Saratoga News

Second-story debate stirs up philosophical divisions

By Sarah Lombardo

It was a long, and sometimes divisive, public hearing before the Saratoga City Council meeting to discuss the Planning Commission's approval of a second-story addition to a house at 12181 Mellowood Dr., but in the end, the council voted to uphold the commission's decision in a split vote of 3-2.

The councilmembers who had voted to call the issue up for review, Jim Shaw and Stan Bogosian, voted against it.

Shaw had asked that the project be called up under a city statute that allows for council review of a Planning Commission decision if two of the three councilmembers request it. Shaw said he wanted to make sure the integrity of the neighborhood was being maintained. Many neighbors who spoke at last week's hearing said that in addition to the changed overall look of the street because of the second story on the house, owned by John and Ellen Metzler, they worried about the effect the addition would have on light, privacy and air circulation.

"If the Metzlers put on a second story, the sun through the trees would be gone, and so would the view of the beautiful sky," neighbor Sandy Johnson said.

Other next-door neighbors said it would leave them staring at a huge wall if the Metzlers built the addition, and could lower property values.

But one neighbor, who said he built homes for a living, refuted that claim, saying he supported anything "that would improve the streetscape of Mellowood Drive."

Paul Finnigan, a nearby Titus Avenue resident, said he had been through the Planning Commission process two years ago for a second-story addition on his house and felt confident that the commissioners considered all the factors when approving the Metzler addition.

"All I can hope is the Metzlers would enjoy the same opportunity to do with their home what we have been able to do with our home," he said.

Shaw, however, did not share that view.

"I've looked at the process by which the Planning Commission worked with the Metzlers, and it comes down to a judgment call, really," Shaw said. Shaw added that he still couldn't support the addition, saying he believed it just did not fit in with the look of the street.

"It makes that whole line of houses going through Mellowood look small," he said.

Bogosian agreed: "As Jim pointed out, this house is in the middle of a long line of houses and would stick out," he said. Bogosian said he understood that the issue dealt with the Metzlers' day-to-day life but believed that the city had an obligation to make sure neighborhoods' integrity stayed intact.

The topic of councilmembers' integrity was also brought up, leading to verbal jabs among the members.

Councilmember Paul Jacobs reiterated his sentiments about the Metzler project having been called up at all, saying he thought it gave the appearance of impropriety and favoritism toward residents who had supported Shaw and Bogosian in their successful November campaigns. That appearance, he said, could lead some residents to question the council's integrity.

Shaw bitterly denied what he called "the attacks" against him, which then led Jacobs to clarify his position that he wasn't accusing Shaw of doling out favors, but of--perhaps accidentally--giving the appearance of doing so.

Another dispute erupted between Bogosian and Jacobs over the issue of access to the council after Bogosian claimed Jacobs voted against a plan by Bogosian to lower the $675 appeal fee to about $100 to improve residents' ability to appeal Planning Commission decisions. Bogosian introduced the idea in the form of a motion before the council at the June 18 budget hearing.

Jacobs denied the charge, pointing out that he voted against the plan because he felt it was brought up at an inappropriate time without any staff research.

"We'd been working on the budget for six months," Jacobs said. "You trotted that out at the 11th hour and the 59th minute."

Mayor Gillian Moran called for a motion at that time, and the council voted to approve the Metzler project.

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