HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-15-2025 PEBTAC Agenda PacketCity Council Pedestrian, Equestrian & Bicycle Trails Advisory Committee Agenda April 15, 2025
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SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL
PEDESTRIAN, EQUESTRIAN, & BICYCLE
TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
APRIL 15, 2025
4:00 P.M. REGULAR MEETING
AMENDED AGENDA
• 04/15/2025 WRITTEN COMMENTS ADDED TO ITEMS 3 & 4.
Public Participation Information
In accordance with Saratoga City Council’s Remote Public Participation Policy, members of the
public may participate in this meeting in person at the location listed below or via remote
attendance using the Zoom information below. In the event remote participation technology is
unexpectedly unavailable, the meeting will proceed in person without remote participation.
Members of the public can view and participate in the meeting by:
1. Attending the meeting in person in the Linda Callon Conference Room located at 13777
Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga CA 95070; OR
2. Accessing the meeting through Zoom
* Webinar URL https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84716778216
* Webinar ID 847 1677 8216
* Calling 1.669.900.6833 or 1.408.638.0968
Written Communication
Comments can be submitted in writing at www.saratoga.ca.us/pebtac. Written communications
will be provided to the members of the Committee and included in the Agenda Packet and/or
in supplemental meeting materials.
Public Comment
Members of the public may comment on any item for up to three (3) minutes. The amount of
time for public comment may be reduced by the Chair.
City Council Pedestrian, Equestrian & Bicycle Trails Advisory Committee Agenda April 15, 2025
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CALL TO ORDER
ROLL CALL
REPORT ON POSTING OF THE AGENDA
The agenda for this meeting was properly post on April 10, 2025.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ON NON-AGENDIZED ITEMS
Any member of the public may address the committee on matters not on the Agenda. The law
generally prohibits the Committee from discussing or taking action on such items. However, the
Committee may instruct staff accordingly.
AGENDA ITEMS
1. PEBTAC Minutes
Recommended Action:
Review and approve the minutes for the January 21, 2025, Pedestrian, Equestrian & Bicycle
Trails Advisory Committee Regular Meeting.
2. Staff Report
A. Pending Trails Update
B. Traffic Safety Update
C. Blue Hills Elementary Pedestrian Crossing at Union Pacific Railroad Update
D. Saratoga Village to Hakone Gardens Trail Update
E. Hakone Gardens to Quarry Park Trail Gap Closure – Phase I Update
F. Pierce Road Trail Update
G. Upcoming CIP Projects
Recommended Action:
No action required.
3. Rice Court Pedestrian Easement
Staff received a request to either vacate or take over maintenance of existing pathway
within the pedestrian easement along the southern boundary of 20695 Rice Ct. The
easement in question starts at the edge of Rice Ct and terminates at an existing 50-foot
right-of-way which completes the connection to Surrey Lane.
Recorded Easement (June 1992)
Pedestrian Connection
Comment (4-14-2025)
City Council Pedestrian, Equestrian & Bicycle Trails Advisory Committee Agenda April 15, 2025
Page 3 of 3
Recommended Action:
Continue discussion from January meeting and make a determination.
4. South Villa Oaks Trail Segment
Staff received a request to hear concerns from resident regarding use of this trail
segment.
Comment (4-15-2025)
Recommended Action:
Review resident concerns.
5. Member Reports
Recommended Action:
Information only, no action to be taken.
ADJOURNMENT
CERTIFICATE OF POSTING OF THE AGENDA, DISTRIBUTION OF THE AGENDA PACKET,
COMPLIANCE WITH AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
I, Emma Burkhalter, Associate Engineer for the City of Saratoga, declare that the foregoing
agenda for the meeting of the Traffic Safety Commission was posted and available for public
review on April 10, 2025, at the City of Saratoga, 13777 Fruitvale Ave., Saratoga, CA 95070, and
on the City’s website at www.saratoga.ca.us.
Signed this 10th day of April 2025 at Saratoga, California.
Emma Burkhalter, Associate Engineer
In accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act, copies of the staff reports and other materials
provided to the Committee by City staff in connection with this agenda, copies of materials
distributed to the Committee concurrently with the posting of the agenda, and materials
distributed to the Committee 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 call 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]
SARATOGA
PEDESTRIAN, EQUESTRIAN & BICYCLE TRAILS
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
DRAFT MINUTES
January 21, 2025
PEBTAC Minutes - Page 1 of 2
DATE: January 21, 2025
TIME: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
LOCATION: Administrative Conference Room
13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, CA 95070
1. Call to Order – 4:00 PM
2. Roll Call:
PRESENT: Jim Stallman, Jeri Bromley (arrived 4:12 PM), Ping Li, Ann Waltonsmith
ABSENT: Howard Miller, Marianne Swan.
STAFF PRESENT: Emma Burkhalter
3. Report on Posting of the Agenda: Pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2, the agenda
for this meeting was properly posted on January 16, 2025.
4. Accept Agenda Items and Order: No additional items may be added pursuant to Government
Code Section 54954.2.
5. Approval of Minutes.
10-15-2024 PEBTAC Minutes – Draft
Recommended Action:
Approve October 2024 Minutes
WALTONSMITH/LI MOTIONED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES. MOTION PASSED (3-0-0-3). AYES:
STALLMAN, LI, WALTONSMITH. NOES: NONE. ABSTAIN: NONE. ABSENT: BROMLEY, MILLER,
SWAN.
6. Oral and Written Communication:
Any member of the public may address the Committee about any matter not on the agenda for
this meeting for up to three minutes. Committee Members may not comment on the matter but
may choose to place the topic on a future agenda.
7. Staff Report
A. Pending Trails Update
PEBTAC Minutes - Page 2 of 2
Trails sprayed for poison oak and weeds. Quarry Park trees that fell in the last storm have
been cleared.
B. Traffic Safety Update
Speed tables installed on Farwell Avenue.
C. Blue Hills Elementary Pedestrian Crossing at Union Pacific Railroad Update
Staff still working to get design plans approved by UPRR and submitting grant paperwork.
D. Saratoga Village to Hakone Gardens Trail Update
Staff to start working with consultant on project environmental approvals.
E. Hakone Gardens to Quarry Park Trail Gap Closure – Phase I Update
Staff to reach out to property owner’s representative for status update
F. Pierce Road Trail Update
Masson Estates subdivision to submit draft of new trail soon, likely before next meeting.
G. Upcoming CIP Projects
None.
8. Old Business
None.
9. New Business
A. Rice Court Pedestrian Easement
Staff received a request to either vacate or take over maintenance of existing pathway
within the pedestrian easement along the southern boundary of 20695 Rice Ct. The
easement in question starts at the edge of Rice Ct and terminates at an existing 50-foot
right-of-way which completes the connection to Surrey Lane.
Recorded Easement (June 1992)
Pedestrian Connection
Recommended Action:
Review request and make a recommendation.
WALTONSMITH/LI MOTIONED TO BRING THIS ITEM BACK TO THE NEXT MEETING AFTER
STAFF HAS HAD A CHANCE TO WORK WITH THE RESIDENT ON DESIGNING THEIR
DESIRED DRIVEWAYS WHILE THE CITY RETAINS THE PEDESTRIAN EASEMENT. MOTION
PASSED (4-0-0-2). AYES: STALLMAN, BROMLEY, LI, WALTONSMITH. NOES: NONE.
ABSTAIN: NONE. ABSENT: MILLER, SWAN.
10. Member Reports (information only, no actions to be taken)
Bromley: walked Rice Trail, noted it’s in great condition.
Stallman: map of fire roads would be nice to have.
11. Action Items Summary
12. Adjournment – 5:18 PM
Respectfully Submitted by
Emma Burkhalter, Public Works staff for the City of Saratoga
From:noreply@civicplus.com
To:Emma Burkhalter; Britt Avrit; Leslie Arroyo
Subject:Online Form Submittal: PEBTAC (Trails Advisory Committee) Comments Form
Date:Friday, April 11, 2025 6:17:01 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments
or clicking links, especially from unknown senders.
PEBTAC (Trails Advisory Committee) Comments Form
Your Name Tom Howell
Phone Number
Email Address
Comments Regarding the Rice Court to Surry trail, the January 21 minutes
contains a report from committee member Bromley: "walked Rice
Trail, noted it’s in great condition". I have used this very narrow
trail occasionally for over 20 years. There has been no noticeable
maintenance during that time. The trail surface has eroded to the
point where tree roots are exposed 6 inches above the dirt
surface, creating a tripping hazard for pedestrians and a severe
hazard for bicycles which now have to be walked. The worst
section is the middle 1/3 of the trail. Please consider this a
request for some long overdue maintenance.
Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.
Concerned Residents of Mt. Eden Estates
Mt. Eden Estates Homeowners
Villa Oaks Lane & Deer Trail Court
Saratoga, CA 95070
Date: April 15, 2025
To:
City of Saratoga PEBTAC Committee
13777 Fruitvale Avenue
Saratoga, CA 95070
Re: Serious Public Safety and Fire Risk Concerns Regarding Disputed Section of Villa
Oaks Trail
Dear Members of the PEBTAC Committee,
We, the undersigned residents of Mt. Eden Estates—specifically those living on Villa Oaks Lane
and Deer Trail Court—are writing to formally express our growing concern regarding the
disputed section at the dead-end gate of the Villa Oaks Trail, particularly the segment that
extends toward Via Regina. We feel this unused and problematic trail segment should be
abandoned in the interest of public safety.
This letter reflects the collective voice of our neighborhood, where we have observed
increasingly problematic issues surrounding the trail’s use, its safety implications, and its
deteriorated physical condition. We respectfully urge the City of Saratoga to reconsider the
viability and security implications of maintaining public access to this section of the trail, and to
assess its future use with public safety, fire prevention, and city maintenance constraints in mind.
1. Public Safety and Security Risks
Our neighborhood has, unfortunately, become a regular target for criminal activity, including:
● Over eight documented incidents of robberies, ranging from theft of mail and parcels to
full-scale home invasions.
● Reports of coordinated and organized criminal activity, using the trail as an access or
escape route due to its lack of visibility and enforcement.
The Villa Oaks Trail—particularly the disputed section—has effectively become a corridor for
individuals not from the neighborhood to loiter, engage in illicit activity, and evade detection.
Neighbors routinely clean up:
● Marijuana cigarette butts
● Beer bottles and cans
● Drug paraphernalia
The trail's proximity to our homes, combined with the lack of formal oversight or trail patrol,
makes it a liability rather than a recreational asset. Importantly, the Via Regina entrance is not
an officially recognized trailhead, and yet it continues to be used unlawfully as an entry point.
This access exacerbates concerns that criminal actors are leveraging the trail as a means of
ingress and egress when avoiding detection by police and community surveillance. We believe
this poses a clear and ongoing threat to the families and children in our community.
2. Fire Risk Due to Neglected Trail Maintenance
The trail’s maintenance obligation falls on the City, yet this responsibility has gone unfulfilled
for years. As it stands today, the trail:
● Has layers of dry leaves and brush several inches thick
● Contains overgrown, dead, and downed trees
● Shows no signs of active management or clearance
This is particularly alarming given the region’s susceptibility to wildfire, and the fact that our
subdivision borders rural hillside terrain. In its current state, the trail represents an unacceptable
fire hazard, especially during the dry season. The risk is not hypothetical—it is real, and one
spark could devastate not only Mt. Eden Estates but surrounding areas as well.
We also understand that the City currently does not have an allocated budget for restoring or
maintaining this trail section, which only further highlights the unsustainable nature of keeping it
open to the public.
Our Request
We respectfully request that the PEBTAC Committee take one of the following immediate
actions:
1. Permanently close the disputed section of the Villa Oaks Trail so it no longer poses a
security vulnerability or wildfire hazard to our neighborhood;
We thank you for your time and service to our community and look forward to engaging further
in the interest of safety and responsible stewardship.
Sincerely,
On behalf of concerned residents of Mt. Eden Estates
Concerned Mt Eden Estates Residents in Support of
Trail Closure
“We neighbors only use the trail near 21789 Villa Oaks
Lane. In the interest of the safety and security of our
neighborhood, we ask PEBTAC to uphold John
Cherbonne’s original decision to abandon the segment of
the Villa Oaks trail, near the quarry rd fire access/dead
end.”
1) Bo Yuan and Hanxiao Zhang (
2) Sonny Yeoh and Alison Bao (
3) Hongmei and Yilang Sun (
4) Rachana and Amit Jain (
5) Saeid and Atousa Ghafouri (
6) Pulkit and Arpita Khandelwal (
After purchasing my home at , based on my own observations and with
additional feedback from nearby residents who live on Villa Oaks Lane and Deer Trail Court, I
was able to verify that this was indeed an disconnected, unused and abandoned trail segment.
What became clear and apparent to me and our neighborhood, was that this short, unused and
disconnected trail segment was attracting transients, loiterers, and criminal activity, particularly
after dark. These safety concerns were raised with John Cherbonne of Saratoga Public Works,
and we agreed that closure would be a reasonable and necessary step to address the risks.
The following is the sequence of events:
On December 6, 2024, the City’s contractor installed a fence and signage reading “TRAIL
CLOSED” at the Villa Oaks Lane entrance, formally restricting access.
Figure 1: Installation of Trail Closed Fence DEC2024 by contactor employed by City of Saratoga
After the City’s closure of the trail, a few individuals from Via Regina continued accessing it
through an illegal and non-compliant entrance. This route crosses through two private
parcels—first through a large, unimproved lot containing an abandoned barn(Land of Faggins
APN 503-069-039), and then across my property, before reaching the trail easement.
Figure 2: Illegal entrance/entry to trail
This arrangement not only violates the terms of the trail easement, which requires all entrances to
be public and non-exclusive, but also raises significant safety and liability concerns. The fact that
this access point passes through an unoccupied, poorly maintained structure—which itself has
become a concern for criminal activity—only exacerbates the potential for theft, loitering, and
unsafe encounters.
On December 31, 2024, around midnight, individuals from Via Regina access used this path to
enter my property, brought power tools and a truck parked on Quarry Road, and proceeded to
dismantle and remove the City-installed fence. This act of trespass and destruction of public
property was conducted without any prior communication, and under the mistaken belief that I
had installed the fence independently. At no point was due process followed. To our knowledge
John Cherbonne was not contacted by any of these individuals before they decided to illegally
remove the fence and take the law into their own hands.
Figure 3: Trail closed fence illegally removed by Via Regina individuals
To further complicate matters, I understand these same individuals later attended the January
2025 PEBTAC meeting to raise concerns about the trail closure, without acknowledging their
own illegal access route or the damage to City property. Not being aware of this meeting I was
unable to bring up my concerns or address the city fence having been taken down in the middle
of the night by individuals trespassing by coming onto my private property without my
permission and destroying city property.
I formally request that the City of Saratoga PEBTAC uphold John Cherbonne’s decision to
permanently close and abandon the disputed section of the Villa Oaks Trail, specifically the
portion beginning on Villa Oaks near the fire access gate that terminates at the boundaries of
21842 Via Regina and the neighboring abandoned barn (Land of Faggins APN 503-069-039)
Personal and Community Impact
When I purchased my home at in June 2024, it was with the intent of
creating a peaceful, multigenerational household. My 6-year-old son was to live here in the street
and neighborhood that I had grown up in, with support from both myself and his grandparents
who reside across the street. Having lived in the neighborhood for many years, when we go for
walks on the trail next to 21789 Villa Oaks or on the street, we enjoy meeting our neighbors. We
are a very close knit community that values our safety and privacy while respecting the private
property of others.
However, following the trail-related incidents—particularly the nighttime trespassing and
property damage during the removal of the trail closed fence—my son’s mother and his
grandmother have decided not to move into the home, citing concerns for their personal safety
when I am not at home and at work, until this issue is resolved.
The actions surrounding this trail have unfortunately not only created an unnecessarily alarming
situation —they have caused deep emotional distress and derailed my family’s plans. I would
like to ensure that my family is able to move in to our dream home without fear and concerns of
trespassers. What is extremely troublesome is that these individuals have taken matters into their
own hands by destroying and dismantling city property, while also trespassing onto my private
property late at night. This is against the law.
Broader Neighborhood Concerns
I am not alone in this experience. Many of my neighbors in Mt. Eden Estates have voiced similar
concerns and support the permanent closure of this trail segment. I have attached a letter of
support from our neighborhood group that lives on Villa Oaks Lane.
Additional concerns include:
● Unmaintained trail conditions: The path is overgrown with dry brush and debris,
posing a serious wildfire risk. [PLEASE SEE PHOTOS IN ATTACHMENTS
SECTION]
● No maintenance plan or budget: The City has confirmed that it lacks the financial
resources to properly maintain this segment. There is also no maintenance or fire
prevention schedule in place. Being in a Very High Fire Risk Hazard zone, this oversight
by the city could cost lives.
● Disconnected and underused: This trail section is short, ends in a dead-end, and does
not contribute meaningfully to the City’s broader trail network. This area is also rampant
with illegal smoking and drinking
Figure 4: Alcohol container found 14APR (I clean the trail weekly)
Figure 5: Gatorade bottle with alcohol mixed inside found 14APR (I clean the trail weekly)
Figure 6: Cigarette and Marijuana butts found 14APR (I clean the trail weekly)
● Non-compliant access & illegal use: Access from Via Regina involves trespassing
across private land, including a lot with an abandoned barn, increasing security
concerns and violating the easement’s terms. Another concern of mine is individuals
break other rules like allowing their dogs on the trail with no leash. This is a direct
violation of Saratoga’s civil code around leash laws. Having large dogs unleashed in my
lot is a legitimate safety concern for my pet cats and young son while they play outside.
Figure 7: Dog not on leash, takes trail users 15 seconds to catch up to dog location
Request for Action
In light of these facts, I respectfully ask the PEBTAC Committee and the City of Saratoga to:
Attachments
Illegal entrypoint from Via Regina
Maintenance Issues (Wildfire prevention/regular maintenance)
Illegal smoking and drinking occurring
Trail Users Violating Trail Rules