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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-20-2025 PEBTAC Agenda PacketCity Council Pedestrian, Equestrian & Bicycle Trails Advisory Committee Agenda October 20, 2025 Page 1 of 3 SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL PEDESTRIAN, EQUESTRIAN, & BICYCLE TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE OCTOBER 20, 2025 4:00 P.M. SPECIAL MEETING AMENDED AGENDA 10/22/2025 ITEM 1: COMMENTS ADDED. 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 October 20, 2025 Page 2 of 3 CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL REPORT ON POSTING OF THE AGENDA The agenda for this meeting was properly post on October 16, 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. South Villa Oaks Trail Segment – Realignment Request Staff received a request to allow for the realignment of the trail segment from the property owner. The proposed alignment has been staked in the field and will be field reviewed by the Committee prior to the meeting approval. Comments Recommended Action: Approve the new trail alignment. 2. PEBTAC Minutes Recommended Action: Review and approve the minutes for the July 15, 2025, Pedestrian, Equestrian & Bicycle Trails Advisory Committee Regular Meeting. 3. 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. 4. Member Reports City Council Pedestrian, Equestrian & Bicycle Trails Advisory Committee Agenda October 20, 2025 Page 3 of 3 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 October 16, 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 16th day of October 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] City Council Pedestrian, Equestrian & Bicycle Trails Advisory Committee Minutes July 15, 2025 Page 1 of 3 SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL PEDESTRIAN, EQUESTRIAN, & BICYCLE TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE DRAFT MINUTES JULY 15, 2025 CALL TO ORDER - 4:00 PM ROLL CALL PRESENT: Jim Stallman, Ping Li (left at 5:00 PM) Howard Miller, Marianne Swan, Ann Waltonsmith ABSENT: Jeri Bromley STAFF PRESENT: Emma Burkhalter REPORT ON POSTING OF THE AGENDA The agenda for this meeting was properly post on July 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. Paul Germeraad spoke. Trail items for staff to follow up on, including raised sections of pavement and overgrown sections on Highway 9 pathway between Fruitvale Ave and Three Oaks Way. Staff note: request submitted to Caltrans on July 22, 2025 for pathway repairs. AGENDA ITEMS 1. South Villa Oaks Trail Segment – Realignment Request Staff received a request to allow for the realignment of the trail segment from the property owner. The proposed alignment has been staked in the field and will be field reviewed by the Committee prior to the meeting approval. Recommended Action: Approve the new trail alignment. Schedule site visit to review proposed trail realignment. Committee agreed to reschedule the site visit to 3 pm on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, one hour before next regular meeting. 2. PEBTAC Minutes City Council Pedestrian, Equestrian & Bicycle Trails Advisory Committee Minutes July 15, 2025 Page 2 of 3 Recommended Action: Review and approve the minutes for the April 15, 2025, Pedestrian, Equestrian & Bicycle Trails Advisory Committee Regular Meeting. MILLER/SWAN MOTIONED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES. MOTION PASSED (5-0-0-1). AYES: STALLMAN, LI, MILLER, SWAN, WALTONSMITH. NOES: NONE. ABSTAIN: NONE. ABSENT: BROMLEY. 3. Staff Report A. Pending Trails Update – the Fruitvale Avenue pedestrian improvements in front of the Orchard just finished. B. Traffic Safety Update – New crosswalk at Woodmont and Cox, new RRFBs (flashing beacons) at west Harleigh/Allendale crosswalk. C. Blue Hills Elementary Pedestrian Crossing at Union Pacific Railroad Update – UPRR now requiring City to “buy” easement rights to each of the RR crossings in Saratoga where mitigations are required. Square footage price the RR proposes to charge the City is based on “over the fence” pricing models, which uses the price of adjacent properties (fully developed single-family lots) to determine the price-per- square-foot of the land the crossings are on. This creates a total new cost to the City of $1.5M. D. Saratoga Village to Hakone Gardens Trail Update – City working on Field Review/E-76 process with Caltrans. E. Hakone Gardens to Quarry Park Trail Gap Closure – Phase I Update – Waltonsmith to connect staff with representative from Hakone Gardens to assist with communications between City and owner of the property between Hakone Gardens and Quarry Park to secure connecting trail easement. F. Pierce Road Trail Update – City continuing to work with Masson Estates developer to complete trail design. Staff will present design at future PEBTAC meeting. G. Upcoming CIP Projects – Herriman Ave/Saratoga Ave signalization project funded. Recommended Action: No action required. 4. Member Reports Recommended Action: Information only, no action to be taken. Miller: would like to suggest adding public art to crosswalks in Saratoga to the Public Art Commission Stallman: unable to remove goathead/puncture vine in Saratoga, because it’s all gone! ADJOURNMENT – 5:11 PM Respectfully Submitted by City Council Pedestrian, Equestrian & Bicycle Trails Advisory Committee Minutes July 15, 2025 Page 3 of 3 Emma Burkhalter, Public Works staff for the City of Saratoga Nikil Balakrishnan on behalf of Concerned Residents of Mt. Eden Estates Villa Oaks Lane & Deer Trail Court Saratoga, CA 95070 Date: October 19, 2025 To: City of Saratoga PEBTAC Committee and Department of Public Works 13777 Fruitvale Avenue Saratoga, CA 95070 Re: Proposal to Relocate Southern Section of Villa Oaks Trail to Improve Safety, Privacy and Fire Protection Dear Members of the PEBTAC Committee and Public Works Team, Earlier this year, our neighborhood submitted a letter about the public-safety and fire-risk concerns tied to the southern portion of the Villa Oaks Trail. Since then, I’ve had the chance to speak directly with Director of Public Works John Cherbone and several residents from the surrounding area. Those conversations were productive and helped shape a proposal that keeps the trail open for public use, while addressing the practical issues that have worried neighbors for years. In short, we are asking the City to consider relocating the southern section of the Villa Oaks Trail slightly north and west, farther from the immediate edge of a residence, so that it remains a usable pedestrian and equestrian path but is safer, better maintained, and more respectful of nearby homes. Why this change makes sense 1. Safety and visibility. The new proposed trail entrance would start farther up Villa Oaks Lane, past the fire- access lane that’s already closed to traffic. This small shift would naturally reduce loitering and cut down on the transient activity we’ve seen near the gate area, without limiting legitimate use by walkers or riders. 2. Respecting privacy. As both Jim Cargill(Vice Chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission, Saratoga) and John Cherbone(Director of Public Works, Saratoga) have noted, this is the only trail in Saratoga that passes within just a few feet of a private home, at one point, roughly 3 feet from a kitchen window, The original easement predates construction of the home, and this relocation simply restores a normal buffer that should have existed from the start. 3. Reducing fire risk. The current trail section hasn’t been maintained for many years. It’s covered in dry debris and overgrowth that poses a clear wildfire hazard to our hillside community. Moving and re-establishing the trail provides the City an opportunity to clear that area properly and maintain it with better access. 4. Keeping access open. The new route would remain a public trail connecting Villa Oaks and Via Regina, fully usable by pedestrians and equestrians. We are not limiting access, we are improving it safely and responsibly. Partnership and next steps Mr. Cherbone mentioned that there may be limited funds available for clean-up of the existing trail. If PEBTAC can approve this request and provide clear trail design guidance, I’m personally willing to cover the cost of building the relocated section to those standards. In the past six months, I’ve taken it upon myself to enhance the wildfire safety of my property: clearing dead trees, branches, and other debris, not just for my own home, but for the wellbeing of our entire neighborhood. Several neighbors have shared their gratitude and excitement, noting that this is the first meaningful cleanup in over three decades. This is not meant to create extra burden on the City, but to show good faith and partnership. With your guidance, we can take what has become a maintenance and safety problem and turn it into a shared success story that reflects how Saratoga neighborhoods can work hand-in-hand with the City, PEBTAC and Public Works. Our request We respectfully ask that the PEBTAC Committee and Public Works Department: 1. Formally review the feasibility of relocating the southern section of the Villa Oaks Trail as proposed on the attached map. 2. Confirm basic design parameters and safety standards so that work can proceed to City specifications. 3. If feasible, authorize a joint effort where the City assists with vegetation clearance and oversight while we fund the relocation itself. I want to thank you sincerely for taking the time to listen to residents and look for practical solutions. We share the same goal, to maintain Saratoga’s open-space character while keeping our neighborhoods safe and livable. I’m confident this plan strikes that balance. Warm regards, Nikil Balakrishnan Concerned Mt Eden Estates Residents in Support of Trail Closure 1) Sonny Yeoh and Alison Bao () 2) Hongmei and Yilang Sun () 3) Rachana and Amit Jain () 4) Mohini and Balu Balakrishnan () 5) Nida and Sameer Shikalgar 6) Geetha Krishnamurthy & Surendra Babu Mandava 7) Pratap and Veena Subrahmanyam () 8) Kutty Banerjee and Neza Vidmar () 9) Jeff & Beth Kingsley () 10) Srilatha and Prabhakhar Raghavan () 11) Nikil and Ayaan Balakrishnan () 12) Bob and Cindy Watkins ) 13) Lori Schrank and John Juelsgaard ( 14) Michael Iannou () 15) Natalie Mauskopf () Nikil Balakrishnan Date: October 19, 2025 To: CoS PEBTAC Committee / CoS Public Works / Concerned Neighbors who live on Via Regina Re: Proposal to Relocate Southern Section of Villa Oaks Trail to Improve Safety, Privacy and Fire Protection Hi everyone, Before today’s onsite walkthrough and meeting, I wanted to share a short note to frame the discussion and give context alongside the Villa Oaks/Deer Trail/Vaquero letter attached. First, I want to apologize for how much confusion and tension built up earlier this year around the trail. I realize now after understanding the details, that better communication would have resolved this issue. My hope is now that we can reset the tone and work together towards a solution that feels more respectful to everyone who uses and lives alongside the trail. Since our PEBTAC meeting in April, I’ve tried to approach this from a much more collaborative place. I have since been working diligently with my gardener to enhance and clean up the overgrown poison oak, weeds and brush abutting the existing trail on my property. Several of my neighbors have stopped by to comment on how much safer it feels and better it looks since the work was done. Public works also enhanced this by clearing up the overgrown fire emergency access service road, between Quarry Road and Villa Oaks Lane. Since April, I’ve spent several weeks working with my surveyor and landscaper to see if there is a way to keep the trail open for Via Regina neighbors while still addressing the privacy and safety concerns that led to the original discussion. I also carved out a rough demonstration path on my property, not professionally and not to City standards, simply so everyone could walk/view it and visualize how the relocated alignment might look and feel for both pedestrians and equestrians. This new proposed routing solves several issues at once: 1. Safety and Visibility: The new proposed trail entrance would start farther up Villa Oaks Lane, past the fire-access lane that’s already closed to traffic. This small shift would naturally reduce loitering and cut down on the transient activity we’ve seen near the gate area, without limiting legitimate use by walkers or riders. 2. Respecting privacy. As both Jim Cargill(Vice Chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission, Saratoga) and John Cherbone(Director of Public Works, Saratoga) have noted, this is the only trail in Saratoga that passes within just a few feet of a private home, at one point, roughly 3 feet from a kitchen window, The original easement predates construction of the home, and this relocation simply restores a normal buffer that should have existed from the start. The City and PEBTAC have already worked with my two neighbors, Mohini Balakrishnan and Srilatha Raghavan, in 2009 and 2011, to re-route this same trail for privacy reasons. 3. Keeping access open. The new route would remain a public trail connecting Villa Oaks and Via Regina, fully usable by pedestrians and equestrians. We are not limiting access, we are improving it safely and responsibly. 4. More Pleasant Trail Experience. It creates a more pleasant, scenic trail experience through the lower wooded area of the lot, an area many neighbors have mentioned they would prefer to walk if accessible. Mr. Cherbone mentioned that there may be limited funds available for clean- up of the existing trail. If PEBTAC can approve this request and provide clear trail design guidance, I’m personally willing to cover the cost of building the relocated section to those standards. This is not meant to create extra burden on the City, but to show good faith and partnership. My hope for today’s meeting is simply that we can come together with a clean slate, walk the proposed alignment, and see whether this solution can become a genuine win-win: continued access for the neighborhood, improved safety and privacy, and a more thoughtfully placed trail that fits the character of the area long-term. Thank you for taking the time to meet and for giving this relocation proposal a fair and fresh look.