WILD MUSTARD IS in full bloom at one of Los Gatos’ last orchards, where hundreds of bare, brown walnut trees stand as remaining vestiges of the town’s agricultural past. That may soon change.
San Jose-based Urban Catalyst recently submitted revised plans for a 138-townhome development to replace the orchard at 14789 Oka Road. Plans for the three-story project include 28 affordable homes and 296 parking spots. It would remove approximately 374 walnut trees on the nearly 7-acre site owned by Yuki Farms.
The Los Gatos Planning Commission and Town Council will review the project at a later date. The town’s state-mandated housing plan, which requires Los Gatos to build nearly 2,000 homes by 2031, considers the site a prime development location.
The proposal is part of increasing development in Los Gatos due to the town’s late submittal of its housing plan. That opened Los Gatos up to builder’s remedy, a controversial state law that gives municipalities less control over housing projects by allowing developers to bypass local standards. The orchard project is one of more than 10 proposed builder’s remedy developments in Los Gatos.
An Urban Catalyst spokesperson said the developer tried to match the project’s design with Los Gatos’ character to help meet the housing crisis in the Bay Area.
“(We’re) doing what we can to (have) a nice balancing act between what the town really wants, but also doing what the town really needs, which is more housing,” the spokesperson told San José Spotlight. “Every city needs more housing.”
A virtual rendering of a three-story townhome project planned for 14879 Oka Road in Los Gatos. Rendering shows green space in between the three-story townhomes.
A rendering of the townhome project proposed for 14789 Oka Road in Los Gatos. (Urban Catalyst via San Jose Spotlight)
Resident Heidi Parker has lived in a mobile home park adjacent to the site for nearly seven years. She said she bought her home partly because of the view of the Santa Cruz Mountains and the orchard right outside her window.
Parker just sold her home and said she had to lower the asking price by $75,000 because of prospective buyers’ concerns over the potential development. She said the project could increase traffic on the dead-end road, adding she’d be sad to see the longstanding orchard go.
“Why does everything have to be developed?” Parker told San José Spotlight. “Even if they were to change it into a heritage park or something that could maintain (the history).”
Yuki Farms could not be reached for comment.
Last bastion of agriculture
For decades the small town, like much of the valley, was primarily agricultural and undeveloped.
Alexandra Thompson, registrar and history programs manager for New Museum Los Gatos, said farmers grew almonds and prunes in large orchards in town, drawn by the temperate climate. Los Gatos is also the birthplace of multiple farming inventions, including the Macabee Gopher Trap.
Thompson said it’s important to preserve the history in the face of constant development.
“If (history is) just discarded and not saved, people are going to miss it and there will be no way to experience or connect with that past,” she told San José Spotlight. “As the landscape changes, that’s the role museums can play, (to) save those tangible aspects of the past not only to educate people, but connect people.”
North 40, one of the largest housing developments in Los Gatos, also replaced some of the Yuki family’s orchards in 2018.
“If (history is) just discarded and not saved, people are going to miss it and there will be no way to experience or connect with that past.”
Alexandra Thompson, New Museum Los Gatos
Councilmember Rob Rennie said residents didn’t have many concerns about clearing the orchard compared to worries about traffic when town officials approved North 40. He said while he couldn’t comment on the proposed Oka Road development until the Town Council reviews it, he wants proposals to reflect Los Gatos’ character.
“My plea with the developers would be, try to think about if you lived here — how would you make your project fit in better with what Los Gatos is, and particularly what’s close by?” Rennie told San José Spotlight.
Contact Annalise Freimarck at annalise@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @annalise_ellen on X.
This story originally appeared in San Jose Spotlight.