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Planning to send General Plan on to council for consideration

By Shannon Burkey

After months of hard work, including four study sessions and two public hearings, by the planning commission, planning department and Saratoga residents, the Saratoga General Plan is ready to move a step closer to being updated--a process that has not taken place for 23 years.

Commissioners voted 4-0 at their Jan. 24 meeting to send the document to the city council for its review and possible approval. Commissioners Susie Nagpal and Manny Cappello were absent.

"We're so happy it's moving forward," Commissioner Joyce Hlava said. "This is a great step forward in terms of making the General Plan more readable and more accessible to the public."

The General Plan is a comprehensive general policy guideline, mandated by the state of California, for all cities in the state to follow. Each city is responsible for writing its own General Plan and updating it when necessary.

Because Saratoga's has not been updated since the 1980s, the city's General Plan, which consists of seven key elements, is not in compliance with state requirements. The city has been working to update the Land Use Element and the Open Space/Conservation Element. Updating these elements at the moment will meet the state's requirements and bring the Saratoga General Plan up to date.

Planning commissioners have been working closely with the planning department and outside consultants, as well as hearing from numerous residents about the things they would like to see the General Plan reflect.

"It was very helpful to have all these people who spent a lot of time perusing it and going through it with a fine tooth comb," Hlava said. "On a whole, we looked at and considered everything that was brought before us."

During the process of updating the plan, many residents came out often to voice their concerns about the things that were and were not being added to the General Plan.

Saratoga resident Cheriel Jensen has attended nearly every meeting concerning the General Plan and often had lists of ideas for the commission to consider. But she said she is not sure the plan is completely ready to move forward.

"My hope had been that we would really address certain issues and do what was needed to keep us out of trouble," Jensen said. "I don't see that happening."

Jensen had several concerns she brought to the commission once again before it voted on whether to send the plan to the council. Among those she listed were the need to clearly state in the General Plan that timber harvesting in Saratoga's hills is not permitted, issues with neighborhood density and adding in language that would protect parklands and open spaces in the city.

Another concern she had was the inconsistencies in the General Plan when compared to the zoning ordinance.

"Currently the General Plan language would allow for a bed and breakfast in a neighborhood, but the zoning ordinance would not," she said. "One of the reasons we did the General Plan update is to get consistency and in some areas we still don't have that. This is one of the issues the council is going to have to grapple with if they want a consistent plan."

Jensen said she plans to attend the meetings with the council and share her knowledge and ideas.

"It's not too late. There are still opportunities to make these things happen," she said.

Commissioners felt it was time to send the plan to the next step.

"We're glad to have it go to city council and meet the state requirements so that we will be able to use it as a foundation for zoning and land use going forward," said Linda Rodger, commission chairwoman.

The next step in the process will take the plan back to a study session with the city council. At that time, residents with further concerns will have the opportunity to voice them to council members. The council will then decide if the General Plan update is ready to go to a public session where it could be voted on for approval.

"I hope it looks as good to the council as it does to us," Hlava said.