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Keep 'Santana Row' where it is--not in Saratoga Village

By Willys Peck

The contour of Saratoga Village business buildings could hardly be said to constitute a metropolitan skyline, but that is due for a change in a small way. A very small way, to be sure, but a change. Call it a mini-skyline.

Now in the works is a development called the Saratoga Village Mixed-Use Project, planned for downtown Big Basin Way. It would encompass the area of the present Saratoga Village Center, 1.3 acres that take in the Buy and Save Market on one side and the Wells Fargo Bank on the other, along with the intervening shops bordering the parking lot.

The proposal lists 13,500 square feet of ground-floor shops: small to medium-size retail shops and restaurants. Above these would be two levels of residential uses, a total of 45 living units. Two additional three-story buildings would be located behind a central courtyard space. Of varying sizes, the residential units would average approximately 1,300 square feet. There would be two levels of underground parking space, with 150 stalls.

As to architectural style, it is described as 1920s California courtyard design, with "lush landscaping." The comparable development I have heard referred to is Santana Row, at Stevens Creek and Winchester boulevards. As to Santana Row, I've always preferred the pear orchard that originally was at that location, but that's just part of my mossbackism, to coin a word.

The thing that concerns me most about this ambitious plan is the matter of access. There are four thoroughfares leading into the Village, roughly north, south, east and west. I have never taken a traffic count, but I would venture to say that, of these approaches, the eastern one, Saratoga Avenue, carries the greatest load. It is, after all, the most direct route to the major part of Silicon Valley.

I would say that this road--two lanes up to Fruitvale Avenue--is pretty well maxed out traffic-wise, at least during peak hours. The vehicles in those 150 parking stalls could add significantly to this burden, and those ground-floor shops could easily account for an increase over the present shopper traffic.

In my book, and I hope others', Saratoga Avenue is not a reasonable candidate for widening, and this isn't just because I live on that street. Widening would desecrate one of the loveliest approaches claimed by any community. Santana Row, stay where you are!

Still on a negative kick, I have been contacted by a resident of Brookside Glen Apartments, at 14234 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, who is justifiably concerned over the owner's announced plan to destroy those residential units and put in 20 high-end townhomes, 10 duplexes and two luxury homes facing the creek.

The access to those apartments is through Neale's Hollow, and it is a choice location. There are nine 50- to 100-year-old redwoods lining the creek along this property. My informant describes the present units as the only remaining affordable duplexes-apartments in the area, and it appears likely the residents will be ordered out in November. They will be hard-put indeed to find any comparable living units. These people want to stay where they are.

Speaking of redwoods, an organization called Neighbors Against Irresponsible Logging, or NAIL, is fighting San Jose Water Co.'s proposed logging of "the largest, oldest and most profitable trees" from 1,002 acres in the Los Gatos Creek watershed. Whatever happened to conservation?

So let's get on to something of a positive nature. A celebration called Saratoga's Founders Day at Hakone will be held Sept. 14, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at the famed Japanese garden at 21000 Big Basin Way. There will be a buffet reception and a visual and oral tour of more than a century of Saratoga's history. Honored guests will be individuals and families who lived in Saratoga 50 years and more. Yours truly is also on the agenda, but don't let that deter you. Reservations are $25 and can be made by calling 408.741.4977.