A representative of the California Farmers Market Association said that preliminary talks have begun with one location in Saratoga. "There are a couple of holes we are poking at. We are looking at locations near Saratoga also," said Doug Hayden, president of the association.

Mayor Kathleen King confirmed that the association had started talks with West Valley College as a possible location.

Officials at Saratoga High School announced last month that they would not be able to support the market on the school's property beyond the summer, prompting a frantic search for a new site. Officials for the Los Gatos­Saratoga High School District said their decision was based on the combination of usage on the site. They also said with the performing arts and lecture center opening in the spring, traffic on Herriman Avenue was bound to increase.

"We do not have a lot of places to look at in Saratoga. We need a place that is large enough and does not affect the neighbors," King said. "There is not enough parking in the Village area for the market to be held there."

At a Saratoga City Council meeting on Dec. 1, the city decided to start restricting the number of vendors at the market to 40, effective immediately.

"Since this is winter, it will be easy for us to stay within the 40 vendor limit," Hayden said. "It will probably stay that way for the next few months."

Hayden said the association might try to work out a variance with the city when summer approaches and the number of vendors go up. "A creative variance might enable us to have around 50 vendors," he said.

According to Hayden, a number of customers have voiced their concern about the market moving away from Saratoga. "Our customers heaved a sigh of relief when they heard that we are doing our best to stay here," he said.

Hayden said whoever sponsors the location for the farmers market is going to be a big hero in the community. He added that he was not keen on places where people might have to pay to park.

"We tried our best to make the location at the high school work. We tried to mitigate the noise and parking issues. But we are not the only ones contributing to the noise in the area," he said.

Councilwoman Ann Waltonsmith said many Saratoga residents love the market and do not want it to leave the city. At the Dec. 1 council meeting, she was the sole council member who voted against the decision to restrict the number of vendors to 40.

"I hope they work out some kind of a deal with West Valley College. [The college has] a lot of parking to offer," Waltonsmith said.

Waltonsmith said she was hoping that the issue would be resolved before summer arrived. "I am glad it did not happen in the middle of the summer, the busiest season for the farmers market," she said. "It would be very sad to lose something that draws a lot of people," she said.

The Saratoga farmers market has been at its current location at the high school since 1996 and has 4,500 local citizens on its mailing list.

Hayden said that he would be able to give more definitive answers about the future of the market around mid-January. "But no one is taking a bleak outlook here. Wherever we go we will be fine," he said.