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SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL
MEETING DATE: April 15, 2009 AGENDA ITEM:
DEPARTMENT: Community Development CITY MANAGER: Dave Anderson
PREPARED BY: Christopher Riordan, AICP DIRECTOR: John Livingstone, AICP
SUBJECT: Landmark Designation for 21000 Big Basin Way (Hakone Gardens)
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
The Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) recommends the City Council:
(1) Open the public hearing and accept public testimony on the attached Ordinance to designate
the subject property as a Historic Landmark;
(2) Close the hearing and introduce the attached Ordinance and waive first reading;
(3) Direct staff to place the second reading and adoption of the Ordinance on the consent
calendar for the next regular Council meeting.
BACKGROUND:
The Hakone Foundation filed an application requesting that the Hakone Gardens (owned by the
City and operated by the Hakone Foundation under a long term lease) be designated as a Historic
Landmark. The HPC reviewed this application and background information for a Historic
Landmark Designation as part of a regular meeting on February 10, 2009. The Commission, by
6-0 vote, approved a recommendation to the City Council designating the subject property as a
Historic Landmark.
Hakone Gardens was placed on the City of Saratoga Heritage Resources Inventory in 1988.
Article 13-15.010 of the Saratoga Municipal Code states that designation of a property as a
Historic Landmark requires recommendation from the Heritage Preservation Commission to the
City Council.
DISCUSSION:
Hakone Gardens is a traditional Japanese garden considered to be the oldest Japanese and Asian
estate garden in the Western Hemisphere. In 1916, two San Francisco arts patrons, Oliver and
Isabel Stine, purchased the approximately 15-acre site with the intention of building a summer
retreat. Mrs. Stine called the estate Hakone because the surrounding area reminded her of time
spent at Japan’s Fuju Hakone National Park. The garden was designed and landscaped by Mr. N.
Aihara. He was related to the Court Gardeners of the Emperor of Japan. Hakone is a hill and
water garden in the strolling pond style that is typical of the Zen gardens of the middle 17th
century and is an authentic replica of a Japanese Samurai or Shogun’s estate garden.
The Upper (Moon Viewing) House was constructed in 1917 by Mr. T. Shintani. This structure
was built without nails or adhesives using “joinery” construction. This method of construction
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uses pegs, mortises and tenons instead of nails in the old Japanese cabinet-maker style. More
buildings with a Japanese architectural style were added in later years by Stine and subsequent
owners.
In 1966, the City of Saratoga purchased Hakone Gardens, then in disrepair, in order to protect it
from the threat of development. The Hakone Foundation, a non-profit organization, was
established in 1984 to authentically restore and enhance the gardens independently of public
funding. The gardens are open to the public and the various community facilities are often used
for cultural events.
Hakone Gardens are accessible via a driveway from Big Basin Way. The garden was developed
within the sloping terrain inherent to the area, with some features cut into the hillside. On-site
facilities include four distinct gardens and several structures. These include the lower house (once
the principle residence of the Stine Family) remodeled by the City in 1980 to serve as a
community meeting room, a Cultural Exchange Center, and a recently constructed Visitor Center
near the front entrance. A paved parking lot is located below the gardens.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No direct fiscal impacts to the City. Historic Landmark status is necessary for Hakone Gardens
to qualify for reimbursement grants from the County of Santa Clara for costs incurred while
maintaining and updating existing buildings on the site.
CONSEQUENCES OF NOT FOLLOWING RECOMMENDED ACTION:
The site would not be designated as a Historic Landmark and the future maintenance and
rehabilitation of Hakone Gardens could be jeopardized without the Historic Landmark
Designation.
ALTERNATIVES:
Deny or modify the proposed ordinance.
FOLLOW-UP ACTIONS:
The City Clerk will finalize the ordinance for adoption at the next City Council meeting,
memorializing the decision of the City Council on this matter.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Ordinance approving the property’s landmark status
2. Historic Resources Inventory Information Sheet
3. Affidavit of mailing notices, public notice, and mailing labels