Planning Commission OKs one pool, denies another

By Leigh Ann Maze

One proposed swimming pool was approved and another denied at a Saratoga Planning Commission meeting on April 26.

The denied pool was part of the plans for a new house to be built at 20620 Sigal Drive by Janine Belshaw. The Commission approved the 5,083-square-foot house, with some hesitation from commissioner Lisa Kurasch over the size of the house, for the steep, 1.63-acre site.

However, the proposed pool was debated by commissioners and eventually taken out of the plans.

The property owner may bring the proposed pool before the commission again in the future.

According to commission chairwoman Mary-Lynne Bernald, the commissioners thought there were too many uncertainties and unanswered questions about the pool to approve it at the time.

It is not legal to build on slopes greater than 30 percent in Saratoga. This particular property has an overall slope of 36 percent, with an area measured at 28.9 percent where the house will be built.

"The slope was the main concern," Bernald said. "We were also concerned about where the pool was going to be located and its effect on the environment."

Bernald said the owner will need to submit more detailed plans, indicating precisely where the pool will be located. Also, an engineer will need to determine the slope of the proposed site before the property owner can bring the pool plans before the commission again for approval.

Another proposed pool located very near the Sigal Drive site at 15200 Norton Road was subsequently approved by the commission. Both sites are located in areas of extremely sloped terrain.

In the second case, property owner Jon Snell wants to construct a swimming pool within seven feet of a property line although 20 feet is required by the city. The proposed pool is to be built on a 1.6-acre site with a single family residence already in existence.

The commission approved the pool with screening to be approved by city staff and the property owner's neighbor.

The property owner stated in his plans that he located the pool near the property line in order to avoid ordinance-protected trees and to locate it on a flat area. The proximity to the property was not an issue because the neighboring property is very steep and construction is allowed only 150 feet from the property line.

"The decisions on these two pools really came down to the fact of where they were placed on the property," Bernald said.

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