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Home My WebLink About05-13-2000 City Council Agenda Packet-RetreatROLL CALL o COUNCIL RETREAT MAY 13, 2000 8:30 a.m. Savannah-Chanelle Vineyards 23600 Congress Springs Rd. Saratoga, CA 5tream!ining of Council meetings and re-definition of Council/Commission relationships. Placement of hearing items on agenda. Newsletter publication process; use of Newsletter for surveys, such os Heritage Orchard status, acquisition and construction of ployfields and a gymnasium. Commercial economic incentives and redevelopment for the Village and Cz~teway areas. Morning Break 10:30- 10:40 Discussion on moratorium on construction of housing in commercial zoneS. Community Center/Civic Center Master Plan progress. Status of the Mountain Winery CUP appeal and negotiations. Progress on City Manager recruitment. Current fiscal 'condition of the City and five-year projections. Lunch :~Z:30- Status of .the circulation element. lO. Status of thc housing clement consultant selection. Discussion of deer problems and hillside fencing. Discussion of off-road trail maintenance. Discussion of covered bus stops. Proper use of the ¢it¥ Attorney's resources. Movement of retail to office space. Adjournment 4:!5 After the adjournment of the Council re,treat at 4:15 P.AA. your spouse is cordially invited to join us at the Savannah - Chonelle Vineyards fo~ ~ef~eshments and wine tastin~l. '/7; ~ S a va n n a h · (1.7 h a n e 11 c Wines Checkout Events .~.~.~ Weddi. ngs! M.~.~_tLn. gs Review Order Shippin~l Information Winery H~me_P_ag_e Return to Aq!l-~N_zA~u_.!! WebWinery Located 3.3 miles West of Saratoga Village on Highway 9 (Big Basin Way) Directions: FROM EAST BAY/SAN JOSE Take 680S. It will turn into 280N Take 17 S. towards Santa Cruz. Take 85 N. towards Mountain View. Exit S. aratoga Avenue, go left at signal onto Saratoga Ave. Follow Saratoga Ave all the way through the Village of Saratoga (Saratoga Ave tums into Big Basin Way, Hwy 9, & Congress Springs Road). Continue up the same road 3.3 miles from the Village. Savannah-chanelle Vineyards will be on your left. · ,. :$avannah::.,Cha'neI FROM SAN FRANCISCO Take either 101 S. or 280 S to the 85 S. Exit Saratoga Avenue, go right at signal onto Saratoga Avenue. Follow Saratoga Ave all the way through the Village of Saratoga. (Saratoga Ave tums into Big Basin Way, Hwy 9, & Congress Springs Road). Continue up the same road 3.3 miles from the Village. Savannah-chanelle Vineyards will be on your left. Tasting is available daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is a $3 charge for wine tasting. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day Address: 23600 Congress Springs Road Saratoga, CA 95070 Tel: (408) 741-2930 5-3-00 Ann Waltonsmith THE "DOMINO THEORY" OF DEER, FENCES, AND DOGS STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM When I was a child, my family and I moved to Saratoga Hills Road in 1949, before Saratoga was a city. The hills had few houses, lots of wild land, and acres of orchards and vineyards. Wildlife abounded and moved freely around the hills. The people who built homes in the hills fenced small vegetable gardens, but left the acres of fruit trees open to the deer. The deer rarely ate much of the fruit trees, because there was plenty else to eat. The deer population was healthy and robust, but small in numbers. They warily moved singly or in pairs around their territory. Human hunters, mountain lions,. and coyotes naturally culled them. (I remember hearing a mountain lion scream its mating call in our ravine). In the fall, my neighbors hunted in the local mountains, as well as the Sierras. Occasionally, they invited me along. My neighbors had venison parties for the neighborhood. Their hunting dogs ran freely over the hills, scaring offany deer who dared too close. Other neighbors put up fences, but they were decorative, split rail types that any animal could easily go through or over. My family home remains on Saratoga Hills Road, up in the hills of Saratoga. We used to have the occasional deer timidly hurry through our hillside grass, keeping a wary eye on us, and staying, at least, 100 feet away. But now we have a resident herd of 10-15 deer on or near our property at all times. They ignore humans, as they'graze or rest in the same area day after day. At night, .some clomp up on our deck to eat.the potted plants close to the house. Of necessity, they now eat plants they used to reject. So, we are at a crossroads in the Saratoga hills. There are many more deer. They move around in large herds of 10-15. Each little valley has its own herd. This change in numbers has many reasons. The deer are crowded .in and confined to a patchwork of smaller spaces, because there are more houses built in the hills. They are not, culled out at hunting season. There are no mountain lions and fewer coyotes around to keep the numbers down. (I do not think the neighbors would support importing mountain lions or more coyotes as a solution). 2. The deer look smaller and sicker for lack of grazing space and no predation of the weaker ones. Because the City is not directly helping the citizens to find a common solution that all can live with, residents are individually handling the problem the best they can. They are "taking the law into their own hands" so to speak. The following are some of the individual solutions that we see in the hills, along with each solution's pros and cons: Some people have big dogs, and outline their property with the electronic lines. The dogs wear zapper collars to keep them on the property. The upside is that the dogs drive the deer offthe property. The downside is that the neighbors without dogs get more deer, and they get to listen to dogs chasing and barking at the deer. Another downside is that the deer can get maimed. Then the County is called to put the injured animal "down". In the fall, when the bucks have sharpened antlers, sometimes the dogs are gored. Vet bills ensue. Some people build stockade style fences that are either legal or illegal in terms of square footage and height. The fences are not decorative, low fences. Usually, they are 6t~ or higher and very sturdy. They are not for keeping the homeowner's human neighbors out, but are strictly for keeping the deer out. The upside is that the deer may be kept out, and the downside is the neighbors will get more deer on their property. When the deer learn to bash through or under the fences (believe me, when they are desperate for food, they bash through), the humans bury the fence bottom into the ground, increase the sturdiness of the fence, or they build two layers of fence so the deer cannot dig under, bang through, or jump over. The upside is fewer deer on their property, and the downside is not only more deer on the neighbor's property but also there is the visual experience of looking at prison style fences on one's property line. SOLUTIONS · 1. The "domino effect" begins. If Saratoga continues to ignore the problem, it pushes its individual citizens to solve the problem in their individual styles. We then will see the following results. A. Some people will build very sturdy, stockade like fences. Some fences will ' be legal and some illegal, but all will be visually imposing, utility fences, not decorative fences. Saratoga will have to go more into the business of code enforcement. B. Some people will get big dogs that run and bark along the property lines. Deer and dogs will get hurt.. 'C. Some people will try to live and let live by only planting native bushes and plants that deer usually don't eat. But many of those people with no dogs or fences, will eventually consider getting one or the other in self-defense. If they do not do either, they will get the entire herd on their property. D. Saratogans will begin to view the miles of roads in the hills, lined with big fences. The sense of open space will be gone. Other solutions are possible to consider, but only if Saratogans decide to loolc at the core issue of too many deer living in too small a space, with too little food, Why not cull the herds down and then maintain a smaller number of deer. At that point, people could live up in the hills and maintain their property as open space but at the same time not be overrun with large herds of deer. They would not feel compelled to defensively build stockade fences or own deer chasing dogs. The following are some ways to cull the deer herds. Birth control management may be an option. Some say it is being tried on the east coast with mixed results. It also has logistical and legal problems. Some say it is expensive, but perhaps homeowners would be willing to pay. Some cities tranquilize and move the deer to parks. The results have been mixed, because deer are territorial animals and do not roam over big areas (unlike Bison). So when they are moved to a new area, they don't cope well and some die. Again, some say it is expensive, but perhaps homeowners would defray the costs of a group effort. Another suggestion is to allow citizens to hire professionals during huming season to hunt with the deer on their own property. Only allow bow and arrow hunting or tranquilizer darts, no guns. The homeowner would pay the costs. They could donate the meat to the groups that feed the needy in this valley. Saratoga could require an oversight group to track the number of deer culled each season, and monitor the remaining size of the herds.' This whole culling project could start with a few volunteer sets of homeowners, to see if it would work. I want to conclude this by saying it is time to stop calling people names, when they bring up the problem of too many deer up in the hills. It is time to stop saying "there is no problem". It is time to stop saying "people shouldn't move into the hills". Yes, there may be some folks who moved into the hills but don't want the country lifestyle. But most people I know up in the hills of Saratoga do understand and love the open space and animals that abound. They have had a "live and let live" approach to accommodating the deer on their property. But it is getting worse. They need help in choosing a solution that will be best for the homeowner and the rest of the citizens who love the open space lands in the hills above their homes. Fences and dogs are not the answer. LU Z Z 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 o o o o' o' o' o' C) C) C) 0 0 C) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 r~ Z Z 0 0 o o 0 0 0 0 o 0 o o o 0 0 o 0 o 0 o 0 o 0 o 0 0 0 0 0 0 o 0 o 0 o o 0 o 0 0 0 o CITY OF SARATOGA FIVE YEAR REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE PROJECTIONS FISCAL YEARS 2000-01 TO 2006-07 REVENUE GROWTH ASSUMPTIONS GENERAL FUND Property Tax Sales Tax Transfer Tax Construction Tax Transient Occupancy Tax Franchise Fees: PG&E AT&T Water and Garbage Business License Fee Motor Vehicle License Fee Other Revenues 3% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 2% 2% 1.5% 1.5% 0% Assumptions.doc 5/12/00 CITY OF SARATOGA FIVE YEAR REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE PROJECTIONS FISCAL YEARS 2000-01 TO 2006-07 REVENUE GROWTH ASSUMPTIONS OTHER FUNDS COPS Grant Traffic Safety Fines Streets and Roads: Refunds and Reimbursements Gas Tax Measure B - Misc. Measure B - Saratoga/SV Rd Caltrans - Saratoga/SV Rd FHWA Reimbursement Measure B Transport Development Act (TDA) Lighting and Landscaping District: Property Taxes Assessments Development Fees Environmental Solid Waste Charge HCDA/CDBG Grant Recreation Service Fees and Facility Rentals (exceptTeens) Theater Ticket Surcharge Park Development Fees Debt Service Funds (continued) O% 0% 0% 3% $377,252 for 2000/01 and 2001/02 only $880,000 in 2001/02 only $2,006,000 in 2000/01 only $1,404,000 in 2000/01 only Actual $377,252 for 3 years Matches project costs 3% 2% Increased fees 20 % in 2005/06 2.4% 0% 8% O% O% Per bond agreements Assumptions.doc 5/12/00 CITY OF SARATOGA FIVE YEAR REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE PROJECTIONS FISCAL YEARS 2000-01 TO 2006-07 EXPENDITURE GROWTH ASSUMPTIONS BASIC ASSUMPTIONS Staffing Levels Personnel Costs Supplies & Services Capital Equipment Constant 4% 3% Per capital replacement, plus 3 % EXCEPTIONS TO THE BASIC ASSUMPTIONS Contingency Indirect' Cost Allocation City Clerk Police Contract Capital Improvements Senior Services Community Support KSAR Street Maintenance General Engineering Pavement Management $100,000 per year. Computed each year $10,000 every other year for elections 5% $300,000 in 05/06 and 06/07 only $11,500 for SISCC moved from HCDA $25,000 one time in 2002/03 Pavement management alternates between slurry seal and overlay $10,000 beginning in 2000-01 for traffic studies Per PMP Assumptions.doc 5/12/00