By Khalida Sarwari
Some residents of the Saratoga Retirement Community are concerned about a plan by the city to build more affordable housing. The planning commission approved an application on Nov. 13 to modify the existing conditional use permit for the California Odd Fellows Foundation to allow 75 additional housing units to be built on the nearly 10-acre site at 14500 Fruitvale Ave.
The residents claim they did not receive a notice about the Nov. 13 meeting and therefore were not given an opportunity to have their input considered during the hearing that resulted in the adoption of the resolution, especially those residents who use San Marcos Road to access their properties.
“We are the ones who use the same entry road and will be most directly impacted by increased density at this site,” reads a letter from Saratoga Retirement Community residents to the planning commission. “The bulk of those who were notified have their access off of other roads and are totally unaffected by this development.”
The residents say they have paid for the privilege of living their retirement years in peace and that this new development would bring along with it traffic, noise and dust resulting from construction, in addition to an increase in density from the new people moving in, impacting on-campus services and facilities such as the dining hall and gym.
“We came here to enjoy our retirement, and we don’t want to all of a sudden end up in a construction zone,” said one resident who asked not to be named.
The city contends that the development is necessary to help Saratoga meet the mandated state regional housing requirements. Saratoga’s total Regional Housing Needs Assessment allocation is 292 housing units, which includes 158 units for low and very low income households. The city identified the Odd Fellows site for this proposed development due to it having the greatest potential to accommodate the additional units, according to a city report. However, construction of the units would still require a design review approval by the planning commission.
Furthermore, the city report indicates that a notice with a detailed project description was sent to property owners within 500 feet of the project site and that no comments were received from neighboring property owners.
“I just want to say that I have, through the Foothill Club, been a partner in the holiday baskets that we take to the low-income seniors there and met an awful lot of people–wonderful people–working there and working with the seniors, and I just think it’s a real asset for our community, which is by and large a very affluent community, to have this kind of facility for senior citizens,” said Joyce Hlava, chairwoman of the planning commission.
The issue is expected to go before both the planning commission and the city council in December. A number of residents plan to attend the meetings and voice their concerns, foregoing their original plan to appeal the ruling. According to one resident, an appeal would cost the residents $600, not to mention they were told by city officials they stood little chance of success.
City officials have indicated that the plan is in the beginning stages and that further meetings soliciting insight from residents are pending.
The Saratoga Retirement Community was established by the International Order of Odd Fellows in 1912 as a residential care and nursing home for seniors. The “Fellowship Plaza” includes 150 residential units located in four three-story buildings and operates under an existing conditional use permit which has been modified numerous times over the years to permit expansion and modernization of the facility, according to a city report.
Plan to build more housing on Fruitvale draws some complaints
