Residents group hosts town hall on North 40 development Aug. 2
A group of civic-minded Los Gatos residents is planning an Aug. 2 town hallstyle meeting to update the community on ideas that are being discussed for the second phase of the North 40 development.
The meeting is sponsored by the nonpartisan Los Gatos Democracy Tent — a group of residents that meet weekly with a goal of stimulating “community engagement in living rooms, neighborhood and town-wide forums.”
The town hall is being held before Aug. 7, when the Los Gatos Town Council once again considers what should be allowed in the North 40’s second development phase. That phase could include a hotel, a town square with neighborhood-supporting retail and as many as 294 homes.
Currently, just 33 homes are permitted in the second phase, which is geared primarily to commercial uses. But on June 5, developer Grosvenor Americas suggested 294 homes could help finance a hotel and allow for more public open space or a sports field.
The catch is that Grosvenor says the hotel would have to be 55 feet high, as opposed to the 45-foot hotel height limit that was previously considered.
“They’re saying, ‘If you want a hotel this is one way we can finance it.’ I think it’s important to find out does housing and a hotel make more sense than commercial,” Democracy Tent member Maria Ristow said. “Let the community say we want more housing or we don’t want more housing.”
The idea behind the town hall is to avoid a repeat of the acrimony that erupted when the Los Gatos Town Council considered 320 homes and 66,000 square feet of commercial development for the North 40’s first construction phase.
Residents said the Phase 1 development plans were too dense and traffic-intensive. The council agreed and voted to deny the plan. But then the developers sued Los Gatos and Los Gatos lost. So, plans are moving ahead for construction of the homes and commercial space on about half of the North 40’s acreage.
That leaves about 20 acres to be developed in Phase 2.
“Most of the angst (in Phase 1) was unnecessary and achieved nothing,” Democracy Tent member Lee Fagot said. “The idea is to engage the community now to make (Phase 2) a more amicable situation.”
Grosvenor Americas has confirmed a representative will attend the citizen-sponsored town hall.
“Grosvenor wants feedback from the community to avoid the chaos of before,” Fagot said. “We can have them present an update on Phase 1 and present their concepts for Phase 2.”
Grosvenor has not submitted a development proposal for Phase 2 because the town is not accepting new North 40 proposals at this time. Last year, it adopted a moratorium on proposals that expires Aug. 15, but it can be extended for up to one year, Los Gatos Town Attorney Rob Schultz said in an email.
The town hall will include time for questions from the public and starts at 7 p.m. Aug. 2 at the Los Gatos Adult Recreation Center, 208 E. Main St.