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Home My WebLink AboutBIG BASIN WAY 14501-14503N A N' ME W 04 � /� °�a�OO C�L� July 13, 1988 13777 FRUITVALE AVENUE • SARATOGA. CALIFORNIA 95070 (408) 867 -3438 Mr. and Mrs. Joseph C. Brozda 25 N. 14th Street San Jose, CA 95112 Dear Mr. and Mrs. Brozda: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Karen Anderson Martha Clevenger Joyce Hlava David Moyles Donald Peterson The Saratoga Heritage Preservation Commission has recently completed a comprehensive Inventory of historic resources in our community. We are pleased to notify you that your commercial buildings at 14501 -14503 Big Basin Way and 20640 Third Street meets the criteria for being included on this list. The purpose of the Heritage Resource Inventory is to establish a list of documented historic properties in Saratoga. The Heritage Preservation Commission was assigned the responsibility for preparing the Inventory by the City Council in 1982. Each property on the list has been identified as reflecting and being a part of the unique history of Saratoga. The Inventory has been prepared in accordance with guidelines established by the State Office of Historic Preservation, with data gathered from a variety of sources, including historic documents and books, interviews with local citizens, and existing county and state inventories that contain information on Saratoga properties. Being listed on the Inventory does not carry any form of special requirements or restrictions' affecting the use, improvement, alteration or even the demolition of your property. As an Inventory property, however, you will be able to make use of the State Historic Building Code, an alternative set of building regulations that are intended to facilitate the rehabilitation and preservation of historic buildings. In addition, your property may qualify for designation as a Saratoga Heritage Landmark, a special category of outstanding and exemplary historic properties that are identified in the community by a handsome bronze plaque. We have enclosed the entire Inventory list and the individual Inventory form for your property, which gives information about the building, the property and its history. We would appreciate your review of this form to let us know if there are any changes or additions to the form you wish to include. We also anticipate that there are additional historic resources in the community that we may have overlooked or have not fully documented yet; if you know of any that are not on the list, please let us know. If you have any questions, please direct them to the Commission through Valerie Young,. our staff person at City Hall (867- 3438). One of the Commissioners will be happy to meet with you to discuss the Inventory and answer any questions you may have. Sincerely, Members of the Heritage Preservation Commission Elizabeth Ansnes Roy Cameron Norm Koepernik Shar andsness Ba � Z Voester r It Warren Heid, Chairman HISTORIC RESOURCES INVENTORY ( #6 ) IDENTIFICATION 1. Common name: None 2. Historic name: Cloud -Smith Building 3. Street or rural address: 14501 - 14503 Big Basin Way City: Saratoga Zip: 95070 County: Santa Clara 4. Parcel number: 503 -24 -041 5. Present Owner: Joseph C. & Helen Brozda Address: 25 No. 14th St. City: San Jose Zip: 95112 Ownership is: Public: Private: X 6. Present Use: Commercial Original Use: Commercial /residential DESCRIPTION 7a. Architectural style: Decorative Pioneer, Neoclassical 7b. Briefly describe the present physical appearance of the site or structure and describe any major alterations from its original condition: These two connected buildings are of different styles because of their various uses and dates of construction. The southern half, built in 1884, is two stories and typifies early Victorian architecture with its wide ship lap siding, double hung windows, wrap around front porch with decorative columns, rails, balustrades, and brackets. The hip roof of this half has gabled dormers with an overhang, and a decorative fan design set within. The other half of the building, built in 1896 and known as 14501 Big Basin Way, has a front facade with plain boxed cornices and eaves extending only around the corner. The soffits are trimmed with typical crown molding. There are herringbone patterned panels below the double hung windows, which are likely to be original to the building. The stone for the walls was quarried in the hills above Saratoga and tied with hand - wrought steel tie rods and plates. 8. Construction date: Estimated: Factual: 1884, 1896 9. Architect: Unknown (photograph here) 10. Builder: John Hutchinson 11. Approx. prop. size Frontage: 100' Depth: 150' approx. acreage: 12. Date(s) of enclosed photograph(s): 1988 �IGC,l�' " �� 13. Condition: Excellent: X Good: Fair: Deteriorated: No longer in existence: 14. Alterations: 15. Surroundings: (Check more than one if necessary) Open land: Scattered buildings: Densely built -up: X Residential: Industrial: Commercial: X Other: 16. Threats to site: None known: X Private development: Zoning: Vandalism: Public Works project: Other: 17. Is the structure: On its original site? X Moved? Unknown? 18. Related features: SIGNIFICANCE 19. Briefly state historical and /or architectural importance (include dates, events, and persons associated with the site). The "store" part of this building was built by John Hutchinson in 1884. Hutchinson operated a general store at the lower level. The upstairs was used as a social hall and meeting place. Sam Cloud came to Saratoga in 1893 for his health, and bought the store. In 1895, the year in which his wife and daughter, Laura, arrived, Sam Cloud added 15 feet to the rear of the building and a residence to the second floor. Laura Cloud later married Tom Smith, who managed the store after Mr. Cloud died in 1907; Mr. Cloud was the first street car fatality in Saratoga, dying in front of his store after being hit by one of the streetcars. Tom Smith eventually became owner of the store, at which time it became known as the Smith Store. 20. Main theme of the historic resource: (If more than one is checked, number in order of importance.) Architecture: 2 Arts /Leisure: Economic /Industrial: 1 Exploration /Settlement: Government: Military: Religion: Social /Ed.: 21. Sources (List books, documents, surveys, personal interviews and their dates). F. Cunningham, Saratoga's First Hundred Years, 1967; Santa Clara County Heritage Resource Inventory, 1975; Butler, Valley of Santa Clara, 1975. 22. Date form prepared: 4/88 By (name): SHPC Organization: City of Saratoga Address: 13777 Fruitvale Ave. City: Saratoga Zip: 95070 Phone: 867 -3438 Locational sketch map (draw and label site and surrounding streets, roads, and prominent landmarks): NORTH a a1�, 4 r� I , 0 Mil . xm-.rl.t Mr: .Tr, t'- Cn OP ) T I N IS M.-rm PLAN F17 P'ROPO�ep SITE P1_AN 'a f' ,, ,. .. r. I .�,,: +, r,• irlRr�' I,,, viTlM;. rylk�� "n/jt,�llrlT.4�a(�lpninr�rnil �I�1n+.};• r +, ro,;fe� o, r. tn!' nrtk�r7t?^ x�nosy` Iy�ah!' t�' fA! �! �° �pp�''' 4?! ca, �, �+ an. n, �r. �+` 7� *�ttr..rr1�w��a-:.•M��,•.:l•:� .. rA^�' �NCST • _� =VAT"01ys �OIJT H w w.ra..ao� uw.a,•o . NORTH MGN OmM1 MYf.mN I j T } 0 t 0 F �• J 0 a • a �er.,Y.�.�w. wa. �� ■ C J 4 z �]S•�tiG ^ti tiT 9..[r Q V ' NlW TIaJt �YIT Cj V ToLL aoT. 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"— t ♦� naeT rLSmr., a� sxl,Tlwe� w.,on 1 p � � o.,a �'• , .,., G+. n� rINT rtaca. 1 0 C F Y • Te Bd4.ue�T I'rl u. rtiona ,vG i w na� .r TMs. wua. wwe ■ a d M �I LE6CND $CCONO •-LOOf. � C'_� w.LL� a MMOV.p FlIE NO ZO- W P L O A P, PLANE . =Z3 ■., wru. . ■M., q OF ♦� .® .I History catches, up with par king proposal . :Continued from page 7 mer Drive, west of the intersec- commission haschanged tion tion at Arroyo de Arguello;, its 'membership - substantially •Joseph Montgomerys re- . , since it approved the '1984 pro- since guest to consider revising an ex- Four of the: six members istuig use permit -for Toyon ..have joined, the commission Lodge at 14950 Vickery Ave. to -. since: then._ conform with the revised zoning ordinance; Commission Chairman Pe- ' terson said-.the arking deck. . _ .. -Elizabeth Scriver's request =might _possibly, be -extended to for a use permit for an existing garden shed to maintain a three- s adjouungproperty - foot foot, rear -yard setback where 25 "In-other. actions; =the Saratoga feet is required at 13238 Paseo Planning :. Commission : appro- Presada; • 'The Prince of Peace Evan- ' Murray Dey's request for a . ;gelical_'Lutheran: Church's re- . tentative 23- lotsubdivision on•a . 27.85- -acre site located the ' quest to build a new 39=foot, two-- story sanctuary :without provid- .at southwest corner -of Sobey Road Ang addttional parking and a ten - and Chester Avenue; tative building site- for a 50 per- ` •: John DiManto's request for cent expansion of . the - existing - a modification of condition V -G church facilities aYt 12770 Sarato-'- -- relating to water:-requirements protection for five lots__. Al ti x +, s �z,_`� i I C s� ttr.:: •- f 4. i :t - k � � ,: �, ,�•� ` "� r j) 1 h 5. _ ,. - R ,. -> n. x"�..h_ . _. '�i.n..�.c<w �' � ,Q. ��?SB. .- - °-- -, - ._.£.a..,- %�.Wac r� a. _.G3:N'_� .' MR,'lt"' ,,.� ,, ,1-t' 3s a: �'�_ ..1, y k �,rs •�. • ,gSe •� #fetJ 'S. f 4 - tl ` 1 `f_ 4 -r4._t w, tk. .ii . .i1i�.x` Y:: �.�` -. Y a : S � �- S`•-' 4 u .,^ .. . a tee e, r . ,i > :,��.r -�zt ..+ z,,�'.. � (& -• , �' � � it 'r, In 1984, that intensification (the restaurant) was already there, so we're not talking-about any new t . f. t. • Paul and Geraldine De 9- ' Vos' request.to have an existing .3 eight- foot wall to be :located within the side -yard setback-11.5. . feet from: the property line at 14681 Farwell Ave. The planning Commis g in ensi ica ion. sion's decisions may be appeal= Dr. Joseph Brozda a within io calendar Saratoga days Council. Landowner The planning Commission also welcomed new Planning Di -_ ..quest to exceed the permitted of impervious coverage at 19800 rector, 'Yuchuek Hsia of Scotts maximum'of.15,000 square feet Glen Una Drive.. Valley. Planners re'ect ark =n p g ro . osa l o r B g11-B as i n f By Valerie Saiag Background history was the key-to Dr. Joseph Brozda's re- quest- at the Planning Commis - sion.'s meeting last Wednesday night: - The commissioners were faced with a'-half-inch thick re- port about a parking deck propo- sal which. has been discussed since early 1981. ` Chairman Don Peterson said he would like to see at least six more.spaces and that he was up- set _with :the. way the, whole proj- ecthad'beenhandled: Commissioner:` David Pines wanted to see a schedule for the project,before:making any deci- sion, but there was only a rough draft and no definite plans. Brozda has.to have a parking proposal for' his land approved before the . restaurant owner leasing thewand ean-be granted a business license to operate> However, - William Carson, the restaurant owner, has been operating Bolla Mia on Big Ba- sin Way for one year and can continue business as long as the application for the parking deck is still pending. Brozda's application for a parking. deck was denied at Wednesday's meeting and, he said he will appeal to the City Council. Carson had to apply for a new Chairman ,Don - Peterson said he would like to see at least six More spaces..-. business license when he bought the restaurant, but he cannot be .given one until there are enough parking spaces. The :other busi- nesses on land don't have the same problem because ,they al- ready have licenses. Right now, the land is used for a restaurant with outdoor dining; two clothing stores; a gallery; hair salon; and printing shop. There are also 3,500 square feet. being advertised for lease. With the existing uses, staff estimates the parking needs to be 66 spaces, 29 of which would be for the restaurant alone. If the 3,500 square feet were leased, an. additional 16 park- ing spaces would be needed. Fourteen of the 66'spaces would be for employees. - There are currently .nine parking spaces on the site and they are substandard in length, some being also substandard in width. The denied proposal called for a parking deck which would allow 15. substandard spaces with no loading facilities and no handicapped parking where a minimum of one off - street load- ing space and one handicapped parking is required. More parking was needed when the Saratoga News moved from the site and retail and res- taurant uses replaced it in 1981. According to the staff report, many avenues were explored and a solution was not found un- til late 1983. At that time the property owners proposed to build a parking deck. which would provide 15 spaces, all sub- standard in size. All necessary approvals were granted for the parking deck in January 1984, but the deck has not yet been built or even start- ed. The approvals have since expired. Brozda felt the commission should approve his deck as it had in 1984 since all the findings had been made by the Planning Commission and the project has not changed since. He said, "In 1984, that inten- sification (the restaurant) was already there, so we`re not talk- ing about any new intensifica- tion. Please turn to page 11 4 Subdivision- ordinance, restaurant parking battled By Judith Pierce A proposed change to the subdivision ordinance allowing fewer home sites and the parking problems of Maddalena's Upstairs Downstairs restaurant were the two hottest topics discussed at last week's Planning Commission meeting. Developers who want to subdivide land in Saratoga may soon find they have to round down their calculations for the number of homes if the City Council agrees with the Planning Commission's recommendation to modify the subdivi- sion ordinance. Planning Commissioners Joyce Hlava and Kathy McGoldrick dissented on the amendment in a 3 -2 vote. Planning Commissioners Gregory Nellis and Richard Siegfried were absent. The maximum number of homes permitted in a subdivision is determined by dividing the land area of the parcel by the required minimum average land area per dwelling unit. For instance, if that calculation comes to 3.6 homes, then, under the current subdivision ordinance, that number is rounded up to the next whole number, that is, four homes. Under the proposed modification, the number of units allowed would be rounded down to three homes. - The amendment to round down will be consistent with the hillside zoning division districts. Several people spoke against the modification to round down. Civil engineer Bill Heiss, who has represented many project before the commission, estimated that 30 parcels would be af- fected. He argued that it will not afffect density or big subdivisions, but will make a big difference in two or three lot sub- divisions. All of the development costs would remain the same, he said, but putting fewer homes on the site would be economically unfeasible. He said he favored rounding to the nearest whole number. "If you have nine -tenths of a lot and you can't use that lot, it's a waste and almost gluttonous approach to land planning." James Foley, whose request for ap- proval of a three lot subdivision on Monte Vista Drive and Sobey Road was con- tinued to the commission's March 9 meeting, said, "Unfortunately, we are one of the 30 lots which would be ad- versely affected." He said that his land would yield 2.67 home sites or three houses under current ordinance. James Foley Sr. also spoke against the proposed amendment. He said the ordinance was amended to allow round- ing up a few years and continued, "There should be an extremely com- pelling reason for you to change it now." Shelley Williams represented the Saratoga Board of Realtors at the meeting. He said the board prefers rounding up, rather than either rounding down or rounding to the nearest whole number. Although most of the commission meeting focused on individual requests to build homes and second -story addi- tions, the parking problems of Mad - dalena's restaurant drew comments from several area residents. The Heritage Preservation Ordinance could apparently be used to protect historical buildings, and their current businesses, from the demands of the Planning Commission and city staff. Mardi Gualtieri Bennet, a former mayor of Los Gatos and author of the city of Saratoga's heritage preservation or- dinance, pointed out that Maddalena's restaurant on Big Basin Way, is the historic Smith House and falls under the protection of the ordinance. The restaurant and Bella Mia, the women's clothing boutique above, are required to provide at least nine parking spaces, plus an additional five spaces if outdoor dining continues. The owners were asking for a variance from the parking requirements. In August, the commission granted an extension of the variance for six months. Doug Adams, representing the building's owner, Joseph Brozda, said they have been trying to find parking and discussed several specific possibilities, including sharing the Bank of America's parking lot after banking hours and purchasing four parking spaces from the VanArsdales at a price of $80,000. Although several people spoke in support of the restaurant, staff recom- mended that the commission deny the variance and that the outdoor dining area be deleted. They also questioned how well the building conforms to fire and building codes. If the variance is denied and the owner cannot find the required parking spaces, the restaurant would have to close. Bennet said that under the hardship portion of the permit review section of the heritage preservation ordinance, an application for work upon or within a "designated historic resource" may be approved if the applicant presents evidence that denial of the application will be an "immediate and substantial hardship." Bennet said, "We believe it will cause hardship for the applicant if a variance is not granted." She also said that the Saratoga General Plan called for parking to be moved away from Big Basin Way. Although the ordinance refers to work upon or within a historic structure, Bennet said that the same language in the Los Gatos heritage preservation or- dinance had been used to grant a parking dispensation to that town's historic Toll House when it expanded and needed more parking. Beverly Bayson, who owned C.C. Cricket for Kids store in Los Gatos until she went out of business last year, also spoke in favor of the variance. She said that Maddalena's is one of the few restaurants open Sundays and Mondays during the day in the Village. "Part of the problem with my busi- ness was that a lot of the restaurants in Los Gatos were closed Sunday and Mon- day. I'm a patron of Maddalena's. This is an enhancement to all other businesses and we need that." She went on to say that in today's economy, shopkeepers need to help each other to make a living. Hlava said, "Can we really make it so unique that they don't have to follow the rules every other .business has to follow ?" She said that Maddalena's owners originally proposed a boutique in the building, which would require much less parking than a restaurant. Planning Commissioner Ed Bolger favored giving Maddalena's another year to find adequate parking while Planning Commission Chair Louise Schaefer proposed that the owners pay "in -lieu" fees for nine parking spaces, and then, when Parking Assessment District number three goes into operation, they would be required to join the district. The variance request was continued to April 13. Planning Commissioner Russell Crowther abstained on a request for design review and site modification ap- proval to build a two-story home and pool in the Parker Ranch subdivision. The site was formerly two home lots, which were combined to form one lot according to the negotiated settlement between Blackwell Homes and the city. Crowther addressed the commission as a private citizen. He said "The set- tlement reached between the developer and the city is not constitutional." He added that he did not think combining the lots was legal either. Crowther has filed lawsuits against the city in connection with the Parker Ranch subdivision. The request by David Myers was approved 4-0. �n co W