SANTA CLARA – Santa Clara City residents will soon have six new pickleball courts and a sand volleyball court, thanks to a new vacation resort being built near the Archie H. Gubler Park on Rachel Drive.

Although some residents are unaware of its existence, the new vacation resort, Paradise Village at Zion, is already up and running. The 17.5-acre project is located north of Gubler Park and Lava Ridge Intermediate School at 3800 N. Paradise Village Drive in Santa Clara.

Construction began in August 2014, and the first units were rented in late March, Santa Clara City Councilman David Whitehead said. Whitehead is also a real estate agent for the project.

As part of the development, six pickleball courts and a sand volleyball court will be built by the developer directly north of the baseball fields at Gubler Park. Both pickleball and volleyball facilities will be accessible to the general public and are in the engineering stage right now, Whitehead said.

“They should be going in later this summer,” Whitehead said, “and those will be open to everybody; they will be park amenities.”

Plans are also in the works to convert the tennis courts at Canyon View Park to pickleball courts. The existing tennis courts, located at the south end of the park on Canyon View Drive, are old, worn out and rarely used, City Manager Ed Dickie said. “There’s been a lot of people asking for pickleball.”

Whitehead said plans are not finalized, but there will be a change. The courts are not in good shape, and something needs to be done.

“People really want pickleball courts,” Whitehead said, adding that the city wants to provide them.

Paradise Village is owned by Merrill Properties LLC, and the owners live in Santa Clara, Whitehead said. When finished, the project will consist of 81 units; 50 single family homes and 31 townhomes.

The first phase of approximately 35 units has been sold out, and construction of the next phase is slated to begin in June. Construction doesn’t begin until a unit is purchased, Whitehead said.

The vacation resort homes are owned by individuals but are available for nightly rental through property management companies, Whitehead said. About half of the owners use the units as second homes and rent the property while they are not using it, Whitehead said.

Santa Clara requires Paradise Village homeowners to use one of several property management companies, which are licensed with both the state and the city. This, along with the overall project design, will protect residents and prevent problems, Whitehead said.

“Cities generally have a difficult time with nightly rentals,” Whitehead said, especially in areas that are not designed for nightly rentals.

Officials looked at other successful projects and then incorporated what they learned into city requirements for Paradise Village.

City officials spent time studying other successful projects across the country and found that bothersome issues, such as late night arrivals, noise problems, and parking on residential streets, can be avoided with proper project design, Whitehead said, and the presence of a property manager on-site.

“The reason they’re successful is that they’re in their own little area and they’re all zoned the same, for nightly rentals,” Whitehead said, “and they’re all managed. So if there’s a problem the property manager can be there on-site and take care of things … so it’s just a lot better situation.”

“There’s just a lot better control,” he said, “and the project runs smoother and better.”

Using property management companies also ensures that the city receives the appropriate sales tax revenue. The city will benefit from both property taxes and the sales tax, Whitehead said.

Whitehead estimates that the project has already pumped $27 million into the local economy in the last two years, just with development costs and construction, and the project will continue to benefit the city and the area.

The resort houses and townhomes are built specifically for vacation rental with features such as large kitchen and dining areas to accommodate communal dining for two or three families who might be renting the same house. The units range in size from 1,800 square feet to 10,000 square feet; and from three to 10 bedrooms, Whitehead said.

Resources

• Paradise Village at Zion| Facebook | Website | 3800 N. Paradise Village Drive in Santa Clara | Telephone 435-632-2900 | Email

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