Letters

Let the market decide what is best use of land

These proposals to restrict land use in the city of Saratoga rival the tenets of former Communist regimes.

What would be wrong with allowing the economic reality of the market to dictate the use of property? What would be wrong with providing smaller housing units in the Village for older citizens yearning to throw off the yoke of responsibility of a large piece of property? What would be wrong with being able to utilize your property in a manner consistent with its highest and best use?

And finally, what would be wrong with the idea that after buying a property, maintaining it, improving it, paying property taxes for years and years ... one is able to develop it to its best economic benefit?

The city of Saratoga has never and will never promote business in Saratoga. The basic founding precepts were to provide a bedroom community for San Jose. There was to be no industry, and commerce was generally looked down upon. Now that some property in a commercial area has been converted to residential use, the city council feels the need to become majority partners with merchants and business people.

There's plenty wrong with the notion that the city of Saratoga feels the need to supplement Patrick James clothiers coffers with $20,000 of Saratoga taxpayers' money in order to induce them to open a store in Saratoga. If the location were economically viable, we couldn't keep Patrick James or any other store out.

Let the market decide what is the highest and best use of the land.

Lea Ann Hernandez
Big Basin Way

The city didn't do its homework on sewers

After reading the comments of Robert Larson regarding the lucky residents who live within 200 feet of the city sewer system, I felt I should add my experience in this matter. I am one of the lucky, although in my case, I am replacing my home so I have no recourse.

I am in the process of getting quotes to do the actual work now. We have contacted seven contractors in the last two months and have received only two quotes back. These quotes were to connect to the sewer line in the street and run it to our property line only. The costs given me were $22,500 and $12,500. I have not been able to get a third quote to balance the other two. Mind you, this is does not include the connection to the house, nor does it include the permit.

So for a pipe approximately 25 or 30 feet in length, it will cost my family a minimum of $17,500,$5,000 for the permit, and I still can't flush the toilet!

It is my opinion that the city did not do its homework before mandating that 200 lucky families hook to city services. I think the money would be better spent trying to identify septic tanks that are in need of repair rather than replacing the ones that work. The city should also have picked a time frame when the contractors were not buried in work. I received a notice from the city to comply within 180 days. In fairness to the city, a family has one year to hook up after the purchase of the permit.

John Bellicitti
Marshall Lane

Septic systems not culprits of city's creek pollution

It looks like the poor culprits that are polluting our beloved creeks are none other than our sewer systems. And on the other hand, last month at a West Valley Sanitation District directors meeting, I asked if they were ever able to pinpoint any particular septic tank that is presently leaking into Saratoga Creek. The silence was deafening. The answer was obvious. They then continued talking about the leaks from their sewer system.

I sympathize with their problem and the apparent future problems that will soon "be coming down the tube." One, of course, would expect this after the district claimed in 1997 that "Saratoga Village has sewers dating back to about 1910."

Some try to confuse the situation by diversionary statements that "septic tanks are 19th century."

Sewers are much older than "19th century." Maybe they date way back to the days of the Roman Empire. And they too must be used in the future even though they often have detrimental effects on our California beaches up and down the coast along, with our San Francisco Bay. The group BayKeepers claim that "910 million gallons of sewage goes into our Bay six to eight times a year." The sewage problems are here to stay.

What's obvious right now is the fact that septics, which are blocks and miles away from downtown, are not gushing into the creeks. Sewer systems are, and the experts are trying to repair them.

One might wonder exactly where this e-coli fecal coliform comes from. When you find a failing septic, it is easy to trace it to a particular home or business. But this present mess is something else. Very confusing! Looking at my "sewer" map of downtown and vicinity, the main inputs come to the point of interest directly from sewers of Big Basin Way (15 inches) and Saratoga-Los Gatos Road. Of course, these are fed by many feeder lines upstream. Then looking at the city map, a cursory guess of the area involved could be most of the village and from there fanning out in a southerly direction.

So, now what? Should each of these businesses and residences go to the bank and take out $20,000 to $25,000 to fix this broken part of the system? I think that that would be so unfair because none of these people did this on purpose. We shouldn't punish the innocent. (Note: that range of dollars is what most septic tank owners--a.k.a. scapegoats--have to cough up.) At least this time we'll be repairing something that is broken. The scapegoats, on the other hand, have to use their savings to break something that is working and then hook up to a polluter.

Hey! What can you do? It's the Saratoga law.

Bert Martel
Fruitvale Ave.

Correction

In the article about the lip-reading classes at the Saratoga Senior Center and the Jewish Community Center in Los Gatos in the Aug. 23 issue of the Saratoga News, the phone number for the instructor Marcia Fariss should have read 408.739.8860.

West Valley Safe Rides program under new managment

The Hakone Foundation holds its annual meeting

California considers 'right to know' legislation

Photos: The jazz quartet Fourplay & Triton Museum sculpture exhibit

Youth Talk

Sports Briefs

Saratoga Palomino baseball team wins crown

Bartels brothers each win tennis titles in Alpine Hills Fall Classic

NJB basketball tryouts, signups coming up for boys, girls teams

Local teams in field hockey jamboree

Photos: Courtside Tennis Club