HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-06-2025 City Council Special Meeting Agenda Packet, amended 05-15-2025Saratoga City Council Special Meeting Agenda – May 6, 2025 - Page 1 of 1
SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL MEETING
MAY 6, 2025
AMENDED AGENDA
• 05/15/2025 WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS ADDED
5:00 P.M. SITE VISIT
13336 Old Oak Way (House Family Vineyards)
During the site visit, the City Council will convene at the upper parking lot of the House Family
Vineyards property (13340 Old Oak Way) before proceeding to the proposed wine tasting area, location
of the proposed wine cave, open space easement area, and location of both the fire access road and
secondary emergency access road.
AGENDA ITEM:
Application PCUP18-003/ARB19-0019/GEO19-0023/ENV20-001; Old Oak Way (APNs 503-15-075, 503-
15-078, 503-15-081, 503-15-082, and 503-15-083) House Family Vineyards
Supplemental Memo - Written Communications (added 05-15-2025)
Site visits are conducted for properties that are new items on the City Council Agenda and are held preceding a
Public Hearing. It is encouraged that the applicant and/or owner be present to answer any questions that may
arise. Any presentations and testimony you may wish to give should be saved for the Public Hearing.
During the Site Visit, the City Council may only discuss items related to the project. The agenda does not allow
any formal votes or motions on the proposed project or other matters. The Site Visit is an informational meeting
where the Council may ask questions from or hear statements from members of the public attending the Visit.
No comments made during the Site Visit by the Council are binding or required to be carried through to the
formal public hearing where actions will be taken on the proposed project.
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 May 2, 2025 at the City of Saratoga, 13777 Fruitvale Avenue,
Saratoga, California and on the City's website at www.saratoga.ca.us.
Signed this 2nd day of May 2025 at Saratoga, California.
Britt Avrit, MMC, 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: Members of the Saratoga City Council
From: Britt Avrit, City Clerk
Meeting Date: May 6, 2025
Subject: Written Communications
_______________________________________________________________________________
Following publication of the agenda packet for the May 6, 2025, Special City Council Meeting,
Written Communications were provided at the Site Visit. The communications are attached to this
memo.
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Exhibit A - Width:
Garrod Road: Reference Civil Plans page 6 Garrod Road has a minimum width of 18’. The majority of the road is 20’ in width. Tree pruning and
brush back for both sides of the road will be performed to create clear line of sight to mitigate areas of less than 20’.
Old Oak Way: Reference Civil Plans page 4 Old Oak Way has a minimum width of 25’. This width is compliant with section 1273.01 of CCR
Title 14.
New Connector Emergency Vehicle Access: Reference Civil Plans page 7
New Connector Emergency Vehicle Access: As shown on Sheet 7 (Exhibit B), the driving surface will be widened so that traffic lane is a minimum
of 14 feet wide. The road shall be widened to 20 feet at all possible areas. Sheet 7 illustrates the distance between 40’ turnouts along the proposed
connector road. The maximum distance between turnouts is less than 400 feet.
Signs indicating that downhill traffic shall yield to vehicles traveling uphill, as well as convex mirrors to assist in the line of sight and traffic flow for
emergency vehicles will be provided. Signs will comply with CVC 21661, "Whenever upon any grade the width of the roadway is insufficient to
permit the passing of vehicles approaching from opposite directions at the point of meeting, the driver of the vehicle descending the grade shall yield
the right-of-way to the vehicle ascending the grade and shall, if necessary, back his vehicle to a place in the highway where it is possible for the
vehicles to pass."
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Exhibit B - Slope:
Existing Roads: Garrod Rd Reference Civil Plans page 6 - Old Oak Way Reference Civil Plans page 4
Garrod Rd. and Old Oak Way have a maximum slope of 18% under 300' in length.
New Emergency Vehicle Access: Reference Civil Plans page 7 for specific slope information.
All sections over 15% slope will be paved.
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20% Paved
Section
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Exhibit C - Turning Radius: Garrod Rd Reference Civil Plans page 6 - Old Oak Way Reference Civil Plans page 4
Garrod Rd and Old Oak Way turning radii are compliant with section 1273.04 of CCR Title 14 therefore no mitigations are necessary.
New Emergency Vehicle Access: Reference Civil Plans page 7 and 8
As specified on Sheet 7, the turning radius for this road is designed to allow for 68’ of wall-to-wall clearance. A 20’ lane with a curb-to-curb
clearance of 55’ will be placed within safe loading area of the road surface to support vehicles weighing 75,000lbs. Sheet 8 shows Auto-Cad model
of vehicle turn.
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Exhibit D - Garrod Road Improvements: Executed as a Condition of Approval for CUP. Reference Civil Plans page 6
The beginning section (approximately 50’) will be repaved and widened. This repaving is committed to by the owners of Garrod Rd. and HFV. Due
to current new home construction, the repaving will be completed once the construction has been completed. The vegetation along the road will be
lifted to achieve a minimum of 13.5’ vertical clearance. The vegetation will also be lifted to create a clear line of sight on curves.
Long Term Improvements
HFV and the owners of Garrod road will explore the formation of an assessment district to facilitate the funding of ongoing r oad improvements in a
cost sharing agreement.
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7
Repave and
Widening
Section
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Exhibit E - Line of Sight: Reference Civil Plans page 7
Turnouts on the EVA will be set at intervals of 500’. Convex mirrors will be installed in areas where line of sight is limited due to road curves.
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Exhibit F - Loading: Reference Civil Plans page 7
• The load capacity for the EVA will handle a vehicle of 75,000 lbs. with a Caltrans safety rating of 1.25 for the 14’ driving lane.
• Red line to support 75K vehicle. Reference Sheet 7
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Outside edge will support
75K lbs. loading
Red Highlight
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Exhibit G - Road Maintenance
The connector road will be maintained by HFV and Garrods on a semi-annual basis. An inspection will occur in October to ensure that adequate time
is allowed for repairs ahead of the winter season. In April the road will be inspected to assess any winter damage and prepare the road for the summer
season. These repairs will be funded by HFV and Garrod respectively.
Gates and Access
The EVA is intended for emergency use only and not daily through traffic. The EVA will be gated at the connection of Garrod where it joins that
road. This gate will be a manual entry gate that will have a Knox Box style key for SCCFD access. Additionally, the gate will have a “daisy chain” of
locks for the local landowners and a combination style lock. The combination will be provided to the local residents who may need this road for
emergency use. There will be an additional breakaway style lock for additional access. The gate at the entrance to HFV will s erve as the other gate to
control access. This gate is currently equipped with a Knox style key access. A combination will be provided to the local residents who may need
entry for emergency use.
Garrod Gate Reference Civil Plans page 7 HFV Gate
Reference Civil Plans page 2
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Garrod Rd.
Gate
HFV Gate
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Nonconcurrent tastings/events
WHEREAS, on April 9, 2025, the Planning Commission conducted a duly-noticed public
hearing to take public comment on the Project and reviewed all pertinent maps,
documents, reports, and exhibits, the staff report and all attachments, and oral and written
public comments. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the Planning Commission
recommended that the City Council approve the Project, on the grounds that it meets the
project objectives and provides benefits, such as the Secondary Emergency Access Road.
The Planning Commission recommended two amendments for the City Council to
consider: (1) consider altering the Open Space Easement exchange to allow the vineyard to
remain within the easement area; and (2) consider modifying Mitigation Measure MM-TRA-
1:VMT Reduction as follows
Public and private tastings shall be prohibited from occurring concurrently with on
the same day as private events. Advance notification of upcoming events and
closure of the winery to tastings shall be provided to wine club members and the
general public by direct email, text message, social media, and/or website
notification.
House Family revenue comes from wine tastings and events.
Wine tastings are held on Thursday through Sunday. That restriction would
mean that events could only occur on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.
This was ostensively done to reduce traffic and air pollution.
This MM will defer the traffic, not eliminate it. Clients will still hold their
events or celebrations. On occasions they may move their events to a
Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. More often they will move their event to
another business, most often to another winery. Since Saratoga is the
gateway to many of the wineries in the Santa Cruz Mountains, that means
that they will drive through Saratoga to another venue. They may actually
travel further and create more traffic and air pollution.
This restriction fails to mitigate traffic.
We have always had this practice of not running concurrent events and
wine tastings, we simply do not have space or infrastructure to do this.
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From:Bryan Swanson
To:Britt Avrit
Cc:Cindy McCormick; Matt Morley
Subject:FW: Docs for Site Visit
Date:Wednesday, May 14, 2025 5:04:23 PM
Attachments:image001.png
MM-TRA-1 -VMT Reduction 5-6-25.pdf
EVAR Details 2025.pdf
OSE Maps 2025.pdf
image002.png
Hey, Britt
Just received from Jim Cargill regarding the information shared at the site visit. Please let
me know if you need anything else. Note, he also included information in the link below.
Thanks!
Bryan
Bryan T. Swanson
Community Development Director
City of Saratoga | Community Development Department
13777 Fruitvale Avenue | Saratoga, CA 95070
408.868.1231 | bswanson@saratoga.ca.us | www.saratoga.ca.us
From: jim@housefamilyvineyards.com <jim@housefamilyvineyards.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2025 4:25 PM
To: Bryan Swanson <bswanson@saratoga.ca.us>
Subject: Docs for Site Visit
CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when
opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders.
Bryan,
Here is the information used for the site visit. Let me know fi you need anything else. I
think this is everything. Page 3 of the scope of operations, had a brief description of
the stops. It was a pasted on the top of the scope of operation.
https://legistarweb-
production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/890436/Attachment_1-
_HFV_Scope_of_Operations.pdf
Project includes these components:
1. Tasting room and patio
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2. Open space easement swap
3. Underground wine storage cave
4. Secondary emergency access and fire access roads
5. Winery parking
Page 3 scope of operations.
Thanks,
Jim Cargill
800.975.7191
www.HouseFamilyVineyards.com
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