Quito Village Development Project

Soil Vapor Contamination (Updated July 8, 2021)

Environmental investigations at Quito Village Shopping Center have identified elevated levels of tetrachloroethene (PCE), benzene, and ethylbenzene in soil vapor (the air space between the individual soil grains) beneath the shopping center. The contamination can be attributed to past operations of the former Quito Dry Cleaners and a former gas station. Although the contamination is associated with past operators, the current site owner has requested oversight from the County of Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health (DEH). The current site owner’s environmental consultant will collect additional samples to evaluate the extent of on-site and off-site contamination and other relevant site conditions. Based on the results, the next steps will be identified. It is likely that cleanup and mitigation will be required along with long-term monitoring. Work will be performed by the current site owner’s environmental consultant and regulated by the DEH.

The City of Saratoga has no authority over the site assessment and remediation; however, given community concern about the topic, the City prepared a courtesy notice in cooperation with the DEH to describe the current status and likely next steps. The notice will be mailed to properties near the Quito Village Shopping Center.

Learn more about the remediation efforts and subscribe to receive email notifications throughout the process. 

Project Background

Sand Hill Property Company owns the Quito Village shopping center at the corner of Cox Avenue and Paseo Prasada. On January 9, Sand Hill submitted an application to develop a mixed-use townhome project at Quito Village using California State Senate Bill (SB) 35 and the California State Density Bonus Law. These state laws require the City to process this application in a specific way that differs from what many communities are familiar with.

Project Details

Residential

  • 90 residential units (both for sale and for rent)
  • 17 buildings
  • 10% of units affordable

Commercial

  • 4,999 square feet
  • 1 building

Parking

  • 53 surface parking spaces
  • 180 spaces in garages attached to townhomes

Open Space

  • 76,871 square feet
  • Private central park area
  • Public pocket park
  • Open plaza near commercial building

Quito Village Application

The following information was submitted with Sand Hill’s application and is currently under City review:

Submitted Documents

Submitted Plans

Highlights of Submitted Plans

The complete plans are also available for review at City Hall in the Permit Center.

City Documents

At the Neighborhood Information Meeting on February 13, City staff answered many questions regarding the Quito Village Development Project application, the SB 35 process, and the City’s development standards. Some questions could not be answered during the meeting, and and those questions and answers are now available.

The City sent the letters below to Sand Hill Property Company regarding the review of their project application. These letters clarify information in the application and deem the project consistent with the law’s objective planning standards and eligible for streamlined, ministerial review.

These letters issued ministerial approval for the project in accordance with SB 35. The City also submitted a list of requested modifications to the project. State law only requires Sand Hill Property Company to comply with the City’s objective development standards. They are not required to accommodate the City’s requested modifications, but we hope they will consider them to address the community’s concerns.

Timeline

January 9
Sand Hill Property Company submitted application
February 5City Council Meeting to review SB 35 process for any projects citywide
February 13Neighborhood Information Meeting on the Quito Village development project and SB 35 process 
March 9City confirmed SB 35 eligibility by the State deadline
March 25City issued project approval by the State deadline