Saratoga News

Small town changes rapidly

By M. Elaine Hocker

Saratoga's celebration of its 40th anniversary and the Fourth of July celebration should have raised more than one flag. As a Saratoga resident for 40 years, and being privy to all the changes that have occurred in our wonderful little community during that time, now would seem to be a good time to raise a solid red flag to the top of our Saratoga flagpole.

Sometime back, a letter by our Saratoga mayor appeared in the Saratoga News opposing Measure G based on those supporting the measure being opposed to change. In essence, his letter equated change to progress. As a longtime resident who has witnessed all the changes occurring in Saratoga during the last 40 years, I can assure you that not all change can be equated to progress.

Our celebration of the Fourth of July is supposedly based on the precepts incorporated in the founding of our nation, i.e., individual liberty, private property rights, equal justice, fair taxation, etc. The founding of our nation was based on the value of every citizen participating in a governing process that upheld these precepts. We formed governing bodies to enforce these precepts with an understanding that those elected to govern would be by self-definition be due honor and respect.

When considering all the changes that have occurred and are occurring in Saratoga, can we still say that these precepts are still being upheld and reinforced in Saratoga? How many of you are aware of all the unnecessary rules and regulations that are costing you tax dollars to support? To what extent are each of you participating in the political process? Are those elected to govern receiving honor and respect?

Since we seem to have an ongoing problem of complaining about those elected to govern us, a reminder seems in order at this time. Nowhere in history is there any indication of a civilization existing that was comprised of perfect citizens. Since all civilization has been and still is comprised of imperfect citizens, then a democratic government that elects its citizens to public office should not expect those elected to metamorphise into someone who is perfect.

Stating this does not mean that I agree with our current elected officials on all the issues, and I certainly have not agreed with all those we have elected in the past. Frankly, it would appear that anyone desiring to serve in an elected position in Saratoga would have to be somewhat of a masochist or at least a martyr. It means serving long hours, trying to administer extremely boring rules and regulations (80 to 90 percent of which should not be in existence), all of which must comply with assorted codes and complicated laws, while continuously and constantly receiving complaints and being insulted.

Referring back to our mayor's letter on change regarding the Measure G uproar, I originally opposed this measure based on it appearing to be a violation of our private property rights, and we certainly do not need any more rules and regulations in Saratoga. I then considered one of Saratoga's mission statements: "Where a small town, picturesque, residential atmosphere is retained," and had to acknowledge that this whole vision concept was being utterly destroyed.

The fact remains that when a developer purchases a large area of property and then, based on the developer's cost specification, has one or two architects design all the homes for that area, plus having the entire area landscaped to a coherent design, what you end up with is an impression of tract homes. Each home's cost could well exceed $1 million and the floor space of each home could be 6,000 or 8,000 square feet, but the tract-home impression is not destroyed simply because the development is comprised of big, expensive homes. The change from a small-town, picturesque, residential atmosphere to a congested tract-home environment has not been a positive change.

Raising a red flag to the detrimental changes that have occurred and are occurring in our community means we need to acknowledge how our participation or lack of participation has contributed to the current state of affairs. Just throwing smelly-word mud balls at each other will not change anything and does not seem congruent with our self-definition of being a "professional community."

M. Elaine Hocker is a longtime Saratoga resident.