Compared to Los Gatos, Saratoga's downtown is not much of a moneymaker. The city of Saratoga, with a slightly larger and wealthier population, has revenues of about $9.6 million, whereas the revenues for Los Gatos are about $39 million. In Saratoga, 7 percent of city revenue is from sales taxes, but for Los Gatos it's 18 percent.

One option the city has been exploring for boosting activity in the Village is to temporarily relax parking requirements for downtown businesses. Currently, downtown businesses have different requirements for parking spaces determined by square feet in gross floor area. Restaurants are required to have more parking spaces than retail establishments. Parking spaces vary in cost up to as much as $75,000.

The theory is that if the city relaxed parking requirements for a period of time, local property owners would make renovations and expand their floor space, and new businesses would be encouraged to occupy vacant storefronts.

After a series of public meetings, city staff has decided that the relaxation of parking requirements would be an effective, low-cost way to stimulate development, while also being agreeable to most downtown business owners.

"This is one part of the overall effort to stimulate activity in the Village," Community Development director John Livingstone said at a Dec. 14 meeting of the planning commission.

After a lengthy discussion at the meeting, Commissioners Linda Rodgers, Michael Schallop, Manny Cappello and Susie Nagpal voted to relax parking requirements in the Village for three years. Jill Hunter was the opposing vote. Commissioners Mike Uhl and Robert Kundtz were absent.

Several Village business owners spoke before the commission in favor of relaxing the requirements.

However, Bob and Shirley Cancellieri, owners of the buildings that house Tapioca Express and the Saratoga Market, spoke before the commission about the unfairness of relaxing the requirements. Bob Cancellieri said that he had paid more than $300,000 for parking over 15 years and that new owners could move in without having to pay the costs that he did.

"What profit we were making, we gave it to the parking district," Shirley Cancellieri said. "We deserve something for giving out all that money over the years."

Gene Zambetti, of Zambetti & Associates, has an office in the Village. He was pleased with the planning commission's vote. "I think it was a very successful start to bring goods and services that we need to the Village," he said. "They have the opportunity to build that square footage in the Village, which is good for all of us. It's an inexpensive step to take to get a great return."

Hunter's objection to the relaxation of parking requirements was prompted by a worry that it might cause change to come too quickly. "First of all, I'm a Saratogan and I'm a preservationist," she said during the meeting. "Be careful what you wish for." She said there was a possibility that the Village might lose its unique character and end up looking like every other place in the valley.

She disagreed with a report done by Fehr & Peers, a consultant firm hired by the city, which concluded that there are 93 surplus parking spaces downtown. "The study was done a long time ago," Hunter explained. "They're saying it's a way to revitalize the Village, but if you can't find a parking space that becomes an irritation and not revitalization."

"My view of revitalization is getting people to shop in the Village, having monthly events to get people to come to the Village, convincing people they should shop in the Village because it's picturesque and charming," she said. "That's the aspect I don't want to lose.

"Essentially, a lot of them could get two stories onto their buildings," she said. "For example, the Plumed Horse, when it's sold, the new owners could add another floor and not have to pay for more parking.

"Maybe they'll put two stories on all the buildings and it will be fine. It's just I like the Village the way it is."