League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 7, 2006 Election
	Dennis W. Byron Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; Town of Los Gatos

The questions were prepared by the Leagues of Women Voters of Santa Clara County and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What experience related to city government would you bring to the City Council?

As I a long-time small businessman and Los Gatos resident, I have had the opportunity to work with different aspects of Los Gatos government, businesses, and residents for over 30 years. As a consumer and observer of government services, I would bring an important, knowledgeable perspective to the Council. I have 35 years of direct land use experience as a local RealtorŪ. My executive and leadership experience includes Chair of the Los Gatos Saratoga District of Silicon Valley Association of RealtorsŪ and Director of California Association of RealtorsŪ. I also served as a recreation leader for the San Jose Parks and Recreation Department. These positions afforded me the opportunity to work with large as well as small groups of people and their differing ideas and strategies. The experiences enhanced my inherent ability to bring people together. I work well with people and get people to work well with each other.

2. What concerns are of particular importance to the city and how would you address them?

There are several key issues facing the town:

There exists a laborious and unpredictable process for getting approvals for large and small projects through the planning process. It can take years to remodel one's home, build new homes to add to our housing stock, or evolve new businesses. I will review best practices in other cities' planning processes to see where we could improve our own. I will support clear, consistent and specific guidelines for land use, similar to the Hillside Specific Guidelines the Town recently adopted. That way, town planning staff, and applicants for any project, from a small home remodel to a major development, will know in advance what are accepted and approved policies and procedures. Proposals within those guidelines should be evaluated and approved quickly and simply. Projects seeking exceptions will be scrutinized more carefully.

There is a lack of recreational and youth-oriented facilities and services. We have no publicly available town recreational facilities, except for one tennis court and small baseball field near the town dump. There is no soccer field; no indoor recreation facility; and no skate park. The town doesn't even have its own recreation department. This is not due to a lack of land. The town owns 13 acres in Vasona County Park, adjacent to town-owned Oak Meadow Park. When the County's lease on this land expires, I would strongly suggest the town retain this land and use it in our best interest. The town needs the land and has more than enough money in reserves ($65 million) to maintain and improve it. I will support investing in healthy and inclusive recreational facilities for all members of our community. This is especially important to continue to attract young families to invest in our town by buying homes here.

Our policies regarding businesses in town are often irrational and counterproductive. Some examples of these are:

• The denying of a permit to one store, then approving of another store with the same business format;
• Differing policies regarding alcohol-related and entertainment permits;
• Unrealistic restrictions and policies regarding car dealerships which encourages them to leave, and then proposing that the land only be allowed to be used for another car dealership.

I will use my extensive business experience to guide the town toward practical, fiscally sound commercial land use policies, while remaining sensitive to preserving the qualities that make our town special and unique. Because of the system we now have we are losing business to Campbell, Santana Row, Willow Glen and the surrounding communities. Let's promote businesses in town and help them to become more successful.

There are ill-feelings among the Council members, as publicly expressed in local media. One of my greatest strengths is working well with people and getting people to work well with each other. This is a skill that has been absolutely necessary for me to be a successful RealtorŪ and businessman.

3. How would you balance the needs of the City as a whole with groups' interests?

This is a very thought provoking question. A council member must consider how any decision would affect the town as a whole, and how it would impact specific groups. For example, what are reasonable conditions for preschools in residential neighborhoods? The key word is "reasonable". My guide will be my experience, best practices, and a collaborative approach. It is best to get all parties communicating early. My first question of any project applicant will continue to be: "Have you contacted the neighbors?" I will look to town staff for accurate and objective factual information on which to base my decisions.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' responses are not edited or corrected by the League.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 7, 2006 21:22
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