Letters

City Council made right decision ousting Perlin

I am writing to commend the members of the City Council for their decisions regarding our former city manager, Larry Perlin, and the interim manager, William Norton. I recently met and spoke with Bill Norton and it was obvious that he has a world of experience as a city manager and that he is a real pro. It was a refreshing change.

It is always difficult to terminate a city manager, but our council did the right thing in asking for Larry Perlin's resignation.

These situations are made worse because the manager is an employee and council members are prohibited by law from discussing the performance of city employees. Thus, the manager can complain about the council members and their decision, but council members are prohibited legally and ethically from explaining the basis for their decision.

It is important to recognize that five council members, with different backgrounds and different histories on the council, made this decision unanimously.

I never understood why the majority of the former council (Moran, Jacobs and Wolfe) appointed Perlin in the first place; he had no experience at the city manager or assistant manager level and he had no training for the job. Not surprisingly, I watched some City Council meetings where Perlin was lost and others where he all but refused to follow the policy direction of the council because he personally disagreed.

Worse, after the City Council took the Saratoga Creek litigation out of the hands of the city staff and the former city attorney, and settled the matter quickly and reasonably, Perlin put the settlement agreement into jeopardy by postponing--and often failing--compliance with the provisions of that agreement. I'm sure I saw only a small sample of the problems the council had with him.

I applaud the council for bringing in Mr. Norton and I hope that the council will be equally successful in finding a first-rate, seasoned professional as our permanent city manager.

Dora Grens
Old Oak Way

Commission should not approve home on hill

After the election in November 1996, it became very clear that the citizens of Saratoga do not favor ostentatious development of the Saratoga hillsides. The building code is supposed to provide protection of the hillsides. There is a residence proposed by property owner Taormina on 3.1 acres of hillside, which would be accessed by Quickert Road, below the Sawyer property. The proposal is not acceptable within the framework of the Code. The Saratoga Planning Commission will hold a hearing on the property at 7:30 p.m. on April 12.

This project certainly will have an adverse effect on the condition of the steep hillsides. It is a 6,296-square-foot residence requiring a retaining wall exceeding five feet in height, located within the hillside residential zoning district. It is not compatible with hillside development written into the city code. We hope the city of Saratoga does not give permission to the property owners to build this huge structure on such a steep location. There are already several monstrosities on the hillsides, which, we believe, were irresponsible actions on the part of the city of Saratoga to recommend giving these variances in the past.

We hope that the Planning Commission will enforce the building codes and not allow a project that requires variances.

Gail and Doug Cheeseman
Kittridge Road

Interim city manager is doing a great job

I would like to commend the City Council for making the tough decision to replace the City Manager. This decision was not easy, but thoroughly necessary. I do not know the City Council's reason to replace him, but I have lots of my own.

I do not need to go into the details, but I did not have good experiences with Mr. Perlin. His temporary replacement, Mr. Norton, has already shown such a stark contrast in professionalism. Keep up the good work, it benefits us all!

Teri Lynn Baron
Via Escuela

City Council was right to appeal winery permit

It is important that Saratoga residents understand the basis of the current dispute between the City of Saratoga and the new owners of the Masson Mountain Winery. The Mountain Winery has a rich and notable history as a performance venue. No one, not the City Council, nor neighborhood groups, is interested in shutting down the Mountain Winery or ruining its ability to offer high quality performances in an extraordinary setting.

A conditional-use permit for the winery's performance business has never been issued although there have been several recent ownership changes. The new owners applied to the county Planning Commission for a conditional-use permit (the Mountain Winery is situated partially in Saratoga and partially in a county unincorporated area). Originally, Saratoga was told that the use permit would simply legitimize the status quo at the winery. However, when the application for the use permit was submitted, it asked for permits covering a major expansion in seating (more than 40 percent increase), as well as in parking. The permit application was accompanied by an environmental impact report that stated, among other things, that performances at the Mountain Winery have no impact on traffic in Saratoga.

Anyone who has attempted to navigate Big Basin Way, Saratoga Avenue, or Pierce Road before or after a performance knows that this is a ridiculous finding. The county ignored Saratoga's concerns and refused to include suggested mitigation measures when they granted the permit. Fortunately, the Saratoga City Council has appealed that decision.

A performance venue may be an important cultural asset to a community, but it can also be incredibly oppressive and intrusive for a neighborhood or an area of a city. The question is balance, and the issues are the number of performances scheduled and the size of the performance venue. For the performance venue, land, building costs, grounds keeping, property taxes, etc. are fixed. Therefore, the more frequently performances can be scheduled, the more revenue accrues in proportion to the fixed costs. However, is it reasonable to expect Saratoga's western hillside residents to contend with an unlimited number of evenings and weekends when they cannot escape the sound of the performances and when their streets are blocked by concert traffic?

Is it reasonable that the county ignore Saratoga's parks and trails master plan and that Saratoga lose vital foot and equestrian trails, with no replacement alternatives?

The size of the performance venue is also crucial to surrounding residents. At the current capacity, traffic is horrendous before and after concerts; Pierce Road, for example, is impassable. What will the proposed 40 percent increase in seating and parking mean for traffic levels? For noise? For environmental impacts on our western hillsides?

There is another, potentially life-threatening issue that has not been addressed--fire safety. If Saratoga should have a fire similar to the Oakland hills fire of several years ago, residents in our western hillsides would have serious difficulty evacuating. If such a fire occurred during a performance, thousands and thousands of people (concertgoers and residents alike) could be trapped with no available escape route.

The City Council has acted courageously to protect our safety interests and to require balance between the financial interests of the new owners of the Mountain Winery and the impact of increased traffic congestion and noise pollution on Saratoga residents. All Saratogans should support and commend the City Council's action.

Marcia Fariss
Saratoga Glen Place

Saratoga school system, programs, working well

Last week, I had the great pleasure to sit in on the closing meeting of the Principal For a Day (PFD) program held at the offices of the Los Gatos-Saratoga High School District. PFD is sponsored by the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce and coordinated by Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education (IISME), a nonprofit business education collaborative. On March 21, more than 230 business executives and community leaders visited as many schools throughout the county to learn about the challenges and successes of our local schools.

Superintendent Cynthia Ranii hosted the wrap-up attended by Saratoga High School principal Kevin Skelly and his PFD, John Housley; Los Gatos assistant principal Kathleen Eaton and her PFD, Frank Jewett. It was evident from the discussion that all parties enjoyed the day and that the two PFD objectives of increasing community awareness of issues and challenges met by educators as well as fostering continuing relationships between educators, businesses and the community were met.

I was most impressed by the fact that superintendent Ranii and her group of educators are managing a $100 million facilities modernization program extended over five years while simultaneously conducting school business as usual. And, "business as usual" means in this case turning out students whose SAT scores as a group are 20 percent higher than the state average and 99 percent of whom go on to higher education.

It is wonderful to see a school system working so well. I'm sure it reflects the dedication and skill of the faculty and staff, the hard work and achievement of the students as well as strong parental involvement and a community that supports the financial investments made by measures B and N. All these factors combine to produce a top quality student. My wife and I can attest to this fact because we have sent four children and are now sending three grandchildren through the Saratoga school system and have been delighted with the results. Congratulations to all!

Donald Liddie
Lika Court

District boundaries make some Saratogans outsiders

In the recent article on school district boundaries in the March 29 issue of the Saratoga News, Vineyards of Saratoga resident Bonnie Williams is quoted as saying, "I shop, bank and go to church in Saratoga. I use the library and community center in Saratoga, yet my children cannot go to school in Saratoga."

No doubt that sounded familiar to the many Saratoga residents whose children do not go to Saratoga schools. As a Saratoga parent of a child that goes to Moreland schools, I understand her rationale completely. However, it must be pointed out that there are a number of other Saratoga neighborhoods--Brookview and Saratoga Woods, to name two--which share the Vineyards' predicament.

Vineyards parents state that their condominium complex is an awkward pocket, surrounded on three sides by the SUSD. Let's talk about awkward. On my street alone, the houses are divided among three school districts--and it's not a very long street. District boundaries sometimes cut right through the middle of a house. In other cases, children on one side of a street go to one school, and children on the other side go to another school.

Because of the antiquated district boundaries, children often can't attend the elementary school nearest their home, even if that school is in their own neighborhood. Yes, the boundaries are 50 years old and they don't make sense. On the other hand, school district boundaries are known at the time a home is purchased, and it should not have come as a surprise to Vineyards residents.

Personally, I think it would be better for Saratoga as a whole if there was a single elementary and high school district. The boundaries, for instance, have led me to oppose the use of city funds to help construct the Saratoga High School swimming pool, because Saratoga children unable to attend Saratoga High would not benefit to the same degree as those who do.

As far as I'm concerned, given the multiple school districts in Saratoga, if city funds are used for on-campus construction projects, then those funds must be doled out to all districts serving Saratoga in a proportional manner. It would be so much easier if that wasn't an issue.

Finally, I must address the comments of SUSD parent Charlotte Sparacino, who stated that the underlying motivation for the petition might have more to do with property values than the best interest of the children. All I can say is, if the petition was spearheaded by parents, then Ms. Sparacino's assumption is certainly wrong and demeaning to those parents. In every case that I am familiar with, it is the parents' sincere desire that their children be full-fledged members of the Saratoga community, and that their children receive the best education possible. Surely Ms. Sparacino, a parent herself, can understand that.

I suggest that the county committee either deny their petition, or be prepared to approve the petitions of all Saratoga neighborhoods that wish to transfer to SUSD. There is no difference between the Vineyards and Saratoga Woods, Brookview or any other Saratoga neighborhood that is outside SUSD.

Curt Bianchi
Brookglen Drive

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Photo: Argonaut School's annual variety show

Obituary: Kimberly Barney

Saratoga Sampler

Sports Briefs

High school sports

Photo: Redwood Middle School volleyball team wins league championship