By Clarence Cromwell
The approval process for the Nelson Gardens property lurched back into motion last week.
The Saratoga Planning Commission passed recommendations to the City Council Jan. 24 to let Trinity Development Co. build houses on its 5.1-acre parcel along Saratoga Hills Road.
In three separate votes--one to make a general plan change, one to pass a zoning amendment and one to accept Trinity's tentative subdivision map--the commission repeated a 5-1-1 pattern. Alfred Abshire cast the three "no" votes. Mark Pierce, in his first actions as a commissioner, abstained three times, saying he was too unfamiliar with the issue to cast a vote.
Approval for the project was delayed Jan. 10, when the commission, with three members absent, couldn't muster the four-person supermajority needed to approve the general plan amendment.
Most items can be decided by a simple majority of members present, as long as those voting represent a quorum of the commission. But the general plan amendment requires four of the commission's seven votes, even if some members are absent.
Alfred Abshire said he opposed the development because he doesn't think the city should release the land from a land preservation contract signed by former owner Frank Nelson in 1971. "If the city supports its recently-adopted open-space element, I don't see an urgent need for homes in Saratoga," Abshire said before voting.
The land preservation contract was canceled in November 1994 and then reinstated on Dec. 20, 1995, to settle a lawsuit filed against the city by Friends of Nelson Gardens, who don't want the land developed.
The houses cannot be built during the next four years unless the contract is canceled. Otherwise, the landowner, Community Foundation of Santa Clara County, will have to wait until the contract expires in the year 2000 to build nine houses on the land.
Although Abshire cited the contract when casting his vote, the commission's recommendation didn't apply to that decision. The City Council will decide whether to cancel out the contract when it makes the final decisions on the three items the commission recommended.
Friends of Nelson Gardens President Ann Waltonsmith said she'll present evidence to the council that she hopes will convince them to sustain the no-build contract.
The City Council is expected to hear the issue Feb. 7. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Saratoga Civic Theater, 13777 Fruitvale Ave.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, January 31, 1996.
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