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Photographs by Kathy De La Torre
In the evening, Saratoga's fine restaurants draw a crowd.
Rescue Efforts
Can a moratorium on commercial conversion help revive business? Many business people say no.
By Leigh Ann Maze
When Saratoga's new interim city manager, William Norton, walked through Saratoga Village, he saw something he didn't expect. "I was surprised there were as many vacant storefronts as there are and thought there was some unmet potential," Norton said.
He is not the first to take notice. The phrase "revitalize business" has been kicking around Saratoga for the past four years, especially among the members of the Chamber of Commerce, the Saratoga Business Development Council and local business owners.
In 1996 the city hired a business improvement consultant who drafted a 60-page economic-development plan for Saratoga. The consultant held town meetings and conducted surveys to find out what changes citizens and business owners would like to see in the city's business districts.
Unfortunately, the city experienced a budget crisis in 1997, and most of the ideas were never implemented.
Luckily for Saratoga, Norton had some experience in economically developing two business districts in Alameda, where he was the city manager for eight years. He says he has some ideas that might help Saratoga.
The City Council talked of revitalizing Saratoga businesses during discussions on a moratorium to convert commercial-zoned property to residential zoning. The council passed such a moratorium on March 15, by a vote of four to one. For a majority of council members, a moratorium is the best short-term idea until the city decides on a more comprehensive plan for preserving its limited amount of commercial land.
Some council members, including Mayor Stan Bogosian, would like the city to extend Measure G by requiring a ballot vote on any proposed conversion from commercial to residential zoning. Measure G forced a vote for conversions from residential or open space to commercial.
The moratorium placed a 45-day hold on converting commercial use properties to residential. At a later meeting, the 45-day hold could be extended to November, when it will probably be placed on the ballot for voters to decide.
Photographs by Kathy De La Torre
During the middle of the day, all is quiet in the Village.
In the past 10 years, there have been five conversions of commercial land in Saratoga, including a proposal for a mixed-use development for Saratoga Village by developer Stan Gamble. That project is still in the planning stages. Two of the other properties are in the southern end of the Village, and two are in the Gateway area, which is the area from the railroad tracks to Prospect Road on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road.
While council members say the moratorium gives them time to consider the impact of such conversions on the community, skeptics suggested that the issue of commercial conversion was introduced as a hot campaign issue for the November council election. There are those in the business community who believe the moratorium was not a good move.
"I spoke out against the moratorium because I don't sense the urgency of it," says business owner Kristin Davis. "It doesn't really address the issue of revitalizing business districts." Her statement echoes the positions of the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce board as well as councilman Nick Streit, the only council member who voted against the moratorium.
Davis' family owns the Azule Crossing Shopping Center in Saratoga's Gateway area. The City Council recently allowed the center to be converted from a completely commercial use to a mixed commercial and residential development. According to Davis, her family wanted to convert the property because the area in the back was no longer viable commercial space.
Davis, who owns the Front Window store in Azule Crossing, cites low visibility from the road, too-high speed limits and not enough traffic signals as issues of concern in the Gateway area.
Besides the Gateway, revitalization talk has centered on the Village business district along Big Basin Way. The other two shopping areas--the newly renovated Argonaut shopping center and Quito Village--are doing well, according to Mollie Choate and Charles Marsh, who, respectively, represent the property management for the two properties.
In the Village, parking is a big issue. There is also concern about the lack of foot traffic, limited business hours and the need for a greater variety of stores.
Some in the business community say revitalization is needed because the Village never quite recovered from the street and parking area construction completed nearly 10 years ago. At that time more than a dozen stores moved out or simply closed their doors for lack of customers.
Photographs by Kathy De La Torre
'For lease' signs are a sign of the times for Saratoga businesses.
At a March 1 council meeting on the moratorium, councilman Streit pointed out that nine stores have gone out of business in Saratoga since last July, including the Saratoga Drug Store, Bit O' Country, A Store Named Desire, Highline Imports, and P.S. I Love You Tearoom. Three others, Good Bodys, Caravan Gourmet Market and Marjolaine French Pastries, have sold since then. At least three more businesses in the Village are now up for sale.
In some cases the high turnover is the result of retirements and the natural cycle of small, independently owned shops.
But longtime Village business owner Lillian Benson says the high number of businesses closing is not normal. Benson has owned Benson's M.E. Antiques in the Village for 19 years. She says that for the first 12 years she was in business, things were much more stable in the Village. "And then it started," she said. Businesses in the Village came and went and sold several times. She adds that a major reason turnover is so high is that Saratogans don't shop in Saratoga.
The mix of businesses in the Village has certainly changed from 20 years ago. Benson recalls several dress shops, two shoe stores, a department store, a hardware store, two drug stores, two groceries, about seven antique stores and a meat market among others.
But it is not all doom and gloom for Saratoga businesses. Some established businesses are doing well, especially restaurants.
"They are our calling card," said Saratoga Chamber director Abby Krimotat. "But what is there for people to do before or after dinner? They go shop in Los Gatos," she said.
In order to entice fine-diners to do a little shopping in Saratoga, Krimotat and others say the Village businesses need to remain open later in the evenings and on weekends. Many argue that a new mix of business will entice people to spend more time shopping downtown. A diversified mix, such as a theater, shoe store and other retail stores, were historically present in the Village but have vanished in the last decade.
"We have the wineries, the views, the arts, the restaurants--why is our downtown dead?" Krimotat asks. "We can make Saratoga whatever we want. It's like a piece of clay waiting to be molded." Krimotat envisions Saratoga as the arts capital of the Silicon Valley. A place people can come for theater, dining and to browse local shops.
Photographs by Kathy De La Torre
The Blue Rock Shoot on Big Basin Way attracts the outdoor- cafe set in the early evening.
But before the shoppers come to Saratoga, the stores to attract them must come first. Virginia Fiorentino of Coldwell Banker is aware of this.
Fiorentino is assisting in the rental of the space previously occupied by the Saratoga Drug Store. She says that, although she has had numerous interested parties wanting to rent the space, the landlord wants to attract a high-end retail tenant. She said she is now negotiating with a high-end retail furniture store.
Finding the right mix of stores to attract shoppers does not necessarily mean bringing in chain stores like the GAP and Banana Republic. Although Blockbuster, Jamba Juice, Togo's and Starbucks have opened in the Argonaut shopping center since last summer, many argue that chain stores don't belong in Saratoga Village.
Many Saratogans guard Saratoga's small-town charm and character and are careful not to let it be devoured by chain stores. As publicly-elected officials, it is the City Council's job to represent these interests.
When the national coffee chain, Starbucks, submitted an application to the city in October 1996, for a conditional-use permit to open a store in the Village, it became a hotly debated issue. Angry residents and Village business owners were able to keep it out of the Village, but Starbucks was approved for the Argonaut Shopping Center in July 1997.
Saratoga has always been a mainly residential community. Only 1.6 percent of the land in Saratoga is zoned commercial while the remainder is zoned either residential or open space. The city's revenue from sales taxes amounted to only $979,192 in 1999.
Photographs by Kathy De La Torre
Valet parking helps accommodate crowds that swarm to the Village in the evening.
In comparison, Cupertino's 1999 sales tax revenue was more than $9 million and Los Gatos' was almost $6 million. For both of these cities, their sales tax revenues make up the lion's share of their general fund, while in Saratoga, sales tax revenues make up only 16 percent of the general fund with property taxes and motor vehicle fees supplying most of the money.
Although increased revenue from business would allow Saratoga more money to spend on things such as roads, public safety and recreational facilities, many residents are cautious of changes that bring more people, traffic and noise to Saratoga.
Private business owners and developers have taken some steps recently to revitalize business. The Azule Crossing development and the proposed Mountain Winery expansion are examples.
The council approved the Azule Crossing development after a long battle that resulted in the developer increasing the amount of commercial space in the final proposal. The city has been cool to expansion plans for the Mountain Winery, however. Although the city can weigh in on the final decision, it is the county that has jurisdiction over the winery expansion.
City officials maintain that comprehensive studies on traffic, parking and noise related to the winery's proposed expansion have not been done.
California has also made a contribution to Saratoga business in the Gateway area. Caltrans, the state transportation agency, turned over Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road to the city along with $2 million dollars in March. The city will decide how to use the money for improvements on the road. Median islands, new sidewalks, landscaping, lighting, bike lanes and pedestrian walkways are possibilities. The upgrade project will include resurfacing the current road and is expected to begin in summer 2001.
There may soon be a performing arts theater in the Village. Ken Carter, founder of EagleWing Theater Company and director of music at the Saratoga Presbyterian Church, recently proposed a theater to the City Council for tentative approval. Council members say they are in favor of the theater, in concept, as long as traffic and parking are adequately addressed.
Lively crowds stroll in the Village in the evening when the restaurants are open, but most retail shops are closed by the time the visitors arrive.
Photographs by Kathy De La Torre
Many business owners in the Village say a theater would be a great first step toward revitalizing downtown. The theater's plans are in the rough stages and Carter still has to apply to the city's planning department with his idea.
Although the council has not taken any action yet toward revitalizing business, discussions and ideas have been raised. The council will discuss the possibility of a redevelopment agency, at the request of councilman Streit.
Redevelopment agencies are created to rebuild and renovate areas of "blight" created by natural disasters or depressed economies. They work by freezing property taxes on lands within the redevelopment area. As property values increase, the difference between the base and the new tax value goes into the redevelopment fund.
The downtown area of Los Gatos is in a redevelopment district created after the Loma Prieta earthquake. Beautification projects now underway in the downtown are funded largely through the redevelopment agency, and a proposed parking garage will receive some redevelopment money.
San Jose's dramatic revitalization was due in large part to its creation of a redevelopment agency.
Norton has asked an attorney to speak to the council about an agency at its regular meeting on April 5.
"I think we can definitely enhance what's here," Norton said. "We have good stores but I think we can build on those and make Saratoga an even better shopping area."
Saratoga News reporter Kara Chalmers contributed to this story.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
