Changes for Downtown – zoning & more
Filed under Blog · Tagged: City Council, Downtown, Housing Choices, Los Altos, Quality of Life
Over the past six years, we have seen at least three cycles run through our core Downtown business. However, one thing has remained rather stagnant: the look and feel of Downtown. It appears that changes are afoot.
During the last couple of years, the City has been striving towards a common goal of incentivizing investments in Downtown. Yes, there were some constraints inhibiting progress. However, the City has been working towards identifying opportunities, and is ready to invest in a number of projects itself.
Below are highlights from a recent article, which covered the changes …
Downtown zoning underwent significant changes following a Feb. 9 Los Altos City Council action. The changes will pave the way for taller buildings with mixed uses along the downtown perimeter.
The bulk of the rezoning changes, unanimously approved after a lengthy public hearing, apply to First Street. Although the Safeway and Draeger’s Market properties and the city-owned plot at First and Main streets will retain a Commercial Retail Sales (CRS) zoning, most of the street is rezoned to permit office and residential uses. CRS zoning, with its two-story, 30-foot maximum, remains prevalent throughout the retail core of Main and State streets.
Coupled with last week’s approval of streetscape plans for First Street and San Antonio Road, the changes have the clear intent to attract more development – and people – to downtown.
The streetscape project, which addresses improvements to sidewalks and landscaping, also includes undergrounding utilities through a partnership with PG&E. The utility is scheduled to work on First between Edith and Main this summer.
The changes, a combination of recommendations from the Downtown Development Committee and the city’s planning commission, become effective 30 days after the second reading of the zoning amendment.
The committee’s recommendations for First included extending the commercial/retail zone along First between Safeway and Draeger’s, allowing residential units on first floors from Main to San Antonio and raising the building height limit to 45 feet.
Approximately 30 people, including downtown property and business owners, members of the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce, members of the Los Altos Village Association and residents, attended the hearing, primarily offering their support for the zoning changes.
Volunteering – A Los Altos Theme
Filed under Blog · Tagged: City Council, Employee Relocation, Family Fun, Quality of Life, Volunteering
Over the past week, since I was appointed Los Altos Mayor by my fellow Council Members, I’ve been asked at least once a day about the many opportunities to volunteer in the community. For background, Carol & I have always enjoyed giving back to the Los Altos community. It has become a part our lives, just like so many others in town.
The great thing about the conversations I have had is hearing about the depth and breadth of volunteering these individuals have done themselves. As residents, they’re collectively, and individually thankful to live in such a great community and volunteering was their way of giving back. This is a common theme in town.
Los Altos represents many things: strong schools; a great place to raise a family; a close-knit community; wonderful residents. Additionally, Los Altos has many venues, organizations and activities which provide multiple opportunities to get involved. Clearly, there is something for everyone to channel their energies on giving back to the community.
Some residents jump right in when they move into town, while others may defer to a later date when they have time to volunteer. The great thing about Los Altos residents is that they have so much to offer, and the organizations they engage with are always grateful to have their help.
While there are many unsung heroes, who are a part of the tapestry we call Los Altos, there are various recognition events that highlight individuals who stepped forth to volunteer.
One such event is this coming Friday, where Los Altos and Los Altos Hills will honor a select group of residents who selflessly give of themselves to make the world a better place. I go each year to this event, and walk away with a sense of awe at the level of contribution these individuals have made.
If you are looking to volunteer in town, send us an email. We would be happy to help you find the right organizations to match your personal interests. The Holidays are a great time to volunteer. You never know where it will lead you.
Finally, if you are looking to move into Los Altos, or simply move across town, we are confident that we can help you with that too. Call us today at 650-823-1434. We would love the opportunity to earn your business.
A Successful Los Altos Real Estate Partnership
Filed under Blog · Tagged: 190 Hillview Ave, C4 Marketing, City Council, Employee Relocation, Los Altos Town Cirer, Real Estate Marketing
This week, the Los Altos Town Crier profiled this web site, and our partnership with Tony Campitelli of C4 Marketing. Below is the news story written by Ya-an Chan …
Homebuyers from Germany or South Africa may know nothing about Los Altos and are not always in a position to visit before making a real estate decision.
Los Altos resident Tony Campitelli, former vice president of marketing at Laszlo Systems in Silicon Valley, saw this as a gap in real estate marketing. Most realtors do not have the time to explore new ways of real estate marketing because they are occupied with the day-to-day tasks of getting a new listing, finding a hopeful buyer or finishing the paperwork, according to Campitelli.
“So I came to this conclusion,” he said. “I’m going to help them.”
Campitelli founded C4 Marketing LLC, a new approach to real estate marketing that allows buyers to discover the community beyond the standard online descriptions of the property. He said C4 Marketing provides an online marketing system with professional corporate branding that assists real estate agents who “want to take the business to another level.” It presents realtors online as the experts of the areas on which they focus.
David and Carol Casas, of Intero Real Estate Services, tested the new concept. They built a Web site, Move Into Los Altos (www.moveintolosaltos.com), in collaboration with Campitelli and C4 Marketing. The site features property descriptions and detailed information on the area’s schools, business associations, cultural activities, parks and local government. It includes blogs with updated information about upcoming community events. As a result, prospective buyers not only are informed about the property, but also have a picture of the type of community they are considering.
David Casas, a Los Altos City Councilman, said Campitelli’s company, which integrates multiple media platforms, is an example of the Los Altos community’s entrepreneurship.
“In a time of economic turmoil, to know that we have residents creating opportunities, creating business and creating ideas is wonderful,” he said.
Since the launch of Move Into Los Altos, the Casas’ have worked with homebuyers from such countries as Taiwan, Japan, India and the United Kingdom.
Campitelli said he continued refining the initial system and officially founded C4 Marketing in January 2009. The “C4,” Campitelli said, refers to C-4 plastic explosives, as in explosive marketing.
The Casas’ said they are impressed with the results. A property at 190 Hillview Avenue they recently put on the market sold in 23 days. A New Jersey company found MoveIntoLosAltos.com by searching on Google, approached the husband-wife team to help relocate an employee’s family.
“As they found (David and Carol) online, they’re realizing that David and Carol are the knowledgeable experts in the community,” Campitelli said. “They know what’s going on, they write about the shows, the Farmers’ Market, the movie night – they’re telling a story about what it’s like to live here.”
Realtors can launch multiple Web sites, including community- and property-specific sites, write blogs and link videos, which they post on YouTube, to their Web sites.
A main benefit of his new advertising tool for real estate, Campitelli said, is the analytics provided by the system. The report shows the most-searched keywords and which sources generate the most traffic (i.e., direct traffic, referring sites and search engines).
The data, he said, give realtors direction on the types of content that are most effective.
Carol Casas said the analysis not only helps realtors to understand where their marketing dollars are most effective, but also allows home sellers to track how many people are viewing their property information.
For more information about C4 Marketing, call (650) 619-6678 or visit www.c4marketingllc.com.
About Us
Moving into Los Altos? We can help! We have lived in Los Altos for the past 35 years and love helping people buy and sell homes in this great city! We bring experience, knowledge, skills and professionalism to each of our client relationships. Our clients will agree they would not have had the same positive experience, at each step of the way, if they had not had us represent them.
David Casas Cell: 650-823-8920 or Email
(DRE#01116954)
Carol Casas Cell: 650-823-1434 or Email
(DRE#01123855)