Scaled Back Albright Way Project OK'd Monday by Los Gatos Town Council

Updated: 11:30 p.m. Monday, June 3: Los Gatos Mayor Barbara Spector grabbed the bull by the horns Monday evening making a motion that was eventually amended but was successful at approving an ambitious Class A business park at the corner of Albright Way and Winchester Boulevard.

With several VIPs from Internet video streaming giant Netflix in attendance and project developer John R. Shenk in listening mode only, the Council voted 4-1 in favor of a smaller version of the project that reduced its square footage by 65,000 square foot, from 550,000 square feet to 485,000 square feet maximum.

The square-foot reduction was created due to Spector's motion lowering the height of buildings No. 1 and No. 4 to 50 feet maximum, originally proposed at 65 feet. The project includes a total of four buildings. The other two edifices remain at 65 feet in height.

The Council also certified the project's Environmental Impact Report and rezoned the land, which will probably house Netflix in the future as the company has leased building No. 1 for 10 years.

The project will also not have any freeway signage and an originally proposed three-story garage was capped at 35 feet maximum without solar panels, with the option of going underground if desired by Shenk.

Spector's motion was supported by Councilwoman Marcia Jensen who told the crowd the project was not solely to accommodate Netflix. "This is not the Netflix campus or the Netflix project," she said, explaining modifications to the plan were not meant to tell the growing and successful company to leave town, but simply that a compromise was needed on the project's scope.

"We as a Town Council ... are obligated to plan for the town and our land-use planning is dictated by our general plan," Jensen said.

Opponents of the larger-scale project held orange signs that read, "There is a better way," and "EIR says 350K best," in reference to the project's EIR, which stated the lower square footage would be most desirable.

Supporters of the project, many with the We Support Los Gatos group, held bright green and pink signs that read, "Approve Albright."

The two buildings, whose heights were lowered from four stories to three stories, or 50 feet, are close to the Charter Oaks townhome community and Highway 85.

Also as a condition of approval, the Council asked the developer to put signage prohibiting blocking Lark Avenue near the Charter Oaks development.

Jensen said the project would bring the town economic benefits such as sales taxes to support local public schools even if modified at what she originally suggested, which was 350,000 square feet.

Jensen said she was going to originally propose the two buildings be brought down to 45 feet but compromised on Spector's 50-foot suggestion.

The Council's vote came after about 10 speakers addressed the body, the majority against the larger version of the project. During a May 20 meeting, the Council postponed voting on the plan until Monday. At that time, nearly 80 speakers shared their opinions on the proposal.

Jensen said the project's approval should not be considered a precedent to any future development.

Councilman Joe Pirzynsky tried to help his colleagues on the Council understand his reasons for supporting the larger-scale project, but to no avail, with Spector, Jensen and Vice Mayor Steven Leonardis supporting a smaller version.

Only Councilwoman Diane McNutt sided with Pirzynsky. The former mayor said 350,000 square feet was not a magic number and that issue was whether the originally proposed square footage could be allowed with the appropriate treescape.

Pirzynski also wanted the Council to check with Shenk on the reduced project, but Spector wouldn't allow it. "This is about Netflix. We've all agreed that Netflix is significant to this community. It is an organization that was created here ... I think to not include that in our plan is shortsighted," he said.

Pirzynski also said many communities in Santa Clara County are interested in Netflix moving to their locations and said the it was time for the Council to move forward on a project that has been in the works for three years.

Opponents had expressed concern about the project's impact on traffic, deviating from the General Plan's guidance to limit building heights at 35 feet, and impact on the town's viewshed.

McNutt also asked for an explanation about the two buildings' 15-feet height reduction. "I have not heard the justification yet as to why we are changing what was proposed," she said, adding that the two common themes in the hundreds of emails and letters about the project was that townsfolk love Los Gatos and want the Council to "do the right thing."

The problem, McNutt said, was that doing the right thing was defined in different ways. "What we have to do is go back and look at the General Plan and I look at the General Plan and I don't see a bedroom community. I see language in the General Plan and the vision statement that talks about the importance of having a vibrant business community, of having a full range of businesses, from the lawn mower repair shop to the corporate campus," she noted.

The garage, which will occupy two acres and will be about 89 feet from the Charter Oaks community, will be a burden to the residents, Leonardis said.

A community benefit of $550,000 will go toward traffic improvements, but Leonardis said the contributions will be used quickly since several intersections will need to be redone as a result of the project.

Leonardis expressed concern about the corner of Lark Avenue and Winchester Boulevard ingress and egress issues, with a large amount of traffic representing a safety issue to the community.

Shenk, for his part, said he was pleased the Council took the project as seriously as it did and analyzed all of its impacts and recognized the value of Netflix and having Class A space in town.

However, he expressed disappointment that the government body didn't accept the project as proposed as he considers it the best for all competing interests. "I learned a lot and we're going to go away and study what they've approved."

Asked what's next for the project, Shenk said Netflix will have to give feedback about Building 1's lowered height, since that's the edifice they had originally signed a lease for. "It's going to be 25 percent smaller. It's the closest one to their existing buildings. It's the first one over the freeway," Shenk explained.

Had the Council approved the project as Shenk had presented it this time around, he said he would have begun their construction paperwork within 30 days. "Now we'll have to meet with our design team, our architects and the engineers and figure out do we modify the buildings and the site to respond to the Council direction.

After the meeting, Spector explained she didn't scale back the project based on its developer, its applicant or the community, but based on facts presented to the Council, which she applied to town laws and policies. "It was the motion that I thought was right for the application," she said.

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A slightly scaled back Class A Business Park at Albright Way and Winchester Boulevard was approved Monday evening by a 4-1 vote from the Los Gatos Town Council.

With Los Gatos Vice Mayor Steven Leonardis voting against, the Council modified developer John Shenk's proposal to build 550,000 square feet of new office/research and development space down to 485,000 and the height of two of the four buildings was lowered from 65 feet to 50 maximum. The other two edifices are planned at 65 feet each.

Also, a three-story parking garage was approved at 35 feet maximum. Internet video streaming giant Netflix, which is headquartered almost across the street from the property known as the Los Gatos Business Park at 100 Winchester Circle, has leased the first building for 10 years and has options on the entire project, according to Shenk.

More details on Los Gatos Patch.