By Clarence Cromwell
A development agreement between the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the city of Saratoga may exempt the planned expansion of the Odd Fellows Home off Fruitvale Avenue from the effects of Measure G.
The contract also will force the retirement home to stick to the plan eventually approved by the city and give preference to Saratoga residents once the facility is built.
The Saratoga Planning Commission, in a unanimous Feb. 14 vote, recommended the contract, a general plan text amendment, a use permit and a design review for City Council acceptance.
The contract that Odd Fellows attorney Linda Callon submitted is based on a contract between the city and the developer of the Greenbriar subdivision on Saratoga Avenue. At the Feb. 14 meeting, the planning commissioners added a few of their own provisions to the contract before approving it.
Callon said that although the contract's intent is to give the Odd Fellows time to develop, she hopes it will protect the project from Measure G.
If approved by voters March 26, Measure G could require voter approval of developments proposed after November 2, 1995, if they increase building density or intensity of land use.
That would include the Odd Fellows' expansion.
In addition to remodeling their existing main building and constructing a new skilled-nursing facility, the Odd Fellows want to build 19 duplex cottages and two apartment buildings on their Fruitvale Avenue campus.
But a paragraph of the contract exempts the property from any future building moratorium, or from a vote of the public, regardless of future laws. Under the contract, the city won't have to pay legal fees if initiative backers challenge that passage in court. Another paragraph states that the Odd Fellows will pay court costs if a third party sues the city.
Odd Fellows neighbor Dom Richiuso criticized the anti-initiative provision during a public comments session.
"The people have the right to vote on an initiative," Richiuso said. "It's a separate issue, and it has nothing to do with the agreement."
"We aren't embarrassed about the fact that we're trying to protect our approvals," Callon later responded.
The Odd Fellows can take 10 years to construct their project under the contract, and they don't have to build everything at once. At a previous meeting, commissioners had asked that the project's two phases be combined into a single, five-year project. The commission wanted to prevent the Odd Fellows from revising their plans for the 10.6-acre parcel. Neighbors said they don't want additional cottages or a different, higher-density project proposed there later.
The first phase involves renovation of the existing 84-year-old main building and constructing a new skilled-nursing facility. The new apartments and cottages comprise the second phase.
Callon told the commission on Jan. 24 that her client won't have enough capital to combine the phases. She then asked for the development agreement, saying the Odd Fellows want rights to develop the property as long as 10 years from now. Without an agreement, city approval would expire in two years.
Instead of combining the phases, the commission recommended an addition to the contract requiring construction of 11 cottages on the 10.6-acre, southern portion of the property before building permits can be issued for the rest of the second-phase expansion.
"They do Phase One, as proposed, plus the cottages, before they can do anything else," Commissioner Dick Siegfried said.
The commission also added to the contract a provision requiring the retirement home to give preference to Saratogans. The Odd Fellows already give current residents first choice on any available room, holding it up to 60 days for them. The commission recommended giving Saratogans second choice and holding a room up to 30 days.
The Odd Fellows will have to notify local senior citizens, via newspaper ads and by contacting local senior groups, about open rooms one week before releasing the information elsewhere.
Other provisions of the development agreement include a requirement to plant landscaping at the property's perimeter near Crisp Avenue, to dedicate open space at the western boundary of the project and to improve the drainage in the neighborhood. A spring in the area floods some neighbors' yards.
The Planning Commission left the issue of a needed fire engine for the City Council to decide. Both the Odd Fellows and the Saratoga Fire District agree that a new ladder truck is needed to protect a proposed three-story apartment building from potential fires. The fire district wants the Odd Fellows to pay the estimated $300,000 for the engine.
George Means, president of the Odd Fellows board of directors, said the organization shouldn't have to pay the entire bill.
The City Council is scheduled to consider the planning commission recommendations on Feb. 21.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, February 21, 1996.
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