The Saratoga City Council voted unanimously on August 19 to approve Masson Estates, a hillside residential development proposed for Pierce Road. This decision reverses a July 8 rejection by the city’s planning commission, which had determined that the project’s environmental impacts outweighed its benefits.
The development consists of 25 single-family homes, including 20 market-rate units and five affordable units. It is located in a zone designated for hillside residential use, an area noted for high wildfire risk. Primary vehicle access will be via Saratoga Heights Drive, while a new emergency access road will connect the rear of the site to Pierce Road at Vintage Lane.
To address environmental and safety concerns, the developers are required to implement several mitigation measures. These include home hardening and defensible space standards to reduce wildfire risks, improvements to Pierce Road, and the construction of a new one-mile public trail. The project also mandates the removal of 367 trees and the installation of detention areas for stormwater management.
Following the planning commission’s initial denial, developers filed an appeal within one week. They argued that under the builder’s remedy provision of the Housing Accountability Act, the project cannot be lawfully disapproved. Attorney Gabe Roth stated that the city council has very limited grounds for denial, specifically limited to inconsistencies with health or safety standards.
Roth noted that no existing standard regarding evacuation times or wildfire risk qualified as a valid reason for rejection.