Saratoga News
News
Photograph by George Sakkestad
A new condo development may soon replace the Glenbrook Apartments in Saratoga, and residents like Beverly Hill are very concerned about where they can find affordable housing to relocate.
Development could force renters to scatter
By Shannon Burkey
Nestled in a wooded area behind Nealle Hollow in Saratoga is a small community within a community, the Glenbrook Apartments. Some of the residents have lived here for more than 30 years, some for only months. From a 90-year-old woman to a newborn baby, they are all very different.
They are not only neighbors, they have also become friends.
Glenbrook is one of the last places in Saratoga where rent is affordable, and the residents who live here have found a real home in an area they otherwise would not be able to afford.
But their community may soon be gone, and the residents may have to scatter to places outside of the city of Saratoga to make room for a new condo development, even though most of the residents work in the area or have lived here for years.
Although the application, filed by JMS Enterprises, is still being reviewed and the designs are still in the initial process, the residents are a little anxious as each day passes, and they do not know if this is the day they will get a notice saying they must move out.
"Everyone is on pins and needles. Do we start packing now? When do we start looking?" resident Nancy Sheehan said.
Sheehan, who works in Saratoga, said she is considering a move to Paso Robles because there are no other place to rent here.
"We have to move out of the area. What else can you do? Everything else is so high here," Sheehan said.
The cause of a lot of the residents' frustrations is not knowing what is happening. They said they feel they have not gotten a lot of information since they initially learned of the pending plans.
"They haven't told anyone anything since it all began," said resident Beverly Hill. "We see men in suits walking through every now and then, but they don't tell us anything."
The plans call for the demolition of the existing 20-unit building and the rebuilding of 20 three-bedroom condos.
Neither JMS Enterprises nor property owner David Morrison could be reached for comment.
"The condos will likely be sold for a lot more than what the residents are paying," city building inspector Brad Lind said.
As the residents wait to hear what their future holds, some feel that they are unfairly getting the boot from a city and a home they have come to love.
"I know this is America and the owner can do what he wants with his property, but the process seems suspicious to me," said Jaime, a resident who declined to give his last name. "It has been perplexing because we can't get any information. It feels political."
One of the concerns that Jaime and other residents said they have, even if they have to move, is the removal of a few very large redwood trees on the property.
However, according to city contract planner Deborah Ungo McCormick, before the plans reach the planning commission, a mitigating negative declaration will be issued. The declaration will address any environmental concerns, and if any trees are to be removed, they will be replaced with trees that can be better maintained.
For now the residents are enjoying each other's company as they await their fate.
"Nobody wants to leave. This is a good group of people and we all know each other so well," Hill said. "But we won't really have a choice."
