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Fast food gets a quick decision--no Subway in the Saratoga Village

City council says no to sandwich shop application

By Jason Sweeney

Miya Glasauer stretched a 6-foot-long Subway sandwich across the stage. She hoped the display would convince the Saratoga City Council to allow her to open a Subway sandwich shop at Corinthian Corners in the Saratoga Village.

The council was not impressed. At its regular meeting on April 5, council members voted 3-2 to uphold the Saratoga Planning Commission's rejection of Glasauer's application for a conditional-use permit.

With her bid to open a Subway franchise at the head of the Village shot down, Glasauer said she would not attempt to open a Subway elsewhere in the Village. "I have other things to do and a lot more going on."

On March 8, the planning commission voted 5-2 against allowing Subway to open at Corinthian Corners. The commission determined a Subway sandwich shop at Corinthian Corners would not help to preserve and enhance a pedestrian environment in the Village that is inviting to potential shoppers and diners. It further determined a Subway would not encourage a good mix of businesses downtown. Concerns were also raised about unsafe vehicular circulation on the corner caused by Subway's stop-and-go customers.

When Starbucks Coffee applied for a conditional-use permit at Corinthian Corners last summer, the planning commission rejected the application, only to have that decision overturned by a 4-0 vote of the city council following an appeal. Nasser Hiekali, the owner of Corinthian Corners, and Glasauer were hoping for a similar outcome for Subway.

Most speakers in the crowd of more than 50 people in the council chambers during the public hearing opposed Subway.

Lillian Benson, who works at M.E. Benson's Antiques up Big Basin Way from Corinthian Corners, was one of the speakers. "No neon signs!" she said. "No corporations! And absolutely no fast food!"

"I am a Saratoga resident," Glasauer said. "I have lived here 15 years. Subway is not fast food." Glasauer said Subway is willing to take a risk in Saratoga where other businesses would not. She said the council should take advantage of this. "I have every right to open a store there."

Vice Mayor Aileen Kao and Councilwoman Ann Waltonsmith came down against Subway. Waltonsmith said she had watched Subway customers at other locations. They parked, got their food and then drove away. She said a Subway at Corinthian Corners would cause traffic safety problems without bringing foot traffic to other businesses downtown.

"The Saratoga Village is a very special area with a lot of history and heritage," Kao said. She cited the need to preserve the Village's unique character.

Councilman Nick Streit disagreed with the planning commission. "It appears what we're saying here is that no successful business can go in there because of traffic," he said. "We don't really have a true pedestrian character in the Village yet. We're going to promote a new character there."

Councilwoman Kathleen King has worked to attract new businesses to the Village during her term on the council. She said because Subway was a restaurant, it had to apply for a conditional-use permit whereas retail businesses could move in without one. A high-traffic retail business such as Victoria's Secret could move in without having to apply for a permit or face arguments concerning traffic safety issues, she said. "What I'm finding is [new businesses] don't want us," she said. "They want the city to pay for the risk of coming in." Regarding traffic safety, she said, "I have realized that if we want a vital downtown, people are going to have to drive more carefully and slowly."

Mayor Norman Kline, who voted in favor of allowing Starbucks into the Village, was the swing vote. He disagreed with most of the findings of the planning commission. "We already have chain stores in the Village," he said. "That's not the issue." Kline, who works in the Village, said he walks past Corinthian Corners several times a day. Higher traffic there would be a safety issue, he said. "It's this particular location I have a problem with."

Kline's vote against Subway means Hiekali will have to find a new tenant for his empty storefront. After making a large investment to renovate the corner, he was unhappy with the council's decision and unsure what kind of business would fill the vacancy. "A dry cleaners," he said, "or maybe a Victoria's Secret."