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Commentary
Moratorium extension makes sense
By Meg Caldwell
The City Council deserves tremendous credit for its decision to extend the interim moratorium on residential development of commercially designated land in Saratoga. This decision is the product of long-range thinking and fiscal responsibility that is the hallmark of good government.
The council has already decided to put the moratorium on the November ballot, so this is simply an interim measure until the fall, when the voters will decide.
Here are just a few reasons why the decision is good for Saratoga and why Saratogans should support continuation of the moratorium in November:
* Revenue--Commercial taxes are one of the city's largest revenue sources. Reliance on residential property taxes (only a small percentage of which come to the city) is folly, as the Proposition 13 experience taught us. We need to protect the city's commercial tax base.
* Shrinking Commercial Base--The city's commercial base has shrunk substantially, down to less than 1 percent of Saratoga's total land base. Various culprits have been identified but no real action has been taken. The strong economy and incredible demand for housing in Silicon Valley have flipped the normal pricing structure for commercial vs. residential lands. Because residential uses now yield a higher price than commercial uses, our commercially zoned lands are being converted to residential uses, most of which occurs without even a zone change.
* Good Ideas to Revisit--There is still time to work on viability of the Village and our remaining business districts. In 1996, the city commissioned a report on how to revitalize our business districts. Our prior city managers/councils shelved the report and few of the recommendations were pursued by either the city or the business owners. The signage program did go forward, but there have been numerous lost opportunities since 1996, including the chance to lay the foundation for a commercially vigorous "gateway" at the Azule Crossing entrance to our city in conjunction with the recent residential/commercial development application approved at Azule Crossing. Many of the recommendations in the 1996 report can be pursued without any city involvement (merchant driven), while others would entail city resources.
* Coordinated Policymaking--The moratorium allows (a) the city and the merchants time to dust off the 1996 report and pursue business development strategies to revitalize our commercial base, without the constant threat of residential development encroaching and eating away at the remaining commercial lands, and (b) the city to review its housing element in light of these residential pressures at the same time. While none of the city's land use issues exist in a vacuum, it is absolutely crucial that the city's strategies and policies recognize the integrated nature of this problem.
* Perfect Timing--The city is perfectly poised to take a coordinated and comprehensive look at its housing and commercial development policies: it has just begun its regular review of our housing element.
* Housing/Services Imbalance and Traffic--Saratoga already suffers from a housing/services imbalance, with many of us traveling to neighboring cities' commercial districts to take care of everyday needs. While Saratoga will never be a self-contained community, this imbalance exacerbates our current traffic congestion problems since most residents use cars to do their shopping in Los Gatos, Cupertino or San Jose. Continuing on our current trajectory of increasing the number of residences and decreasing the number of commercial businesses in town will simply worsen our traffic problems.
* Urgency--With the interim moratorium in place, the city can engage in proactive rather than reactive planning before it's too late for our own business community. As you know, housing prices and the commensurate pressures on our commercial lands are increasing virtually overnight.
Shop in Saratoga (while you can) and help the council and merchants build a stronger business and service base for our community!
Meg Caldwell lives on La Paloma Avenue in Saratoga.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
