By Khalida Sarwari
Saratoga city officials have suspended the annexation of nearly 207 acres of land in an area of unincorporated Santa Clara County south of Glen Una Drive after property owners there expressed opposition to the plan.
During an Oct. 1 city council meeting, council members were advised by senior planner Chris Riordan that the majority of residents in the area were strongly opposed to the annexation.
“It is clear there is overwhelming public opposition to this annexation,” Riordan told the council. “If the annexation were approved, it would likely trigger an election.”
The election, Riordan said, would have to be held in spring of 2015 at a cost of nearly $42,000 and likely would not support the annexation.
One property owner spoke on behalf of several others and stated that residents at 77 percent of addresses in the area have indicated they aren’t in favor of the annexation. Redberry Drive residents Mike and Jenny Jacobs stated on their comment form thaat annexation “will increase costs and add restrictions to our remodel desires. It decreases our property value and forces us to change address. [These are] just a few negative impacts among the many.”
These comments echo those of 35 others that attended an open house in June held by the city to discuss the proposed annexation and answer questions regarding it. According to Riordan, all residents who attended that meeting were opposed to the annexation. Owners and residents in the annexation area also responded negatively to the plan on a public comment form that was mailed to them regarding the plan.
Upon receiving Riordan’s report, Vice Mayor Howard Miller proposed a motion to “direct staff to inform LAFCO that it would be foolhardy to proceed based on the evidence that’s been presented.”
Added Miller, “The overwhelming majority of the people do not wish to be annexed, and we do not intend to move forward with the annexation.”
The motion was passed by a vote of 5-0.
City officials had sought annexation of the entire area, known as STG05, and bounded by Glen Una, Canon and Redberry drives. The area consists primarily of 121 properties.
Just last October the council approved a work plan and timeline to consider the annexation of these properties after Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, a commission tasked with regulating the boundary changes proposed by other public agencies or individuals, conditioned the city on two separate occasions to consider annexation of the area.
The area is considered an “urban unincorporated island,” which are unincorporated lands within a city’s Urban Service Area that have not yet been annexed into the surrounding city. The county and LAFCO promote the annexation of remaining islands by cities as part of the county’s General Plan and urban growth management strategy.
The city of Saratoga contracts with the same fire and police protection service providers as the county, so these providers would have stayed the same even in the event of an annexation. Water and sewer services are the same for the city as they are for the annexation area, so these providers would also remain unchanged.
Link: Proposed annexation of county land near Glen Una suspended
