Los Gatos Councilwomen Issue Disclaimer About Albright Way Project Petition

Los Gatos Councilwomen Barbara Spector and Marcia Jensen have issued a disclaimer about a mass mailer sent to town homes in late November in support of a petition in favor of the controversial Albright Way office park project being circulated for signatures.

The women say in the disclaimer notice that their names were improperly used in the mailer and in a one-page advertisement published in the Nov. 26, 2013 Los Gatos Weekly-Times.

"These acts have raised questions in the community as to whether we are publicly endorsing the Albright Way ballot measure," Spector and Jensen write in the disclaimer, which also ran as a letter to the editor in the Dec. 10 edition of the weekly newspaper.

"In response, we wish to make it clear that we continue to support the action taken by the town council to approve an office development that includes space for Netflix. However, the project proposed in the initiative contains differences that were not approved by the council, including changes to the land use laws contained in our General Plan and zoning ordinances. Furthermore, neither of us, nor any other member of the town council, has taken a position on the proposed ballot initiative," the women's statement said.

Los Gatos government officials are preparing to post on their website a list of differences between what the Los Gatos Council approved related to the project and the initiative.

In mid-December, the "We Support Los Gatos" organization which has been supporting the project submitted more than 4,100 signatures to the Los Gatos town clerk to qualify a citizens’ initiative in support of the Albright Way office park project desired for expansion by online media streaming giant Netflix.

Some of the differences between the project the Council approved and what's being proposed by the initiative which will be on the June 3 ballot are:

• It changes the Los Gatos General Plan and zoning maps by creating its own Albright Specific Plan. It therefore "legalizes" the greater heights and therefore prevents the town from interpreting its own General Plan through the Planned Development process.
• It allows elevated walkways/skybridges between the buildings. The elevated walkways (pictured in the initiative petition on the Los Gatos government website are NOT counted as square footage.
• It allows the buildings to cover more of the lot.
• It limits the developer's "community benefit" contribution to the town to $450,000. The Council decision required $1 per constructed square foot ($450,000). By not counting the square footage in the elevated walkways, the developer is actually paying less than the Council required.
• It does not allow ANY changes to the Albright Specific Plan (if it passes) by any means except another ballot measure and Town-wide vote until June 2021.  Meaning the Planning Commission and/or Town Council can't make any changes to it prior to that date.
• The initiative approves an office development consisting of four Class A commercial buildings, two at 65 feet tall and two at 50 feet, plus a three-story garage at 35 feet.

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