Politics & Government

Updated: Petition Drive Begins to Place Future Netflix Project on June Ballot

Update: 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18, 2013: Signatures to place the Albright Way project—the future home of Netflix—on the June ballot are being gathered around town by a professional firm hired by members of the We Support Los Gatos group, project developer John R. Shenk said.

The petition is hundreds of pages and signatures and can only be gathered in person, Shenk said, adding that information about the initiative is on the town's website. Those interested in signing the petition can email info@wesupportlosgatos.org, Shenk said.

About the recent legal challenge to the project, Shenk said the lawsuits are "a rerun of the same allegation that the courts have ruled against once already. This repackaged case is still pending but we are confident the town will again successfully defend its prior process and its thoughtful decision."

Shenk said the We Support Los Gatos group, backed by himself and other project proponents, hopes to complete the signature drive within the next month.

He said the signature drive started Wednesday, Nov. 13 and that placement of the measure on an upcoming election ballot will then be handled by the Town Council under state law.

"This initiative would address the barrage of lawsuits by a few people by allowing the residents of Los Gatos themselves to finally vote up or down on the Netflix expansion as well as the hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in revenue it will bring to the town and schools," Shenk said.

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The Town of Los Gatos announced this week that its clerk administrator/elections official has received a notice of intent to circulate an initiative in the June 2014 ballot relating to the Albright Way Business Park development at Winchester Boulevard, the future home of Netflix.

According to a notice posted on the town's website, the issue was brought before officials on Oct. 23 and the notice is signed by Los Gatos residents LezLi Logan and Phillip Albanese.

The petition's purpose is to ask Los Gatos voters to amend the town's General Plan so that the project, located at 90-160 Albright Way and 14600 Winchester Blvd., can be built without legal challenges that have been made against it since it was first approved by the Los Gatos Town Council in August of 2011.

Logan and Albanese write that the controversial project will enhance the town's unique character, develop high-quality office buildings, suitable for corporate headquarters, in a campus setting.

They also write that the project will ensure that development in the area at the southeast intersection of Highway 85 and Winchester Boulevard will be designed to create an attractive, welcoming environment.

The residents say the project will promote alternative modes of commuting by taking advantage of adjacent public transit opportunities and connections with the Los Gatos Creek Trail.

The ballot measure will be known as the "Los Gatos Economic Development and Jobs Retention Initiative," according to its finding and purpose document submitted to the town government officials.

In April 2013, the town completed an environmental impact report for the project.

In June of 2013, the Los Gatos Town Council certified the EIR and approved the development at 485,000 square feet contained in four buildings, two of which would have a 65-foot height limit and two of which would have a 50-foot height limit.

The approvals, however, have been challenged in court. In April of 2012, a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge sided with the Los Gatos Citizens for Responsible Development, headed by plaintiff Lee Quintana,  ordering the preparation of the EIR for the project.

Just when project developer John R. Shenk appeared to have jumped through all the hoops to get the project going, the Citizens, once again, challenged it arguing that the project was still too large and the buildings' heights violated the town's General Plan 35-feet height limit for buildings.

"An unnecessarily drawn-out litigation process is unlikely to confer any benefit on the community, and instead the voters wish to vote on and approve this initiative, which will clearly establish town policies, pursuant to which the development of the property will be allowed to proceed," the initiative's finding and purpose document states.

New opposition to the project is now headed by Los Gatos attorneys John Shepardson and Andrew H. Wu, who say they're with the same group that challenged the project last year in court.

Jennifer Grewal, a spokeswoman for the Citizens, who lives next to the future site of the project in the Charter Oaks community, said she didn't understand the need to place the issue on the ballot when the town had already approved it.

"Why petition the town to do a special election?" Grewal asked. "There something that they're worried about losing in the lawsuit ... as I understand, the petition changes much more than just the Albright area so the developer appears to be running the change to our General Plan, not the Town Council."

Grewal said the EIR on the project stipulated 350,000 square for the project and not the Council's approval of the project at 485,000 square feet.

"That was challenged on the basis that the environmentally superior option was not selected," Grewal said of the latest legal opposition.

On Aug. 14, Huber, who ordered Los Gatos government officials to complete an EIR for the future Netflix project last year, threw out the latest appeal opposing the height of its four buildings.

Grewal also said she was worried that the town would have to foot the bill for the special election on the issue, "unless the developer can not only petition the town, but pay for his own wants and pay for the election."

"Signatures are being gathered throughout the town," Grewal lamented. "I believe this (petition gathering) started Thursday."

Grewal said she didn't know how many signatures the petition would need to qualify for the ballot. "They want to amend our General Plan," she said. "The developer is requesting an amendment to the General Plan through a special election ... it's what the Town Council has already approved."

"I'm in support of development in Los Gatos, but it needs to be done thoughtfully. Using the planned-development process to circumvent the General Plan is not going to get us where we need to be," she added. "Netflix has already signed their leases [for the future buildings], it's not about Netflix staying or leaving, it's about responsible development within Los Gatos."

Grewal continued: "I want the town's General plan honored ... it's been completely sidestepped using the planned-development process ... now the developer wants to make his own amendment to our General Plan. Is the developer looking out for Los Gatos' interest or his own?"

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