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Letters
Save Azule Park, develop central hub
We are relatively new residents of Saratoga and the Bay Area. We have a family with young kids and found the Saratoga area outstanding with its beauty, great academics and quiet lifestyles.
After moving into Azule Park neighborhood, we realized that the neglected orchard at Azule Park is a proposed site for a soccer complex. We were shocked because the narrow roads with sharp curves that lead to the site are risky even for neighborhood traffic. It is apparent that Azule Park site and the neighborhood were not designed to handle high traffic soccer complexes.
We all have to pay the price of development and the Azule Park neighborhood does pay its dues by supporting Blue Hills elementary school and the soccer group use of the school field on weekdays and weekends. For anybody who is around the neighborhood on afternoons and mornings of soccer games, it will be apparent that the area is already at the limits with support of one soccer field. So we request our fellow Saratogans to investigate other options with us.
Maybe we should better utilize the 24 small and large fields we have in Saratoga. The maintenance funding offered by the volunteer playgroups could be used to improve existing sites. Nick Streit's idea of the central hub is a great way to go as well. Heritage orchard is an expensive piece of heritage to maintain. His idea of using this city asset to teach children about orchards is good use of a heritage symbol. By the same token a heritage symbol could be adapted for meeting other burgeoning city needs.
Most of all it is clear that Saratogans have great ideas, convictions and commitment to manage growth. So let us do it together.
Vibha Goel
Goleta Ave
Saratogans, wake up and smell the coffee
First of all, I live in Redmond, Wash., but I do not work for Microsoft or any other high-tech company. Secondly, I like to drink an occasional latte or specialty coffee, but like most Puget Sound inhabitants I am not a "frequent flyer" at any of the coffee joints in this area.
When my wife and I visit our relatives in Saratoga, we usually "entertain" our hosts by taking them to a nearby coffeehouse. For the morning "fix" we spend a few extra minutes in their car and travel to nearby Los Gatos where we enjoy the atmosphere, coffees, breads and pastries at Le Boulanger. Yes, we could easily drive the five minutes to the main street in Saratoga, but the dark, western saloon-style coffeehouse remains uninviting to us, as does the lack of available parking. Knowing this, my sister has sent recent news articles and letters which focus on the "great coffeehouse expansion war" taking place between some citizens of Saratoga and Starbucks.
A Starbucks at your Argonaut Shopping Center would offer the early commuters quick and easy in-out parking, and a comfortable place to sit and relax with coffee, a pastry, relaxing music and perhaps a newspaper or magazine. I was relieved to see that Starbucks was denied residency in the Village, as the parking is limited. However, the Argonaut shopping center and the town of Saratoga will benefit from having a well-managed and much-needed coffeehouse.
Thank goodness Saratoga's planning commission approved the permit for Starbucks, and I applaud commissioner Mark Pierce for his confidence in Starbucks' management. Any coffee company could have petitioned for space on this valuable property; Starbucks had the foresight, and now Saratoga will enjoy not only great coffees, but a good and conscientious neighbor. Perhaps it's time for a few citizens of Saratoga to discard their parochial ways; perhaps it's time for those wary citizens to "wake up and smell the coffee!"
Rob Bastasch
Redmond, Wash.
Keep and cherish small-town charm
It is disturbing to witness the hostilities between the advocates of preservation and the proponents of progress. The issues causing this dissension include the removal of eucalyptus trees at Saratoga School, major athletic fields in the midst of neighborhoods, possible diminution of the heritage orchard and septic tank abatement, to mention a few.
The allure of Saratoga's low density housing, high density foliage, and "uncitified" relaxed atmosphere have drawn many new residents to our city.
Once here, however, it appears that one of their first goals is to "upgrade/improve" Saratoga by wanting "modern" shopping centers, large athletic fields, huge trophy homes and urban assault vehicles.
At the risk of sounding old fashioned and possibly elitist, I ask the following question: since prospective residents wanted to move here because they liked what they saw, why are they trying to transform it into another insipid Silicon Valley suburb?
If our newcomers wanted lavish athletic fields and shopping centers with the most colossal houses that money could buy, why didn't they move to nearby areas where those features were already available?
I heartily agree that our schools need repair and remodeling, our athletic fields need upgrading, our commercial areas need re-energizing, etc. However, I emphatically disagree with those who are willing to sacrifice what remains of Saratoga's grace, beauty and tranquillity in order to accomplish those goals.
In our zeal to "improve" we must not lose sight of what is truly important in life. We forget that feeling the soil in our hands and watching seedlings mature is educational; sitting in the shade of old majestic trees is a nurturing experience, and "putting up with" less-than-perfect athletic fields and school facilities can also be enlightening.
We must cherish what remains of Saratoga's rustic appeal because once it's gone, it's gone forever.
We Saratogans have major decisions to make, decisions that will irreversibly affect our future. We cannot afford to sacrifice much more without adversely impacting the quality of our lives and that of our children. We must decide which is more important: fabulous athletic fields or quiet neighborhoods? More asphalt or heritage trees? Mammoth homes or large, lush spaces between houses? Schools that look good or schools with good teachers?
This city was once the embodiment of tranquillity; while it can never return to that state, all its residents can learn to appreciate its remaining uniqueness.
Marcia Fariss
Saratoga Glen Place
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Saratoga, California Since 1975
