Preserve Our Heritage
HISTORY OF RESTORE SARATOGA
It Began with a Sawmill
In 1848, William Campbell set
up shop on the banks of what is now Saratoga Creek. His sawmill was destined to
be the seed of a new community, but before he could complete it, gold was
discovered at the western base of the Sierras, touching off the California Gold
Rush and delaying Campbell’s plans.
Martin McCarty leased
Campbell’s mill in 1850, and began improving access to the site by building a
toll road. The new road made it easier to transport lumber, and encouraged the
growth of industry in the area. Before long, the sawmill was joined by a
tannery, furniture factory, and paper and flour mills. The community that grew
up around them was known for short periods of time as Tollgate, McCartysville,
and Bank Mills.
Saratoga Becomes a Town
The settlement received a permanent name after
residents discovered a mineral spring in the early 1860’s. The spring’s chemical
content was quite similar to that of Congress Spring at Saratoga Springs in New
York, and in 1865 the town was officially named Saratoga.
To stem the rapacious annexation policies of
San Jose, the residents of Saratoga voted to incorporate and establish their own
City government in 1956. A slogan during the campaign to incorporate the city
of Saratoga was "Keep it Rural," according to historian Willys I. Peck.
Saratoga continued to flourish as a rural
community as stated in the City of Saratoga’s “Values Statement.”
APRIL 2010, SARATOGANS WERE BETRAYED BY OUR CITY COUNCIL WHEN OUR 2 STORY
LIMIT WAS ELIMINATED!
On
April 7 and 21, 2010, the City Council voted to reverse the sixty-plus year
history of a two story building restriction throughout all of Saratoga. With no
specific notice and minimal participation, the Council entirely removed the
limit on the number of stories for the CH-1 Zoning District (The Village), at
the same time changing the height limit for mixed use buildings in the Village
from 26 feet to 35 feet and removing all remaining two story limitations
City-wide throughout all City zoning and planning ordinances.
Very few Saratogans knew these highly controversial
changes were being voted on at the two City Council meetings in April 2010. The
City Planning Commission, staff and consultants held two well-publicized
community meetings to review and get feedback on the draft revision of the
City’s Housing Element. However, these changes to the height and limit on
stories in the Village were not discussed at either meeting or at the next two
Planning Commission study sessions on the Draft Housing Element. They were not
added to the draft until March 31, 2010, one week before the Council vote on the
revised Housing Element and much too late for public awareness or participation.
Even before the Council voted to allow three or more story
development in the CH-1 Zoning District, the City has been repeatedly threatened
with three story high density projects submitted by
various property development interests and the loss of the historic
City-wide two story limitation. A proposal to redevelop the El Quito
shopping area involved high-density three-story development with two stories of
residential construction over ground floor retail/commercial. A proposal
for the Village’s “Buy and Save Market site” also involved three stories and
high-density development, as did the proposal for extremely high-density condos
on Quito, near the railroad tracks. These proposals were discussed in
detail with City staff and the Planning Commission and/or Council. They should have been summarily rejected because
they violated Saratoga’s two-story development limit. Currently, the Saratoga
Planning Commission and City Council have the ability through rezoning and other
alternatives, to approve three story projects in spite of the City’s
long-standing two-story limitation. There have been additional discussions of
three story developments on Saratoga Avenue and on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road.
Restore Saratoga
In response to The City Council’s unprecedented action, a
group of concerned citizens formed “Restore Saratoga” in May 2010. Restore
Saratoga’s stated purpose was to qualify an initiative for the November 2010
election to reverse the changes the City Council had made in April.
By June 2010 Restore Saratoga had collected more than half
the signatures required for the November election. On June 24, 2010
representatives of Restore Saratoga met in a study session with the City Council
and agreed to address the two-story limit with a ballot measure. Throughout
July 2010, representatives from Restore Saratoga worked with city staff, the
city attorney, and representatives of the Council to develop
an initiative for the November ballot and ordinances to address shared parking,
50% commercial/residential ratio, and density clarification in the general plan. At the end of July the City Council placed a
measure on the ballot to limit most commercial buildings in Saratoga to two-stories.
This became known as
Measure Q.
The campaign that ensued became “the most dishonest and
corrupt campaign in the history of Saratoga.”
Measure Q Loses
Measure Q lost by 204 votes out of 14,082 votes cast. The
California State Realtors' Political Action Committee, headquartered in Los
Angeles, essentially bought Saratoga lock, stock, and barrel.
On Going
Since the election, the Restore
Saratoga Steering
Committee has been meeting and developing strategies. Our “Mission Statement”
currently defines our organization and focus.
We are currently monitoring
every development application, every planning commission meeting, and every city
council meeting.
We are actively engaging in fund raising as we anticipate
Saratoga's future.
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