Planning commission approves Saratoga PUD request and clears consent agenda items

The City Planning Commission approved consent items that included three plats, two time extensions and a zoning case that would allow a planned unit development (PUD) for Saratoga 400 Partners LLC, the commission voted unanimously to approve items 2 through 7 as presented by staff.

The zoning case, listed in the staff report as ZN8634, would change a portion of the site from RS 4.5 (single-family 4,500-square-foot lots) to an RS 4.5 PUD that requests two deviations: reducing minimum lot area from 4,500 square feet to 4,000 square feet, and reducing minimum lot width from 45 feet to 40 feet. Andrew Dimas, Development Services, summarized the request: “The two deviations that are being requested is to go from 4,500 square foot lots ... to 4,000 square foot lots, and from 45 feet of width to 40 feet in width.”

Why it matters: commissioners and staff debated whether the PUD application includes the kinds of amenities—parks, shared courtyards, pedestrian features—often expected to justify a PUD. The staff explanation cited the Unified Development Code review criteria (UDC…