LOS GATOS — The North 40 site is about to be cleared of its abundance of trees to make way for the construction of 320 homes and 66,000 square feet of commercial and retail space.

And, that’s just the first phase, which will cover half of the property’s 40-plus acres.

Before construction can begin — possibly next spring — 165 trees must be removed from the former walnut orchard at the intersection of highways 85 and 17.

Meanwhile, Los Gatos town leaders are considering what should be allowed in the North 40’s second development phase. That phase will see the remaining 20 acres developed and could include a hotel, a town square with neighborhood-supporting retail and as many as 294 homes.

Los Gatos, however, is not accepting any new North 40 development applications until the Phase Two development guidelines are approved.

But the project’s lead developer, Grosvenor Americas, indicated it could build 294 homes, with approximately 43 designated for low-income wage-earners, if the town waives its 35-foot height limit. Grosvenor’s senior vice president for development, Steve Buster, said 55 feet would not only make 294 homes financially feasible, but would also leave room for a sports field.

“It allowed us to add some more open space to the plan, so we’re exchanging height for open space,” Buster said.

The Los Gatos Town Council will take up the North 40 issue again on Aug. 7.

As for the trees, an arborist recently determined that 30 to 35 of them are healthy enough that they are now being offered to Los Gatos residential and commercial property owners.

An online tree inventory lists walnut trees, along with acacias, peppers, pines, palms and olives. The inventory and details of the program can be found here.

The program runs through July 8, with San Jose’s A1 Stump Removal contracted to do the job.

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January 18, 2018 Los Gatos’ North 40: Hotel dominates discussion of amended plan “We have a rig that digs a hole to receive the tree,” A1 owner Andrew Frost said. “Then we drive the rig to where the tree is located and a giant hydraulic tree spade digs it out, and we take it to the site where we’ll transplant it.”

The cost of transplanting trees with 8- to 12-inch trunks is estimated to be $2,400 to $3,500. Trees with trunks that are larger than 12 inches could cost anywhere from $15,000 to $30,000 to transplant.

In addition to offering trees to transplant, property owners can also have the company cut down a tree for carving, firewood or other uses.