By Khalida Sarwari
Saratoga’s effort to update its decades-old safety element in the city’s General Plan is progressing thanks to a $175,000 state grant, city officials said this week.
RBF Consulting has been working on the project since it was awarded a contract by the city last May. A team of RBF representatives is expected to make a presentation to the planning commission on Jan. 8 to give commissioners a preview of the updated element. The study session will be an opportunity for the planning commission to ask questions and receive clarification about the document, said community development director James Lindsay.
The next step will be a public hearing on Jan. 23 to receive input from the community, after which the planning commission is expected to make a recommendation to the city council on the adoption of the safety element document. The council will then decide if it wishes to approve or adopt the document, said Lindsay. The council will hold a study session to discuss the issue on Feb. 4, followed by a public hearing on Feb. 20.
The safety element is one of seven elements in the city’s General Plan, a document that every city is required by law to have and one that sets the goals and policies for that city, as well as guides the future of the city’s development. Of the seven, which include land use, circulation, housing, conservation, open space and noise, housing is the only element that cities are required to update at least every seven years. The last update that Saratoga did was of its circulation plan in 2010, according to Lindsay. The process of updating each of the elements is a costly one, he said, so cities will typically choose one to prioritize every year.
The time to update the safety element of the General Plan was ripe, not only because the last update was in 1987, but because the city received funding from the state’s 2008 Disaster Recovery Initiative grant specifically to update its safety element.
That element pertains to natural and human activity-related hazards in Saratoga, along with the measures to address them through advanced planning and preparation before they become serious problems. The document addresses geologic, seismic, flood and fire hazards, as well as hazards created by human activity such as hazardous materials and waste.
In Saratoga’s case, the three main areas to monitor are fault lines, such as the San Andreas Fault, landslides and fire areas, according to Councilman Chuck Page.
“I think that it’s important to do this at this time,” said Page. “It’s really important that we identify all the different avenues or possibilities of risk.”
The city is paying RBF about $94,000 to update the safety element and will use the remainder of the grant funds toward an updated ground movement potential map.
The public hearing on Jan. 23 will be held at 7 p.m. in the Civic Theater, at 13777 Fruitvale Ave., in Saratoga. The safety element is available online at www.saratoga.ca.us/safetyelement.
City making safety a priority by updating part of its General Plan
