You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August 2008.
Don’t you just love streaming on the Internet – now you can watch the Santa Clara City Council via the web – awesome idea. Very Cool – saves having to go to city hall!
Seems like the city council heard the citizens last night and their concern about the issues that surrounded the proposed building on the old Wheels and Deals site. Congratulations to all the city council, it seemed that none of them in one way or an other were inspired to support the proposed development. The city council recommended that the developer go back to planning and reconsider the plan – especially the back where it shaded the homes behind the complex and the related creek.
The cynical side of me just can’t help but question some of the reasons behind the decision but for the purpose of this exercise I will refrain from making comments.
It does occur to me that why the city didn’t send back the Marina Playa project when there were questions regarding how the traffic would enter and exit that site. I guess it was nothing compared to the big picture of having Marina Playa there on Lawrence Express Way.
Now that the city has set a precident let’s see if they can be consistent. Let’s hope that they continue to listen to neighbors and hear there concerns about high density. Maybe they are starting to think twice about the plannin departments dream to fill the empty space with high rise condos. (By the way – I love Mr Riley talkin about the four story complex on Wheels and Deals – and then the architect admiting it’s actually 5 story) How is that? Such discrepencies should not exsist in planning – might forget to build a floor! oops
Anyway victory to the residents around Wheels and Deals - and Victory to the City Council for taking a stand against developers who don’t consider residents, but don’t feel that because a developer doesn’t sit down with you for an hour that they took the residents concerns into consideration. Or because a developer offers to run a bike path or a creek conversion beside the new complex it doesn’t mean it’s truly something the community wants. I couldn’t think of anything worse – I’d rather a complex that offers a descent cuppa coffee and a newspaper or some WIFI so I can watch our fine council members finally taking a stand against developers who stomp on residents - hope it lasts at least till the Fairfield Residential discussion.
The sad part out of all of this was that here was a great chance to clean up El Camino – something Mr Moore pointed out. Oh well hopefully Mr Moore will do something about this as he continues to be in office after the next election. Good maybe there is hope …. I just hope it’s not more big time developers vs little guys who haven’t got the right PR system behind them. Tip to the Wheels and Deals developer – employee a PR person – they will help you in smoothing the way – and never read a magazine while sitting in Council Chambers – not a good idea. (Good pick up Mrs Mahan)
©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008
This Tuesday Night August 26 at 7pm the City of Santa Clara will be meeting and discussing the proposed building of 60 condo units at the former Wheels and Deals site. Once again local residents are asking other residents to get the word out to have people come to the city council meeting and share their disappointment in how the city is planning our city.
No-one can dispute the fact that Santa Clara is a mix of styles. In fact I would hasten to say there seems to be no consistency or thought in creating uniformity. You drive down El Camino in Sunnyvale and there is definate thought and similarity in the building styles even the older and the newer ones. You get to Santa Clara and it’s wow baby what happened here. Maybe it’s because in Sunnyvale they cover their building frontage on El Camino with wonderful trees, who knows. Or maybe it’s because Sunnyvale doesn’t have a bunch of El Cheapo Motels, or Contempory Book stores! I love the fact that the city advocates us shopping in our city – I think I would no more want to die and go to heaven before I stepped into one of these establishments to increase SC’s tax base. Who comes to these stores? Perhaps we need to really find out and do some surveys.
In Santa Clara it’s all awash and here again with the proposed building of 60 units on the former Wheels and Deals site no thought … or consessions on the cities part. Yeh let’s just let developers shadow backyards of the neighbors – after all the city already have their dollars – and let’s do one better let’s force them to never be able to move after all who is going to want to buy a house that has a back yard in full shade 365 days of the year? To learn more about what their residents are saying read their blog.
They even recommend residents writing to the city managers and council people with your concerns about how the planning of Santa Clara is going – after all it may not be your back yard at the moment that is affected but who is to say it won’t in time, given the lack of consideration for local residents. Or are you going to have the NIMBY attitude (not in my back yard) – I hope not, we all have to learn to share, that’s a mothers favorite catch cry – so help support these people and when it comes your turn for assistance regarding the ways of planning I’m sure they will be there for you too! So if you can’t join residents on Tuesday night – why don’t you send the Mayor a letter - or one of the other council people. It’s an election year they might respond! I know of one city council person who has door knocked in our area. She came around yesterday – good for Jamie McLeod showing residents that she wants to know what is on the residents mind. I’ll let you know if any other council people drop by as we have plenty of registered voters in our neck of the woods.
©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008
Los Gatos City Council is no pussy cat when it comes to taking a stand when it comes regarding developers. Wow, the city let the owners of a property where a hospital stood for a number of years know that they would not allow a developer to come in and build town-homes! In fact the owner of the property was told by the city to go find another hospital administration to be the tenant. Gutsy stuff – perhaps the city was listening to the people or just not plain greedy when it comes to taxes?
A few times I’ve spoken to council people or heard them talk in Santa Clara about ‘developers’ I’ve also heard the phrase ‘we can’t tell the developer what to do’ or ‘we can’t tell the land owner what to do’ because….
because… why because ? ….
because ‘we will get sued’
I guess Los Gatos figures they don’t care if they get sued – or maybe the catch phrase we will get sued is a ’story’.
After all isn’t it all about rezoning a piece of land and if it was zoned one way back then, there may have been a plan and the plan was to ensure so many residents, so many hospitals, so many commercial, so many parks so many …. etc.
Whatever the ’story’ perhaps Los Gatos City Council should talk to Santa Clara City Council and planning and share their stand against developers. Perhaps the story that we had to allow the sale of the old Kaiser Hospital to a developer such as Fairfield Residential is just that … a story. And no-one was ever going to sue anyone, after all how could Los Gatos CC taken on the developers – don’t you think their city Attorney would have forewarned them? Or perhaps Los Gatos just has smart legal advice! Go Cats!
It’s interesting to note that Mr Kevin Riley the head of the Santa Clara planning department lives in Los Gatos – he doesn’t even live in our city and he has a catch cry that goes something like this ‘let’s build more high density housing in Santa Clara’ – yet he doesn’t live in Santa Clara he lives in Los Gatos – how odd is that?
©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008
