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SUSD completes CEQA and can move on Argonaut
By Leigh Ann Maze
After hearing concerns from six neighbors about the expansion of Argonaut School, the Saratoga Union School District board of trustees adopted the mitigated negative declaration (MND) for the project at a board meeting on March 14.
The MND is a study required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) describing all the possible environmental effects of a project and how they will be mitigated.
Although the SUSD board plans to discuss some of the concerns raised by neighbors at future meetings, the only additions to site design were traffic safety suggestions made by the city of Saratoga. Adoption of the MND completed the CEQA process, allowing the district to move forward with the project.
The Argonaut project includes the remodeling of all classrooms and the building of a new administrative building, recreational blacktop area, parking spaces and a larger multipurpose room. A daycare center will be relocated, and several new classrooms will replace old portable ones.
The project is expected to go to bid this summer. It is funded by Measure D, which was passed by Saratoga voters in June 1997, to pay for renovation and expansion of SUSD schools.
While the March 14 meeting was the last public hearing in the project's planning process, it was not the first time neighbors' concerns had been heard. The first public hearing for the project was held in June 1999.
The public comment period required by CEQA began on Jan. 7, when the SUSD announced its intent to accept the MND. The public had 30 days to comment, which was extended at the request of some citizens.
At the closure of public comment on Feb. 16, the SUSD had received five letters. Three came from Chateau Drive residents Susan Calderon, Ken Chang and Wesley Ferguson. One letter came from Saratoga Mayor Stan Bogosian, outlining the city's traffic suggestions. The last was from the Governor's Office of Planning and Research, which indicated the state had no qualms with the project.
Under CEQA, the SUSD is not required to respond to the comments, according to Patrick Angell with Pacific Municipal Consultants, the company hired by the SUSD to complete the CEQA process. "They are required to consider them and to take them into account," Angell said. Angell and the SUSD provided a written response to all comments received.
Still, a handful of neighbors are not happy.
"I would have liked them to have made some changes to accommodate the neighbors," Ferguson said of the SUSD board. "Their responses to our comments were totally nonresponsive."
Those residents who wrote letters during the public comment period were joined by several neighbors at the public hearing. Many have property that borders Argonaut School. The residents stated they are in favor of the improvement to the school, but say their concerns have not been adequately addressed.
At the public hearing the residents expressed concern over potential increased noise pollution from the installation of new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning units. "Nobody wants a loudspeaker in their backyard," Chang said, adding that he would be happy to pay for quieter HVAC units. "I would rather pay the school than a lawyer," he said. The MND states that the SUSD is responsible to mitigate any noise levels exceeding 50 decibels at the property line
Plans for a new road near the Chateau Drive residents' property line to the relocated daycare center also is causing the residents concern. While a single lane road is required by the fire marshal, the SUSD plans to allow parents to use the two-lane road to pick up and drop off students at the daycare because of safety issues at night. The road would be locked after hours and on the weekends.
The residents voiced concern over traffic, privacy and security issues as a result of the road. They questioned how the use of the road would be restricted to daycare only, and how the gate would be monitored. The issues of summer use, growth of the daycare program and the potential for strangers to use the road were also raised.
While privacy and security issues are not subject to CEQA, Angell said a doubling in size of the daycare center would require additional CEQA review. Monitoring of the gate would be the responsibility of the district.
Several neighbors were concerned about the obstruction of views to the Santa Cruz Mountains by new buildings. "We didn't hear anything at the public hearing we hadn't already deliberated," said SUSD superintendent Mary Gardner. "We've followed the CEQA process and have mitigated those items that require mitigation. They don't like our answers, but it's not that we haven't answered."
Adoption of the MND legally binds the SUSD to all mitigation measures. The adoption also opened a 30-day window in which citizens or the state can take legal action against the district, alleging violation of CEQA.
Ferguson told the Saratoga News that a group of residents and taxpayers have an appointment with an attorney and are considering legal action against the SUSD, primarily for misappropriation of taxpayer funds on the project.
Gardner said she is confident the SUSD has followed the CEQA process and listened to neighbors concerns. "While we haven't followed their recommendations, we intend to go ahead with the project as designed, and do whatever we can to be good neighbors," Gardner said.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
