Yesterday I attended the Saratoga City Council meeting. I was there to watch my son and some other boy scouts from Troop 566 lead the pledge of allegiance.
He and his scout friends were also there to complete Communications merit badge requirement #5 which is Eagle-required.
Requirement #5 asks the scouts to learn the pros and cons of an issue discussed at a public meeting and then report the information back to the merit badge counselor. That’s me!
So I'm now listening to boys from ages 12 to 16 give me their opinions on whether or not Saratoga should raise building heights from 20 to 26 feet.
My opinion is that it’s a silly proposal in the first place since as Howard Miller kept pointing out through his questions, even if the rule was 26 feet, which is about two stories high, a business can apply for an exemption and go much higher, for example, Safeway at Argonaut Center is, if I heard correctly, is 35 feet.
As a side note, despite the controversy now with the scout organization, it’s a fantastic program to help kids develop into mature adults. I voted to accept all gays, both under and over 18 into the organization. I think any organization that is anti-gay is antiquated. We’re in modern times now.
Back to the meeting. The hot issue that the city council discussed was the building height limits. I honestly did not understand most of the commission report. The man used a lot of jargon and was so confusing that I kind of tuned him out until the council started asking questions.
Most of the people at the podium could use some help with elevator pitches. The woman who spoke first from Restore Saratoga didn’t really make her point. Crying didn’t help her case. I didn’t understand her position on the subject and she didn’t articulate what she wanted people listening to do.
Three minutes in the spotlight wasted!
However, Chuck Page, Manny Capello, Emily Lo and Howard Miller asked some great questions which helped our group better understand the issue of the height limits. Mayor Jill Hunter was mostly keeping the meeting going smoothly.
My position on the height limit is that if you are going to make a bunch of exceptions, why bother with setting a limit in the first place?
However, my son who is a mature 12 years old, said that if there were no limits at all, builders would just go crazy and there could be high rises and building out of control. I get that. We love our rural Saratoga feel and don’t want views to be blocked so that attitude makes sense.
My son also added he could not decide whether he supported raising the building height limits from 20 to 26 feet until he could actually see and tour a few 26 foot buildings. He said approving higher building depends on many factors and so he officially remains neutral on the subject. He was frustrated because only the city council had pictures but the audience didn’t.
Another scout who is 13 said people are worried about high commercial buildings near their homes because they might not like what they are doing in that building. What if the business makes a lot of noise? These kids get an A+ in listening!
However, I was a confused about the difference between commercial, mixed use and residential height limits.
I think this is the case. You can build a residence, like a town home over 20 or 26 feet now. But if you want to build a business, it has to be 20 feet high or lower, not including the stuff on the top of the building like the AC unit. However, you could pitch your case to the city and ask to make a higher building if you make it pretty and no one argues. This means you add some trees and slap some fancy stones on the front.
A man from the commission responsible for studying this issue came up with some proposals. He said that they are okay with raising the building height limit to 26 feet, but they want to include the stuff on top of the building in the 26 feet. Previously that wasn’t counted. Secondly, he said that he hasn’t heard any stories of higher building areas in Saratoga having higher crime rates or more noise.
However, because he was wishy-washy in his proof, I don’t really believe his answer. I you are going to make a strong statement like that, then you had better back it up with a survey or testimonials.
Unfortunately I left at 8:30 pm before the citizens spoke. I did read a lot of their e-mails which were shared with me by the City Council so I believe I get the gist of their arguments against.
They don’t want noise, extra traffic, potentially higher crime and blocked views with higher buildings in their neighborhoods.
My PR advice to the people who want to keep the building height limit low is to skip the crying at the podium and just:
a. give the benefits in favor of what you believe, and . . .
b. say exactly what you want the council and audience to do. If we agree with you, how should we vote? When should we vote?
I know this is a hot topic. I invite people to comment on this blog and correct any misstatements I have made.
And I hope the crying lady who needs to work on her elevator pitch skills is feeling better today.
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Michelle McIntyre, who has been a resident of Saratoga since 1998, is the president of MMC high tech public relations, the parliamentarian and social media chair for Sixth District PTA, a Boy Scout merit badge counselor for journalism and communications, a director for the Silicon Valley International Association of Business Communicators, and a volunteer with TEDxSanJoseCA, which features talks that inspire and ideas worth spreading.
