February 23, 2006

Sobrato Development Companies seeks general
plan amendment for housing project

Neighbors living along Guadalupe Mines Road oppose
project’s medium density designation

By Sheila Sanchez
Staff Writer

A housing development that potentially could result in the construction of more than 100 homes next to a low-density Almaden neighborhood near the Los Gatos border has mobilized residents who are crying foul over the proposed medium density designation for the land.

Bob Beveridge and Brent Graham, who live on Guadalupe Mines Road, are opposing a proposed land-use designation change to the city’s general plan that would allow Sobrato Development Companies to sell the land for a future medium-density housing proposal. Photo by Sheila Sanchez

Sobrato Development Companies, the owners of the land, is seeking a general plan amendment by the San Jose Planning Commission to change the land-use designation of a15.83-acre site from administrative/office/research and development to medium density residential. The change would allow the land’s future developer to build between eight and 16 dwelling units per acre.

The land is located on the west side of Guadalupe Mines Road, approximately 1,800 feet south of Camden Avenue, across from the Guadalupe Landfill. The property runs along the Guadalupe Creek. A new Hicks Road housing development on the other side of the creek, in Los Gatos, has one dwelling unit per two-and-a-half acres. Those dwellings, however, are estate homes.

The land is occupied by two research and development buildings totaling approximately 176,000 square feet and a third partially constructed research and development building of approximately 45,000 square feet.

Sobrato Development Companies leases the buildings to Viking Freight, Inc., who has subleased them to Federal Express.

Neighbors fear when considering the San Jose Water District easement, which flows from an existing walking path from the street and feeds the new development on Hicks Road, the riparian setbacks and an existing nature trail, Sobrato Development Companies would only be left with about 12 or 13 acres to accommodate the requested density change.

This is one of two research and development buildings located on a 15.83-acre parcel of land on Guadalupe Mines Road that Sobrato Development Companies wants developed into medium density housing. Photo by Sheila Sanchez

Robert Beveridge, whose home is next to the site, said the general plan amendment is incompatible to the surrounding neighborhood which is primarily a mixture of rural and low-density single-family homes, with an average density of less than eight units per acre.

He indicated 16 units per acre would average 2,723 square feet per unit, which would likely require some sort of townhouse or condominium development, which the neighborhood is against.

“What this means is that they could take a property my size and put 16 homes on it,” complained Beveridge. “Conceivably I could have eight or 10 houses backing up to my home. That’s not consistent with what the neighborhood is.”

“My house and my neighbors’ houses sit on one-acre-plus (properties),” said Brent Graham, who lives in a 4,000-square-foot home near the foothills. “That density of zoning is something everybody in the area is concerned about. We would like up to eight units per acre.”

Tim Steele, a spokesman for Sobrato Development Companies, said while he appreciated the neighbors’ concerns, the general plan amendment being requested is consistent with the general plan designation for the Campagna housing development across the street from the site which allowed between eight and 16 dwelling units per acre.

Steele said Sobrato Development Companies is seeking the general plan amendment because the long-term viability of an administrative office/research and development type of use at the site is no longer marketable.

This 4,000-square-foot home near the foothills along Guadalupe Mines Road sits on a one-acre property. Its’ owner, Brent Graham, is opposing a proposed land-use designation change to the city’s general plan that would allow Sobrato Development Companies to sell the land for a future medium-density housing project. Photo by Sheila Sanchez

Steele said Sobrato Development Companies intends to sell the land to a developer once the lease on the property expires in 2009. He said any development in the area would be similar to the Campagna project, which located the lowest density next to existing property lines and the highest density in the middle.

“The keeper of the density is going to be the San Jose City Council with a zoning package when a developer comes in,” Steele said. “It’s an unknown and I appreciate it’s an unknown but I keep pointing across the street from their neighborhood and it’s the same designation.”

Neighbors are also complaining that the city’s Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement didn’t notify them early enough about the general plan amendment until late in January when they received a letter dated Jan. 23 inviting them to a Feb. 6 meeting at the Almaden Winery Community Center.

“You would think that a project that’s going to put in 100 houses in this kind of an area would get a month or a seven- or eight-week notice,” Graham said.

They’re also saying even though city planners were required by law to notify those living within 1,000 feet from the site only a few neighbors fell under that category and thus many didn’t know about the project. Steele said about 150 letters were sent out.

The neighbors are also worried about potential negative impacts to city services.

A 15.83-acre property owned by Sobrato Development Companies that could possibly change land-use designations to allow for a medium-housing development runs along the beautiful and pristine Guadalupe Creek. Photo by Sheila Sanchez

Other parts of the neighborhood have homes on 8,000-square-foot lots. The Campagna development was designated eight to 16 units per acre, but it has three different densities, with 9.2 units per acre being the average density.

“They’re pretty well packed in,” said Beveridge. “The higher density per acre that they can get approved then the more valuable the land is to them per square foot. They’re looking at it as so many dollars per square foot. We’re not against it being residential. It could be good for everybody but just not such high density. It’s not consistent with the neighborhood.”

Neighbors also warn that if Sobrato obtains the general plan amendment it would strain the Los Gatos School District whose officials have reportedly said they have no room at their elementary school to accommodate the increase in student population that the development would create.

Los Gatos Union School Superintendent Suzanne Boxer-Gassman reportedly said at the community meeting that the Blossom Hill School, which serves more than 500 students in grades K-5, is full.

“There are going to be all kinds of dominoes that will fall out of this,” Beveridge said. “Those things are not addressed in the general plan. Those things are addressed later on when they file for the development and have to assess the environmental impacts and other impacts as well.

Graham said, “We don’t have a problem with Sobrato selling the property. We just want it to really match the neighborhood and not just try to maximize the density.”

Councilwoman Nancy Pyle said she shared the neighbors’ concerns about the development’s density.

“At this time the applicant is not moving forward with a rezoning, or proposed project, but when the times comes I can assure the residents that the project density would conform to the existing community,” Pyle said.

The planning commission is expected to hear the proposal during its March 22 meeting. If approved, the San Jose City Council will consider the item during its April 18 meeting at City Hall.

Residents can e-mail their concerns to the city’s project manager, Meera Nagaraj, at meera.nagaraj@sanjoseca.gov, for inclusion in the planning department’s recommendation to the planning commission.