Dozens of community members turned out Oct. 23 for a meeting on the city of Saratoga’s efforts to revitalize the economy in its commercial areas like downtown Saratoga, also known as the Village.
Vice Mayor Belal Aftab and council member Chuck Page, co-chairs of the city’s ad hoc committee on economic vitality, gathered Saratoga residents and business and property owners to brainstorm recommendations to eventually bring back to the city council.
The effort goes back to a city council vote at the beginning of the summer to form the ad hoc committee, but is the result of a mounting desire among Saratoga residents and community members to bring foot traffic to a city that some said once was a hub for community gatherings.
Though only about 1% of the city is zoned for commercial use, the group discussed ideas ranging from hosting more events to marketing it as a destination for outsiders. Page noted that cost will remain a barrier in these efforts because of Saratoga’s limited budget.
While the city’s budget is balanced for the current fiscal year, officials have projected a shortfall in years to come.
“We’re building this plane as we’re flying it, and that’s because you want to be able to move quickly,” Aftab said at the meeting.
Attendees at the meeting also discussed the details of a new pilot program the committee had been working on to advance economic vitality in the Saratoga Village. Owners of Hero Ranch Kitchen, a fine dining restaurant on Big Basin Way, volunteered to cover the cost of facilitating more outdoor dining at the restaurant while city staff work to help secure the proper permitting for the project from the state.
Aftab having restaurant owners willing to cover the construction costs would be more efficient than setting aside money in the city’s budget, allowing outdoor dining to return to the Village much more quickly. It would take over a year for the city to fund construction after the council goes through its budgeting process, he said.
“Part of our intent with the pilot program is to be able to move more quickly than that; private funding allows us to do that,” he said.
