September 9, 2022

Dear Chamber members, prospective members and other newsletter readers,

I hope you had an enjoyable summer in Los Gatos. I thought it was amazing! We now are heading into the fall which is also a great time of year. However, we are at a very critical point in Los Gatos, and the rest of the year is really going to change how things proceed moving forward.

Looking back, we have taken great strides to set the stage for Los Gatos to evolve into a reinvigorated community. A lot of this action took place pre-pandemic, but measures put in place during the pandemic and recovery have led to the continued success of the Los Gatos business community. All of that together brings us to this critical point with a General Plan hanging in the balance and elections on the horizon.

The General Plan, which is the roadmap for the growth of the Town not only physically but in a lot of other ways we live our lives and conduct our business, is facing skepticism and criticism after several years of tireless efforts by the Town Staff, politicians, consultants, and community representatives. It is a thankless effort, one I am proud to have been a part of many years ago when I sat on the General Plan Update Advisory Committee in the last go-around. The General

Plan is a guide and is a living breathing document that evolves over the years and can be changed if we don’t feel it is adequately servicing the purposes of the community. Unfortunately, at this juncture we have a General Plan that has been approved by Town Council but has been challenged by some community members for certain attributes they believe were not crafted in the best interest of the community. Points on both sides are valid, but what we cannot afford is another 24-month delay while we wait for this debate to be settled on the ballot. The General Plan has been delayed long enough. The proposed changes to the Land Use Element and Community Design element, while debatable as to whether they would be meaningful over the long term, are within reason and the Town Council should quickly act to revise those elements to be more in line with the near-term development and housing needs.

The reality is, debating and delaying or making time consuming changes to the plan that was recently approved by Town Council, will do significantly more damage than whatever the objections are to the wording of the current plan. It will be a tremendous drain on Town Staff, who are already stretched to the thinnest they can possibly be stretched, which will in turn delay other projects and processing of both commercial and residential needs.

The Town is also facing a structural budget deficit and the Town Staff, finance commission, and Town Council are looking under every rock to find ways to a balanced budget in coming years. There are a lot of things found in the new general plan that could be helpful to get to a balanced budget, but with further unnecessary delays it just pushes that timeline out farther.

We have three Town Council seats up for election this November. In 2020, the Chamber of Commerce assembled a political strategy subcommittee and held a live Q&A forum with the candidates to get a true picture of who we may elect. We will do the same this election season on Thursday, October 6th, so stay tuned and we hope to provide information that can assist you in your decision to elect qualified people that will guide us through the aforementioned issues. We are hopeful we have a pool of well-qualified candidates who can support the business community and residents alike, and try to bring some unity to the different factions in Town. We will do our best to identify who our next champions will be!

The Chamber of Commerce, under the leadership of our Executive Director Catherine Somers and her staff, is the strongest it has ever been. The Chamber has been dramatically more engaged with the ongoings of the Town and communicates with the Town Staff and Town Council to make recommendations that improve the success of our membership and business community at large. The Chamber has also planned some of the most successful events in Los Gatos in decades including the Wine Walks, Holiday Carriage Rides, B2B Mixers, Promenades, and now is getting more involved with Jazz on the Plazz and Music in the Park. There are more great events on the horizon as well, but we will need some major sponsorships and fundraising success to bring them to fruition as Town funding will no longer be an option.

The Chamber is a here as a resource for you, please feel free to always convey your needs to us and we will see what can be done. It feels better than ever to live and work and play in Los Gatos, let’s make sure we don’t foul it up!

Sincerely,

Jim Foley

President of the Board

Wednesday,

September 14 at 5:00pm

143 E. Main Street

Whether you need a single piece of furniture or your whole house needs a makeover, Mish will bring passion to the project to achieve your goals on your budget. Mish specializes in classic farmhouse and coastal styles. Her store offers a signature furniture collection, as well as unique vintage pieces, custom-made furniture, and

restored & reclaimed pieces.

Wednesday,

September 14 at 6:30pm

15466 Los Gatos Boulevard

At Power4 Pilates, they believe that Pilates should be accessible to all people with varying fitness levels and physical limitations.  They can help you breathe, move, feel and live better in your everyday life. Power4 Pilates strives to create the best experience

for you by making each class different from the last.

Open house & ribbon cutting is 6-8:30pm and will include hors d’oeuvres and drinks. 

Networking Mixer

September 21

Hosted by 5 Media & Lynx Properites

Members $5

Guests: $20

Thinking of joining the Chamber? $5

Entertainment Sponsors:

Wristband Sponsor:

Beer & Wine Walk Volunteers

Veterans Memorial & Support Foundation

September 11, 4:30-7:30pm

KCAT - Oktoberfest

September 25

You are invited to kick off the fall season with OktoberFest Los Gatos! 

Sunday, September 25, 12-5 on the Civic Center Lawn.

Enjoy a day of festivities! Tapping of the Keg, German music and games , including cornhole, authentic German food, festival tent with beer and wine garten.

Benefitting KCAT Public Media, your local TV and radio station. KCAT educates, informs, entertains and inspires our community by offering unique programming, specifically giving a voice to youth, teens and Adults 55+.

Draft Housing Element

Initial Public Review 

Written comments (including name, affiliation, telephone number, and contact information) on the Initial Public Review Draft can be submitted through September 27, 2022 at 5:00 pm by email to HEUpdate@losgatosca.gov or by mail to:

Town of Los Gatos

Community Development Department

110 E. Main Street, Los Gatos, CA 95030

The community can also provide their comments on the Initial Public Review Draft during the Housing Element Advisory Board meeting on Thursday, September 15, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom. 

Oak Meadow Bandstand

Screen on the Green

Friday, September 23

Butter Paddle

September 13-18

Embodied Recovery

September 24

Communication in Motion Workshop: Cocréa is Collaborative, Organic Communication, Revolutionizing Embodied Awareness. Cocréa engages us in the practice of moving in intuitive, kinetic dialogue with one another to just about any style of music and serves as a means to take your dance to a new level of intimacy and authentic connection with others.

Click for more info & to register

Friends of the Library

October 6

NUMU

October 1

NUMU - Art Now

Submissions Open - Oct 7