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Published on 03/30/1998 All articles from this issue

Commission supports farmers' market on Sundays

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

Supporters of the Loyola Corners Farmers' Market hope to see it open again this year but with a few changes.

The Los Altos Planning Commissioners, at their meeting last Thursday, voted 4-1 to recommend to the city council that this popular local farmers' market open next month, but on Sundays instead of Saturdays, and with a later starting time than before, with new hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Bank of America branch at Loyola Corners needs its parking lot on Saturdays, the market day for previous years, but was OK with the market using its lot on Sundays.

"Moving the day from Saturday to Sunday is a win-win," said Gail Hayden, director of the California Farmers' Markets Association, at the planning commission meeting. "Sunday is now the second busiest shopping day in the food arena."

The later hours are out of respect for the neighbors, the fact that the new market day is Sunday.

"Sunday is a quiet time," said planning commissioner Linn Winterbotham. "It would be a disservice to take that away from the neighbors."

He voted against the change of day to Sunday.

The planning commissioners agreed that the size of the market would be limited by the site, not the number of stalls, which in past years reached about 31.

Commissioners also said no to amplified music, that parking restrictions would be adhered to, and that they wanted on-site management so vendors would not begin setting up before 9 a.m.

"Because the farmers' market wants to be around in 1999, they will take to heart all these suggestions," said planning commission chairman Jeff Warmoth.

The local farmers' market opened in 1989, sponsored by the Loyola Corners Business Improvement District. It has been in the Bank of America lot since 1992. The market has grown from an average of 12 to 15 farmers to an average of 31 last year.

Market planners hope that by changing market day to Sunday, some of the parking issues from past years will be minimized.

In a community survey conducted by the California Farmers' Markets Association, some said they felt a change to Sunday would compete with churches as well as with the market in Mountain View. But the overwhelming tone of the 268 responses to the 500 questionnaires was positive.

"I believe the farmers' market is very important to the community spirit to Los Altos," one wrote. "It would be a shame not to have it."

In other planning commission action, the commissioners approved a request for a restaurant expansion at Rancho Shopping Center, located at the intersection of Foothill Expressway and Springer Road.

Steve Blach, of Clarke's Charcoal Broiler, received a unanimous OK to expand his 122-seat restaurant into an adjacent 400-square-foot room, formerly the campaign headquarters of Ted Laliotis, to create a 26-seat private banquet room.

Blach said he had received many requests from groups in town for such a meeting room.

Clarke's opened in November 1997, in the building where the Blintz Restaurant, with seating for 168, used to be.

After remodeling to code and complying with the American's with Disabilities Act, Clarke's lost 46 seats, a number "quite significant, enough to severely affect the profitability of our business," he said.

This addition, Blach said, will "meet a need of the community" by offering a place for groups to meet.