Albright Way Office Park Backers Say Poll Shows 'Overwhelming' Support For Project

The "We Support Los Gatos" group, backing the Albright Way office park project at the corner of Winchester Boulevard and Highway 85, announced Wednesday afternoon that a poll conducted by a public research firm reveals "overwhelming" support for the controversial plan.

Last December, the group submitted more than 4,000 signatures to the Los Gatos Town clerk to qualify an initiative in the June 3 ballot that would modify the municipality's General Plan to allow for the four-building office park at 485,000 square feet and a parking garage.

Two of the edifices would be built at 65 feet and two at 50 feet, plus a three-story garage at 35 feet. The structures would be located next to Highway 85 and near the planned end of the Vasona Light Rail Line. 

The project, which has been approved by the Los Gatos Town Council, is being challenged in court by another group of residents calling themselves "Los Gatos Citizens for Responsible Development."

The "Citizens" are opposing the project due to the height of the buildings, which will exceed their desired 35-feet allotment they perceive as being binding in the town's General Plan. 

The poll, conducted by the Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates firm, or FM3, found that a ballot initiative to bypass the legal challenges and proceed with the project enjoys more than 78 percent of support from the Los Gatos electorate, said Barry Barnes, the political consultant working on the initiative.

"This data shows that the measure is well positioned for a strong victory in the June 2014 election," Barnes said in a press release.

"This polling data matches what we heard in the community during the signature drive to quality the initiative," said Phil Albanese, a member of the "We Support Los Gatos" group. 

"Voters in this town are tired of the lawsuits and delays. We want the Netflix expansion ... and the jobs and revenue that come with it ... and we want it now," said LezLi Logan, another member of the "We Support Los Gatos" group. 

Netflix employs about 1,100 people in Los Gatos. The headquarters project would generate more than $1 million in annual property tax revenue for Los Gatos school and more than $300,000 in annual tax revenue for town services such as public safety, traffic improvements, libraries and parks, Barnes said in the release.

When the project is built, the community will receive $485,000 in community benefit funds and the school district will receive their development fees, the release stated. 

ALSO ON LOS GATOS PATCH: 

• No Ruling Yet on Latest Netflix/Albright Way Development Challenge in Los Gatos
• Netflix/Albright Way Development Construction Has Begun in Los Gatos
• 'Netflix Grew Up in Los Gatos And We Would Love to Stay Here'
• Scaled Back Albright Way Project OK'd Monday by Los Gatos Town Council
•  Timeline: Legal Challenges to Future Albright Way/Netflix Development Project
• Updated: Petition Drive Begins to Place Future Netflix Project on June Ballot
• Is the Los Gatos General Plan Outside the Court's Jurisdiction?
• Is Los Gatos' Netflix Staying or Leaving?
• Los Gatos' Albright Way Project Continued Until June 3
• Cherry Pickers to Illustrate Height of Future Los Gatos Netflix Campus

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