City, Santa Clara County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Code: 95030
Small city
between Los Gatos and Saratoga, famous for saying no to growth. Many custom
homes on large lots. Built over gentle hills. Country feeling. Limits on home
sizes. Prestige address. Population 3,579. www.mccormacks.com
In the
1980s, Monte Sereno saw its population decrease by 147. In the 1990s, the town
roared back by adding 196 residents. But between 2000 and 2006, down again by
about 430.
Median age
is 43. Those under 18 make up 28 percent of the population, those over 55 also
make up 28 percent. These figures suggest a rounded town, many elderly but also
many children.
Click for regional or detailed map
When
development galloped toward Monte Sereno in the 1950s, the town’s leaders said,
hell, no. They incorporated the hamlet as a city to keep planning under the
control of the locals (through the city council), and since then have pretty
much kept new construction down.
State
tally (2008) showed 1,255 residences, of which 1,151 were single homes (many of
them custom jobs), 13 single attached, 92 apartments, zero mobile homes. In
2005, Monte Sereno, according to government records, erected just four single
homes.
Every few
years Monte Sereno or some of its residents manage to sue or get sued, usually
over aesthetics or something to do with home designs or lot layouts. www.mccormacks.com
Many kids attend Los Gatos schools.
Scores very high. High school has added a science wing and made other
improvements. Lot of attention paid to schools. See profile of Los Gatos. See Schools.
Los Gatos
police are paid to patrol the town. Monte Sereno has one of the lowest crime
rates in the state. Zero homicides between 1996 and 2005. See Crime.
Commute
improved in 1994 with the opening of Highway 85, which runs from South San Jose
up to Mountain View (Silicon Valley). Another popular freeway: Highway 17.
Several four-lane arterials help move traffic along. Residents are trying to
improve the local roads and make them safer.
Golf
course to north. Community college (many classes-activities) in adjoining
Saratoga along with concerts and other events. Many parks and trails in region.
One big
plus for the town: it's right next to Los Gatos, which has probably the most
charming downtown of the region, restaurants, delis, coffee shops, bookstores,
galleries, boutiques, etc. Every year, the two towns sponsor a large garage
sale. www.mccormacks.com
Locals
call town “Monte Snoreno” but residents want it that way, quiet. Without Los
Gatos and Saratoga, however, Monte Sereno would be a duller place.
• John
Steinbeck, while living in Monte Sereno, wrote “Of Mice and Men.” Steinbeck
wrote about poor Americans trying to survive the Depression. Homes in Monte
Sereno are selling for millions. The ironies of history.
• Monte
Sereno is pursuing small annexations that would bring in about 200 people.
• Another
Monte Sereno tradition: getting caught up in one of the aesthetic or building fights,
then running for city council to change policies. The 2006 council race featured
a candidate was well known for his Christmas displays. Flashing and animated,
they attracted, by some counts, over 100,000 visitors and drew the ire of his
neighbors, who disliked the traffic. In came the city council with restrictions
that killed the extravaganza. The following year, the fellow displayed only one
decoration, a 10-foot tall Grinch that sang “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” He
is on the council now, promising to avoid arguments over the display.
City web site:
www.montesereno.org
