Saratoga News
News
Brookside Glen residents unhappy with proposed town home project
By Shannon Burkey
The residents of the Brookside Glen apartments are not happy. Developers want to tear down their quaint community nestled among redwood, birch, pine and oak trees behind Neale's Hollow in Saratoga, and the residents are not ready to go without a fight.
The property, owned by David Morrison, consists of three main buildings comprised of 17 single-story units and three two-story units with an open grassy area and swimming pool in the middle.
In its place, the developer, JMS Enterprises, plans to put in 20 two-story town- homes. All of the proposed units will be three-bedroom units with basements and attached two-car garages.
The Brookside Glen apartments were built in 1962,and some of the residents have lived there for more than 30 years. It is one of the few places in Saratoga where rent is affordable, and the residents fear if the developers succeed and they do have to move, they will not be able to stay in Saratoga.
At the Sept. 13 planning commission meeting to review the design of the proposed project, residents came out to voice their concerns.
Saratoga High School senior Michael Green told the commission he is worried about having to transfer to another school in the middle of his last year.
"You are pretty much kicking 30 people out of Saratoga to bring in 60 others. Are we not good enough?" Green asked the commission. "If you kick us out, you will pretty much be changing my whole life."
Although the rent for an apartment at Brookside Glen has been affordable, Eugene Zambetti, who spoke on behalf of Morrison, said they have remained at the present rates because of the uncertainty of the property. He also said if there were no plans to redevelop, the rent for the apartments would be much higher and more in tune with the rest of Saratoga.
Colin Gray, vice president of acquisitions for JMS Enterprises, stressed his company will work with the residents to find affordable housing for them elsewhere.
Not being able to find affordable housing in Saratoga if they have to move is not the residents' only concern. Many have grown to care about the area and are worried about the environmental impact a development of this magnitude will have on it.
A Mitigated Negative Declaration that addressed all environmental issues with the project was done. Although the MND indicated the project would have "no impact" or "less than significant impact" to the surrounding environment, the residents disagree.
"Contrary to the determinations in the MND, we believe that there are valid, fair arguments that the project would substantially impact the environment and the declaration fails to adequately address and mitigate the potential impacts," the residents said.
They urged the commission to postpone making any decision on the project until there had been enough time to adequately study all of its impacts.
"In reality, the project will remove over 35 trees and displace over 30 people, some who have lived here for over 30 years. This project would triple the amount of people and triple the amount of vehicles to the area," resident Neil Gupta said to the commission.
Parking and traffic issues were also a concern to the commission, which said it they would like to see a different access way into the project. Currently the only access road goes through the Neale's Hollow parking lot.
"There are some real concerns with this project, and I think it needs to go back to the drawing board," Commissioner Jill Hunter said. "This project is a big deal, and when there is a mistake, it falls on all our shoulders."
The commission moved for a continuance and referred the project back to the planning department staff to work with the developer to address the commission's concerns.
