Moratorium on future North 40 development approved

The Los Gatos Town Council has approved an interim urgency ordinance that puts a 45-day moratorium on any future North 40 development.

The moratorium, approved Tuesday, buys the town time to revise the North 40 Specific Plan, which covers the entire site, and is in response to the approved plans to build 320 homes and more than 66,000 square feet of commercial and retail space on approximately 21 acres.

Many residents and a majority of the council didn’t like the development proposal, but attempts to change it landed the town in court. The town lost the court case, and the council reluctantly approved the development Aug. 1.

Town attorney Rob Schultz said Los Gatos has a small window of opportunity to change the specific plan because there are no pending applications for the remaining 20plus acres that can be developed.

Only one of the 14 residents who spoke about the moratorium at Tuesday’s public hearing opposed the idea.

“We need to seriously consider what will be best for the town of Los Gatos in terms of housing, commercial, sales tax, office or hotel for our future,” Jeff Loughridge said. “The remaining 20-plus acres, as the northern part of the North 40, should not be squandered because we refuse to plan for that future. With immediate access to two freeways, development will impose less of a traffic burden on the town than if the same housing, hotel, commercial, office were placed closer to downtown.”

But supporters of the moratorium urged the council to “take a breath” before considering any future development proposals.

“An awful lot of bright light got shone on this project in the last couple of years and shame on people like myself, and a lot of us in town, that we weren’t paying attention the first 15 years this thing was talked about,” resident Tom Thimot said. “But a lot of good ideas, a lot of smart modifications have been presented, talked about, gone through the process. Allow them to be put in front of you and adjust the plan.”

Specific Plan sections that can be reconsidered include building heights, the amount of commercial square footage allowed, conditional use permit requirements, and residential restrictions, Schultz said.

Councilwoman Marcia Jensen opposed the moratorium, arguing that the town already has policies that allow revisions to be made.

“There’s nothing that prevents this town and this council from considering, in orderly fashion, the process of amending the plan,” Jensen said. “It would be very easy for me to vote yes because it’s going to pass. So, why would I commit political suicide again and say, ‘No I don’t want to,’ is that there is a process in place for us to do this and we can take our time and do it.”

But the majority of the council, worried a new development application would come in before the plan is revised, voted to approve the moratorium.

The moratorium is now in effect for 45 days. It’s expected to be renewed Sept. 19, so that it’s in place when the town council considers Specific Plan amendments on Oct. 3.