Monte Sereno continues to struggle with the issue of rezoning an area where multi-family housing could be built in the city, only now the controversy has shifted from annexing La Hacienda Inn and unincorporated county pockets off Highway 9 to the Winchester Boulevard area.

When the city council met on Aug. 2, city manager Brian Loventhal outlined criteria that could be used to find an appropriate location to rezone. However, residents had Loventhal’s memo in hand and lined up to complain that it unfairly targets properties in the Winchester neighborhood.

“We do know what happens when multi-family goes in,” El Rancho Avenue resident Greg Sivaslian said. “Property values drop.”

NIMBY-ism, or “not in my back yard,” also came into play. “It’s not quite at the same level, but it’s like asking us to put a prison in our back yard,” Sivaslian said.

One criterion outlined in the memo was a notation that multi-family housing should have easy access to public transportation and services. The only public transportation that gets anywhere near Monte Sereno is a VTA community bus, which runs down Winchester between Los Gatos and Campbell.

“When you read that criteria, it’s perfectly suited for Winchester,” resident Doug McNeil said.

Via Sereno homeowner Bryan Mekechuk said, “It’s skewed to Winchester. I do not think the criteria are appropriate.” Mekechuk suggested that the city look for sites to rezone that are sprinkled throughout Monte Sereno.

Councilwoman Lana Malloy, meantime, broke the news that Los Gatos had just approved the new Netflix development on Winchester and Albright way the night before. “Everything on Winchester has already been built out,” Malloy said. She reiterated her support for annexing the Hacienda property.

The issue will continue to percolate in the city of single-family homes, with Vice Mayor Susan Garner acknowledging, “Whatever decision we make, we’re going to make someone unhappy.”

Mayor Marshall Anstandig summed the situation up when he said, “We’re being asked to plop something into our city that no one ever planned for.”

Meantime, the council is looking at changing the ordinance that limits council members to two terms in a row. Currently, council members who have served two terms need to sit out for two years before they can run again.

Since the term limits were originally imposed as a ballot measure that was approved by voters, the only way to change it is to put another measure on the ballot.

So council members asked Loventhal to look into the costs associated with an election. The earliest date an election could take place would be June 2012.

Several council members also said that if term limits are expanded, the sitting council should not be allowed to take advantage of a third term.

<a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/los-gatos/ci_18641913tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.mercurynews.com/los-gatos/ci_18641913Tue, 09 Aug 2011 02:40:32 GMT 00:00″>City struggles with multi-family housing issue