-Updated July 26 at 4:45pm with statement from Front Porch
After the Los Gatos Meadows senior living project was slammed, in 2022, by Town officials over height concerns and not taking heed of requests to rejig the hill-perched site to allow in more lower-income residents, Covia Communities—the developer—disappeared.
That April, it merged with Glendale-based Front Porch Communities and Services and gave up its name.
And now, after being granted an exception so it won’t have to raise the bright flags visible from around town that indicate where new structures may sprout, it has agreed to a $1.125 million settlement, after authorities accused it of asbestos violations at the facility, and other sites.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said Friday that Covia was accused of failing to test for asbestos and failing to obtain the proper building permits on a number of occasions between 2014 and 2022. Los Gatos Meadows and El Sombroso Oaks in Los Gatos, Webster House in Palo Alto and five other sites outside Santa Clara County were implicated.
“These laws exist because asbestos exposure can be deadly,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “We will prosecute companies that cut corners and risk the health of senior citizens, workers and other people in these buildings.”
As part of the settlement, Front Porch will pay $700,000 in civil penalties, $162,500 in funding for college-level science courses in the Monterey Bay area to educate students about air pollution and air quality management, and $262,500 to cover investigative costs.
Prosecutors didn’t claim anyone was injured as a result of the behavior and said Front Porch cooperated with investigators.
Asbestos exposure increases the risk of respiratory diseases including lung cancer, mesothelioma, asbestosis, and other cancers, the DA’s Office stated, adding asbestos is commonly found in older buildings in a variety of materials such as fireproofing, insulation, vinyl floor tiles, wall texture coatings, roofing materials, acoustic ceilings, linoleum backing and taping.
This comes as Front Porch is working to revive the dormant Los Gatos Meadows project.
At their regularly-scheduled June 18 meeting, Council considered a story pole rule exemption that would allow a digital presentation to be made available instead of the sort of physical structures that were erected the last time Los Gatos Meadows project came before the Town. Los Gatos relaxed its story pole and netting regulations, as part of getting its Housing Element passed, but some older developments are now interested in bypassing the prior rules they fall under.
The 110 Wood Rd. site has been vacant for years.
Because the Town doesn’t have anyone in house to design 3D presentations of potential builds, Council was mainly focused on looking at whether to allow the applicant to go with its preferred data-crunching artists.
“Is somebody on staff going to check to see if we’re following the spirit and the rules that we’ve created for this?” asked Councilmember Rob Rennie.
Staff said it was seeking to hire someone with expertise in that area.
Vice Mayor Matthew Hudes asked about who pays for visual renderings to be created.
Senior Planner Sean Mullen noted these costs are borne by the applicant.
‘Our industry and our reputation is based on trust’
—Jonathan Arnold, Arnold Imaging founder
Planning Director Jennifer Armer said the Town was on a learning curve for understanding how to handle the new project-presentation technology.
“We haven’t had a lot of video renderings produced within the Town, so we are still in the process of gathering responses to the RFP in terms of having somebody on board in the future.”
“Did they seem to be reputable, in your professional opinion?” Councilmember Rob Moore inquired.
Mullin said he wasn’t sure how to answer that.
“Opinion wise, it seems to take in a lot of data,” he said. “But I don’t know. I couldn’t weigh in on the accuracy of the presentation.”
Frank Rockwood, of Rockwood Pacific, was the in-person project representative at the meeting. He’s been working with the team for years.
“I’m very honored to support Front Porch in the redevelopment of Los Gatos Meadows,” he said. “Just to be clear, Front Porch is the nonprofit—owns this property, operates this property, they are the developer. They are looking to rebuild it with the intent to continue to operate it.”
Moore was the only one to bring up the issues that derailed the project in the first place.
“While you’re here, I wanted to know if y’all have put in any more thought on the project to affordability and a possible land exchange,” he said. “I just wanted to let you know that’s still something I’m thinking about.”
Rockwood punted on the question until a future hearing.
Jonathan Arnold, founder of Arnold Imaging, said he has 25 years of experience producing visual models for clients.
“My background is in architecture,” he said. “When we get engaged from a developer to do these visuals, our reputation is on the line. We have a very long track record of being accurate…Our industry and our reputation is based on trust. And we’ve built that over the last 25 years. Some of our largest clients include the Museum of Natural History in New York City, along with many, many nonprofit senior housing developers.”
‘We’re working through a number of deficiencies’
—Sean Mullin, senior planner, Town of Los Gatos
Los Gatos resident Stanford Stickney, who lives in the Fairview Plaza neighborhood, was concerned that the visual renderings won’t do as good of a job of informing locals of what’s coming down the pipe as actual physical structures do.
“We’re going to have to look at this for the rest of our lives, and future generations,” he said. “And perhaps, if the Town did the rendering, there might be a more accurate visual description of what the buildings will look like.”
Mullin said notifications of the visual design will be sent when the Los Gatos Meadows application is deemed complete and ready for processing.
“It’s currently in the staff technical review process,” he said. “We’re working through a number of deficiencies.”
In a June 15 email to the Town, Andrew Ghofrani, who lives behind the Los Gatos Meadows location, said he wasn’t in favor of allowing the developer to bypass the story pole step.
“I have lived here since 2017, and the primary reason for purchasing my property was the beautiful view of downtown Los Gatos,” he wrote.
Vice Mayor Hudes made a motion to approve the exemption, which Moore seconded. It was approved unanimously, with Councilmember Maria Ristow recused because of the proximity of her home to the development.
In a statement sent Friday, Front Porch said the safety and security of residents and staff is their top priority.
“We have received no reports that anyone was negatively impacted by any of our renovations,” said Laura Darling, vp of communications. “We are taking necessary steps to prevent future occurrences and are dedicated to improving our processes with the health and safety of those we serve now and in the future as top priority.”
Prior to the agreement, the company implemented new construction policies and brought in independent experts to host environmental training courses, Darling added.
“Staff will be required to complete annual training moving forward,” she said. “We remain committed to consistently evaluating our work and seeking innovative ways to meet our residents’ needs.”
