AT AGE 27, Rob Moore brings a fresh perspective to the Los Gatos Town Council as the youngest mayor in town history.
Councilmembers voted unanimously to make Moore mayor on Dec. 9, as officials select who takes the position every year. He’s not only the sole councilmember younger than 60 — he’s also from a different generation. He said this influences his views on affordable housing, inclusivity and building consensus.
“It absolutely impacts the way I see the world and the community,” Moore told San José Spotlight. “I’m the only renter on the town council. About one-third of people in Los Gatos rent. Being younger, I deal with the real affordability struggles of this community.”
As mayor, his priorities include housing, empowering youth and families, improving street safety and traffic, emergency preparedness, environmental stewardship and supporting small businesses.
Moore became interested in politics while attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where he received a bachelor’s degree in political science with a concentration in public service and urban planning. Involved with the student-run Cal Poly Democrats, he led a campaign for a ballot measure to ban fracking in San Luis Obispo County. He interned for former Congresswoman Anna Eshoo and worked as a senior district representative for Assemblymember Gail Pellerin. He also did international vaccine advocacy work for the United Nations Foundation.
“I very quickly realized the further away I got from the local, the less of an impact I was having,” he said. “After I graduated, I moved back to Los Gatos and got very much involved in the community. And after a little while, decided to run for town council.”
Housing is a balancing act
Voters elected Moore to the council in 2022 and he’s up for reelection next year. He works as a policy aide for District 5 Santa Clara County Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga.
Moore said although Los Gatos has cottage style homes perfect for young families, they cost millions of dollars. He said there are opportunities to create more affordability, such as the townhomes being developed at the former Los Gatos Lodge site. It’s a balancing act between creating deed restricted affordable housing, new market rate condos and preserving the existing affordable housing stock, he said.
Builder’s remedy projects have proven a major challenge, Moore said. California’s “builder’s remedy” law refers to a provision which allows developers to bypass local planning processes and zoning laws under certain conditions. Builder’s remedy was triggered when Los Gatos missed its deadline to submit a compliant housing plan to the state.
“On housing proposals, a lot of our authority has been taken away by the state,” Moore said. “If the town denies these projects, the developer has every right to sue and they have legal backing to end up prevailing. We saw this with the North 40 Phase 1, which was our most controversial housing development. With that development, the town tried to impose conditions that the developer deemed unreasonable and made the project infeasible. The developer sued the town and essentially won.”
North 40, a 44-acre mixed-use housing development, is being developed where the area’s last privately-owned orchard grove stood. Following years of debate and revisions, Phase 2 of the development is one step closer to a vote.
Moore said the only aspect the town succeeded in enforcing was a 35-foot height limit, which made the project less attractive than the developer’s vision of a mix of cottage style homes and 40- to 45-foot apartment buildings. Instead, the developer created three-story townhomes with flat roofs.
“The town needs to be thoughtful about reserving political capital, resources, money and our legal bandwidth to push back on the developments that are the most out of step with the character of the town,” Moore said. “There are going to be some changes. When developers put in a plan that complies with state law, the town is very much constrained in what it can and can’t say.”
Succeeding at outreach
Vice Mayor Maria Ristow said Moore has created a previously unseen level of outreach through social media and his newsletter. She appreciates his effort to make regional connections with neighboring councils and higher levels of government. She said his past work with Pellerin allows him to bring an understanding of how state level housing laws impact Los Gatos, and his work with Abe-Koga provides insight into the county budget.
Ristow said Moore is respectful when he speaks to councilmembers, ensuring they feel their voices are valid even when they disagree.
“He has a youthful energy and outlook, and he also reaches out to all age groups,” Ristow told San José Spotlight. “They may not agree with everything he does, but he is sincerely hardworking, and he doesn’t try to represent just one constituency.”
“If you don’t let new people move in, or people move back to Los Gatos who once lived here, you’re doing a lot to hurt the character of the community.”
Los Gatos Mayor Rob Moore
Moore strives to be a mayor for all residents and to make everyone feel welcome. He is driving a pride flag raising as a sign of support for the LGBTQ+ community. He said it’s essential residents feel they can air their concerns with him no matter their personal or political affiliations.
“A huge part of the character of Los Gatos is having people … that love the community, that want to keep the parts of it that are so special, while continuing to allow it to evolve,” he said. “If you don’t let new people move in, or people move back to Los Gatos who once lived here, you’re doing a lot to hurt the character of the community.”
Contact Lorraine Gabbert at lorrainegabbertsjspotlight@gmail.com.
This story originally appeared in San Jose Spotlight.