The sidewalks outside of Hero Ranch Kitchen and Flowers Saratoga on Big Basin Way will be expanded for outdoor dining after a Saratoga City Council vote on May 21.
Council unanimously approved the expansion as part of a pilot program tin downtown Saratoga that started with Bella Saratoga restaurant in March. Chamber of Commerce President Jim Cargill spoke in favor of allowing Hero Ranch Kitchen and Flowers Saratoga to participate in the pilot, emphasizing community support and saying that the sight of people eating downtown would inspire others to come to downtown Saratoga, thus improving foot traffic and economic vitality.
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“People don’t know that we’re open for business,” Cargill said. “This will say, ‘Saratoga is open.’ We’re really trying to build this business climate, build this foot traffic and get people here.”
The project will replace three parallel parking spots in front of the two restaurants. A metal fence and planters will help direct the flow of pedestrian traffic as diners sit in outside. Like Bella Saratoga, the owner of Hero Ranch Kitchen and Flowers Saratoga will cover all project costs.
The restaurants are on Big Basin Way, which runs along state Highway 9. Public Works Director John Cherbone told the council that staff would only need to get one permit from Caltrans for both locations and can combine design efforts. He added that expanding the pilot program would give the city an opportunity to collect more data on foot traffic and business activity.
A resident named Neta who is involved with the Saratoga Vitality Neighbors spoke in support of the project, saying that the expanded sidewalks would make Highway 9 safer and give storefronts the opportunity to offer “more lively entertainment.”
“Our residents need a reason to convene–not just the expanded sidewalks, but combined with that,” she said.
However, a resident named Glenda asked over Zoom that the council not approve the project. She said she was wary of the pilot program because there is no evidence that it’s improving foot traffic and business activity yet and that the design would make Big Basin Way look “narrow” and “weird.”
Councilmember Tina Walia also voiced concerns about the narrowing of Big Basin Way and asked if that would affect emergency evacuations. A staff member said he didn’t know what the project’s effect on the evacuation route would be without a traffic study.
“We don’t have the money to provide for this, and that was one of the fundamental reasons that I said no to this” in November, Walia said.
Councilmember Yan Zhao said she was “a little concerned about destroying the charm” of downtown Saratoga, but approved the project in hopes that having more outdoor dining would revitalize the area.
Mayor Belal Aftab said that although 12 businesses have voiced interest in the sidewalk expansion program, he was not looking to approve all of them. He added that the three restaurants in the pilot program were approved because they could fund the project and could help answer questions surrounding the program’s implementation.
Aftab added that he was not concerned about parking becoming an issue in downtown because the pilot program would result in the loss of only five of more than 600 spaces.
“This to me is not just saying we’re business friendly; this is just us meeting the basic requirements of just about what every other neighboring city does, which is facilitating outdoor dining,” Aftab said.