What project?

15700 Shady Lane--the Highlands of Los Gatos--Lot 10. The applicant, Sandy Harris, proposes a large house on 2.68 acres. Chair Kane and Commissioner Bourgeois were concerned with the size of the cellar, the amount of grading, and cyclone fencing around the pool, and both did not support the motion to approve the project which passed, 5-2.

Town Planner Suzanne Davis explained that the pool fencing is wrought iron and that the relatively little grading would require zero off-haul of dirt.

I agree wholeheartedly with Shamus Waird and no I don't know him personally. Mr Kane and Bourgeois unfortunately are not intellectually very bright and it's a shame limelight seekers with no brains end up in these positions.

Since I moved here in 1979, I've seen this once beautiful town turned into a congested, frustrating piece of stuff. There has been by my count one person who served this town with integrity: Leonard Pacheco. He was fired by two of the worst long term council members ever to grace our so-called "town council" who shamelessly lined their own pockets while pretending to represent the citizens of Los Gatos.
Yes "our" town has come to this sorry state and still the only candidates who run are nobodies who represent big real estate
and "development" interests...
(Edited 09/26/08 4:21 am)

I am sad to see such a "piece of trash" letter from Shamus Waird, whoever that is. Most of the members of the planning commission have tried to make their decisions based on the Development standards and guidelines of the town. That is certainly true of Mr Kane and Mr Bourgeois. The town council, over the last year, usually on a 3-2 vote has seen fit to take gross exceptions to those guideline and vote with the developers who could care less about preserving the wonderful ambience of our wonderful town. Only Mayor Spector and Commissioner Wasserman have voted to uphold the guidelines. While I don't fully agree with Mr. Crow's tone in his letter, he certainly has a point when he says hat it appears that there are members ".......while pretending to represent the citizens of Los Gatos."

It is critical that in the upcoming November election that we re-elect Mayor Spector and elect Michael Kane to fill the vacancy created by Steve Glickman's departure. If we don't, we'll see the town more and more in the hip pockets of developers who don't cre about the town standards.

Has anyone had what they consider to be a reasonable experience with the Planning Commission?

For what its worth we obeyed all the rules as they are written and asked for no variances. Got the support of all of our neighbors including written testimonials. Even so we were rejected and forced into a costly redesign of the entire project that added about a year. Developers in the area tell me that I got off easy.

But if you want to get really incensed look into the development activities of some of the commissioners themselves.

I agree with Sandra Wells and Shamus Waird and disagree with James Crow and Gil. And Gil, simply because you disagree with Mr. Waird, that does not make his letter a “piece of trash.” If Waird’s opinion is a “piece of trash”, then so is yours. However, I digress.

Watching Mr. Kane “perform” on the Planning Commission is bad enough, but his performance at the League of Women Voters' Candidate's Forum on Sept 25th was downright scary.
(http://losgatos.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=4&clip_id=342)
When the moderator of the forum asked: "How is Los Gatos affected by the national financial crisis,” Mr. Kane, who describes himself as a "financial professional," replied: “We’re not. We’re so far blessed with an insular status.”

Wow! Does Mr. Kane sincerely think the Town he would like us to let him run, is not affected by the financial crisis?

The other candidates recognized how seriously this crisis threatens Los Gatos, and suggested various plans. Steve Rice accurately described Mr. Kane's response as naive and foolish.

Here are some facts that Mr. Kane should know:

--Of the 267 single-family homes listed for sale in Los Gatos, 82 (31%) are in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure (from Trulia.com, a real estate search website, 09/29/08).
--The State of California is going to take approximately $480,000 of Town RDA funds. The State is also going after County funds, and that total will be in the millions.
--In the September 24th Los Gatos Weekly Times, under the headline “State budget woes could hit Los Gatos hard,” SJSU Political Science Professor Larry Gerston said: "The days when little towns were removed from other area's problems are over because people are so dependent on other levels of government.”

The economic crisis is getting worse, and everyone is going to feel the effects in one way or another. Nevertheless, Mr. Kane believes that Los Gatos is unaffected.

Perhaps Mr. Kane, who likes to dress up as the character “Mountain Charlie,” really lives in that historical fantasy world--or perhaps he was absent from school the day they taught civics.

In either case, Mr. Kane is totally unqualified to hold the highest elected office in this Town. Los Gatos and its residents cannot afford Mr. Kane’s ignorance and naïveté.

Gil said “It is critical that in the upcoming November election that we re-elect Mayor Spector and elect Michael Kane …”
No Gil, what is critical is that Kane is NOT elected. And if, as Gil seems to know, Kane is linked to Barbara Spector, we have to question her candidacy too. Fortunately, we have two other fine candidates: Peggy Dallas and Steve Rice.

Shamus has it right in his assessment of the current planning commission. In a recent article in the Los Gatos Weekly, Commissioner Kane was quoted with the following..."If the plans stay within the standards and guidelines it's smooth sailing. I've actually heard that from people. If they wander outside the standards and guidelines it will take months and a lot of money to get things that are not provided for in our codes."

The problem is that most all projects that come before the planning commission are within the standards and guideline of the Town. Applicants work with Town Staff and the Town's consulting Architect to make sure their project meet the concrete sections of the guidelines such as setbacks, square footage, and height restrictions. Where the Planning commission blindsides applicants is when it comes to the objective elements of the guidelines. Who is to say project fits in with the surrounding neighborhood or not? A bunch of financial planners and lawyers?

If the Town was in a financial crisis, would they hire an Architect to get them out of it? If the Town was sued, would they hire a Urban Planner to defend them?

Why is it that Architecture and Land use planning so minimized in this town, that anyone who is appointed to the Planning Commission feels they have the experience and education to make decisions that effect not only individual property owners, but also the town as a whole? By looking at the experience of three of the four current individuals running for the Town Council, it clearly shows the the Planning Commission in Los Gatos has been minimized to being a stepping stone to further individuals political aspirations.
(Edited 10/06/08 11:19 am)