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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-04-1973 Planning Commission Minutes CITY OF SARATOGA PLANNING COMMISSION SUMMARY OF MINUTES TIME: Monday, June 4, 1933 7:30 P.M. PLACE: Saratoga City Council' Chambers, 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, California 95070 TYPE: Special Meeting of the Planning Gemmission and Joint Session with the Parks And Recreation Commission to Hear Public Testimony on the Open Space Element and the Conservation Element as Proposed by Willimns and Mocineo I. ROUTINE ORGANIZATION Ao ROLL CALL Present:Commissioners Belanger, LiVely~ Marshall, Martin, Matteoni, and Wosdwardo Absent: Commissioner Smi.th II. PUBLIC t~ARING A. DISCUSSION' OF'THE OPEN SPACE ELE~NT AND CONSERVATION ELEMENT AS PROPOSED BY WILLIAMS A~© MOCI~ Chairm~'n-Lively opened. the hearing at .7:43 P.M. and explained that the purpose of' the meeting was,tO discuss the Open Space and Conservation Elements of the--General Plan, and introduced Mr. Corwin Mocine of Williams and Mocine. Mr. Mocine'explained that according to law, the City must have adopted an Open?Space ~lement by June 30, 1973, and therefore immediate action was necessary. He then reviewed the steps already taken by the City, and into- duced Mrs. Monroe and Mr. Biseker to explain the specific proposals his finn had'brought to the meeting for the Open Space Element and Conservation Element of the General Plan. Mrs. Monroe then explained the specific proposals contained within the Open Space Element proposal. '- After Mrs° Monroe's presentation, Mr. Biseker continued with an e~plaination of the Conservation Element. Chairman Lively then questioned whether or not the City wanted to adopt such specific provisigns at this time into the General Plan as has been proposed by Williams and Mocine for the Open Space Element. He wondered if it would be legally possible to adopt an Open Space Element considerably more general by setting forth onl~ general goals and policies. Mr. Mocine explained that the general trend in adopting General Plans seemed to be toward mor~ specific plans, but he doubted that the State would question the City's action if only general goals and policies were adopted since the City would be proceeding in good faith. Chairman Lively the asked fOr-comments from the audience on the Open Space Element. Mr. Ross Conklin,.Superintendent of the Odd Fellows Home stated that the Co~m,unity Gardens is privately owned by the Odd Fellows Home, and is on short- term lease. to the City. It is not a Saratoga park, as stated in the Open Space Element proposal. Mr. Tin~othy Ward, attorney and representing Elgin Associates and the Saratoga H~ht~ Cnn~erv~t~nn ~nr~n~P:nn Element,. and questioned the i~:~.partiality of the Planning Co~ission in this -1- '. ......................... · ....... Saratoga Pl~nnin$ Commission Minutes - Monday. June 4~ 1973 ~ continued matter. He asked whether each individual property owner had been considered by the consultants in their study.- Mr. Mocine replied that each property in itself had not been considered, but that only larger areas where significant groups of property could be considered a planning area. Mr. Ward then asked if the Consultants had used the legal definition according to Government Code #65560 and whether this public hearing and procedure for ·notice were in accord with said code. The Staff and consultants advised. that the procedure was in accord with state law. Mr. Ward then quoted from the Government Code the definition of Open Space; "Open Space is a land parcel or area essentially unimproved." He stressed the "essentially unimproved" qualification. Chairman Lively replied that the City was in the process of adopting general guidelines, and that they would be according to the Government Code and be more comprehensive than the minimum the law required. John Brigham, 18591Perega, stated that the Open Space Element proposal does take into consideration the Monte Bello Ridge S~udy and the Santa Cruz Mountain Study, and that he would like to see an adoption of the proposed Open Space ~lement Draft as submitted.· Mr. McDaniel 'of the Saratoga Horselovers Association endorsed the Open Space Element proposal, and said that the City has planned for horse ownership by designating two large, low density areas as "Equstrian Zone", thus adding to the effective open space and rural atmosphere. Mr. Newell of Elgin Associates stated that his firm had made $1 million of improvements, including roads and a private water system on their property which is located within the Sphere of Influence of SaratOga. He said that his firm would like to work with the City and that he had a conservation plan which would preserve four out of five acres of his firms land as open space. M~0 Reisem of the Saratoga Land Company stated that he would like to hear from · Mr. Yeaton, who had conducted a conservation study of the 9,000 acres involving Elgin Associates and other propert~es~'. Mr. Yeaton stated that he had studied the entire Sphere·of Influence of Saratoga specifically the land owned by Elgin Associates. He stated that he had concluded that the 9,000 acres could support a population of no more than 3,000 persons. He said he had found a develope~.who.was willing to buy between 1,600 and 4,500 acres, but urbanize only 150 acres which are presently orchard and vineyard areas. Mr. Yeaton said that he favored a 3,500 acre purchase. Of the acres remaining undeveloped, 500 acres surrounding the development would be established as a permanent private park, while the remaining 2,500 acres would be opened to the public. He also said that a condition the developer had set was that the area be incorporated into the'City of S~ratoga. Mr. Yeaton then invited the two Commissions and any other interested persons to view the area discussed. · Mrs. Edith Sanford, 870 Betty Ave., San Jose, asked whether or not consideration had been given to the buildings on the land owned by the·Valley Christian School and what effect these elements would have on the future of said school. Mr. James Isaak, 18596 Martha Avenue, pointed out the difficulty in providing emergency services when necess.ary to the 'Sphere of Influence Area. Mr. Vic Frickson, owner of 53 acres in the hills and rep·restative of the adjacent property owners thanked Mr. Yeaton for presenting their case. He said he was interested in preserving open space and urged care in adopting an Open Space Element. Planning Commissioner Matteoni reminddd the Commission that·the City had had forewarning regarding the Open Space Element deadline. He endorsed Chairman Lively~s suggestion to make the Open Space Elearent more general. · Chairman Lively then asked for conm~ents regarding the Conservation Elem·~nt. There were none. -2- Saratoga Planning Connnission Min'utes - ~i0nday, June 4, ].973 - continued Chairman Lively'then closed the hearing for the evening at 9:43 P.M., and directed the Open Space and Conservation Elements continued to the next regular meeting and referred the matter to the General Plan Committee for review and recom~nendation. Respectfully submitled, .' ' /~," ....~.'-~-.:----.~',~' .,.' .,~r<...' ,-- , [-',..,' ,~.. ... ~. ..._ ~....~.:..- Secretary -3-