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City and citizens scale down their vision for a new Civic Center
Other improvements will include expanding theater
Plan to raze site scrapped
By Oakley Brooks
While discussions addressing a proposed Village public safety center continued last week, the city moved forward in developing a master plan for revamping the other center: the Saratoga Civic Center on Allendale Avenue.
The 8.3-acre complex houses the civic theater, city hall and community buildings used by the city's recreation and senior programs.
And while the civic center's redesign process is well ahead of the public safety center's--the civic center talks began almost two years ago--the fate of the two centers has been linked.
City council members scrapped one proposal to raze all the current civic center buildings because the prospect of completely reconstructing the center seemed far too expensive with the possibility of a public safety center looming.
"As a taxpayer, I don't want to pay for both," Mayor John Mehaffey said.
Both the remodeled civic center and the safety center, which has received support from council members, would likely be financed through voter-approved bond measures.
Early estimates for the combined fire, sheriff's and post office facilities in the public safety center have run between $8 million and $18 million. City officials and contractors have yet to affix a dollar amount to the civic center project, as the components of the reconstruction are still to be decided upon.
At an Oct. 9 study session, council members began that decision-making process after agreeing not to level the site and to keep the city hall offices.
Renovation and expansion of the 30-year-old theater, used by the West Valley Light Orchestra and the Saratoga Drama Group, drew strong support from those groups and from the city. Under the guidelines the city provided to architect Christopher Noll, the theater would gain dressing room space and larger restrooms, and retain about 300 seats.
Council members also showed interest in separate chambers with seating for 150 people for their biweekly council meetings. Vice Mayor Nick Streit continued his push to put a gymnasium on the site--a 13,000-square-foot facility is under consideration.
The new center will almost certainly contain an expanded community and adult daycare center, as that was the impetus for civic center redesign discussion some two years ago. The city would like to expand that space from 16,471 to 28,000 square feet.
To fit all the proposed building, as well as some 300 cars, the council warmed to the idea of a multilevel parking structure near the back of the site.
Noll said he originally feared that the council wouldn't stand for a multilevel garage, given Saratogans' dislike of imposing structures.
But given the alternative of lining most of Fruitvale and Allendale avenues with parking space, council members pushed Noll to include the structure in future drawings.
"I'm for minimizing the visible effects of cars lined up along the two streets," Bogosian said. "This doesn't give us any kind of Saratoga identity."
With the layout of the civic center still to be finalized, the aesthetics of the new complex are still up in the air. Two themes, however, seemed to run through discussion on Oct. 9.
Council members liked a number of Noll's proposals that extended the city hall, which would include the council chambers and adjoining plaza, out toward Allendale Avenue. A proposed drop-off driveway close to the buildings would make them even more accessible.
Noll has also pushed to restore some of the city's land along Saratoga Creek, which forms the boundary of the triangular civic center property along with Allendale and Fruitvale avenues.
"We're hoping to make the creekside area more of a front yard than a back yard," Noll said.
City officials and Noll will host another study session Dec. 11, at which Noll will present two proposals that synthesize requests made last week. He's hoping to make the drawings available on the city's website at www.saratoga.ca.us in late November.
The city does not have a definite time line on when it would like to begin and end construction.
Councilman Evan Baker acknowledged last week that the phased construction of the several proposed buildings at the civic center may take up to a decade to complete.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
