JOEL PAULSON, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

TOWN OF LOS GATOS PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT MEETING DATE: 09/27/2017 ITEM NO: 3 ADDENDUM DATE: SEPTEMBER 26, 2017 TO: FROM: SUBJECT: PLANNING COMMISSION JOEL PAULSON, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR CONSIDER AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 29 (ZONING REGULATIONS) OF THE TOWN CODE REGARDING ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS. TOWN CODE AMENDMENT APPLICATION A-17-003. PROJECT LOCATION: TOWN WIDE, APPLICANT: TOWN OF LOS GATOS. REMARKS: Exhibit 9 includes additional public comments received between 11:01 a.m., Friday, September 22, 2017 and 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, September 26, 2017. EXHIBITS: Previously received with September 27, 2017 Staff Report: 1. Senate Bill 1069 2. Assembly Bill 2299 3. Chaptered changes in Government Code Section 65852.2 4. ARTICLE I. DIVISION 1. Sec. 29.10.020 Definitions 5. ARTICLE I. DIVISION 4. Sec. 19.10.150(c)(2) Parking 6. ARTICLE I. DIVISION 7. Sec. 29.10.305-335 Accessory Dwelling Units 7. ARTICLE IV. DIVISION 1. Sec. 29.40.015 Accessory Buildings 8. Public Comments received by 11:00 a.m., Friday, September 22, 2017 Received with this Addendum Report: 9. Public Comments received between 11:01 a.m., Friday, September 22, 2017 and 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, September 26, 2017 PREPARED BY: SALLY ZARNOWITZ, AIA, LEED AP Planning Manager Reviewed by: Community Development Director 110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 408-354-6874 www.losgatosca.gov

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J.KRETSCHMERIARCHITECT 101 Old Blossom Hill Road Los Gatos, CA 95032 phone 408.221.0771 jen@jkretschmer.com September 25, 2017 Sally Zarnowitz, AIA, LEED AP Planning Manager Joel Paulson Community Development Director Town of Los Gatos 110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 Dear Town Planning Staff, Community Development Director, Planning Manager Sally Zarnowitz, and Commissioners, The Governor's bills AB 1069 and AB2299 address the need for affordable housing in California by reducing roadblocks for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), which in the Town of Los Gatos are currently called Second Dwelling Units. As a resident of the Town and a local architect, I am in support of making the regulations less obtrusive for homeowners here in Los Gatos. For one, we've seen higher density projects proposed in Town that attempt to put the low income housing clustered together in one part of Town. This created a segregation of the Town's populus. AD Us would allow for better integratioin and lower density affordable house. As an architect, I am known to help homeowners design and gain approvals for these units. I think if you Google "Granny Unit Architect" it's likely that my name will show up on the first page. So I have experience helping homeowners navigate the various regulations throughout the municipalities in the Bay Area. What I have seen that has created this need for ADUs in the Bay Area is both financial and cultural. Most homeowners who come to me to help them get an ADU are doing it so that adult family members can live independently but close to other family. Most are built for aging parents and in-jaws and a few are for children returning home with a college degree embarking on their new careers. Still others are building ADUs to help temselves financially to stay living on their property by moving into the ADU themselves and renting the main house. In that way an ADU would help a homeowner to have some flexibility with utilizing their property as they age in place and could help younger residents who cannot yet afford to own a home become part of an established community. I've reviewed the Planning Staff report and would like to address the following questions, offering you my opinions developed from working directly with homeowners in various municipalities and those specifically in the Town of Los Gatos. I. Parking should be reduced to one uncovered space that is allowed in the front setback on an existing or new driveway. Tandem spaces should be allowed. EXHIBIT 9

The parking requirement should be exempted if compliance to state mandated exceptions can be met. 2. All lots in all zoning designations should be allowed, provided that the ADU can conform to all other municipal regulations regarding FAR, lot coverage, etc. 3. Second story attached or detached ADUs should be allowed so long as the main house is two story. All proposed two story AD Us must go through a planning review, at least a Minor Residential Application, and may require a Planning Commission hearing giving discretion to the Planning Commission to reject inappropriate applications. 4. (Most Importantly) Exceptions to the current FAR must be considered. Consider aligning with other local municipalities on FAR for the purpose of allowing an ADU only. For example, allow ADU to exceed standard FAR to a.45 FAR of net lot and maintain a maximum 40% lot coverage. Other things to consider: 5. Deed restrictions should not be required unless the homeowner has applied for the BMR (Below Market Rate) program and has received some financial compensation or relief (such as a reduction in permit/approval fees). However, ADUs shall never be sold as a separate property or create a lot split. 6. Property owners should be given the flexibility to live in either the main ho use or the ADU as their primary residence. Property owners should be allowed to rent both units so long as doing so does not violate any other law or regulation. With these modifications to the zoning regulations, homeowners will be given more flexibility with their properties to add ADUs. But do not expect a huge rush to overpopulate Town lots with ADUs. When San Jose first implemented its Second Unit Pilot Program more than a decade ago (November 2005), they decided to put a cap of 100 units for concern a large influx of units would be applied. They were surprised to find that after one year only 15 permits were issued of 26 applications. The program was extended for several years until ADUs became part of their Zoning Ordinance. The reality is that AD Us are just as expensive to build as any home. Even pre-fab units are hundreds of thousands of dollars. So, a homeowner choosing to build an ADU will likely have a very valid and reasonable reason to pursue such a financial endeavour. Thank you for your consideration. Respectfully, Jennifer Kretschmer, AIA Principal Architect CA license #C-29615 and NCARB Certified 2

From: Paul Prouty [mailto:paulprouty@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, September 25, 2017 12:29 PM To: Sally Zarnowitz <SZarnowitz@ losgatosca.gov> Subject: RE: Comment on accessory dwelling units.., Hello Sally, I would like to have my voice added to public comment on the ADU rule changes. I want to urge the co uncil to include the HR-1 and HR-2.5 zoning in the modifications to allow ADU's as long as they ad here to and follow the guidelines for lot slope density and FAR scores. Please let me know if there is anything else I can add so t he council will adopt the cha nge. My best, Pa ul Paul Prouty Real Estate Broker Keller Williams Realty Executive Real Estate Services BRE#01171285 paulprouty@gmail.com 408-806-3393 16185 Los Gatos Blvd. #205 Los Gatos, Ca 95032

Sally Zarnowitz From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Linda Swenberg <swenberg@me.com> Monday, September 25, 2017 3:29 PM Sally Zarnowitz Planning Accessory dwelling units compliance with state law Dear Ms. Zarnowitz, My name is Linda Swenberg. I am writing to. provide input for the item 3 on the agenda for this Wednesday night: "CONSIDER AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 29 {ZONING REGULATIONS) OF THE TOWN CODE REGARDING ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS. TOWN CODE AMENDMENT APPLICATION A-17-003. PROJECT LOCATION: TOWN WIDE, APPLICANT: TOWN OF LOS GATOS." I own a home with a legal secondary dwelling unit which, due to the current outdated town codes, we had been prohibited from converting into a full legal rental. We have lived in Los Gatos since 1995. Our first home was in one of the unincorporated areas on Shady View Lane off of Shannon Road near Blossom Hill Park. In 2004, we purchased our current home at 128 Mary Way. The home came with a brand-new, permitted, habitable pool house (finished in 2003). It is a beautiful 1 bedroom apartment detached with everything included except for a kitchen. It has a full bathroom, fireplace, sprinklers, etc. We were properly notified, either at the time of purchase or when we went to planning for our later remodel, that the house would never be allowed to have a permitted kitchen installed and could never be converted to a legal rental. All of this really perplexed us. Our lot is 2 parcels deep and "'13000 sq ft (we combined the APNs after V"e purchased it and for some reason, it is still zoned R1 :8 even after the parcels were combined). The pool house is very private, has a full sprinkler system, conditioning, etc. We understand that the code which you now need to modify in order to comply with state law is to blame. The biggest obstacle to it being converted to a legal rental is parking. Our lot is too narrow to allow for 2 additional off-street parking spots in front. {We have the spots available but they would have to be tandem in front of the garage.) We do not live in the downtown zone and there is plentiful parl<ing on our street. The parking restriction does not prevent us from having overnight guests. They just park on the street. What's the difference to the neighborhood? It would be "uglier" for us to eliminate our front yard for this parking requirement. I understand that one of the questions on this matter is "Should parking requirements for accessory dwelling units be reduced to one space per accessory dwelling unit or eliminated?" In cases such as ours, parking requirements should be eliminated in my opinion. In 2008-2009, our entire family lived in the guest home while our main residence was remodeled. The quarters were a bit cramped, to say the least! It would have been a lot easier on our family if we had been allowed to build a kitchen in the guest home prior to the remodel of the main house. We understood that this was prohibited, so we made due with a microwave, paper plates, and a refrigerator. A few years ago, we invited my mother-in-law to move into the guest home when she lost her apartment in San Jose after getting in financial trouble. We were lucky to have the option to provide her with housing. We have always wanted to build a kitchen in her house to make her as comfortable as possible during her retirement, but we knew that this would be prohibited. Allowing granny units to be included in the building inventory in Los Gatos makes sense on many levels. We heard about the amendments to Government Code Section 65852.2 regarding second (accessory) dwelling unit regulations in 2016 and we have been hopeful that the Town would respond accordingly. We agree with the intent of Bill 1069 which was 1

signed by the Governor to make this happen: " In single-family or multifamily residential zones provides additional rental housing stock, and these units are an essential component of housing supply in California." The Town should do everything possible to encourage the legal use of guest houses such as ours to increase the rental stock in our community. Our guest house and many others could go a long way towards meeting the below market value requirements which the town government has struggled with meeting. We look forward to enjoying the full use of our property while helping the Town to combat the housing crisis in Silicon Valley. I have one request I would like a response to: Is there any way to readily look up deed restrictions on our property? If there is a deed restriction preventing the addition of a kitchen in our guest house, how do we request the removal of the restriction once the town codes are amended? Regards, Linda Swenberg 128 Mary Way, Los Gatos, CA 95032 (408) 569-4411 swenberg@me.com 2

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