Saratoga residents concerned about hillside builder’s remedy application

A proposal for a new housing development in the Saratoga hillsides has sparked safety concerns among residents in the area.

The proposal includes 25 single-family homes, of which five will be affordable, on a 72.45-acre site on Pierce Road near the intersection of Saratoga Heights Drive. William Hirschman of Chateau Masson LLC – the co-owner of Mountain Winery and the same individual behind another proposed housing development at the winery just east of the Pierce Road proposal – first proposed the development last May.

The site of the Pierce Road project, known as Masson Estates, is also within a mile’s drive of the proposed development at Mountain Winery, which consists of an 81-room boutique hotel, 255 housing units on the winery’s property and parking areas, covering 19.2 acres.

But residents in the area said they already struggle with traffic along Pierce Road. They worry that if they have to evacuate in event of a fire – which has happened to some in the past – more housing units that bring in more residents could be a safety hazard, causing even more backup on the narrow road.

Hirschman said he is planning to work with a fire consultant, who will help design the housing units to include fire-resistant features and warning systems to notify residents about fires as soon as possible.

“As part of the overall development plan, Masson Estates has a robust wildfire protection program in development that will be studied as part of the city’s project reviews to ensure the site meets all contemporary requirements of California’s stringent fire and building codes,” Hirschman said in a statement.

Masson Estates includes “site improvements such as roads and public utilities concentrated on the northern approximate 18-acre portion of the site,” along with plans to build an emergency vehicle access road about 20 feet wide, according to the city.

The city of Saratoga issued a notice of preparation for a draft environmental impact report on May 29, for which the public comment period closed on June 9.

The proposed development invokes builder’s remedy, a provision of state law that allows developers to build projects of any size and height in the absence of a state-approved housing element, a plan for all housing to be built in the city in the next eight years.

The city of Saratoga submitted in March the fifth draft of its housing element to the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Bryan Swanson, the city’s community development director, said in a statement that HCD confirmed on May 21 that the housing element meets the statutory requirements of state law.

But he said state officials are holding back their finding that the housing element is in “substantial compliance” with state law until the city’s zoning code specifically states that it will allow “nondiscretionary review” for housing developments in which 20% of the units are affordable.

That process, Swanson said, will need to first pass through the planning commission and city council, and then submitted to state officials, which will likely happen later this summer.

“At that point, we do not know when HCD will provide a response and approval of our housing element but (we were) informed by HCD that review will be timely,” Swanson said.

In the interim, developers can still invoke builder’s remedy in their proposals, which has frustrated members of the community. Several residents spoke at the city council meeting in March when council approved the most recent version of the housing element, criticizing the builder’s remedy applications that the city has received so far.

Mona Kaur-Freedland, who lives near Mountain Winery, said the venue already brings traffic to the area with its summer concert series, and the two developments together would bring a lot more traffic to the area year-round.

“I don’t see this project in isolation,” Kaur-Freedland said of Masson Estates.

She also expressed concern about the safety of pedestrians and cyclists on Pierce Road, having witnessed multiple bicycle accidents in the 13 years she has lived in the area.

Glenda Aune, who has lived in the area for 40 years, said she has to cross Pierce Road to reach her mailbox, a simple act that has gotten more dangerous over the years as more houses have resulted in more cars on the road that drive at higher speeds.

“It can be dangerous,” Aune said. “We wear a little yellow jacket, a vest to try to make sure people see us, but it’s kind of in the blind spot because people are going fast.”