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Courtesy of Chris Ford, C3 Design Alliance
A model of the proposed fire house shows how the Julia Morgan-inspired building would look from Saratoga Avenue. A new walk-in entrance to the station is on the right hand side, where Memorial Arch is now located.
Mounting concerns force more review of fire station
By Oakley Brooks
As concerns about the expanded fire station in Saratoga continued to build late into the evening on June 13, Planning Commission Chairwoman Cynthia Barry decided to delay any vote on the project.
The commission will continue to hear input from the public and the Saratoga Fire District administration at the next scheduled planning meeting on June 27.
The move will subject the project, funded by $6 million bond approved by voters last April, to further scrutiny. But Fire Chief Ernie Kraule believes, ultimately, he'll be able to replace the current seismically unfit and outdated firehouse on the corner of Saratoga-Los Gatos Road and Saratoga Avenue.
"I have confidence in the planning commission's ability to look at the project and pass it," said Kraule, after the June 13 meeting.
The delay will give the district time to install poles and netting above the existing station to approximate the proposed building's size.
The increased bulk of the station--at 13,000 square feet it is expected to be more than 50 percent larger than the current station--was one of the biggest sources of anxiety for both planning commissioners and Saratogans.
"The height and the massiveness does concern me," said Planning Commissioner Lisa Kurasch.
Aaron Katz owns property near the fire station and fears the 35-foot height of the new firehouse--13 feet more than the height of the current station--will dwarf the surrounding village.
"I can just imagine how gargantuan this station is going to be as you come up the hill on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road," said Katz.
Officials and residents also questioned if the fire district was providing enough parking spaces behind the station. Additionally, they asked if the district had adequately considered the safety of firefighters, who will have to continue their current practice of stopping traffic on Saratoga Avenue as trucks back into the station.
Two conditions attached to the station's review threaten to hold up the project further.
To expand the station, the fire district needs about 500 square feet of city property from the Memorial Arch plaza adjacent to the firehouse. The district would trade the city another piece of land of similar size.
But the city council has yet to approve the land swap and, although Community Development Director Tom Sullivan said on June 13, that the council would sign off on the exchange, Planning Commissioner Erna Jackman questioned if the new firehouse should be approved until the council had made its decision.
"I don't feel we can do anything until we have a firm commitment from the city," said Jackman
The city also requested that the fire district add a new curb at the corner of Saratoga-Los Gatos Road and Saratoga Avenue and move the traffic signal poles onto the new curb. The request for improvements anticipates potential changes by the city at the intersection.
Fire district attorney Hal Toppel said the district is not required to improve the intersection and asked the planning commission to remove the condition for approving the new station.
He reminded the commission that the district is already moving the station wall along Saratoga-Los Gatos Road back 12 feet from its current position, to allow drivers better vision; Toppel said the added improvements might cost the district "six figures."
Should the station eventually proceed, RR&M from San Luis Obispo and C3 Design Alliance of San Francisco have combined a substantially modernized interior with a Julia Morgan-style exterior, similar to the Saratoga Federated Church.
The two-story complex will have four shared bedrooms for on-duty firefighters, expanded workstations and offices for administration and a small walk-in medical facility to supplement ambulance care.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
