Future Netflix Development Project Opposed Again by Los Gatos 'Citizens'

The Los Gatos Citizens for Responsible Development—the plaintiffs who sued the Town of Los Gatos in September of 2011 over the Albright Way business park project, are once again objecting in court the project's latest version.

The Citizens, represented by Los Gatos resident Lee Quintana, have formally opposed in Santa Clara County Superior Court a motion to "discharge writ" by the Town of Los Gatos, the Los Gatos Town Council and Los Gatos Business Park, LLC.'s plan and its environmental impact report.

In a 14-page motion, Citizen's attorney Rose M. Zoia writes that the project's latest version is inconsistent with the Los Gatos General Plan's "rigid development standard" imposing a 35-foot height limit on buildings.

The Council on June 3 voted 4-1 in favor of a smaller version of the project at the intersection of Highway 85 and Winchester Boulevard. It reduced the Albright Way Business Park from the proposed 550,000 square feet to 485,000.

Also, two of its four buildings' heights were lowered from four stories, or 65 feet, to three stories, or 50 feet. One of the lowered buildings was the one closest to Highway 85 and the current Netflix campus at 100 Winchester Circle. The company has already signed a 10-year lease on it and had options on the rest of the project.

The project's originally proposed three-story parking garage will also be capped at 35 feet, with the option of going underground, the Council voted.

In April of 2012, a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge sided with the plaintiffs and ordered the preparation of an EIR for the project.

"The general plan is the fundamental source of local land-use policy and law and heads up the hierarchy of government review as the 'constitution for all future develments,' " the motion states. "The General Plan has the force of law ... To be sure, the geranl plan is not immutable, far from it. But it may not be trifled with lightly, as the limitation on the number of amendments to the general plan in any calendar year attests." 

In an email to Los Gatos Patch, town resident Jak Van Nada, a founding member of he Los Gatos Community Alliance, said he was among those appealing the approval of the Albright Way EIR based on the perceived conflict with the Los Gatos General Plan and zoning ordinances "which clearly state 35-feet height maximum."

"You only have a small town once," he said. "While we advocate reasonable development of the property, we only agree within the limits stated in the General Plan and zoning ordinances. 

"To develop it outside the bounds and the intentions of the plan renders a plan useless. To say that a PD (Planned Development) creates a zone within the existing zones that violates the principles set forth in the General Plan and the ordinances of the zoning codes was strictly self-serving.

"Will the town lose the prestige of having a Netflix? Possibly. But they are only taking one of four buildings currently and it is very possible they will never get beyond two. They may be absorbed, sold or simply disappear. On Netflix’s tail is Amazon, Google, Wal-Mart, Apple, etc., etc.  By no means does Netflix operate with a wide moat to competition, and the competition is as big as they get."

Van Nada said if Netflix moves, the property would not sit vacant as it's 95 percent occupied.

He continued: "The 35-foot height was established to, amongst other things, limit the density and traffic to keep the small town feel. They were put in place to limit a developer from taking controls away from council members, some of whom may be easily persuaded to build out the town larger and much more crowded than was intended.

"Just as there are lobbyists running the legislature in Sacramento, there are developers continually working city governments to expand their perceived right to develop towns in violation of the towns' own general plans," Van Nada said.

In one California city and county study, approximately 75 percent of the proposed planning and zoning amendments are privately initiated, and 66 to 75 percent are ultimately approved, he noted.

"We think because of the specifics in the General Plan, that we have a good shot. If we should win, the town will either have to amend the General Plan for Albright, or take the message they’re receiving from the people who voted them into office and listen to our plea to maintain the General Plan. This is a small town, not a large suburb. We want it to stay that way and the General Plan was worded to keep us small," he said.

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