Rishi Kumar Intern with Councilmember Kumar http://www.rishikumar.com/intern Monthly City Council update http://www.rishikumar.com/newsletter.html Direct all city/council related emails to rkumar@saratoga.ca.us Connect with Rishi —> Facebook.com/Rishi || linkedin.com/in/rickkumar PHONE 408 805 5993 || Facebook.com/VoteRishi || @rishikumar1 Office hours: 1st Saturday every month, Bell Tower Bistro (10AM to 11AM) Keep up with the latest, subscribe to Councilmember Rishi Kumar’s newsletter http://groups.google.com/group/GreatSaratoga

1. J u l y 2 0 1 5 N E W S L E T T E R
HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN….
Dear Friends,
The summer days are just so delightful! Our city is buzzing, and
almost every week, there is something going on in our city. Are you
plugged in?
JULY EVENTS: We started the month with the city’s annual 4th of
July celebration at Kevin Moran Park. It was a fabulous turnout, a
celebration of our history and the finale with the grand parade was
just spectacular. What a fantastic community gathering. How about
the Saratoga has Class(ic) Car Show. That was a big hit. Is anyone
missing our street party now? The flashmob that day had everyone
on Big Basin Way dancing and the drone-cam hovering over
Saratoga? The Saratoga Chamber and Tiger Teerlink just created history. Recognizing Saratogans at a special Saratoga
Historical Foundation event had me enraptured with Saratoga’s fascinating history. We have had a cherished past, and
there is an opportunity to create an amazing future, and that is why we need to continue to address our challenges
strategically.
ONLINE BOOKING: Towards making our city services cheaper, faster, better and easier to access, we have taken our
city facilities rental process online i.e you can now make city facilities reservations (limited scope initially) via our city
website. This is something that was on my campaign charter and I am very happy to see it happening. Why should we
physically have to walk into the city office to make a rental booking in this day and age? Ultimately, many of our city
services will go online to make it easier for our citizens to leverage our city services.
SAFETY: Safety is an issue that has emerged as a major concern. This month, on the city council I brought up this
topic. Saratoga had been the safest city in California 2 years in a row - 2012 and 2013. Last year we were the 5th safest
city in Calfornia. But the break-ins this year have gone up, compared to last year WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO TO
ENHANCE THE SAFETY OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS? Take the 2 minute survey – click on tinyurl link. Below are
some ideas I presented at our council meeting today, and thus, we have agendized SAFETY by inviting our Captain Sung
to present to the council at a future meeting. The quest for a Safer Saratoga continues. Here
1. Coffee with a Cop - once a month at a Starbucks / Peets for 1 hour. Allows an interactive dialogue - apart from the
annual crime safety forum
2. Communicating with Neighborhood Safety Watch groups. Maintaining an email list of the Leads for every
Neighborhood Safety Watch in the city, communicating with them once a quarter.
3. List of surveillance cameras - this list managed by Santa Clara County. Simple UI via a website or mobile app for
citizens to provide this information
4. Mobile app - managed by Santa Clara County, but allows citizens to select their city of choice to get relevant data.
These were some ideas - I would love to get yours on the survey http://tinyurl.com/SafetySurvey100
As always, let me know how I can help. Email (rkumar at Saratoga.ca.us) is the best way to reach me.
Thanks
- Rishi
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2. Lorem Ipsum
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We conducted the second Reading
of the City Code Update:
AMENDING CHAPTERS 2, 3,
12, 14, 15 AND 16 OF THE
SARATOGA CITY CODE. As
part of this, certain sections of the
City Code were amended in order
to remedy internal ambiguities,
clarify existing requirements,
codify staff interpretations, omit
redundant terms and provisions,
and amend grammatical and other
errors
Our City council adopted an
Ordinance amending the City
Code Regarding Ground
Movement Regulations. In some
instances, the geotechnical
remediation measures required
to obtain the required clearances
to determine that the project is
structurally safe from earth
movement may not be
technically or financially feasible
for relatively small projects such
as minor building additions. For
example, deep landslides and/or
recommended repairs sometime
extend onto adjacent properties
which are beyond the control of
the applicant, or the scope of
recommended slide repairs (and
associated costs) are so large that
they are disproportionate to the
project size and financially
infeasible for a single property
owner. …(continued top right)
Valley
Transportation
Plan 2040
The Valley Transportation
Authority (VTA) is required to
have a 25 year countywide plan
that lists projects aimed at
improving our highways, local
streets, and transit. This plan of
Santa Clara County is called the
Valley Transportation Plan
(VTP) with the latest edition
labeled VTP 2040. Deadline for
city of Saratoga projects into this
list is August 31, 2015. This is
tied to a proposed sales tax
increase in 2016 “Envision
Silicon Valley”. We had a few
ideas at the July meeting, and
we would love to hear from you
too. Some of the projects
Saratoga is proposing are listed
to the right
Tree ordinance
UpdateD
Saratoga waived fees for dead trees;
We approved Amendments to the
Tree Regulations, Article 15-
50.070, of the Saratoga City Code.
As proposed, a property owner
will be able to submit a tree
removal permit application and
photos of the dead tree to the
Community Development
Department. The application fee
will be waived if the photos
document that the tree is dead and
the permit issued. No notification
of neighbors needed. The proposed
revisions will allow permits to be
issued over the counter or within a
day or two of submittal.
AMENDING ground
movement
regulations
City Code
Update
C i t y C o u n c i l U p d a t e
(..continued)To net it out, we
updated our city code to make it
more reasonable for our citizens.
Several cities in the Bay Area
have similar geotechnical
conditions for hillside areas but
allow more flexibility for existing
structures and new development
than the City’s regulations. We
did the same.

3. 3
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How can you
start your own
neighborhood
safety watch
How can you
volunteer
Here are volunteer opportunities
- mostly for kids, some for adults
too
Saratoga’s Talent Competition:
http://tinyurl.com/SaratogaTal
entVolunteer
Saratoga’s Tech Day :
http://tinyurl.com/SiliconVall
eyTechDay
Teach the Seniors:
http://tinyurl.com/TeachSeniors
Help kids with back to school:
http://tinyurl.com/wvcs-
volunteer
Google - “Noise Exception
Permit Application city of
Saratoga”. You should find the
city of Saratoga page for “Event
Permits”. You can print the
Noise Exception permit form
from the city website, fill it,
write a check for $50 and drop
off to city office. Yes, we are
exploring making this an online
permitting process
How can you get
a noise permit for
a outdoor party
Take the survey:
Councilmember Rishi Kumar is
interested to hear from you.
What else can we do to
innovate? Take this short survey
here:
http://tinyurl.com/SaratogaSur
vey
How can you pick
up your free
drought Gear
Next week, the Santa Clara Valley
Water District is visiting five
libraries across the county to
distribute free drought gear to
residents. We invite you come by
and pick up your gear and also ask
for your help to get the word out
to the community about these
events. At each library, residents
will be able to pick up many free
items such as Water Buckets, hose
nozzles, moisture meters and
shower heads. The events will
take place next week from
10:30AM to 2:30PM at the follow
locations: Monday, August 3:
Santa Clara Public Library
Tuesday, August 4: Dr. Roberto
Cruz - Alum Rock Library
Wednesday, August 5: Palo Alto
Mitchell Park Library Friday,
August 7: Los Gatos Library
Cannot make it? Just submit a
request online at
http://bit.ly/1Kktulr
Call (408) 630-2000 to report
water waste or for more
information
If you are interested in forming
a neighborhood safety watch,
please contact Rishi. He has
enabled safety watch for many
neighborhoods – two more are
in the works - and will be happy
to walk you through the
process. Also, join the citizen’s
Safe Saratoga group. Find it here
Facebook.com/groups/SafeSara
toga.
H o w c a n Y o u . . .
How can
Saratoga
innovate
How can you find
out about Capital
Improvement
projects
Here are capital improvement
projects that are on-going in
Saratoga. Here is the link
http://www.saratoga.ca.us/civica
x/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID
=8901
Details next month

4. Lorem Ipsum
U p c o m i n g E v e n t s
FUNDS RAISED GO TO
SARATOGA SENIOR
CENTER Event is set for
August 22nd, 2014 at
Saratoga Community
Center.This is our 4th year of
our annual fundraiser
supporting the Saratoga
Senior Center
Saratoga Has
talent annual
competition 2015
Saratoga
Historical
Foundation: The
great Indian
Railway
August Summer
movie nights series
at el quito Park
7:30 pM
August 21st –
Big Hero 6
The event begins at 7:30 p.m.
with the movie starting at 8:30
p.m.
Ticket? This event is free. But, do
not forget to bring blanket, lawn
chairs and snacks.
Saratoga annual
Youth tech day
Saturday
September 12th
Join us for the first ever Saratoga
TECH DAY - September 12th
between 1pm and 6pm... a fun,
interactive learning experience
for the young students interested
in technology. WHERE:
Saratoga's Joan Pisani
Community Center 19655
Allendale Ave, Saratoga, CA
95070. WHEN: September
12th, 1pm to 6pm .Panel
discussions, demos, interactive
learning, hackathons and more
Three panelists: Silicon Valley
executive panel discussion,
Silicon Valley youth coders
panel discussion, Silicon Valley
elected leaders panel discussion.
RSVP and volunteering
opportunity here:
http://tinyurl.com/SiliconValle
yTechDay No tickets needed,
but RSVP is a must. Details at
www.siliconvalleycoders.org
Saratoga Quarry
Park Grand
Opening
Grand opening of
Pink House
We don’t have a date yet - but get
out to Pink House and welcome
them. This brand new
Restaurant/Jazz Cafe opened in
our Village. Phone: (408) 647
2273. 14577 Big Basin Way

5. 5
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July 4th
Celebration in
Saratoga
With senator Jim beall -
Breakfast meeting with
citizens
G l i m p s e s f r o m J u l y
ASSEMBLY MEMBER EVAN LOW
VISITS SARATOGA’s BUSINESSES;
with SARATOGA CHAMBER
PRESIDENT PAT MARTELL and
PATRICK AHRENS, EVAN’s STAFF
MEMBER

6. WWW.RISHIKUMAR.COM || WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/VOTERISHI || RKUMAR<at>SARATOGA.CA.US
Saratoga’s
Classic Car Show
Assembly member Kansen
Chu AD25 and wife
Daisy spending time in
Saratoga DOWNTOWN,
and enjoying karaoke
Saratoga’s Classic Car
show with organizer
Tiger Teerlink in the
center

7. Interviewing former
Mayor Jill Hunter for
the American in Bloom
Competition Video
Saratoga Historical
Foundation
Recognizing
Saratogans
Saratoga relay
for life- Troop 581
conducting the
flag ceremony

8. Enjoying DINNER - A FABULOUS SARATOGA EVENING
SELFIE AT JULY 4th