HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-01-2011 SUPPLEMENTAL COUNCIL AGENDASaratoga Homeowners Associations
Beauchamps Park
, ';.:,.., --114il ;14 gat
■ ■� l��ii�lrmt
Legend
City Parks
Saratoga Heights Homeowners Association
Saratoga Hills Road Association
Bellgrove Neighborhood Association ® Saratoga Neighborhood Task Force
- Saratoga Oaks Homeowners Association
- El Quito Neighborhood Association - Saratoga Parkside Homeowners Association
Greenbrier Homeowners & Taxpayers Association Saratoga Woods Homeowners Association
Madronia Historic Neighborhood Association Vineyards of Saratoga
Parker Ranch Homeowners Association West Valley Homeowners Association
DeHavilland Circle
1� rdu
tafrii/)
/✓I
.Pi) Ai Le_ ei
/04 /ao
/vov a/ 7
OtiA
ilokaidid
AttripiL4
- d,.,/l D Ste- /P.r7ova4, - 2f //a , /�'
? - / c;14-4A14-9' 2 2 se /7-VA 5/7:15
APA2d-ei,PL 4127 20,4 - AR- 7Licri,c1-cV
/Ca 9// aM:r .12.twoAgt,,,e7
a,�„Pss
gm
A J,' /1Q
City Clerk [Ann Sullivan]
From: Bob Busse [busse.bob @gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2011 4:21 PM
To: Howard Miller; Chuck Page; Jill Hunter; Emily Lo; Manny Cappello
Cc: City Clerk [Ann Sullivan]; Dave Anderson
Subject: Letter to be read at the June 1, 2011 City Council meeting in my absence.
Attachments: Letter for Saratoga City Council Meeting June 1, 2011.doc
I have asked someone from the Restore Saratoga Steering Committee to read this at the meeting. Please ensure
that it is logged into the record. A reply email acknowledging this would be appreciated.
If for whatever reason, someone from the steering committee cannot read this, please still ensure it makes the
public record.
Also, if not able to be read by a steering committee member, I ask that Jill Hunter read it at the meeting,
assuming this is acceptable practice.
Thanks,
Bob
i
From: Bob Busse, 14461 Oak Street, Saratoga
To: Saratoga City Council
Date: 6/1/11
The Restore Saratoga Steering Committee negotiated publicly and in good faith with the
City Council at a special session on June 24111, 2010 on the topic of restoring certain city
code elements to their original form. Specifically:
1. Re- instate the 2 story limit in commercial areas, including the Village
2. Re- instate the requirement that mixed -use development must contain greater than
50% commercial space (less than 50% residential).
3. Not allow shared parking in mixed use developments between commercial and
residential purposes. Residential parking must be made in whole in the plans of
the mixed use development.
The result was that the city would put measure Q on the ballot for the 2 -story limit topic.
The city also agreed to implement the code changes requiring Less than•50% residential,
and no shared parking within mixed use developments. To be amenable to smaller
developments which would have less negative impact, this would apply only to
developments of greater than 5 units.
In return for the city's actions above, the Restore Saratoga Steering Committee would
cease activity on independently putting a measure on the ballot.
The planning commission has since voted not to make the changes agreed upon in items
2 and 3 above. To the best of my knowledge there is no public record of the reasons
behind their position.
The city council should not accept the planning commissions recommendation on these
issues. The city council already agreed to the changes. Passing it through the city's
standard process was required by law. The council does not need to heed the decision of
the planning commission.
The only decent and honorable thing for the city council to do in this case, is enact the
changes as they were originally negotiated in the special session on 6/24/10. To do
otherwise would be thoroughly dishonest, and an abject abuse of their constituent's trust.
Below the wording from the mixed use code:
15- 58.010 - Purposes of article.
The purpose of the mixed -use development standards is the implementation of the
Housing Element of the General Plan. The goal is to implement this Housing Program in
a consistent manner throughout the various commercial and office zoning districts of the
City. It is further the goal of these standards to protect existing and future commercial
development.
This clearly states that the only reason for Saratoga to adopt a mixed use policy in the
first place is to support the state's housing element requirements. These requirements are
purely to allocate space for low income housing in Saratoga. The housing element does
not require that actual building of low income housing take place.
The code changes that the city made went further, by createing a huge loophole (whether
by design or not) for developers to come in and reap profit and rape our commercial
spaces with high density, highly priced condominiums.
The city council must honor the commitments they made at the special session on 6/24/10
and restore the maximum residential in mixed use to 50% and not allowed shared parking
to exist between residential and commercial in mixed use areas. This again applies to
projects of greater than 5 units.
Thank You,
Bob Busse