There were tears and there were strident voices of opposition. The Saratoga seniors put up an impressive show of force and pleaded with the council to keep the property and develop it.

But it wasn't enough.

Faced with an unprecedented budget crisis, three city council members—Nick Streit, Vice Mayor Norman Kline and Mayor Kathleen King—gave the go-ahead to sell it. Ann Waltonsmith and Aileen Kao voted to keep the property.

City staff will now prepare a tentative map for the campus so that a potential developer knows how many building lots could be developed on the property. The general plan designation for the property will have to be changed from a public facility to minimum density residential.

A possible layout already prepared by city staff shows that the North Campus property could be divided into nine lots ranging from a size of 10,001 to 12,653 square feet.

John Cherbone, city public works director, said that preparing a tentative map could take three to four months. City staff members estimate that the 2.6-acre property could sell for $6—9 million. The North Campus, formerly the Grace United Methodist Church, was purchased by the city in 2002 for $4.5 million.

The city council at that time had envisaged that the West Valley Sheriff's Substation would move into the civic center while the Saratoga seniors moved to the North Campus.

But the campus buildings were in a state of disrepair. And in the aftermath of the dot-com collapse, the city never had enough money to renovate all the buildings and make them fully usable again.

For three years, the North Campus remained a bugbear for the Saratoga City Council. As city finances worsened, the council was under pressure to sell the piece of mostly unused property.

In the end, it took about 80 minutes of deliberation by the council before it decided to sell the property.

But not before a last-minute plea by some Saratoga seniors.

As one senior citizen after another walked up to speak to the council about the issue, they pleaded with the council to keep the property.

"Selling this property will be painfully short-sighted. The city needs a well thought out tax proposal," Bill Ford said.

Bob Cancellieri asked the city to rent out the property at fair market rates. John Feemster and Genie Dee of the Saratoga seniors talked about the need for more space for senior activities.

The League of Women Voters of Santa Clara Valley was represented by Barbara Mendenhall. "The funds will eventually come back. The governor has promised that some of the local money will be given back to us in the next two years," she said.

Jack Mallory, a city councilman between 1980 and 1984, told the council that selling the North Campus would be a mistake.

"The council has to find a way to involve the community and get their trust," he said.

As the debate moved to the council, an emotional Waltonsmith said that the campus should be retained by the city for civic use.

She argued that various citizen groups need more public space.

"The civic center is jammed," she said, adding that the proximity to West Valley College and Redwood Middle School causes excessive traffic in the area.

Waltonsmith said that the Methodist Church had sold the property to the city at a below market rate on the implicit promise that it would be used to serve the citizens of Saratoga.

"Our credibility is on the line. Why would anyone trust us in the future? We are not being ethical here," she said.

Streit and King made their intentions about the campus clear from the beginning. They wanted to sell it.

Streit said that the money from the sale could be used to upgrade some of the other public facilities in the city. "With the sheriff moving to Cupertino, the original purpose of having the North Campus has disappeared," he said.

Kline said that most of the city reserves were spent. "We cannot be bound by a promise made by a previous city council," he said. "We have to make the best decision now, based on current factors."

Councilwoman Aileen Kao talked about a plan to lease the property and develop it. She gave the example of West Valley College which has leased out some property. "Let us keep the leasing option as a project and then decide if we want to sell the campus next year."

With two council members each on either side, it was clear that King's vote would determine the fate of the North Campus.

She did not mince her words.

"It kills me, I'm going to have to change my mind. I didn't want to sell it. But I am going to vote to sell the North Campus," she said.

And with that, the long running saga of North Campus seemed to have moved toward a resolution.

"We tried," said Feemster to the assembled seniors as they walked out of the building.

Outside, the seniors huddled in the parking lot of the civic center.

"The council had a real opportunity to make a statesman-like decision tonight. The current city government is not close to the people," Mallory said.

Aki Okuno, a charter member of the Methodist Church, was visibly distraught at the city council's decision.

"I'm really disappointed. I think I am going to go home and cry," she said.