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Planning commission seeks to keep development neighborly
By Oakley Brooks
The Saratoga Planning Commission is considering a host of new measures that would change the nature of the planning process, and possibly alter development, in the city.
To establish better rapport between developers and neighbors surrounding prospective homes, the commission hopes to implement a requirement for developers to meet with affected residents before approaching the planning board.
The board is also considering limiting the size of basements, setting standards for landscaping and encouraging energy efficient alternatives.
At the urging of Community Development Director Tom Sullivan, the commission is attempting to broaden its duties beyond design reviews, which currently occupy nearly all of its time.
"We haven't been able to handle advance planning issues and to be forward looking, and Tom expects the planning commission to do that," said Planning Commission Chairwoman Cynthia Barry.
In the hope that many of the proposed advance planning measures will streamline development review, Barry says commissioners have agreed to put in extra hours with community development staff to develop the measures.
The community development department has approximately 50 projects backlogged, many of them awaiting review by the planning commission. Sullivan says he wants to get the backlog down to about 25 projects.
Department staff, commissioners and developers believe that mandating builders to explain their projects to neighbors before appearing at a planning hearing may speed the review process.
Previously, neighborhood sessions have been encouraged, but not required. Frequently developers will present a design at a planning commission hearing, only to find a handful of neighbors protesting the plans. The protests often lead the commission to delay the project until the developer discusses it with neighbors.
"Ninety percent of the time, it's opposition to something that doesn't exist or is unknown," said Saratoga developer Greg Howell. "The best thing is to meet with the neighbor up front. You get rid of that fear factor."
Barry also wants developers to install poles and netting to approximate the size of the planned buildings, and she wants them to make three-dimensional models available to neighbors.
Neighbors of development sites also stand to benefit from proposed reforms on below-ground developments, especially basements .
Current height restrictions imposed on builders, along with million-dollar-per-acre land prices, have forced them to consider expanding living space below ground. But Sullivan says that cavernous pits dug for basements often put a neighbor's house at risk of sinking if earth slides into the area dug for the new basement.
To prevent this, the commission will consider new standards on size as well as limitations based on geology and ground water around proposed basements. Once the commission agrees--after hearing from the public--on certain standards, it will make a recommendation to the city council to change the city ordinance to reflect those new standards.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
