Planning board backs advisory opinion to remove one parcel from Wesley PUD and return it to UR1

The Saratoga Planning Board on the night it met unanimously recommended that the city council remove a 0.79-acre parcel from the Wesley Planned Unit Development and revert the lot to UR1 single-family zoning, clearing the way for Wesley to sell the parcel for a detached house.

Dave Carr of the LA Group, representing the Wesley Community, described the parcel and the community context, saying Wesley welcomed its first tenants in 1972, became a PUD in 1993 and has amended the plan several times since. Cliff Van Wagner of Wesley told the board the parcel is a separate tax lot with a single-family house on the corner and that Wesley’s intent is to sell the lot and leave the rest of the campus and PUD unchanged.

Board members asked several clarifying questions about a nearby paper street and about utilities. Planning staff advised the board that sanitary sewer is not available at the parcel’s location and that the utility issue should be flagged for the council. The applicant and staff confirmed the city owns the paper street and that it is unlikely to be developed; the applicant characterized the paper street as woods and grass.

Patty Morrison moved a positive recommendation to the city council to remove the parcel from the Wesley PUD; the motion passed unanimously among the four members present. The board asked staff to include a note to the council describing the sanitary-sewer limitation so the council can weigh that information as it considers the map amendment.

The board also noted that two other tax parcels near the Paper Street were not part of the current application and would require separate filings if Wesley later sought changes to them. The board’s recommendation is advisory; the city council will take the final action on the rezoning.

Next steps: the advisory recommendation and staff note about utilities will be forwarded to the city council as part of the formal review process.