Saratoga finalizes the controversial housing policy despite the concerns of the regular procedure – The Mercury News

The Saratoga municipal council on March 5 gave its latest approval stamp to a new controversial policy which eliminates the automatic notification of residents of Saratoga when new housing developments are planned for their neighborhood.

Voting 4-1 of the Council came despite a last-minute advocacy of a lawyer representing a local community group to do otherwise.

“We strongly exhort the municipal council to reintegrate the discretionary examination processes to ensure that neighboring landowners retain their constitutional rights to regular procedure,” read a letter from the lawyer for housing rights Sabrina venskus.

Politics changes were part of the consent calendar on March 5, a set of routine articles that the Council approves in a single request. The council was ready to do exactly that, but Michael Burry, resident of Saratoga, representing non -profit citizens for responsible and fair development, called on the advice to open the article for a complete discussion. The non -profit organization is made up of a handful of residents of Saratoga whose mission is “to ensure responsible and equitable implementation” of certain housing laws.

Burry, with Venskus and the community group it represents, said that new policies violate regular procedural rights for people neighboring new housing developments and do not comply with California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA.

“Placing this on the consent calendar is inappropriate; He is disrespectful towards the hundreds of residents who have expressed concerns about transparency, security and public participation, “said Burry. “We urge you to draw this article, allow a public discussion completed this evening and give residents a chance to weigh before making a decision that will change the future of our community.”

The city’s prosecutor, Richard Taylor, said that he had not seen any consideration of regular procedure and that there had already been “in -depth public comments” on the issue.

“This is something that is very common throughout California, throughout the courts,” said Taylor about changes in housing policy.

These changes have been the subject of discussions of the municipal council and the planning commission in recent months after the implementation of the city’s housing element, a plan for all housing to be built in Saratoga by 2031. These policies establish objective design standards for new accommodation developments and implement a new process of projects that meet certain criteria, including Square feet.

Called ministerial examination, the process allows these projects – if they meet the established standards of the city – to immediately receive approval without contribution from the planning committee. The planning commission approved new policies during a vote of 4-3 in January, and the municipal council did it during a 4-1 vote, with the member of the Dissident Yan Zhao Council. Zhao was again the only dissident vote on March 5.