The Garrod and Cooper families win approval for added houses

The city follows the spirit of the law in its decision

County's the next hurdle

By Oakley Brooks

The Garrods and Coopers, family farmers in the area since the 1890s, got the nod from Saratoga on a plan to add homes to their Mount Eden Road estate.

The planning commission recently reached a unanimous consensus that the family should be allowed to add three small homes along Mount Eden Road to accommodate new workers from within their clan.

The Garrod-Coopers, whose property actually lies on Santa Clara County land directly adjacent to the city, will now take their proposal before the county planning board.

But the decision in Saratoga marks a small victory for the family, and it drew some relieved smiles from members when it was handed down Jan. 9.

"We're happy they like us," said Vince Garrod, one of the family's elders.

Since October, the city and family members have discussed whether the proposal--subject to Saratoga's review because of its proximity to the city--was in violation of Saratoga's plan to keep its surrounding hillsides free of high-density development.

A 1980 amendment to the city's General Plan, the document that guides growth decisions, recommended that hillsides northwest of the Village maintain a density of one house for every 20 to 160 acres. The Garrod-Cooper's proposal would place three houses next to two existing ones for a total of five on 11 acres.

But a 1991 amendment to the General Plan urged city officials to promote open space by protecting agriculture, and specifically family farms--even if that meant allowing additional houses for those working the farm.

The conflicting elements led city planners to initially state in October that the 1980 low-density element had precedent. But they later backed off that recommendation and for the Jan. 9 commission meeting, commissioners had several options, including an outright approval of the Garrod-Cooper project based on a broad reading of the General Plan.

In a Jan. 2 memo directed to the planning commission, City Attorney Richard Taylor said the board could legally make a broad reading of the General Plan and not get hung up on individual elements--such as the low-density section.

That was music to the ears of the family's lawyer, Peggy O'Laughlin, who had said throughout discussions with the city that its General Plan advocated strongly for open space. By clustering housing and providing for workers to continue horse ranching and vineyard operations, O'Laughlin said the family would keep land open in the spirit of the city.

On Jan. 9, planning commissioners sided heavily with the Garrods and Coopers, saying their contributions to the community over the last century through youth programs and agriculture were invaluable.

"This is a way of repaying them for all that service," said Commissioner Jill Hunter.

Chairwoman Cynthia Barry echoed Hunter's sentiments, saying her son had enjoyed participating on the farm's horse-vaulting team.

But Barry and others wondered about a day when the Garrod-Coopers might have to sell a portion of their land to developers, and some discussion Jan. 9 centered on measures to guard against widespread development on the family's land.

One proposal from Community Development Director Tom Sullivan would have the city annex the land should the Garrod-Coopers break their current tax agreement with the state, which binds their land to agriculture. The annexation would allow the city to attach strict conditions to any development on the old farmland. (Now it can only make recommendations to the county on the Garrod-Cooper land.)

O'Laughlin said she wasn't entirely sure of the need for an annexation agreement, since the city already had some right to review land use at the Garrod-Cooper plot.

It's uncertain whether some binding agreement will be part of Saratoga's final stamp of approval, expected during a procedural vote in the coming weeks.

But the Garrods and Coopers will proceed before the county board. There they have to cross another hurdle: county planning staff believes the new houses--slated to be between 2,500 and 3,000 square feet--are too big. The county is recommending homes in the 800-square-foot range.

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