The Saratoga City Council approved the Saratoga Retirement Community Master Plan Update on June 19, 2024. This decision included a zoning reclassification to a Planned Community District and the certification of the associated Final Environmental Impact Report. The project site is located at 14500 Fruitvale Avenue, encompassing three contiguous parcels that total approximately 37 acres.
The property is currently designated as Community Facility Sites under the General Plan and zoned as R-1-40,000.
The campus includes the original Odd Fellows Home, which was constructed in the early 1900s by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows to care for older members. This structure is listed on the City of Saratoga’s Historic Resources Inventory. In 1996, the City Council increased the permitted residential units from 170 to 307 and skilled nursing beds from 68 to 99.
The facility did not build all permitted units; it currently operates with 249 residential units and 94 skilled nursing beds.
The approval process began with an application submitted to the city on June 21, 2019. The review period included multiple opportunities for public input, starting with a community information meeting in November 2021. A scoping period for the Environmental Impact Report ran from November 22, 2021, to December 22, 2021.
The Draft Environmental Impact Report was available for public review from July 6, 2023, to August 21, 2023, with a public meeting held on August 2, 2023.