The Saratoga Planning Commission voted on May 8 to advance a controversial proposal for an expansion to the Saratoga Retirement Community.
The planning commission’s recommendations pave the way for the Saratoga City Council to hold a public hearing on the matter on June 5. But residents of the retirement community, also known as SRC, have expressed concern that construction of the expansion will negatively impact their quality of life, and that the expansion itself will detract from the center’s historic and rural feel.
Planning commissioners approved three resolutions on May 8: to certify the final environmental impact report for the expansion, approve rezoning for the project and approve a master plan update and design review for the project.
While approval of the master plan update and design review passed with five “yes” votes and an abstention from commissioner Herman Zheng, commissioners expressed mixed feelings about the decision.
“Not that it matters, but I wish we could have piecemealed it,” chair Jojo Choi said. City staff had declined Choi’s request for the planning commission to approve only the parts of the master plan that the group liked earlier in the meeting.
The proposed expansion will consist of three new buildings that will result in 52 new units for the SRC, bringing the total number of residential units in the facility to 298.
Bob Berglund, a longtime Saratoga resident who moved to the retirement community almost 10 years ago, said the residents who oppose the expansion plan to appeal the planning commission’s decision in advance of the June 5 public hearing.
Several residents turned out at the meeting to express their disapproval of the proposed expansion, many of whom were wearing green shirts that read “preserve SRC campus.” The residents are not entirely opposed to the idea of adding more units to the campus, located at 14500 Fruitvale Ave., and as such proposed an alternate plan that would result in only one new building with 20 new units.
“Commissioners, there’s just no space for more buildings; we have reached the maximum already,” resident Tsing Barden said at the meeting.
The planning commission’s approval is the latest step in the SRC management’s efforts to expand its facilities, which started in 2017. The June 5 public hearing will be the third regarding the controversial issue since the expansion was proposed.