be expected to pay for a traffic problem caused by drivers from many locales, not just Los Gatos. “Los Gatos just happens to be in the way of Santa Cruz,” he said. “This is not a problem that we brought on ourselves, and yet we’re being asked to spend significantly to do this.”
Candidates shared their thoughts about the pros and cons of expanding the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department to include Saratoga.
The Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce will host a nonpartisan Town Council Candidate Forum today at CineLux Los Gatos Theatre, from 6-8pm.
The moderated forum will focus on Town budget and fiscal priorities, housing and development, and business and economic vitality, and it will be followed by an audience Q&A.
“Town Council decisions have a direct impact on the business environment and the broader Los Gatos community,” said Jennifer Lin, CEO of the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce, in a release. “This forum provides an opportunity for the community to hear directly from the candidates about the issues shaping Los Gatos and to learn more about their perspectives ahead of the November election.”
The forum will be moderated by Nicholas Welzenbach of Darling & Fischer Los Gatos Memorial Park, who’s also president of the Chamber’s board of directors.
Attendees were given the chance to submit questions during registration that could be asked by Welzenbach during the Q&A at the end of the forum.
