News Briefs

Highway 85 noise gets staff help

City Councilman Nick Streit, Saratoga's representative to the Valley Transportation Authority, said last week that the Highway 85 noise-abatement project has received a key staff liaison to head the project. The move by VTA, Streit said, is crucial to continued work on the new pilot program.

Two weeks ago, the Highway 85 "corridor" won $9 million in funding from the county Board of Supervisors for a pilot project seeking noise reduction along the six-mile stretch of highway between Cupertino and Los Gatos.

Although he was encouraged by news of the funding, Streit and others keeping their eyes on the plan were wary that the county may not prioritize the relatively small budget item, and the work wouldn't get done until well into the next century.

Now the project's single contact, VTA representative Michael Evanhoe, will get up to speed on the scope of the project and begin comparing similar noise-abatement methods from outside the state.

Eventually, Streit said, representatives from the VTA and the West Valley cities that helped pressure the county will host public forums to gain more community input.

City denies new courts

A membership squabble and insufficient plans have kept the Saratoga Tennis Club from getting its 70-year-old courts renovated.

The club went before the city's Planning Commission July 14 to serve the plan, calling for the expansion of the courts to regulation size. The courts have been smaller than regulation for the club's 70-year history, and are in disrepair.

According to documents filed with the city, the membership of the tennis club is widely split on upgrading the facility, because fees will likely increase by about $500 per year to help offset costs. According to the club's president, the fees are low, at $210 a year. In some cases locally, she said, clubs have fees equal to that per month.

The commission denied the plan, although it did approve a general use permit for the club, something it's lacked in its history. Commissioners said the club needs to get its own house in order first, as well as come back with a more detailed plan on parking and traffic.

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