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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-20-2022 City Council Special Meeting Agenda Packet, revised 1-23-2022Saratoga City Council Agenda January 20, 2022 – Page 1 of 2 SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING JANUARY 20, 2022 AMENDED AGENDA • 1/20/2022 ZOOM WEBSITE LINK AND WEBINAR ID CORRECTED • 1/23/2022 WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS ADDED Teleconference/Public Participation Information to Mitigate the Spread of COVID‐19 This meeting will be held entirely by teleconference. All members of the City Council and staff will only participate via the Zoom platform using the process described below. The meeting is being conducted pursuant to recent amendments to the teleconference rules required by the Ralph M. Brown Act allowing teleconferencing during a proclaimed state of emergency when local official have recommended social distancing. The purpose of the amendments is to provide the safest environment for the public, elected officials, and staff while allowing for continued operation of the government and public participation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Members of the public can view and participate in in the Special Meeting by: • Using the Zoom website https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87501169173; Webinar ID 875 0116 9173 OR • Calling 1.408.638.0968 or 1.669.900.6833 and entering the Webinar ID provided above The public will not be able to participate in the meeting in person. As always, members of the public can send written comments to the Council prior to the meeting by commenting online at www.saratoga.ca.us/comment prior to the start of the meeting. These emails will be provided to the members of the Council and will become part of the official record of the meeting. 7:00 PM SPECIAL MEETING ROLL CALL REPORT ON POSTING OF THE AGENDA The agenda for this meeting was properly posted on January 19, 2022. AGENDA ITEMS 1. EIR Project Description for Housing Element and General Plan Update including Housing Opportunity Sites Selection, Policies, and Programs Recommended Action: Provide direction on the Housing Opportunity Sites, distribution of units, and policies and programs to include in the project description for the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the General Plan and Housing Element Update. Staff Memo Supplemental Memo 01-20-2022, Item 1 Written Communications ADJOURNMENT Saratoga City Council Agenda January 20, 2022 – Page 2 of 2 CERTIFICATE OF POSTING OF THE AGENDA, DISTRIBUTION OF THE AGENDA PACKET, COMPLIANCE WITH AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT I, Britt Avrit, City Clerk for the City of Saratoga, declare that the foregoing agenda for the meeting of the City Council was posted and available for review on January 19, 2022 at the City of Saratoga, 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, California and on the City's website at www.saratoga.ca.us. Signed this 19th day of January 2022 at Saratoga, California. Britt Avrit, City Clerk In accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act, copies of the staff reports and other materials provided to the City Council by City staff in connection with this agenda, copies of materials distributed to the City Council concurrently with the posting of the agenda, and materials distributed to the City Council by staff after the posting of the agenda are available on the City website at www.saratoga.ca.us and are available for review in the office of the City Clerk at 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, California. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Governor’s Executive Order, if you need assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the City Clerk at bavrit@saratoga.ca.us or calling 408.868.1216 as soon as possible before the meeting. The City will use its best efforts to provide reasonable accommodations to provide as much accessibility as possible while also maintaining public safety. [28 CFR 35.102-35.104 ADA title II] CITY OF SARATOGA Memorandum To:Mayor Walia & Members of the Saratoga City Council From:Britt Avrit, MMC, City Clerk Meeting Date:January 20, 2022 Subject:EIR Project Description for Housing Element and General Plan Update including Housing Opportunity Sites Selection, Policies, and Programs This item is a continuation of the discussion and direction to staff for Item 2.1 from the January 19, 2022,City Council meeting. The Staff Report and attachments can be found with the agenda packet for January 19, 2022. 3 CITY OF SARATOGA Memorandum To: Mayor Walia & Members of the Saratoga City Council From: Britt Avrit, MMC, City Clerk Meeting Date: January 20, 2022 Subject: Written Communications, Item 1 Following publication of the agenda packet for the January 20, 2022 City Council Special Meeting, written communications were submitted for Item 1. The communications are attached to this memo. 4 From:Vigen Salmastlian To:Britt Avrit Subject:Allendale/Chester Rezoning Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 5:52:44 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Hello, I am writing in response to the proposal to rezone the Allendale/Chester lot from an agricultural lot to a potential r1- 20 zone for 24 houses (and potentially up to 96 duplexes). I am a resident in this area at 14000 Apricot Hill and was disturbed to hear that this potential rezoning proposal is being considered for this area. The reason my family and many others have moved to this area is because of the unique lifestyle it offers—a wooded, quiet community with large 40,000+ acre lots, no traffic, and consistency in the layout of the neighborhoods. We are strongly against the idea of allowing a rezoning that is inconsistent with the zoning in the surrounding areas. While the vineyard lot is land that we understand could be developed for more homes, allowing r1-20 or even smaller lots sets a dangerous precedent for this area. Not only will it change the entire feel of the neighborhood, add traffic, noise from many residents crammed in a small area, and potentially impact school enrollment numbers, what will prevent others from subdividing r1-40,000 lots to build multiple homes in the future? A precedent allowing inconsistent zoning will destroy this community. It is also surprising to hear that the purported impetus for this rezoning is to build “affordable housing.” Homes in this are are now consistently selling in the $4-5 million range. Even if 96 two-story duplexes were built on the Allendale vineyard lot in the most aggressive scenario, each of those homes would sell for over $3 million—the opposite of “affordable housing.” To the extent a rezoning proposal is considered for this Allendale lot, it should be strictly limited to the zoning of surrounding lots—in this case r1-40,000. Vigen Salmastlian Saratoga, CA 95070 5 From:Tina Walia To:Britt Avrit Subject:Fw: Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Friday, January 21, 2022 11:14:57 AM Hi Britt, Not sure if this was missed or got into the packet. Thanks, Tina From: noreply@civicplus.com <noreply@civicplus.com> Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2022 12:08 AM To: Mary-Lynne Bernald <mlbernald@saratoga.ca.us>; Yan Zhao <yzhao@saratoga.ca.us>; Rishi Kumar <rkumar@saratoga.ca.us>; Tina Walia <twalia@saratoga.ca.us>; Kookie Fitzsimmons <kookie@saratoga.ca.us>; James Lindsay <jlindsay@saratoga.ca.us>; Britt Avrit <bavrit@saratoga.ca.us>; Crystal Bothelio <cbothelio@saratoga.ca.us> Subject: Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Maria Tsotros Phone Number Field not completed. Email Address Subject Please reconsider the current Housing Element Proposal Comments Dear Mayor Walia and Saratoga City Council Members, I’ve been a resident of Saratoga for close to 10 years and love my neighborhood and city - With the current proposal we’re still just shifting numbers from one side of the street to the other, which doesn’t really address the inequity. The majority of housing and high-rise buildings are STILL clustered north of 85 in an area that is soon to be grossly impacted by development in Quito Village, El Paseo and the new Costco. If you also consider that the majority of these proposed units are not even in the Saratoga Union School District, I would argue that rather than “promote socioeconomic equity”, the plan does the exact opposite. In the meeting on January 19th, I heard one caller’s concern about not being able to get out of their driveway due to traffic when there is a concert at Villa Mondalvo. People North of 85 will have that impact daily! 6 I respectfully appeal to you to reconsider this plan and put other potential options back on the table. We MUST be able to find creative designs that will help us keep the character of Saratoga while distributing the load. * Please keep a maximum of 2-3 stories * Please redistribute a proportion of high-density properties south of 85 * Consider revitalizing downtown taking into consideration additional housing * Mixed-use on Argonaut / Compass centers * Consider redistributing school districts to allow a balanced load on schools. If we need to delay to get to a more equitable and livable solution, then we should do so. Now that more of the community is engaged, perhaps we can call on volunteers to participate in finding other paths forward. Thank you for considering my appeal! Respectfully, Maria Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 7 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 6:56:57 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Ben Panell Phone Number Email Address Subject Spread the burden Comments I feel the amount of housing going in the cox Saratoga area is unjust and puts a heavy burden on the north side of 85 along with the traffic. The lack of safe bike lanes and sidewalks the corridor is going to a mess. Along with the impact to schools in the area, sewage issues, and traffic. Anyway this area will be a mess if all the burden for the housing is put in here. Spread the burden out please. Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 8 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 9:14:21 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Kate Shen Phone Number Email Address Subject High Density Housing Comments Prospect center has huge area that are not often used. It is a good site for HD housing, which will not affect Saratoga city's current environment badly. Saratoga ave. is already congested and Cox ave. has only one lane. About 3 schools on it. Traffic is bad already. Adding more HD housing will cause more traffic problem, air pollution and harm the qualify of life for residence. Email Subscription Unsubscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 9 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 9:25:41 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Peter Boulton Phone Number Email Address Subject Housing Element proposal Comments Council members, My observation is that this process started with a fairly broad set of possible sites that have only been gradually reduced over time thereby concentrating the load onto fewer and fewer sites. I'm disappointed that the underlying bias has been to concentrate that load primarily onto the northern part of the city. It also has unfairly pushed the corresponding school burden onto the Cupertino and Campbell school districts. What last night's alternate plan does is rebalance a slightly larger load between the Gateway and Prospect areas. By using the Heritage Orchard and Downtown area you could have gone a long way to truly distributing the load. The Heritage Orchard is large enough to allow a tasteful implementation of low cost housing. There would be room for landscaping and feathering of the building heights. Avoiding the downtown area is a missed opportunity to revitalize our downtown. Though at odds with the rest of the council I appreciate the effort by Kookie to push for a broader distribution of housing than what is being proposed. Peter Boulton near the Gateway Email Subscription Subscribe, Unsubscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 10 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 9:33:17 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Karen Shen Phone Number Email Address Subject High Density Housing (HDH) Comments We support Rishi to push back the unfair HDH proposal together with other cities. Council should continue to fight and at least delay the process. No need to rush to make final decisions. Morgan Hills and Gilroy only needs to build about 1700 each. Saratoga is so small and has to add 1700 units. It is unfair. If we have to build them, Prospect Center has large area that are not utilized most of the time. HDH should be built there and why it is not selected? We need transparency and explanation. HDH should not be put nearby Cox and Saratoga, where the traffic is already conjested. Email Subscription Unsubscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 11 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 9:43:41 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Vivian Tseng Phone Number Field not completed. Email Address Subject Please stop the chaos to divide the Saratoga citizens. Don't vote yet please Comments Dear council members, I appreciate your hard work on the housing issue. There are so many people voiced and there's no one like any version of your proposal. Please hold off on voting and go back to think/look outside of the box on what you can do differently. At least one council member has input on what other cities are doing. Many people are excited to learn more of his findings but I don't understand why the other 4 members seems not interested at all? Is there some hidden agenda needs to be disclosed? Why are you rushing to avoid the penalty of losing local control to the state? What you're doing is already losing local control by trying to comply to the state's outrageous mandate, isn't it? Please stop this chaos os dividing the Saratoga citizens. Can we let Rishi share his findings in the next meeting please? Thanks! Vivian Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 12 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 9:59:18 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Braeda Kim Phone Number Email Address Subject High Density Housing (HDH) Comments Prospect Center has large area that are often not used and are good for HDH. Why it is not selected as a potential HDF site? We need transparency and response. Cox and Saratoga ave. is already conjested and should be hold a 4 floor HDH. The traffic and air quality will be badly affected. Email Subscription Unsubscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 13 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 9:59:59 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Ellis Hung Phone Number Email Address Subject Housing element proposal Comments Dear City Council members, I would like to thank you for your long hours works and listening to all residents last night at city council meeting. I sincerely hope all of you will reconsider the current opportunity site proposal given the outcry and serious concerns from the Gateway residents as well as most Saratoga residents. How about reconsider all other possible opportunity sites across Saratoga and distribute new housing more evenly in while Saratoga city? Hope the new housing proposal creates new opportunities for all of us, not dividing us socially and creating conflicts between different communities inside Saratoga. Thanks for reading this & all of other inputs. Look forward to meeting all of you online tonight. Ellis Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 14 15 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 11:40:45 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Doug Robertson Phone Number Email Address Subject Proposed Zoning Updates Comments Dear Council Members, First, let me express my appreciation for your volunteer efforts as council members. It is a difficult job most often without full appreciation of how difficult it can be and I appreciate the time and energy that you all put into making Saratoga a better place to live. Second, as you are certain to understand, this zoning ordinance update is perhaps the most important decision any council has had to make in at least a couple of decades, with far reaching consequences for our community and I do not envy you as you try to figure out what is the best course of action to distribute the burden of new housing throughout Saratoga. While I appreciate the zeal by some of you that went into the trying to get the state to back down, I do believe that expecting the small town of Saratoga to change the state mandates was unlikely to be successful and it feels like that time and energy would have been better spent by pursuing more in depth strategic planning, working with urban planning experts, to consider all the options. Again, perhaps that has been done but not with my input and I suspect the input of many other citizens. While I understand there have been multiple study session on the proposed zoning changes, as a citizen and someone who has been engage in city politics in the past as you know, I do not feel like there has been much transparency and it now feels like you are under the gun to make a decision on these zoning changes that will impact Saratoga for the next century without sufficient public input from all neighborhoods. It is possible that 16 there has been more outreach than I am aware of but it did not reach me personally so can only assume that others are in the same position. While there is a tendency not to want to over inform the public out of concern for too much public outcry, this issue is far too important not to have the entire community weigh in. I believe the decision should be postponed until such public outreach can be adequately pursued and all voices can be heard. However, if we are at the 11th hour and the decision must be made now here is my input for your consideration. 1. Sites 1 and 3 are on the outskirts of Saratoga next to San Jose where taller construction is already permitted and will continue to be developed in the coming years. These site also have the best access to two lane streets and transit corridors. Therefore these two sites can support taller building structures and a larger number of units. These sites should maximize the number of buildable units to reduce the number of stories/units and traffic burden on inner Saratoga streets. The Site 1 proposal for 10 stories does this but site 3 should allow more stories 4-6. 2. Except for sites 1 and 3 for the reasons stated in point 1 above, all other sites in Saratoga should share the burden of housing fairly and not based on NIMBY demands. All neighborhoods should allow 3 stories before any site allows 4 stories. Three story buildings will be larger and more massive compared to Saratoga's current environment but 4 story will lead to a whole different visual challenge in terms of building massing that will not blend into the single and two story residential neighborhoods of Saratoga. 3. Site 5 while the largest undeveloped site in Saratoga is in the heart of Saratoga with single family residential neighborhoods on all sides and should not share the same burden as sites 1 and 3 and like all inner city neighborhoods should be no more than 3 stories and 2/3rds the number of units currently proposed or 230 units total. Even at 230 units this will have a major impact on traffic along Saratoga with only a single lane in each direction but making this site 4 stories will forever be an eyesore to our residential community and if 345 units are permitted in this area traffic will be a true nightmare for all trying to access Highway 85 and Lawrence Expressway. 4. The entire Village should be zoned to allow 3 stories and not only the 4 stories proposed for Village East. The Village can easily support 3 stories with two stories of housing over one level of commercial. This will revitalize the Village with foot traffic and with thoughtful development could be a model for other communities with shops and functions that I believe will bring the 17 village to life and support the new housing. Keeping the Village quaint and single/two story satisfies a smaller minority group of local Saratogans but does not actually support the larger Saratoga community that would like more shops and restaurants for families. 5 All developments should include room for some street side commercial spaces that support the new residences which will prevent new residents from driving to reach all services. Making new developments "for housing only" will only add to traffic and force all of us out onto city streets to get to neighboring communities for daily services. Anyone that suggests housing only does not understand basic urban planning principals. My primary plea to all of you is please do not simply listen to the loudest voices that make demands based on their own NIMBY interests but use logic and reason to do what is best for Saratoga in the long term. Delay this decision if you can but if you must move forward I hope you will consider my input and that of all citizens. Thank you for your consideration. Best, Doug Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 18 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 12:15:11 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Shauna Cai Phone Number Field not completed. Email Address Subject Opposing Village East project Comments Village vision is small town identity and rural cultural. So we have no street lights on Halloween night for kids. A high density building in the center of village is against the village vision which is city of Saratoga has always aimed. Before Brookside townhomes were built, one main concern was the townhome buildings should be well blend into it surrounding, including height, density and trees, & easement. So the new project should be consistent with Brookside community, no more than two stories. I am resident at Arbeleche Ln. Arbeleche Ln is already a narrow and busy street. The apartment area is right behind our town home. A high density multistory building will make our homes not only no privacy, but even worse traffic. Not to mention the danger during mountain fire season. Therefore, more than two-story building is not acceptable. Before Brookside community was built, the city promised that the parking area in Neals Hollow is open to Arbeleche visitors. Now, the city is planning use this parking space for the new high density buildings. I wonder if the council is going to break its promise. For all above, Village East should not have higher than 30 feet buildings. Email Subscription Field not completed. Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 19 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 12:18:43 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Patty Peck Phone Number Email Address Subject Heritage Orchard Comments Council! Please do not even consider this as future home sites. This is our HERITAGE ORCHARD! I hope you all can comprehend that. Thanks! Patty Peck Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 20 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 12:33:53 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Alexandra Nugent Phone Number Email Address Subject Save Heritage Orchard from consideration as housing opportunity Comments Our Heritage Orchard is a rare, historic and living embodiment of Saratoga's rich agricultural history. Strolling along it's paths provides citizens with the pleasure and direct experience of that history and it's stages of growth, care and harvest. The orchard land and its trees are eco-friendly, enriching the soil, and reducing carbon. Surely there are other sites that don't require destroying this precious, unique history. Please save this landmark. Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 21 22 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 1:38:15 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Dan Yore Phone Number Email Address Subject Heritage Orchard Comments I heard you were discussing the Saratoga Heritage Orchard tonight. I would like to express my disappointment in hearing it was to be put on the list of Housing Opportunity Sites.My family moved into Saratoga in the 60's down the street form the orchard. The orchards are part of the history of the Saratoga and family stories of the trees and mustard grass. My son/daughter in law had their wedding photos taken in that orchard a many years ago and have return with their kids every year for more photos.All because of our stories. Would be a shame to lost that. I don't think it was the City of Saratoga's Master Plan when it preserved the Heritage Orchard in the 70's. Thanks Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 23 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 1:52:29 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Stephen Campbell Phone Number Email Address Subject Heritage Orchard - PRESERVE OUR RESOURCE for public enjoyment as intended when purchased back in the 1970s Comments I urge the Saratoga City Council to table any discussion regarding the study for land use/development of the Heritage Orchard located by the Saratoga Library. The site is not appropriate for development as it was purchased for public enjoyment IN PERPETUITY back in the 1970's - I remember with satisfaction when the sign went up. The council that authorized the purchase had the fore site to make that decision that was in the public interest then and is still in the public interest today. Some other considerations: • The Heritage Orchard is governed by an adopted Master Plan that states "while preserving open space areas and enhancing the quality of life for residents". • The Heritage Orchard Park is a public resource and not a suitable site for private housing • The Heritage Orchard is a historic resource that preserves the City's agricultural history for current and future residents education and enjoyment • The Heritage Orchard is an important contributor to the City's Climate Action Plan because agricultural uses sequester carbon as opposed to urban land uses Please remove this idea from further consideration. Sincerely, S. J. Campbell Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 24 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 2:52:30 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Marshall Seymour Phone Number Email Address Subject Save Saratoga! Comments I am appalled by some of the solutions proposed for satisfying the state's requirement for further housing in CA. Apart from the facts we are maxed out by traffic and insufficient water, let me be specific to Saratoga. Saratoga incorporated in the 1950s precisely to maintain its small-town, livable character. The town did not want to become a part of San Jose. It did not want huge, big-block stores; spaghetti freeways; insufficient green areas, and high-rise buildings. This is why Saratoga has continued to be attractive as a place to live and to work. One can bike or walk almost anywhere; One is not shaded by monstrous buildings; and Saratoga has managed to maintain its beautiful green spaces. It would be unconscionable to take out the lovely Heritage Orchard, but a remnant of the orchards that once adorned Santa Clara Valley. It would be equally unconscionable to raise the storey limits on buildings within the city limits. The Saratoga Avenue -Fruitvale corridors are already impacted by increasing traffic and speeding cars. To add more cars to these critical arteries would further impact the small-town nature of the town. Think of the impact such traffic would mean to those biking or walking to the village center, to the churches and schools lining these critical roads, to those trying to access the library, the post office, the city offices. Please think carefully about what you are doing to Saratoga. Surely you can come up with solutions that do not obliterate the very essence of this sweet town. You do not need to turn it into another San Jose. What you DO need to do is to respect the green spaces, the 25 storey limits to buildings, and the safe accessibility by foot and bike to all parts of town. Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 26 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 2:56:49 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Jody Tatro Phone Number Email Address Subject Housing Devel Plan Comments I am truly disappointed in how this has been handled by all parties. The only notice we have received has been from neighbors. That being said, this plan for the Allendale, Quito and Cox areas is a logistical nightmare. You are proposing close to 150 new homes with at a min of 300 cars onto streets that were not built for this type of traffic. Allendale and the neighboring areas already are hit with the growth at West Valley Community College and all the cars from Redwood Jr High, now let's throw a min of 300 more cars onto these streets. You are penalizing your existing residents to appease the State and a few people who don't live here. You were voted to protect the Saratoga that we all paid a lot of money for, not ruin it. The traffic would be unbearable for those of us on this part of the city. The safety would be a problem too, we already have speeding issues on Allendale and Chester...let's put another 50 cars into the mix in that small area. None of this is logical and it is altering existing zoning. I oppose this and will fight with my neighbors to stop this dismantling of the city we all spent a lot of money to live in Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 27 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 3:27:51 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Patti Knoblich Phone Number Email Address Subject Saratoga Heritage Orchard Comments I am asking that you not consider rezoning the Saratoga heritage Orchard as a housing project. it is a rare jewel of aa property that should not be considered for housing. I am one of only 5 big apricot growers in San Benito County......I know how rare these orchrds are. Plase do not choose to put housing there. Seriously Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 28 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 3:39:39 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Sonya D'sa Phone Number Email Address Subject Housing Elemenr Comments Hello Council Members: I attended the Housing Element meeting last evening and wanted to make my comments to you all in writing. I appreciate the difficult decisions you have to make on behalf of all residents of Saratoga and although the State has imposed SB8 and SB9 requirements, it does not make sense to cram so many units in a city that values its beauty and quiet community feel. We need to push back on the State and consider other counties where there is more land space and resources for shopping, transportation and schools. Can we offload some units to other counties that will benefit? Yes, progress is good but not at the expense of hurting some communities unfairly by cramming so units in a city that has limited space. I felt the pain of the Gateway community yesterday. We need to have transparency by the city of why certain high density housing were allocated to certain neighborhoods. What was the rationale used? We need transparency. Does it need to meet transportation (bus service), schools, walking distance to shopping, highway? I also heard some members advocating shifting units to the Prospect Community Center. I live near this area (disclosure). This is the ONLY large community center for Saratoga residents and shoving housing means groups that use this center (religious and community groups) have no where else to go other than Joan Pisani Center. Let's keep our one community center that was designated for this community. Please do not put high density units in this neighborhood that backs onto single family homes. Why is there no consideration given to mixed use retail in Argonaut Shopping Center, Saratoga Bagel /Compass Center, or Saratoga village? During the pandemic I heard the village some 29 cherished shop owners going out of business. We need to revitalize the village with mixed use retail and stores and restaurants. What is wrong with that? We won't eventually be able to stop development but please do it in an equitable and constructive way that will not destroy our wonderful town but elevate it. Let's not pit neighborhood against neighborhood. If we need to fight the State we will. Thank you for hearing me out.and thank you for your continued stewardship in Saratoga. Let's pause if we have to and see the EIR impact and make some educated and fair decisions on options we have as a community. Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 30 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 3:45:44 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Elizabeth Holmes Phone Number Email Address Subject Preserving the Heritage Orchard Comments Saratoga City Council, I am writing this letter to urge you to preserve an irreplaceable historic resource – the City’s Heritage Orchard. I am appalled to learn that it is being considered as a housing opportunity site! The Heritage Orchard is governed by a master plan that states that its purpose is “preserving open space areas and enhancing the quality of life for residents.” It’s part of the City’s climate action plan because trees sequester carbon. The Heritage Orchard was never intended for urban development. When it was purchased in 1972, it was intended to remain for public enjoyment in perpetuity. From 1970 to 1972, I was the president of Ecologically Sound Saratoga, Saratoga High School’s ecology club. In that role, I helped start a recycling center, raised awareness about environmental issues with my fellow students, picked up litter on Saratoga Sunnyvale Road and Saratoga Avenue, and was a student advisor to the City council on matters like changing ordinances to allow residents to compost in their yards. (At the time, compost was considered garbage and a public health hazard.) In the summer of 1973, I worked on Alan Chadwick’s biodynamic farm behind the Oddfellows’ home on Fruitvale Avenue. I care deeply about Saratoga’s environmental health and agricultural heritage. My family owned a home in Saratoga for 57 years. Saratoga was largely fruit orchards when we moved there in 1957. A modern Saratoga without at least ONE fruit orchard is unthinkable! State mandates regarding housing elements should not override 31 promises made to generations of Saratoga residents in 1972. Please preserve The Heritage Orchard. Sincerely, Elizabeth Holmes (No, not THAT Elizabeth Holmes! She stole my name.) Email Subscription Unsubscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 32 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 3:56:45 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Connie Hall Phone Number Email Address Subject Heritage Orchard Against it being site for public or private housing Comments I want to state that I am against the Heritage Orchard site in Saratoga being considered as a site for Housing It is NOT an appropriate site for this, It should remain as a public park and as it currently is educational to the areas historical agricultural past. It also is an important part of Climate action plan with trees assisting to sequester carbon. We need open spaces and trees and not every inch paved over with houses and concrete. There needs to be balance! No housing on the heritage Orcard site! Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 33 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 3:59:45 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Neal W Casteel Phone Number Email Address Subject Preserve the Heritage Orchard, Not a Housing Opportunity Site Comments Please do not include the Heritage Orchard as one of the "housing opportunity sites" in the city. The Saratoga Heritage Orchard is one of the few living remnants of our valley's fruit growing heritage. Protecting this orchard should be symbolic of the cooperation between man, industry and government in the preservation of this heritage for our greatest asset - our future. This orchard has flourished for over 150 years, and is the last remaining reminders of the great wealth of nature that once covered much of our valley, and should forever be protected as an historic landmark. Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 34 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 4:22:53 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Susan Goodrich Phone Number Email Address Subject The Heritage Orchard Comments I strongly support all efforts to save The Heritage Orchard. Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 35 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 4:27:36 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name KAREN Miyamoto Phone Number Email Address Subject Heritage Orchard Comments Heritage Orchard: Please vote to retain the Heritage Orchard, a historical treasure, for the community of Saratoga and for future generations to come. Community members will be able to enjoy its beauty and have some "open space" specific to the community. Thank you for your consideration in this matter Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 36 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 5:08:28 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Gregory Piligian Phone Number Email Address Subject Housing Element - Saratoga Heritage Orchard Comments City Council: As long time residents of Saratoga, we were dismayed to hear the Council is considering converting the Heritage Orchard to meet affordable housing goals. While that is a necessary and admirable goal, the Heritage Orchard is NOT the solution, for the following reasons: o The City of Saratoga purchased and preserved the Heritage Orchard for public enjoyment in perpetuity back in the 1970s, and it was never intended for urban development. o The Heritage Orchard is governed by an adopted Master Plan that states "while preserving open space areas and enhancing the quality of life for residents". o The Heritage Orchard Park is a public resource and not a suitable site for private housing o The Heritage Orchard is a historic resource that preserves the City's agricultural history for current and future residents education and enjoyment o The Heritage Orchard is an important contributor to the City's Climate Action Plan because agricultural uses sequester carbon as opposed to urban land uses We urge you to reject further consideration of the Heritage Orchard for housing and search for other, more suitable alternatives. Gregory Piligian, Paul Piligian Malcom Ave., Saratoga Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 37 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 5:27:16 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Lisa Newman Phone Number Email Address Subject Preserve Saratoga's Heritage Orchard and Master Plan Comments Dear Council Members, I am writing to urge you to maintain the City’s stewardship of the Heritage Orchard and Master Plan as you update the Housing Element. Saratoga has grown in an orderly fashion over the decades since I grew up and attended school there at a time when orchards flourished. It is the attractive City it is today based upon its General Plan which has consistently sought to balance growth and environmental protection. Housing Element updates have been approved over many decades without threatening the important public trust established in 1972 when the City purchased and created the Heritage Orchard. The Heritage Orchard represents an important historic resource, education tool, and environmental resource that allows successive generations of Saratogans to learn, enjoy, and connect with the City’s agricultural history. It is central to the community’s identity as a healthy and beautiful place to live. I am confident that the City’s creative efforts to investigate housing opportunity sites will be successful without transgressing on the Heritage Orchard’s unique status and underlying zoning. The same is true for the Novakovich Orchards property. Both the Heritage Orchard and Novakovich Orchards serve the community and region by providing coveted fruit, a tie to our region’s agricultural history, and an important source of carbon sequestration. Saratoga is the envy of surrounding communities which did not steward their resources as carefully as Saratoga’s City Councils have for the past 50 years (1972-2022). I urge you to stay the 38 course and protect the City’s two agricultural property's land use and zoning. Sincerely, Lisa Prince Newman Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 39 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 5:28:37 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name e va Phone Number Field not completed. Email Address Subject Please remove Village East site Comments you hear lots of the residents asking for the removal of village east due to safety reasons amongst other reasons. please remove the site. thanks Eva Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 40 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 5:38:04 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Lisa Rathjens Phone Number Field not completed. Email Address Subject Housing Element still needs dramatic changes Comments Thank you for listening to everyone through last night's (and last week's) meetings on this topic. The proposal presented last night by the city is still far from acceptable. Please consider the very excellent community generated options that were provided to the city manager in the proposal titled "19-Jan-2022 City Council Meeting Housing Element Analysis of Alternatives, a Collection of Community Generated Proposals". This presentation is well researched, thoughtful, equitable, and considers all communities in the city. Re the Heritage Orchard -- yes, we all love the orchard and want to preserve it. However, preserving the Orchard in exchange for potentially 10 story apartment complex nearby is absurd. Saratoga has ready access to many beautiful green spaces. Putting preservation of the orchard over the safety and well-being of citizens is irresponsible. The community generated options include using only a portion of the orchard. Please put that back on the table, as well as many other locations that can carry the burden of this mandate. Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 41 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 5:58:37 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Ray Froess Phone Number Email Address Subject Does the city have any plan to organize opposition? If so, what is it? Comments The Federal government, Sacramento, and even some cities, no longer represents us but their own corrupt interests. Most of the housing needs are from population growth; ½ million legal and 2 million illegal last year. This is our country, our city, our property, and our neighborhood – it doesn’t belong to the government - yet. The 8-year RHNA cycle is a “lose – lose” proposition. Either we build these high-density housing projects and get the traffic, water, and other problems; or we fail and the city loses control of development. When California property taxes became absurd, Prop 13 was born. We need similar rebellion against RHNA and the associated Senate Bills. We need our city council to rally our residents and work with other cities to overturn these housing mandates. Does the city have any plan to organize opposition? If so, what is it? Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 42 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 6:06:15 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Manal Elgaish Phone Number Email Address Subject Keep Saratoga Prospect Center Comments We live in Saratoga. Please keep the prospect center open. Email Subscription Field not completed. Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 43 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 6:08:16 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Sara Elzeiny Phone Number Email Address Subject Prospect Center Comments I oppose adding the Prospect Center to the list to be converted into city housing. Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 44 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 6:09:50 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Dhiraj Phone Number Field not completed. Email Address Subject Allendale vineyard /Chester Comments This is in response to proposal to redone the Allendale/Chester lot from current state to residential lots. I strongly oppose to this Rezoning. It would change the landscape which include natural habitat for the wild life. It would also create traffic, the need for additional schools. Email Subscription Field not completed. Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 45 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 6:33:11 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Cindy and Allen Ruby Phone Number Email Address Subject Save our Heritage Orchard Comments I understand and support the need for more affordable housing in our city. You have a hard job to find land for more affordable housing. As a school board trustee I saw that our teachers had to drive long distances to find housing they could afford. But PLEASE find every possible infill property before you consider taking the precious Heritage Orchard land for housing. It is a treasure reminding us of our valley’s history, and few other cities have preserved any of their orchards. Please take it off your list of potential property to develop. Thank you. Email Subscription Field not completed. Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 46 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 6:41:06 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name ting chuk Phone Number Email Address Subject Housing Element sites Comments I'm objecting to the number of units at the Gateway site. The site is right next to the WUI and is the bottle neck when evacuating a wild fire for many people. It's also on the border with Cupertino. Do we know if Cupertino is also going to build right on the border? I think we should have more smaller sites through out the city instead of concentrating at a few places. Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 47 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 6:46:00 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Neeha Phone Number Field not completed. Email Address Subject Allendale Vineyard Lot Rezoning Proposal: Bad for Saratoga Comments I strongly urge the Saratoga City Council to reject the proposal to change the zoning of the Allendale Vineyard lot from Agriculture to R-1-20,000. This vineyard is one of the last remaining areas of Saratoga that preserves the unique agricultural heritage of Saratoga. Its places like this that make Saratoga so unique and the most desirable city in the whole of the Bay Area. Its one of the last reminders that we live in the "Valley of Heart's Desire". The reason Saratoga is so sought after is the unique quality of life if offers, among verdant, natural spaces. This lot has a creek at its boundary that is a corridor for wildlife from the foothills down to creeks further downstream. These natural wetlands make up the special mosaic of Saratoga. All of that is in jeopardy if this rezoning is proposed. Our City will become just another cookie cutter city with no links to its rich past, or the opportunity for the future. It is a short-sighted move that will do lasting damage to the quality of life and unique environment of our beloved City. Please reject this proposal. Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 48 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 6:53:50 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name kyle Phone Number Email Address Subject Heritage orchard plan Comments Please preserve the Heritage orchard as originally agreed in 1970. It is one of the last remaining productive and treasured orchards in this valley that the public can and does still enjoy. It would be a great loss to the community and residents in the surrounding communities that look forward to and participate in the annual apricot harvest. One of the original products of "the Valley of hearts delight". Email Subscription Unsubscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 49 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 6:57:58 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Neeha Phone Number Field not completed. Email Address Subject Allendale Vineyard Lot Rezoning Proposal: Bad for Saratoga Comments I strongly urge the Saratoga City Council to reject the proposal to change the zoning of the Allendale Vineyard lot from Agriculture to R-1-20,000. This vineyard is one of the last remaining areas of Saratoga that preserves the unique agricultural heritage of Saratoga. Its places like this that make Saratoga so unique and the most desirable city in the whole of the Bay Area. Its one of the last reminders that we live in the "Valley of Heart's Desire". The reason Saratoga is so sought after is the unique quality of life if offers, among verdant, natural spaces. This lot has a creek at its boundary that is a corridor for wildlife from the foothills down to creeks further downstream. These natural wetlands make up the special mosaic of Saratoga. All of that is in jeopardy if this rezoning is proposed. Our City will become just another cookie cutter city with no links to its rich past, or the opportunity for the future. It is a short-sighted move that will do lasting damage to the quality of life and unique environment of our beloved City. Please reject this proposal. Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 50 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 7:11:47 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Ravi P Phone Number Email Address Subject Saratoga gateway community housing update Comments Current proposal to concentrate about 400 housing units in couple of locations seems unfair and partial. Adding more units to already densely populated gateway area would create more concerns of congestion, population, traffic, pollution and affect quality of life here. Please consider the suggestions voiced by many residents and spread this across the many vacant sites in Saratoga. Please limit new buildings to max of 2 storeys to retain beauty of Saratoga Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 51 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 7:15:16 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Joseph Wherry Phone Number Email Address Subject Housing Element Planning Comments I could not log into the meeting tonight, but would like to convey the following: The Heritage Orchard is a valuable asset in the history of Saratoga and should not be used as a future site for housing, but preserved for the enjoyment of citizens, especially the younger generations who never saw the "Valley of Hearts Delight." There are several other sites to bew considered for future housing, including the Christmas tree lot on Saratoga Avenue south of Cox. Thank you for your consideration of this important issue. Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 52 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 7:30:13 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Paula Bloom Phone Number Email Address Subject Heritage Orchard Comments Please save the Heritage Orchard! It is irreplaceable! Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 53 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 7:52:46 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Mahendra Ranchod Phone Number Email Address Subject Housing issue Comments Dear Members of the Saratoga City Council, I listened to the first half of yesterday's City Council meeting and I don't remember any reference to the plans for an initiative on the November 2022 ballot. The goal of the initiative is to leave control of housing issues to local jurisdictions. If this initiative passes, it may take away some of the pressure on the City. https://ourneighborhoodvoices.com/ Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 54 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 9:22:32 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Athena Carter Phone Number Email Address Subject Housing Element Issues Comments Hi Council Members, Thank you for listening to all of our voices. Especially the Mayor and Councilman Rishi. However, despite answering a few questions, over the course of two days, these following issues were never responded to: 1. I think we should relook at all potential sites throughout ALL of Saratoga. It is not equitable to only focus on areas that already are the most densely occupied areas within the city. It seems like a rushed effort to destroy and sacrifice certain areas (like coveted open space areas in these already dense neighborhoods) in an effort to save the wealthy neighborhoods such as the Saratoga Hills, Montalvo and Glen Una areas. I know for a fact that there is an open lot on Glen Una that could be used, but maybe this site was not considered because Glen Una has a lot of $10M homes. This unequitable distribution is going to cause division and civil unrest in our communities. Even though the California government is requiring us to do this, it is up to the council to decide which sites this happens to and which ones it saves and I urge the council to consider more potential sites throughout the hills, which have a lot more open space than the dense neighborhoods near Quito, Saratoga Sunnyvale and Saratoga, in order to spread the load of traffic and environmental impact. 2. One argument that was given for not including the richer hillside neighborhoods of Saratoga was because of fire and evacuation concerns. All the proposed sites and densities will significantly impact the traffic and evacuation abilities of these arterial streets. Los Gatos right now has a 196 unit senior living 55 residential project in the hillside area so clearly it’s not the fire warnings that’s the issue here, rather it’s blatantly a preservation of richer neighborhoods of Saratoga. If the development were spread out more throughout Saratoga, it would spread out the traffic vs contesting in specific areas. Maybe expand the width of the roads off the 9 in the hills to accept the fire trucks and larger amounts of traffic? 3. No one has answered whether or not these proposed sites will be able to be further broken up into 4 units per residential lot. As in, if one site says 10 subdivided lots, the developer in an effort to make a bunch of money will be able to further divide and create 40 units thanks to SB9. What is preventing this from happening? Will the vineyard on Allendale be further divided into 96 units?!?! Do you see why we are all concerned about traffic? Quito is already overloaded and only has 2 lanes. With all the building in El Paseo, Quito Center and the new Costco and the 6 schools that feed into it, how will we be able to get to 280 or 85? Where is our evacuation route? 4. I urge the council to not take away the open spaces along Quito and Allendale because we in this community value them as part of our local character and without it you are killing the core of our community. These sites are some of the last agricultural sites in Saratoga. Shouldn’t we try to preserve that? If we are considered “the city of trees” then why are the proposed sites taking away key neighborhood open spaces with historic trees and critical trails for residents? 5. By looking at the ton of open space in the hills, we could create enclaves of micro-neighborhoods of affordable housing units with shopping etc. Let’s think out of the box! Why are we not considering widening the 9 and building in these areas? Thank you, Athena Carter Email Subscription Field not completed. Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 56 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 10:16:58 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Dave Horwitz Phone Number Field not completed. Email Address Subject Housing Element council meeting #2 Comments Hello Saratoga Council, I attended (most of) the council meetings held on the 19th and 20th. I was rather concerned that sites are decided on/added prior to the EIR. In particular the Prospect/Lawrence site with the planned 10 story building. The comment and the Council's concern seemed to be more on the lines of that it would "fit" seeing as there is a planned 10 story development at El Paseo. Will the EIR (specifically traffic) include both the proposed 10 story building at Prospect and Lawrence AND the planned/proposed (994 units?) for El Paseo? Thank you, Dave Horwitz Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 57 From:noreply@civicplus.com To:Mary-Lynne Bernald; Yan Zhao; Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Kookie Fitzsimmons; James Lindsay; Britt Avrit; Crystal Bothelio Subject:Online Form Submittal: Council Comments Form Date:Friday, January 21, 2022 12:02:18 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Council Comments Form Your Name Han Wen Phone Number Field not completed. Email Address Subject Please add more sites of opportunities for your workshop Comments To get to a comprehensive list of possible sites for your workshop, can you include all sites that have been considered by the planning commission, or others over the many housing element evaluations. I don't see how the council members we have awareness of all possible candidate sites; not their area of expertise. Email Subscription Subscribe Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 58 From:Tina Walia To:William Ford Cc:Crystal Bothelio; Britt Avrit; James Lindsay; DL - Council Subject:Re: Prospect Center Date:Friday, January 21, 2022 10:58:46 AM Hello William, Thank you for your thoughts on the Housing Element Update. Your comments will be included in the record for the January 20, 2022 City Council Meeting. The Council will further study this issue in a Council Workshop on January 28, 2022, starting at 9 am. You can also learn more about the City’s efforts to update the Housing Element and subscribe to the Housing Element Newsletter to stay engaged on this topic on the City website at www.saratoga.ca.us/housing Regards, Tina Walia Mayor, City of Saratoga From: William Ford Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2022 6:03 PM To: Tina Walia <twalia@saratoga.ca.us> Subject: Prospect Center CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. I realize this is the last moment, but if all these new families are to move into Saratoga, there needs to be a public venue other than the Joan Pisani Center. In reality, the Prospect Center could possibility even be upgraded. Please do not destroy it for housing. Thank you, Bill and Norma Ford 59 From:Tina Walia To:Sujatha Bodapati Cc:Crystal Bothelio; Britt Avrit; James Lindsay; DL - Council Subject:Re: Prospect Community Center Date:Friday, January 21, 2022 11:02:43 AM Hello Sujatha, Thank you for your kind words, much appreciated. Thank you for your written comments and at the meeting on the Housing Element Update. Your comments will be included in the record for the January 20, 2022 City Council Meeting. The Council will further study this issue in a Council Workshop on January 28, 2022, starting at 9 am. You can also learn more about the City’s efforts to update the Housing Element and subscribe to the Housing Element Newsletter to stay engaged on this topic on the City website at www.saratoga.ca.us/housing Regards, Tina Walia Mayor, City of Saratoga From: Sujatha Bodapati Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2022 5:45 PM To: Tina Walia <twalia@saratoga.ca.us> Subject: Prospect Community Center CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Hello Mayor Walia, I’d like to commend you on your running of the council meetings, given the number of attendees and speakers. I spoke about the Prospect Center yesterday. I’d like to make an additional, very important point about it. This Center is the only community center other than the Pisani center. This housing plan is going to bring another 1700 families, who will have no real backyards to host any kind of event. The Prospect Community Center will be needed even more then. This means that it not only should be preserved, but actually invested in, so it can be a fully functioning center for the City. Thanks again, for your service to our city. Sincerely, Sujatha Bodapati This message and its contents are confidential. If you received this message in error, do not use or rely upon it. Instead, please inform 60 the sender and then delete it. Thank you. 61 From:Karthick Iyer To:Rishi Kumar; Tina Walia; Yan Zhao; Kookie Fitzsimmons; Mary-Lynne Bernald Cc:James Lindsay; Debbie Pedro; Britt Avrit Subject:sign about housing element plan Date:Thursday, January 20, 2022 3:34:17 PM Attachments:Screen Shot 2022-01-20 at 3.23.31 PM.png CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders. Hello council members, It has been brought to our attention that the following sign is only present south of 85 in Saratoga Ave. There is nothing north of 85. Shouldn't it be fair that the message should be placed on both sides of the freeway ramps? This seems to imply that the southern part of Saratoga will decide where to place the 1700+ homes and folks in the north don't have much of a say. "Decide where to place them".. really? Who came up with this slogan? Our plea over the past several months has been - lets be fair, let it be equitable, lets share the load. We can do better, Saratoga! Karthick 62