Tonight, April 7, 2010 at 7 PM the City of Saratoga Council meets to review and approve an update to the General Plan 2007-2014 Housing Element and other land use Elements, which include the following proposed changes:

• Establishment of a new zoning district C-NRHD (Commercial Neighborhood Residential High Density) in Saratoga Village.
• Removal of the 2 story limitation for buildings facing Big Basin Way in the Historic District Regulations.
• Removal of the 3 story limitation for buildings facing Saratoga Creek.
• Leaving a 26′ height limit for any new structure or addition in CH-2, leaving a 35′ limit in Ch-1.
• Changing the zoning on the triangular strip of commercial property south of Prospect Ave. and east of Lawrence Expressway (around Westgate car wash) to Commercial-Neighborhood High Density Residential.  This is in response to the Housing Element requiring the identification of “underutilized sites” in terms of capacity of possibility for low/moderate income housing.*

The Housing Element Policy Action calls for creation of a new mixed use zoning district permitting rental and owner occupied multifamily residential development with a minimum density of 20 du/net acre.  This ordinance, which would allow 3 story buildings, would apply not only to redevelopment of the Buy and Save shopping center, but also much of Big Basin Way in Saratoga Village.

In October, 2009 Saratoga, CA residents listened to David Rossi developer describe plans to renovate the Buy and Save shopping center in Saratoga Village.  Apparently, this proposal is being stalled because of environmental issues, but redevelopment eventually needs to be done to this important site.

There is an active group of merchants and others interested in preserving the quaint historic character of Saratoga Village.   Click>here for a link to the Saratoga Village Blog with more information on Saratoga Village.

As an interesting sidebar, the Housing Element forecasts that population in Saratoga will have a modest increase from 31,700 residents in 2010 to 33,900 in 2030.

*Note: Based on the provisions of California AB 2348, the City of Saratoga must accommodate at least 50 percent of its lower income (very low- and low-income) RHNA need on sites zoned exclusively for residential use. The City has identified the Odd Fellows Retirement Community as having the greatest potential to accommodate this need. The retirement community is currently comprised of 143 independent living apartments and cottages.

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• Saratoga Artists Interpret Charm of The Village and Community
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• Saratoga Village Development Council Aids Village

The map above shows various neighborhoods in Saratoga, CA.

As a Realtor it seems to me that the logical process in home buying is to first choose the community you like and can afford, then narrow the search to select the most desirable neighborhoods (constrained by affordability) and then find the specific home of your dreams that is for sale.

So what what defines a neighborhood and distinguishes one neighborhood from another?

1. Scale - Everyone lives in a neighborhood, but a resident’s sense of it differs dramatically depending if you are in an urban, suburban or rural setting.  In urban areas, neighborhoods are probably focused on a street or even a portion of the street that gives it focus.  A real estate website called StreetAdvisor has a slogan “your street, your voice”.  In suburban areas, neighborhoods are often subdivisions or tracts.  In rural areas your nearest neighbor may be miles away.
2. Lot Size – related to scale is the prevailing size of parcels in an area, which in turn is related to it’s history.  Whether streets are in a grid or curvilinear determine the feel of a neighborhood.
3. History– When a neighborhood was first developed is reflected in the street patterns and lot sizes.  Modes of transportation prevalent during that era determined the importance of the automobile or mass transit.  Alleys were prevalent before garages  came to dominate the street scene.  Nodes of higher intensity residential development grew up along major transportation lines.  If there were large agricultural ownerships converted to residential subdivisions, the homes tend to be more uniform unless the lots were sold to individuals.  The land value of some Saratoga neighborhoods has become so valuable because of school scores that they are in transition with newer much larger homes replacing older much smaller homes.
4. Architecture – Related to history is the prevailing style of construction of the era.  Victorian, craftsman and various historic revival architectural expressions tend to be clustered in some neighborhoods and not in others.  House size is an obvious reflection of status of a neighborhood.  Newer homes tend to have more open floor plans and many new Saratoga homes have basements.
5. Landscaping – The type and maturity of trees and other landscaping features create a unique feel for many neighborhoods.  Some have uniform street trees; others are noted for their variety or relative lack of attractive landscaping.  The root system of heritage oaks constrain construction, but are also emblems of stature.
6. Schools – It used to be that the ideal neighborhood was defined in terms of walking distance to a public elementary school.  While it is now the exception that children walk to school unaccompanied, proximity of playmates is still a factor in defining neighborhoods.  School scores are extremely important, but in many school districts, physical proximity does not automatically insure enrollment. Private schools have also  loosened the ties that once bound neighborhoods together.
7. Boundaries – natural features (rivers, topography, etc.), man-made improvements (roads, railroads, etc.) and political boundaries have a lot to do with the identity of neighborhoods.  Neighborhoods are often defined as much by their edges (perimeter walls, border and median landscaping, etc.) as they are by their cores.
8. Access– some neighborhoods have well defined entry points with walls and signs.  Other neighborhoods are defined by their limited access, whether it is a cul-de-sac or a guard access gate.
9. Associations – Community associations and common areas and recreational amenities define certain neighborhood as distinct from others.  Rules and regulations in the form of CC& R’s have a varying impact depending if they collect dues.  Neighborhood Watch organization reflects practical informal associations of neighbors.
10. Proximity – Some dominate features, whether they be a hill or an institution can create neighborhood identity by mere proximity.
11. Social Cohesion– While Realtors and others are prohibited from discriminatory practices regarding ethnicity, religion, sex, handicap, country of national origin or other sociological factors they may have obvious physical manifestations to even the casual observer. *  Bars on windows, graffiti, the brand, age and repair of automobiles and general tidiness may be reflections of social status or safety/crime.  The clustering of certain types of business and their signage may reflect the social cohesion or character of neighborhoods. Either presence or absence may be important to homebuyers.
12. Custom – Some neighborhoods have adopted, colloquial names coined by Realtors such as the “Golden Triangle”.

Ultimately all the above 12 factors plus the subjective evaluation of many individual homebuyers and homesellers is what determine property values in neighborhoods.  Subjective factors such as beauty, style and status are less easy to quantify, but very real.

Websites such as Neighborhood Scout identify only 6 relatively large areas within the Saratoga, CA community – these are more like aggregates of neighborhoods and in my opinion are less fine grained than homebuyers perceive.

I used my background as a Realtor and geographer to define a greater number (31) of distinct Saratoga  neighborhoods according to the criteria above.   Call me if you are looking for a Saratoga native and a neighborhood expert.  Subscribe to my blog if you find it interesting and helpful.  Spread the word.

*Important Note:  According to our cod of ethics “When involved in the sale or lease of a residence, Realtors® shall not volunteer information regarding the racial, religious or ethnic composition of any neighborhood nor shall they engage in any activity which may result in panic selling, however, Realtors® may provide other demographic information.”

Rick Bonetti | Alain PInel Realtors | Saratoga, CA | 408-857-8800

In addition to discussing planned events in March and April, the group saw plans for a $1.2 million Saratoga Village Pedestrian Enhancement project, scheduled to start construction in June and be complete by November 2010.  Old world stamped concrete will be added to pedestrian crossings at intersections of Big Basin Way (Highway 9) with 3rd and 4th streets; medians and even median trees will be added in a few places near 4th street. Eight parking spaces will be sacrificed as side walk planters are “bulged out”.  There will be a new entry sign, hanging flower baskets and a kiosk at Blaney Plaza. The project will improve pedestrian safety as well as providing attractive decorative embellishments.

A vibrant downtown village improves real estate and home values in Saratoga.  Support your local merchants.

For more information on Saratoga Village, check out the Saratoga-Live website or their blog.

To subscribe to my SaratogaVoice blog mailing list click on the subscribe to feed RSS button to the right.

Follow me on Twitter @SaratogaVoice.

I’m a Saratoga Native – let me help you buy or sell a home in Silicon Valley.

Related article:

• Location, Location, Location in Saratoga, CA

Rick Bonetti | Alain Pinel Realtors | Saratoga, CA | 408-857-8800 | DRE #01237009

That’s the case in Silicon Valley, where there is rapid absorption of REO eating up available inventory in some sub-markets.  Click>here for a spreadsheet showing total pending and available single family inventory by MLS Market Area and the proportions of those totals that are “distressed properties” (either short sales or REO).

For example, Alum Rock (area 4) and South San Jose (area 11) have 440 homes and 304 homes pending respectively, but 86% and 88% of all homes in these areas are short sales or REO!  These are definitely “distressed” or “impacted” sub-markets.

In contrast, Los Gatos/Monte Sereno (area 16), Saratoga (area 17), Los Gatos Mountains (area 23) and Los Altos Hills (areas 221) have relatively low proportion of pending sales vs. total inventory, so are “slower selling” sub-markets.  However, they also have a very low proportion of REO or short sales and are not considered “distressed”.  Prices are soft from lagging demand in the upper price points.

Palo Alto (areas 230-240), Los Altos (areas 211-214), Mountain View (areas 200-210), Cupertino (area 18) and Almaden (area 13) have both a very strong absorption rates and very low rates of foreclosures.  These are some of the strongest sub-markets in Silicon Valley.  With that said, buyers are still quite price conscious and will not overpay; specific school scores may also determine if a property sells quickly or not.

Cambrian (area 15), Campbell (area 14), Sunnyvale (area 19) and Santa Clara (area 8) have higher proportions of foreclosures, but also good absorption.  These areas are experiencing brisk sales activity, sometimes with multiple offers.  Some buyers think they can “low-ball” prices only to find that others have bid over list price.

The Wall Street Journal had an article today that noted locations around the country with bidding wars (multiple offers).   While they did not specifically mention Santa Clara County, this is a spotty local phenomenum here too.

I hope this information “from the front lines” helps flesh out and adds understanding to broader scope articles such as in the Silicon Valley Business Journal which is based on historical Dataquick statistics.

Almaden is known for having great schools.  In fact, when I hold open house in Almaden I get quite a few homebuyers who previously were looking in Cupertino, but are now attracted to Almaden for the schools as well as the value.

Most of Almaden (area 13) is in the San Jose Unified School District.  The western portion of Almaden (north of Via Campagna, east of Guadalupe Creek, and west of Monteverde Drive, north of Redmond and west of Vilmar Ave. and Crump Ct.) is in the Campbell Union High School Districts (free zone 2**).  A tiny portion of Almaden (south of Via Campagna) is in the Los Gatos Joint Union District.

Click>here for a link to the San Jose Unified School District boundary maps.
Click>here for a link to the Union School District boundary map.
Click>here for a link to the Campbell Union High District.
Click>here for a link to the Los Gatos Elementary School District locator map.

Here is a list of API school scores for last year (2008):

San Jose Unified
Graystone Elementary – 941
Los Alamitos Elementary – 895
Simonds Elementary – 931
Williams Elementary – 951
Bret Harte Middle – 915
Castillero Middle – 810
Leland High – 849
Pioneer High – 809

Union Elementary
Guadalupe Elementary – 921
Dartmouth Middle – 854

Campbell Union High
Leigh High School – 805
Branham High School – 775

Los Gatos Elementary
Blossom Hill Elementary – 942
Raymond J. Fisher Middle School – 905

Saratoga-Los Gatos High School District
Los Gatos High School –  846

**Note: Homes in “Free Zone 2″ according to the boundary map have their “home district” as Branham, but students are offered the one-time choice to go to either Leigh or Branham. (One-time means if a 9th grader chooses to go to Branham, they then give up their option to transfer to Leigh. However, if they start at Leigh, they can try to transfer back to the home district but are not guaranteed a spot… It also means “one-time per child” so siblings may attend different high schools. The choice needs to be submitted in Jan-March of the spring before the school year. Also, the one-time choice is available to 10th-12th graders if they have just moved into the district… not sure if they move mid-year what happens.

There is a “normal” market above about $625,000, but unfortunately the majority of homes priced under $580,000 are either real estate owned by a bank (REO) or are short sales, where the value is less than the current loan amount.

About two thirds of the pendings are “normal” sales, but one third are REO or short sales. They dropped their price an average of $44,583 before they got a buyer and undoubtedly agreed upon an even lower price to be disclosed upon closing escrow. REO and short sales predominate pending sales under $600,000.

For more information click>here.

For a bigger map click on the blue link below.

View Larger Map

Click on the blue “View Larger Map” link below to show outlines of the boundaries of the neighborhoods I have used.

View Larger Map
I am a geographer by background, having earned a MA from UCLA many years ago.  I still have a spatial and analytical perspective. I hope you enjoy the information and find it useful.  Rick Bonetti