Saratoga News

Shaw and Bogosian ask to review planning decision

By Sarah Lombardo

Saratoga City Councilmen Jim Shaw and Stan Bogosian called up for review the recent Planning Commission approval of a second-story addition to a house at 12181 Mellowood Dr., sparking a flurry of arguments among councilmembers over the issue of propriety and procedure versus neighborhood integrity.

A public hearing on the issue is scheduled before the council at its July 2 meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the council chambers, located at 13777 Fruitvale Ave.

Shaw called the approval up for review, with Bogosian's support, under a city statute that allows a decision to be reviewed by the City Council provided at least two council-members request it. In this case, the Planning Commission approved a request for design-review approval to construct a new 1,071-square-foot first- and second-story addition to an existing 1,830-square-foot one-story residence. City records show the design went back to the drawing board several times when the applicant and homeowner, John Metzler, was told it needed to be compatible with the neighborhood, which consists mainly of single-story 1950s-style houses. The application, first entered in March, was finally approved May 28 by a unanimous vote of the Planning Commission.

Shaw said he wanted the councilmembers to check for compatibility themselves. Although none of Metzler's neighbors has filed an appeal, some opposed the project from the beginning and have complained about the approval.

"I have called it up for City Council review on the basis of what we are doing to the character and integrity of neighborhoods," he said.

Shaw said the topic was of interest to the entire city because it was another example of small neighborhoods being jeopardized by expansion, in this case, a second-story expansion. The small-town atmosphere of the neighborhoods that residents want to keep, he said, was being ignored.

But other councilmembers think calling up the issue sets a bad precedent and smacks of political favoritism.

"I think it's inappropriate," Paul Jacobs said. "It creates the impression of impropriety because it is essentially a free appeal. ... I think that what is really involved here is that someone didn't want to pay the cost of appeal and convinced two City Council members to call the issue up."

Jacobs said that while he is not accusing Shaw or Bogosian of doling out favors to residents, he is concerned that it may appear that way and make other residents upset.

"People see this in Washington and Sacramento, and they don't like it. And I don't think that, at the local level, we should be doing that," he said. "I mean, what do we say to the next guy [who wants an item called up]? 'Gee, I'm sorry, we don't think yours is as important?' To me, the appearance of propriety is just as important as the presence of it."

Other councilmembers also opposed Shaw and Bogosian's move, saying that it sets a bad precedent for people who oppose Planning Commission decisions and don't want to pay the $675 appeal fee.

For his part, Metzler complained bitterly at the June 10 council meeting that he was unfairly being held up as an example.

"My neighbor, I believe, is not interested in the merits of my house. What he really wants is for [the council] to decide whether or not there will be two-story houses in the future in Saratoga," he said. "You do not need an appeal to ban two-story houses. You do not need me to be a test case for you to ban two-story houses."

Metzler said that even if the council overruled his project's approval, short of a new citywide ban on two-story houses, he intended to keep submitting designs for a second story. But, he said, his project had been approved and should remain so.

"If you are going to change the law after I've applied and all that, just give me my money back," he said.

Shaw said he thought the project is the kind that residents had in mind when they supported the slow-growth initiative Measure G, and subsequently himself and Bogosian, in last year's elections.

"If you take our election win as not necessarily support of Shaw and Bogosian, but of the issue of neighborhood integrity, that was a pretty strong message, I think," he said.

Interim City Manager Larry Perlin said that at the review hearing July 2, the council may legally only consider the issue of Metzler's house specifically and may not consider the topic of two-story houses and their effects on neighborhoods in general.

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