By Mark Kregel
The preliminary Environmental Impact Report on a proposed five-lot hillside subdivision on Chiquita Court raised many questions for the Saratoga Planning Commission.
"This is the most difficult EIR I have ever dealt with," Planning Commissioner Richard Siegfried said at a March12 meeting.
The proposal, submitted by the Dow/Civitaf Corp., describes plans to divide the parcel, on 26 acres near Pierce Road, into five residential lots.
About 15 acres would would be dedicated as open space.
The EIR, compiled by Parsons Engineering Science, an environmental consulting firm, said 101 trees would need to be removed in order to build on the parcel.
"The tree removal is one of the unavoidable significant impacts of the project," Parsons' consultant Nannie Turrell said.
Parsons' biologist Gary Halsey added that a tree canopy, home to several birds, would be destroyed.
The report also stated that there are several landslide-prone areas that would need to be graded because the parcel is 2.5 miles from the San Andreas fault.
Siegfried said the report was far from complete. "I want to see some real specific information before the final EIR," he said, noting the final report should address not only the impact of construction, but also of pre-construction work, such as tree removal and site grading.
Resident Cheriel Jensen said the proposed subdivision is in violation of the city's general plan and it should be rejected.
"If [it] passed, we would have a big fight with the citizens," Jensen said.
The EIR is prepared by a firm in order to determine how much environmental impact there will be resulting from construction and whether it conflicts with the city's general plan. The Planning Department evaluates applications and determines whether an EIR is required. The firm is chosen by the city and paid for by the applicant.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, March 19, 1997.
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