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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-06-2009 Supplemental Council AgendaTHE HOUSINGTRUST OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY'S FACT SHEET FOR MAY 2009 Progress PUBLISHED AND DISTRIBUTED BY THE HOUSING TRUST OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY 95 SOUTH MARKET STREET. SUITE 550, SAN JOSE CA 95113 rn 448 1 e∎ 3150 (F7 40& 4363454 (E) INFO@HOUSINGTRUSTSCCORG PWO W W WNOUSINGTRUSTSCC.ORG Affordable Homes for Silicon Valley Families OUR PROGRESS THROUGH May 1, 2009 TOTAL INVESTMENT: $30.11 MILLION $1.34 BILLION TOTAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES: 7,371 CREATED The Housing Trust of Santa Clara County is a non -profit community -based organization, supported entirely by the voluntary contributions of our public and private sector donors. We began distributing funds in 2001, creating affordable housing opportunities through three main program areas listed below. PROGRAM: HOMELESS W /SPECIAL NEEDS HOUSING As of May1, 2009 the Housing Trust of INVESTMENT: Santa Clara County has committed 29 loans to developers of shelter and housing for people who are homeless LEVERAGE: with special needs, helping to create 1104 housing units in 25 developments. In addition, the Trust has invested $532,513 in 26 emergency homeless PEOPLE HELPED: prevention grants, assisting 2,664 individuals. housing trust OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY $8.65 MILL $237.95 MILLION 3,744 PROGRAM: FIRST -TIME HOMEBUYER ASSISTANCE As of May 1, 2009 the Housing Trust of INVESTMENT: Santa Clara County has helped 2,043 families buy their first home in Santa Clara County through our various first LEVERAGE: time homebuyer programs such as: Downpayment Assistance Program, Mortgage Assistance Progam Closing Costs Assistance Program. The total FAMILIES HELPED: value of homes purchased with our help is more than $680 million. As of May 1, 2009 the Housing Trust has invested $7.21 million (18 loans) in affordable multifamily rental developments, creating 1,584 units of new rental housing in 18 developments located throughout Santa Clara County. The total value of these developments is more than $439 million. INVESTMENT: LEVERAGE: FAMILIES HELPED: $14.23 MII I ION $680.30 MILLION 2,043 $7.21 MII I ION $439.08 MILLION 1,584 THE HOUSING TRUST OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY'S FACT SHEET I MAY 2009 FAST FACTS INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR HOUSING TRUST Congressional Reps Fund Trust's First -Time Homebuyers Despite the decrease in home prices, housing in Silicon Valley remains among the most expensive areas in the country to buy a house or condo. Thanks to Representatives Zoe Lofgren, Anna Eshoo and Mike Honda who presented the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County with a federal appropria- tion of $237,500 it just became easier for hard working families in Santa Clara County to become first -time homeowners. The federal award will assist up to 37 Silicon Valley teachers, police officers, janitors, and entry- level, private- and public- sector employees buy their first home. The includes new funding for first -time homebuyers like Joanne Pang, a nursing student who credits the Housing Trust for enabling her and her family to afford a house in her hometown of Sunnyvale rather than an out -of -state alternative. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, who along with her colleagues Honda and Eshoo was instrumental in securing the award stated, "The Housing Trust is a unique organization we have in the Silicon Valley" and "one that can be a model for the United States." Her colleague Congressman Mike Honda, a member of the Appropriations Committee, similarly recognized the value of the Trust's programs: "What the Housing Trust has shown is that responsible lending and responsible borrowing works. The Trust's programs assist new homebuyers in Silicon Valley get the critical support they want, while helping this nation see the recovery it needs." xa<« JpuCflL.Lwrfu.Slur t !rr 5, 4'_. N 4ifil From L to R: Joe Pon, VP of Corporate Affairs, Applied Materials, Kevin Zwick, Executive Director of HTSCC; Hon. Mike Honda, U.S. Congressman; Carl Guardino, President CEO of SVLG; Hon. Zoe Lofgren, U.S Congresswoman; Hon. Ken Yeager, County Supervisor; Joanne Pang, HTSCC assisted first -time homebuyer. Join Us for Affordable Housing Week `s Bay Area Events r Sat May 9th 10 a.m. 12:30 p.m. Housing Workshops Sponsored by Assemblymember Jim Beall and NHSSV. San Jose Public Library Pearl Branch 4270 Pearl Ave. Wed May 13th 6:00 -8:00 p.m. Community by Design Panel Discussion Roosevelt Community Center, 901 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose. Contact Kristen 408 535 -8236. Thu May 14th 6:00 -8:00 p.m. One Paycheck Away Panel Discussion City Hall Rotunda 200 E. Santa Clara St. in San Jose. Contact Melissa at 408 975 -4418. Fri May 15th Making Change: Federal State Affordable Housing Training 538 9th St. Oakland. TO register or for more information go to www.EHBO.org. Sat May 16th 8:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m. 2009 Whistle Stop Housing Tour to learn more about model transit oriented developments and well designed urban neighborhoods. To learn more or register go to www.whistlestop09 .eventbrite.com. Mon May 18th 12:00 -2 :00 p.m. Foreclosure Help Discussion of the foreclosure crisis in San Jose and available resources throughout the County. Roosevelt Community Center, 901 E. Santa Clara St. San Jose. Contact Sandra at 408 975 -4415. Fri May 22 noon -1:00 p.m. Why It's a Good Time to Buy interactive presentation, San Jose City Hall Rotunda 200 E. Santa Clara St. Contact Brandi at 408 535 -8232. OUR VOLUNTEER BOARD OF DIRECTORS Hon. Ken Yeager, Chair County of Santa Clara Leslee Guardino, Vice Chair Canyon Snow Consulting Linda Mandolini, Vice -Chair Eden Housing Sparky Harlan, Secretary Bill Wilson Center Sherri Luther, Treasurer Coherent Hon. Margaret Abe -Koga City of Mountain View Philip Boyce Valley Foundation John Paul Bruno DMB Associates Jonathan Emami ROEM Development Corp. Hon. Daniel Furtado City of Campbell Hon. Don Gage County of Santa Clara Carl Guardino Silicon Valley Leadership Group Cecily Joseph Symantec Corporation Hon. John McLemore Semicoa Patrick O'Malley Seagate Technology Mike Selfridge Silicon Valley Bank Robert Sherrard City National Bank Hon. Ron Swegles City of Sunnyvale Hon. Steve Tate City of Morgan Hill, 95 S. Market Street, Suite 550, San Jose, CA 95113 [p] 408.436.3450 [0408.436.3454 www.housingtrustscc.org CONTENTS BEAN'S NOTES TO SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL 4 Pages PHOTOS 7 Pages LIU ATTORNEY DEMAND LETTER 4 Pages BEAN ATTORNEY LETTER TO SANITARY DISTRICT 2 Pages SANITARY DISTRICT RESPONSE LETTER 2 Pages SOILS ENGINEER REPORT 7 Pages LETTER FROM REALTORS 1 Page E MAIL MAYOR PAGE 2 Pages COUNCIL MEETING Wednesday May 6, 2009 Good evening. My name is, William Bean and this is my wife, Merilyn, we reside at 21388 Sarahills Drive, Saratoga, CA. (Phone: 867 -6525) The City Clerk has given each of you a packet with copies of letters and photos that relate to our topic. Thirty -five years ago we bought the vacant lot at this location. The purchase included several easements over the adjacent lot that has street frontage so that our lot would have access. These recorded easements are specifically spelled out in the TITLE REPORT as "Ingress, Egress, Driveway Purposes, Installation and Maintenance of Utilities". Our neighbor, who was a Contractor built our home and also lived on the adjacent lot. After living here for two or three years I asked my neighbor/builder for permission to landscape this upper easement since he was doing nothing with it. He said sure it's of no use to me, very steep and unusable and you own the easement rights. He drew up an agreement of permission. He and his wife, myself and my wife all signed this agreement. 1 We landscaped this steep slope not only to improve the appearance of the area, but also to rid the area of weeds and brush that were contributing to summer fire ha.7,ards and to minimize erosion of the slope for the benefit of all in the area. Although our more recent neighbors have not been particularly `neighborly' we have lived in relative peace for ten years. Several months ago the attorney of the neighbor who now lives in my old neighbor/builder's home sent us a letter stating we had sixty days to remove what ever we wanted to keep that is now located on this easement. After sixty days his client intends to erect a fence between the properties and redevelop this steep slope. The neighbors are demanding that the beautiful landscaping be ripped out, leaving the slope barren and subject to erosion. They have not provided us with any landscaping plan or anything else for that matter. As the City knows this area of Saratoga is highly prone to land movement. They also demand that we remove the irrigation system that we installed to water the landscaping on this steep slope. Also that we remove an underground storm drain system which we installed many years ago to trap aport storm water off the top of the hill, down the slope to a public storm drain. There is also a Comcast Cable box and underground cable lines that serve our home and another neighbor's home. All of the improvements and landscaping that we have completed over the past 35 years has been paid for out of our pockets. If we are forced to do what the neighbor is demanding, there will be erosion problems. Our property will be affected and there could be significant earth movement. I visited the Saratoga Planning Department and was told I am in the 8-1- 40,000 zone. I spoke to the Head Building Inspector who was good enough to come out to my home along with The City Engineer to see the situation first hand. Both said they could not think of any reason why this "SPITE FENCE" could not be built since permits would not be required. Since this fence serves no purpose and since we have delineated it's location with six foot stakes and yellow ribbon to show the Cupertino Sanitary District the impact on their easement, sewer lines, cleanouts and retaining wall, we decided to email Mayor Page and invite him out to see this situation himself. The mayor was also very taken aback by my new neighbors proposal I believe his words were something to the effect of "our fence ordinance discusses where and how fences can be constructed but does not address where they should not be constructed We have a serious "hole" in the existing fence ordinance. I would like to invitE all of you out to our home to see this unbelievable situation for yourselves. We are asking the Council to intervene in this situation either through staff or directly. We have lived in this City for a long time and we would appreciate any help that could be provided. Please come out and see for yourselves our situation. There is additional information in your packets, which will paint a broader picture of this issue. Thank you for your time. 7( -toTo TAKEIN t=R ©M SARAH(LLS QtT( -A y LZ TAPE/ ((v CD U P. 1-I E I G HT OF E u_oLL) TAP G 4 s 4 PKUTOT at\l FROM i3EAN 'S �1=k0N -0ORc -RoI■T x E L L OW TAPE A ?PDX. f--(f G 1 via `T AKEN �Rot� �EA 1S FRONT yARD Laois(NG Nc -r EAST -{OTC) MKEN --cDoK\NG SOUTH FRC M T OF PRRCEL 94 Et1SEMENT -Ef�\N S 1VC WAY LEFT 1= 1 7 ON/ CC)RN ER OF PN OTC.) A c EP\N CS `l3E.D�oo M W N V/s -k I GH T SIDE OF N PTO F-kcTc FAkKE N FR PARC_,E L 3 EA-SE ME. NT Loo-Ne JS L(v(NG L-1\/\ wct.)bLvis ori LEFT. .4" iri SANFORD A BERLINER* ANDREW L. FABER RALPH J. SWANSON PEGGY L. SPRINGGAY JOSEPH E. DWORAK SAMUEL L. FARB ALAN J. PINNER FRANK R UBHAUS LINDA A CALLON JAMES P. CASHMAN STEVEN J. CASAD NANCY J. JOHNSON JEROL.D A. REITON •A Profeuignal Corporation RETIRED SAMUEL J. COHEN ROBERT W HUMPHREYS 13ranc6 Office Merced, CA Merilyn I. Bean 21388 Sarahills Dr. Saratoga, CA 95070 -4818 Dear Ms. Bean: UFD1774956.2 1!1'JMR_17it1eM1 ROBERT L CHORTER JONATHAN D. WOLF KATHLEEN K. SIPLE KEVIN F KELLEY MARK MAKIEWKZ ROBERTA S. HAYASHI JEFFREY S. KAUFMAN JULIE HOUSTON BRIAN 1.. SMILER jOHY F. UOMINGUE LOP CHARLES W VOLPE MICHAEL VIOLANTI Re: Tally Liu Our File No.: 17635 -001 BERLINER COHEN ATTORNEYS AT LAW A PARTNERSHIP INCLUDING PROFESSIONAL CORPORATIONS TEN ALMADEN BOULEVARD ELEVENTH FLOOR SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA 951 I3-M3 TELEPHONE: (408)286 -5800 FACSIMILE: (408) 998 -5388 WWW.berlinercom IN ASSOCIATION WITH MCGRANE GREENFIELD LLP SAN JOSE SAN FRANCISCO October 20, 2008 THOMAS P. MURPHY VICTOR A PAPPALARDO MILES 1. DOLINGFR CHRISTIAN E. PICONE THOMAS D. MOREL. BRADLEY G. HEBERT SETH J. COHEN CHRISTINE H. LONG LAURA PAIAZZOLO SHANNON N. COGAN AARON M. VALENTI KARA L. EHDODI ANDREW 1. GIORGIANNI MATTHEW A TAYLOR HEATHER H. MUNOZ FORREST W. HANSEN ALAN D. NIEBEL SANDRA G. SEPULVEDA MARCO M. CAMPAGNA ERIC J. BERQUIST DEBBIE Y. IJAE MARY KATHARINE WILSON NICHOLAS RABY STEPHANIE B. WEASEL OF COUNSEL HUGH L. ISOLA STEVEN L. HALLGItIMSON ERIC WONG LINDA .1. LEZOT'1'E PHILIP GOLDEN NANCY L. BRANDT It was nice to meet with you the other day. I am glad we bad the chance to speak since the initial interaction was very unpleasant from our perspective. I hope the parties can soon put matters behind them since you and the Liu's will probably be neighbors for a long time. In our conversation, I promised a written proposal to resolve the present property issues between you and the Liu's. To aid in understanding the proposal below, attached is an excerpt from a survey of the property boundary in question. Your understanding of the property line is very consistent with the drawing. Indeed, the oak tree that you showed me as the corner boundary marker appears as such in the survey. Accordingly, I do not believe anything in the drawing will come as a surprise. As you pointed out to me when we met, the patio, wooden retaining wall (installed by the sewer /water district), fruit trees, and portions of the brick walkway and fence (collectively, "Encroachments are all on the Liu's side of the property line. In addition, all of the hillside landscaping "Landscaping is on the Liu's property. Under the agreement you forwarded me, this Landscaping has been done with owner consent since July 28, 1978. The other items, however, are newer and not part of the agreement. At this point in time, the Liu's would like to make use of the hillside area on their side of the property line in a way that is impeded by the items discussed above. To enable this without having to file legal action, I propose the following: Merilyn I. Bean October 20, 2008 UFD1774956.2 102008 17635001 (1) In light of their planned improvements, the Liu's revoke the July 28, 1978 agreement as expressly permitted therein; (2) Within 60 days, you will remove any landscaping plants or irrigation pipes you installed that you desire to keep (thereafter, the Liu's may have them removed and discarded); (3) Within 60 days, you will remove the Encroachments, including the fence and walkway (insomuch as they cross over the property line), the small patio, and any other items over the property line; (4) After the 60 days has elapsed, the Liu's will install a fence along the property line (but not encroaching over the line) as part of their planned improvements to the hillside area; (5) In consideration for your effort to resolve things amicably by removing the Encroachments (sparing our client the time and expense of obtaining a court order), the Liu's will make an effort to maintain your view in installing the fence provided such a fence is able to keep deer out of the hillside area (e.g., the Liu's hope that an open -rail fence will work); (6) To the extent the Encroachments remain after the fence is up, the Liu's shall remove them at your cost; (7) you will quitclaim any interest in the Liu's property (e.g., to confirm what is said in the 1978 agreement —that "it is understood that no right of ownership goes with this [landscaping] privilege and (8) the Liu's will waive any claims relating to the Encroachments (e.g., any right to damages for trespass); I hope you will find this to be a fair and c:mic :bie resolution of the issues. Please feei free to have it reviewed by an attorney if you think that is appropriate. Under this proposal, the Liu's will waive claims they otherwise have (damages for loss of use of the property, recovery of court costs, etc.), and the parties can resolve the matter without a lawsuit. If you are in agreement with the above, I can send you the document to renounce any interest in the Liu's property, and the document the Liu's will sign waiving their claims? In our conversation, it sounded like you had some experience with fencing out deer. With the amicable resolution I am proposing, I hope you will feel comfortable providing input on the type of fence that might be both successful in this regard and aesthetically appropriate. 2 Please understand that this is a settlement proposal that can be revoked at any time, and that, in making this proposal, the Liu's are reserving all rights to pursue whatever remedies may be available should the matter not become resolved under the proposal outlined herein. -2- Merilyn I. Bean October 20, 2008 JFD:rr Enc. cc: Client (w/ enc.) Andrew L. Faber, Esq. (w/ enc.) 1JF0\774956.2 102008 17635001 I look forward to hearing from you. Very truly yours, BERLINE HEN -3- DOMINGUE hn.domingue@berliner.com sOM OM OM OM NM. LOT 51 OM. OM 150.00 N8910'07'E RICHARD K. ABDALAH, ESQ. VOICE MAIL: (408) 235 -9810 EMAIL: RICHABDALAH@Q AOL.COM Dear Ms. Bowersox: ABDALAH LAW OFFICES A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION 10455 TORRE AVENUE CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA 95014 TELEPHONE: (408) 252 -5211 FACSIMILE: (408) 996 -2004 EMPLOYMENT, REAL ESTATE, BUSINESS, CONSTRUCTION, TRANSACTIONS AND LITIGATION April 2, 2009 Fax: (408) 253 -5173 Ms. Nicole Bowersox Senior Project Engineer Cupertino Sanitary District Stevens Creek Office Center 20833 Stevens Creek Boulevard, Ste 104 Cupertino, CA 95014 Re: Neighbor's Fence Proposal Our clients: William and Merlyn Bean 21388 Sarahills Drive. Saratoga, CA 95014 MW1AM H. WEN LEBRON, ESQ, VOICE MAIL (408) 278 -7883 EMAIL: MIRIAMWEN AOL.COM Thank you for meeting with Bill and Merilyn Bean and I at the Beans' property located at 21388 Sarahills Drive, Saratoga CA. on Wednesday morning April 1, 2009. During our meeting, we showed you markers strung together with yellow tape indicating generally where the boundary line is located between the Beans' property and the Lius' property. As we also explained, the Lius who actually live on the property located at the bottom of the very steep slope, have demanded in writing, that the Beans strip all the landscaping off the side of the very steep slope and they have stated that they intend to install a fence along the property line. We enclose a letter from the Lius' attorney containing these demands.. As you were able to observe firsthand, the installation of a fence would literally preclude the Cupertino Sanitation District "District staff from accessing a clean-out. Furthermore, the Beans would be unable to access their individual home sanitation clean-out and the same would be true for the neighbor, the Cali April 2, 2009 Page 2 Family. In addition, the fence would traverse a retaining wall which is maintained by the Sanitation District and another retaining wall that the Beans constructed and have maintained for many years. If the retaining wall were to fail, there is no doubt that the stability of the hillside above the clean-outs will be compromised. If the hillside should fall, the cleanouts will probably be buried under several tons of dirt, be inaccessible and probably destroyed. So far as we know, the Lius are planning to proceed without the District's knowledge or approval. On behalf of the Beans, I am requesting the District staff notify the Lius as soon as possible that they may not proceed with construction of any improvements that may impair the District Staff or the Beans' or the Calis' access to sanitation clean-outs or access to the existing retaining walls without the express written approval from the District. In addition, we ask that the District notify our office in the event the Lius file or submit a request for approval of improvements along the joint property line. As you can well imagine, the Beans have experienced a great deal of stress as a result to the Lius' actions. The fence has no apparent useful purpose, other than to cause the Beans severe emotional:iarm. The Beans have been good neighbors for thirty five years. Despite repeated efforts, neither the Lius nor their attorney are willing to discuss the matter or agree to submit the dispute to mediation. We ask for your consideration of the matters herein at your earliest convenience. Thank you for your effort and interest RKA/drr cc: Clients Lius' attorney Very truly yours, Richard K. Abdalah DISTRICT MANAGER ENGINEER MARK THOMAS COMPANY. INC. RICHARD K. TANAKA DISTRICT COUNSEL ATKINSON FARASYN, LLP. HAROLD S. TOPPEL Richard K. Abdalah Abdalah Law Offices 10455 Torre Avenue Cupertino, CA 95014 William and Merilyn Bean 21388 Sarahills Drive Saratoga, CA 95070 Ronald E. Cali 21255 Saratoga Hills Road Saratoga, CA 95070 Tally Liu 21328 Sarahills Court Saratoga, CA 95070 John Domingue Berliner Cohen Attorneys At Law Ten Almaden Boulevard, Eleventh Floor San Jose, CA 95113 -2233 To All Parties: d* SANITAR, Q �o 47P-'411 1 S H E0 l�h 20833 STEVENS CREEK BOULEVARD, SUITE 104 CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA 95014-2154 (408) 253-7071 PHONE (408) 253-5173 FAX www .cupertinosanitarydistrict.COA Re: Sanitary Sewer Easement located on the 21328 Sarahills Court property BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILLIAM A BOSWORTH JOHN M. GATFO CURTIS B. HARRISON WENDEIJ H. KERR, JR. CHRISTOPHER C. LEE April 21, 2009 The Cupertino Sanitary District received all correspondence related to the sanitary sewer easement/public utility easement located on the 21328 Sarahills Court property. As most of you are aware, this easement was dedicated to provide sewer and public utility service to some residents as part of the Sarahills Subdivision development. The existing sanitary sewer easement currently contains the sewer main, a flushing inlet, and two laterals. One lateral services the Bean property and the other services the Cali property. SUPPLYING SANITARY SEWERAGE SERVICES FOR: CITY OF CUPERTINO, PORTIONS OF THE CITIES OF SARATOGA, SUNNYVALE, LOS ALTOS AND SURROUNDING UNINCORPORATED AREAS Re: Sanitary Sewer Easement located on the 21328 Sarahills Court property After review of the received correspondence, the District has these comments: 1. Any fence installation requires providing the District access to maintain and service our facilities. A gate must be provided as an access point as well as a flat service area wherein our contractors can safely perform maintenance operations. This gate should be accessible by District personnel at all times to ensure that our staff can respond during sewer emergencies. 2. Any planned construction activity within the sanitary sewer easement will need to be reviewed and approved by District staff. All repairs and replacement costs for damaged District facilities resulting from any construction activities within the easement are the responsibility of the property owner. Please contact our office if you have any questions or concerns. Yours very truly, MARK THOMAS COMPANY, INC. District Manager Engineer Vaukfriotirqty Richard K Tanaka S: \WORDS \C USD \LEITI RS \BUILDING DEPT LEITERS\LETTER TO ENGINEER& Home Ownr\2009 \Letter to et a1_21388 Sarahills SUPPLYING SANITARY SEWERAGE SERVICES FOR: CITY OF CUPERTINO, PORTIONS OF THE CITIES OF SARATOGA, SUNNYVALE, LOS ALTOS AND SURROUNDING UNINCORPORATED AREAS Mr. William B Bean 21388 Sarahills Drive Saratoga, California 95070 JF Consulting, Inc. Geotechnical Services Subject: Comments Regarding Slope Stability Land Below Bean Residence 21388 Sarahills Drive Saratoga, California Dear Mr. Bean: SITE DESCRIPTION AND FINDINGS April. 30, 2009 Project 1359 I understand that your neighbor wishes to strip the vegetation from the hillside to the east of your residence. I was asked to provide some comments from a geotechnical standpoint as to how this action might affect your property. I have included some exhibits with the text to aid in describing the relative geologic stability of the subject site. Figure 1 is a location map showing the site in relationship to nearby landmarks. Figure 2 is portion of a geologic map of the area which includes the site and nearby land. Figure 3 is a portion of a ground movement potential map of the area which includes the site and nearby land. Figure 4 is an aerial photograph of the site and nearby properties. I visited the site on April 14, 2009, to view the hillside in question and to examine other portions of the driveway and the slope. The hillside in question is quite steep; ranging between 2:1 (horizontal to vertical) to perhaps 1.5:1 (horizontal to vertical). A cut/fill was made for the driveway to your home. Outcrops on the cut slope expose reddish brown, sandy, silty, gravelly CLAY. Geologic maps identify this material as being part of the Santa Clara Formation. (QTsc). The Santa Clara Formation is described as "Semiconsolidated to locally consolidated, crudely stratified sequence of interbedded, yellow brown to red brown conglomerate, poorly sorted sandstone and fine- grained rocks such as siltstone, mudstone and claystone; weathers to a light tan to deep red, poorly developed, sandy soil in areas situated over the coarse grained bedrock sections (i.e. conglomerate and sandstone) and to a dark gray to deep brown clay -rich soil over the siltstone, mudstone and claystone bedrock intervals; expansive properties of these soils vary considerably from place to place; however, they generally become highly expansive in the areas underlain by fine- grained bedrock. The geologic map, Figure 2 also shows the location of an Old Landslide (Ols) passing through the lower portion of the slope that may be stripped of vegetation. It also shows a bedrock `attitude' near Sarahills Court. The symbol indicates that the strike of the bedding is northeast and the dip is 23 degrees from the horizontal toward the southeast. P.O. Box 0536 I Saratoga, CA 95071 -0536 I phone (408) 867 -6321 I fax (408) 867 -2325 Based upon the topography the strike and dip of the bedrock is somewhat unfavorable; that is, the strata of the sedimentary bedrock slopes a little downhill on natural and `cut' slopes. A more stable configuration is when the strata of the bedrock slope into the natural or `cut' slope. The driveway leading up to your residence is comprised of both cut and fill. This was the manner most hillside driveways were constructed at the time your property was developed. There appears to have been some past, shallow slippage on the slope above the driveway that has since been repaired. There are a number of cracks in the asphalt driveway that are visible in the aerial photograph. The lower two of these cracks are near the margin of the old, mapped landslide. This might represent some adjustment of the old slide mass. Usually, distress in driveways consisting of cut/fill construction manifest themselves in cracks in the asphalt parallel to the downslope (or fill side) of the road. CONCLUSIONS There is one area of street curb on Sarahills Court that has lifted. This feature aligns with the mapped margin of the old landslide and with the cracking in the Bean driveway. Based upon 39 years of experience performing geotechnical consulting in the Saratoga Los Gatos area, I have found that developed hillside properties usually require a number of years to gain control of the drainage, erosion and soil slippage. The steeper the slope, the more problems. Other factors are the composition of the bedrock, the thickness of the colluvium over the bedrock and the orientation of the bedrock strata. Your home site is situated on top of a ridge and is underlain by strong bedrock materials. The driveway crosses an old, mapped landslide that is almost 700 feet from top to bottom. The ground movement potential map of the area shows the boundary of the Ps zone to be a bit larger than the actual mapped landslide limits, however, both the old landslide and the zone of materials prone to sliding both cross the lower limits of your driveway. It is our opinion that removing the vegetation from the slope below your property could trigger ground movement surficial slippage or deeper seated landsliding) The plants that are currently growing on the slope (rosemary) require little irrigation and develop a root system that knits the surficial soils together. This prevents some erosion, however, the plants do little to prevent deep- seated landsliding. Were the slope to fail (slide), we believe that your house would not be affected. However, all access to your property and any utilities crossing the failure area would be cut. Other than an inconvenience of not having gas, sewer or water, your access to fire suppression equipment, police or medical aid would also be severed. The time to repair landslides, even on an emergency basis, takes weeks for small slides and months to fix larger slides. 2 Were the slope to fail (slide) it is possible that a large slide could cause damage to the residence located on Lot 49, identified as "Liu The residence on the parcel located to the west of the intersection of Sarahills Drive and north of Sarahills Court was inspected by me several years ago and distress was found indicative of re- activation of the old slide mass, or poorly compacted fill. I was not engaged to determine the actual cause of the distress. There are a number of slope inclinometers installed in the road bed of Sarahills Drive at the beginning of Sarahills Court. These devices are installed to monitor ground creep in areas of weak soil/bedrock prone to failure and thus cause damage to buried utilities. Based upon all the information presented in our research, we are of the opinion that NOTHING should be done on the slope in question. It has taken a number of years to get the slope in its present condition (relatively stable and mostly erosion free). We trust these comments help you in understanding the geologic conditions at your site. Our comments were developed from an inspection of the site, review of geologic maps and aerial photographs and from our years of performing geotechnical consulting in this area of the South Bay. Should you have any questions, please contact our office. Very truly yours, JF CONSULTING, INC. Jerry E. Freeman, CEG 960 3 MAPGIWIEST. ?cs 0 '0 Jn r0 n ID 2009,Maptluest ussell 3 I. "-V !e- Derpi FIGURE 1 oi ,..-.......1 1200 m 1 600 ft SevIlla tn Cu Verde Wobdward Ct Ave Seatot) Mp Data 23O9 NAVTEO o Telf,..4kWt MAP SOURCE: "MAPQUEST, 2009" LOCATION MAP LANDS OF BEAN 21388 SARAHLLLS DRIVE SARATOGA, CALIFORNIA Scale: as shown JF CONSULTING, INC. PROJECT 1359 APRIL, 2009 MAP SOURCE: "Geologic Map #9 of the Upper Calabazas Creek Watershed, Saratoga, California by William Cotton and Associates, Jan. 1980. KEY Qls Older Landslide Dls Dormant Landslide Qal Alluvium QTsc Santa Clara Fm. FIG GEOLOGIC MAP LANDS OF BEAN 21388 SARAHILLS DRIVE SARATOGA, CALIFORNIA Scale: 1" 200 feet JF CONSULTING, INC. PROJECT 1359 APRIL, 2009 FIGURE 3 GROUND MOVEMENT POTENTIAL MAP LANDS OF BEAN 21388 SARAHILLS DRIVE SARATOGA, CALIFORNIA Scale: 1" 200 feet MAP SOURCE: "Ground Movement Potential Map #9 of the Upper Calabazas Creek Watershed, Saratoga, California by William Cotton and Associates, Jan. 1980. KEY Sun Unconsolidated Alluvial Deposits Sbr Ground Underlain by Bedrock, Shallow Ps Relatively unstable material, subject To shallow landslides (less than 10' thick) JF CONSULTING, INC. PROJECT 1359 APRIL, 2009 FIGURE 4 AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH LANDS OF BEAN 21388 SARAHILLS DRIVE SARATOGA, CALIFORNIA Eye Altitude: 331 meters MAP SOURCE: "GOOGLE EARTH 2009 Tele -Atlas. JF CONSULTING, INC. PROJECT 1359 APRIL, 2009 A A ALAIN PINEL Nowmummummem April 16,2009 Dear Mr. Bean, After reviewing your home at 21388 Sarahills, it is my opinion that the value of your home would be severely reduced by the installation of a fence at the front of your property. The essence of your home is its idyllic city light views. If the fence were to be constructed this totally disappears. My concern is also for the care of the sloped area at the front. I know that you have taken care of this area of the property for many years to make sure that no land slides or erosion occurs to your property. If this would occur, it could cause a Buyer to have concerns that would prevent them from purchasing your home. I have spoken will Bill Gorman (ColdwellBanker), and Dave Welton (Alain Pinel) who came up to your property with me, they both agree that your value is in the view. We all agree that a fence installed in your front yard as you descried and delineated with stakes and yellow ribbon would most certainly have an adverse effect on your property value. Assigning a value to the "view" may be obtained from a licensed Residential Appraiser. It would be important that the Appraiser be very familiar with the Saratoga Market If you need more information, please give me a call. Sincerely, Dana Rogers -Burns Alain Pinel Realtor 12988 Saratoga Sunnyvale Rd.. 1 Saratoga, CA 95070 1 Office 408.741.1111 1 aor.com From: Chuck Page <cpage @saratoga.ca.us> Subject; RE: Fence Ordinance Date: April 17, 2009 5:34:47 PM PDT To: merilyn.bean <merilyn.bean @comcast.net> Cc: "Richard K. Abdalah" <richabdalah @aol.com <DRees43 @aol.com Brad Lind <bradlind @saratoga.ca.us>, John Cherbone <jherbone @saratoga.ca.us>, Paul Conrado <paul @conrado.com Linda Binkley <Icbinkley @yahoo.com> Hello, Merilyn (and Bill). Thank you for your message. I am willing to meet with you to understand the situation you are experiencing. I am available Saturday morning, and am heading to Sacramento until Monday evening. I don't know what I'll be able to do, if anything, especially if our expert city staff members are at a loss, but I will do my best. Please leave me a message on my cell phone (408) 839 -9555, and let me know if Saturday morning will work for you. I plan to leave for my business trip by 9:30AM. Thank you, Chuck Page Mayor City of Saratoga 13777 Fruitvale Ave Saratoga, CA 95070 (408) 257 -9334 office Dear Mr. Mayor, From: merilyn.bean Sent: Fri 4/17/2009 11:12 AM To: Chuck Page Cc: Richard K. Abdalah; DRees43@aol.com; Brad Lind; John Cherbone; Paul Conrado; Linda Binkley Subject: Fence Ordinance Paul Conrado was good enough to provide me with your email address. Some months ago I was notified by my neighbor's attorney that I had 60 days to remove anything I wanted to keep from my ingress- egress easement located on their property. At the end of 60 days they plan to erect a six foot fence on the property line between the two parcels of land and redevelop the very steep hillside. Since this "spite" fence has no purpose and would take away my view and have a very negative impact on my property rights and value, I am very much opposed to this plan. Yesterday Brad Lind along with John Cherbone came to see first hand the impact this would have on my home. This proposed fence location is now delineated with stakes and a yellow ribbon at a height of six feet. This was done recently to show the Cupertino Sanitation District the impact on their easement, sewer lines and clean outs. Brad and John were very taken aback by my neighbor's proposal but could not think of anything in the city's fence ordinance that would prohibit the installation of such a fence. Since the ribbon is still in place. I would like to invite you to come by at your earliest connivence to see this unbelievable situation for yourself. My address is 21388 Sarahills Drive. My home is located at the very top of private driveway to the right of cobblestone mailbox structure at intersection of Sarahills Drive and Sarahills Court. Office phone: 867 -1617, Home phone: 867 -6525. I will make myself available for your-Visit and I can give you a brief history of the last thirty five years here. Paul said he would like to see this ribbon also. Looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your anticipated consideration. Sincerely, William Bean