City Council delays Saggio Hills vote

The fate of Saggio Hills, the proposed five-star resort and residential development on Healdsburg's northern border, will hang in the balance a little longer.

The City Council on Monday night postponed a vote on the project after Councilman Mike McGuire said he wanted to finetune a requirement that the developers give preference to local residents when it comes to hiring and construction jobs.

The three council members who will vote on Saggio Hills put off action until Oct. 8 on the final piece of the package -- the agreement that spells out what developers will do in exchange for approval of the 70 high-end homes and 130-room resort hotel.

"I feel confident we will be able to move forward on the 8th . . . and approve the development agreement," McGuire said after the meeting.

Because two council members have recused themselves due to potential conflicts of interest, only McGuire and Councilmen Gary Plass and Jim Wood are voting on Saggio Hills. Approval must be 3-0 for the project to proceed.

Wood previously said Saggio Hills is a project "nearly every city in the county would be drooling over."

And Plass also has made no secret of his support for it, listing the benefits it will bring in the form of lucrative "bed" taxes for the city and the amenities developers are providing, including a 36-acre community park site, new firehouse and 14-acre affordable housing site.

"We need to move forward," Plass said after McGuire asked to postpone a vote until next week. "We've spent hundreds of hours, (read) thousands of pages," he said, adding that he gets calls from people every day -- both supporters and opponents of Saggio Hills -- wondering when the council is going to take a vote.

Monday's was the 13th public hearing the City Council has held since April, according to Planning Director Rick Tooker.

And it's been almost a year since the Planning Commission first began its series of lengthy hearings on Saggio Hills, which is proposed on the last big chunk of undeveloped land, 259 acres within Healdsburg's ultimate growth boundary.

Wood said he was willing to indulge McGuire another week to hammer out language with the developers that will give preference to local residents in the construction and hiring process.

The tentative language had said developers will use "commercially reasonable efforts" to provide preferences for local contractors, subcontractors and suppliers in construction, as well as for qualified Healdsburg residents who seek employment at the resort.

McGuire said the language was overly broad and needs to be refined.

Wood said it makes sense that the community benefit as much as possible from Saggio Hills when it comes to creating jobs. But he also acknowledged doubts on whether Saggio Hills will become a reality because of the current economic turmoil.

Developers Robert Green and Tony Korman previously said they have all the "equity" capital from investors and are confident they can borrow any additional needed.

Green has developed Four Seasons luxury hotels in East Palo Alto, Carlsbad and Jackson Hole, Wyo. He also developed Aventine at La Jolla, a Hyatt Regency property.

Korman is a former real estate director for Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates.

"We have a sense they have deep pockets," Wood said in reference to the investors. "We don't know who they are."

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@

pressdemocrat.com.