The Los Gatos Town Council’s 3-2 approval of North 40 Phase 2 represents more than a new direction for the town; it puts a definitive price tag on the administrative failures of Mayor Rob Moore, Vice Mayor Maria Ristow and Councilmember Rob Rennie.
This is the same voting bloc that, despite controlling the legislative agenda for the critical years of 2022 and 2023—with Rennie as mayor in 2022 and Ristow as Mayor in 2023—failed to produce a compliant Housing Element by the statutory deadline. In March 2022, the Los Gatos Community Alliance’s attorney sent a formal memo warning the Town of the critical importance of meeting that deadline. Rennie and Ristow did what they do best and ignored solid legal advice.
And so, this trio effectively handed developers the “Builder’s Remedy” weapon. It wasn’t until June 4, 2024, that the Council finally adopted a compliant Housing Element—and during that long year-and-a-half of exposure, Builder’s Remedy applications piled up, trading our community’s planning autonomy for developer profit…