Letter to the Editor: Against Albright Way Project

Editor's Note: The following letter to the editor was written by longtime Los Gatos resident Anne Robinson in opposition to the Albright Way project.

I was reading up on the history of our little town of Los Gatos on the town’s official site. One of the first things that I noticed on the site was the town’s motto of “Small Town Service, Community Stewardship, and Future Focus,” which got me to thinking more about this wonderful place that I have called home for the past “20” years, a community where I have chosen to raise my children.

In the town’s web section entitled About Los Gatos, the place that I call home is described as, “... encompass[ing] a wide variety of terrain, ranging from flat topography at the edge of the valley floor to densely wooded hillsides. Both the valley and hillsides are interspersed with creeks, streams and riparian habitat. The sharp contrast between the valley floor and the hillsides provides the town’s picturesque background.” Could anyone imagine a place more idyllic to live and raise a family?  

Historically, the town of Los Gatos “ ... developed at a distance from other population centers and therefore evolved as an independent community ... ,” so the town site says, and is described today as being “... situated within the largest metropolitan area of Northern California, and is closely tied to Silicon Valley and its fast paced economy. Los Gatos ... still attracts visitors, and continues to retain its small town image.”   

But there are dark clouds forming on the horizon, and my family and I need to prepare for the gathering storm.  

Developers by the name of John Shenk and Peter Pau are seeking approval from the Los Gatos Town Council next Monday to begin construction of an office mega-complex on the north side of town, off of Winchester Boulevard and Lark Avenue, the likes of which this town has never seen, and which shall, if built according to plan, destroy this “picturesque” little town that I call home by forever changing the character of the community that I’ve grown to love so much.      

To me, the official statement by the town, which I’ve recited here verbatim, means that, although we’re a community with a close association to Silicon Valley, we are not, and should never be, an integrated part of that sprawling metropolis and its “fast paced economy.” We should instead strive to retain our own separate and distinct “small town image” apart from the rest of the industrialized north.

Help save the small town character of Los Gatos by speaking against the proposed Albright Office Park at 7 p.m. Monday, May 20 in the Town Council Chambers.