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This coming Tuesday is a regular meeting for City Council at the Santa Clara Council Chambers starting 7pm at 1500 Warburton Avenue Santa Clara.
I just went to the website to look at what is on the agenda for this week as I believe that there are some residents who have requested an extention of reading the Draft EIR for the Gallery at Central Park – which is the 900 Benton, Fairfield Residential, old Kaiser site development. These residents have petitioned the city for an extension to read the draft EIR because it is quite extensive. The request is in view of the holiday season and the elections just gone that they need extra time to read this report.
Copies of the report can be obtained by going to the reference desk at the Santa Clara Library upstairs. They have copies if you want to understand the impact of this development on the local community. It discusses trees, transportation, business – you name it it’s there. There are also images of the proposed project. If you like a “prison cell block” look in your neighborhood you will be happy. If you are hoping for something with a mission flavor or a Rivermark feel to it, forget it, it’s nothing like that. More like large cynder block concrete mass construction or known in the industry as ‘budget buildings’. The report also shows you which trees are planned for the logging mill, of which I would say MOST! Darn it I guess the birds and the local wildlife will have to move out for a time, as will a lot of the local residents while they build this puppy over the next five years or so.
Now I’m hoping I’m right about this being on the Agenda, because as of 11.25am today the City Council agenda was not on line. And if my memory serves me right, they should have been on line a week before the council meets but Santa Clara might do it differently.
Internal Affairs in the San Jose Mercury News picked up a piece about Caserta. It relates to him not stepping down around a tax break he sought on his home in down town Santa Clara. Under the Williamson act a number of homes in the down town area have applied for tax concessions to maintain their homes. The idea is that the money saved on taxes can be put back into maintaining their homes given they are older homes and need to be maintained in the spirit of the original house – no pun intended.
It has been alleged that Caserta took money from various developers and in the case of Barec he took the money after he promised to support those who were against the project. There are other projects and other developers that have allegedly given Caserta monies and it would be interesting to see if he excused himself from those votes as well? I wonder if the Fair Political Practices Commission is looking into other projects Caserta voted on?
In any case it begs the question – how is it that Dominic Caserta and Kevin Moore who both have real estate licenses vote on a number of building issues when they are realtors? Not that I’m against realtorsbeing on council, for I am sure they are valued members of society but it’s a fine line for them voting on anything that involves real estate and I would think their consciouses would draw the same conclusion as mine – far better to abstain than to vote on an issue related to any type of real estate deal especially if you work in the industry.
Jamie McLeod has been criticized for continuously dismissing herself for not voting on certain agenda items because her partner has ties to certain projects and communities. I hope that others see the value of stepping down when voting on an issue that they are too close to.
I guess this is an example of why I am so apposed to endorsements. Endorsements and financial funding come with ties it seems.
Congratulations to Mr Obama on a fabulous victory. His speech was a most gracious and exhilarating speech. Though I have memories of Kennedy, I felt Obama spoke far more eloquently and touched the hearts of all voters not just Democrats but he reached out to Republicans as well. A true moment in history, right before our eyes. May his tenure be one of grandeur and success and may the country restore it’s dignity in the world.
Jamie McLeod, Jamie Mathews, Will Kennedy all won their seats. Congratulations to them all. To view the final results you can go to this link. Here you will find how much they won by. Mr Moore’s results are there too - it would be interesting to learn how many peole wrote in Karen Hardy – just out of pure interest.
I had been waiting on publishing this blog because I was waiting to get email from various candidates and view their blog/websites but it seems that only one candidate has updated their website with the result and that is Jamie McLeod. I nearly feel like adding and of course there because it seems that Jamie is more on the beat than most. Anyway congratulations to the winners may their judgements be honest ones and not tainted by endorsement or associations.
The front of the San Jose Mercury News brings us an article today about the down turn in the construction industry.
So this brings up questions for the residents of Santa Clara – as we go towards more building in Santa Clara what happens when construction companies start to realize that they won’t be able to either sell off or lease the properties that they are so hell bent on building? Will construction companies stop building, like people who have left their homes because they cannot afford their mortgage any more, will they leave sites half built? Will they leave their ‘keys’ on the kitchen counter and walk out the house and leave their worries to someone else? Will they start a job but not complete it?
It’s certainly a concern and something that people are not talking about or unwilling to address publicly.
I believe that Fairfield Residential will not do such a thing and that they will see their commitments to the end but there is a part of that site that has to be built by another company and that has not bee clarified yet. So that section will sit maybe for years, maybe not, but nevertheless this has not been addressed by Fairfield or the city.
I can remember a building site in Sydney that sat for years, the base was dug out, the pylons poured and then it just sat and sat … the rain water gathered and sat creating a mosquito heaven, the tramps found places to sleep, the graffiti increased, you get the picture. Unfortunately, the builder couldn’t even afford to maintain security, his money was gone. I left Sydney and years later I returned to see that same hole in the ground sitting there a big eye saw in the heart of that gorgeous city. I’m sure by now it’s a building, well I hope so.
Yes we have reason to be concerned about what some of these developers will or will not carry out. We have the right to understand their plans for a recession. The boom seems to be over, Sun Microsystems is no longer the Santa Clara hero, Yahoo has plans to come but what if they get acquired by Microsoft? will they still come? Envidia has plans to expand and so far no talk of cutting back, well at least not publicly, a good thing I think.
I think it’s worth asking the city council do they have a plan if builders walk away from sites mid term? or is it really none of their business? Just a question, nothing more, nothing less.
©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008
The City of Santa Clara is looking for the input from the residents on the proposed idea of having the 49ers be part of our community. Tomorrow night at city hall you can go and ‘float’ your ideas or give your input as to the idea of having them be part of our city.
There was an article in the SJ Mercury news today informing residents of these meetings tomorrow. There will be two sessions where people can give their input one at 3.30pm and one at 6.30pm. Unfortunately I cannot make either of those because of a prior commitment but I urge those that are concerned about other planning issues in Santa Clara to go to one of these two events. It’s an opportunity for the city to be aware that we do care as a city about what they are planning for our future.
I know Mr Moore is in favor of the stadium – I think he may be a 49er fan – good for him. I can understand his commitment to the idea. I have seen Mrs Mahan on the news sprout support for the idea. I wonder how she feels about the fact that Belmont was trying to talk the 49ers into moving there – or was that Redwood city. Do I care? No – not really. I don’t care who tries to get the 49ers. A part of me wants them to stay in San Fransisco after all they are synonymous with that city. I am, however, a little like Jamie McLeod on this one – if it makes good financial reasoning to have the 49ers here then perhaps we should have them here in Santa Clara.
At the end of the day let’s face it they haven’t really said that they are coming to SC. The city may be spending a lot of money on a pie in the sky idea – I hope that’s not the case and if they do come to SC I hope it’s a case of them creating long term wealth for the city not a short term idea. From information I’ve read on the web it sounds like NO city has made money out of Stadiums be they Football or otherwise. They tend to be a negative project. So why then do councils even enter into such an idea? Is it all for the “Glory” of having your name attached to a stadium? Or is it going to be like Qualcomm Stadium or is it AT&T stadium – sorry what is that place called now? Each year we could re name it for a different club or company. Now that makes sense to me – Santa Clara could be the first city to “Ebay” their stadium name. What you think of that idea Jamie McLeod – does that make economic sense? I think even your mate Moore might like that one. Yes, I rather like the idea of putting the stadium on Ebay for naming rights.
I think one question I would ask tomorrow is what kind of jobs does this project hope to bring local residents? Are they jobs that include permanent positions with health care and benefits or are they once again seasonal type jobs like Great America. Though I’m not against seasonal jobs I think they benefit students and retired people it would also be good to see more permanent positions in this general area especially as our projected housing development is going up. Soon we will have more houses and apartments than jobs! That too me is a little out of balance, especially as the city council is always attempting to justify development of homes because local industry cannot find local housing for their employees.
The stadium in my mind brings a lot of short term jobs – I sincerely hope it brings permanent long term jobs that are year round not seasonal.
As I said before I haven’t made up my mind.
©Letters From Silicon Valley 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
I note with delight that the City of Santa Clara is going to hold more discussion about the Santa Clara General plan. Yahhooo – does it mean that the city is going to listen to it’s residents?
On August 4th the General Plan will in part look at EIR – says the link.
What’s an EIR – Environmental Impact Report – so it’s a report that in part is just a report that is out there and gets ‘tagged’ to all new developments by developers. In an EIR you will read about traffic issues, how a new building will affect the surrounding businesses, buildings, schools etc. But some of the reports within the EIR are already outdated. Imagine on one of the more recent approved city projects the Marina Playa project the EIR discussed traffic issues around that complex from the year 2000 – that’s 8 years old information.
Wow 8 year old information! How can we honestly say that we can be guided by such outdated and old information? Yet the city does this on a regular basis. And when residents inform the city and reporters that the information is old or that they have witnessed the information in the reports not to be true it all falls on deaf ears.
If this meeting the Santa Clara General Plan is setting up allows us as regular citizens that live in the city - then I recommend you be there or be square. Find out how your thoughts, actions and commitment to your city can make a difference.
There will also be a survey posted at the end of all these general discussions. Will we see the negative comments along with the positive comments? I ask this as there are some general plan documents already floating around that only give the ‘brighter’ ‘happier’ ‘positive’ comments about Santa Clara and their Staff.
Speaking of Staff and the general plan – do you think perhaps staff should live in the city? Wouldn’t that be beneficial to the residents. Employees who live and work in the city would perhaps understand the residents issues. And isn’t that the intent of the Planning Commissioners idea to increase housing in the city – have people work and live in the city. Which brings up a Question – do the City Planners, Managers and senior appointments live and work in the city? Just curious. And if they do that’s GREAT – perhaps we could ask that the developers come and live in our city for a year as well.
If city planners do not live in the city fulltime – perhaps residents could make this a request and requirement of future paid employees that their taxes support.
©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008
Yesterday evening at the general plan discussions it was mentioned that there should be somewhere for us to go shopping. I had to laugh. I guess what last night brought up for me was that perhaps I am not the only person that notices that apart from cheap utilities Santa Clara really doesn’t have a lot to offer it’s residents. No I take that back – we have some wonderful parks and play grounds (only a mom would know that). We also have a wonderful library and great staff. But as for shopping!
Well I think I should be given a gas allowance by the city because I tend to have to go out of the city to buy my food. When the Safeway on Homestead and Kiely introduced ‘mood’ lighting I knew we were not going to shop there anymore! I’d rather go to 7/11 on Kiely where the teenagers all look like they are hanging out to meet or make a connection!
My gas allowance would allow me to go to Trader Joe’s or Whole paycheck or perhaps the Safeway in Rivermark – but at that safeway it’s really a case of ’spot the parking spot’. Boy there was some deep planning in that puppy when it came to parking! Good one planning commission – make sure the customer waits for his/her parking spot and wasting more gas when you go to the Rivermark Safeway! Perhaps they thought people would walk to the store at Rivermark.
I’m afraid walking to a store is not an American tradition. That, for me, was culture shock when I first came here. I have lived all over the world and mostly in the US have I had the need to drive to a supermarket and stock up. I hear Australia is soon to have it’s first Costco – unlike Americans, Australians use their garages for parking their cars – I wonder how Costco will survive!
Speaking of Costco I do go to the SC Costco – that I might say has had some planning but I’m sure that’s more Costco’s experience in how to build vs the planning departments experience! Good one Costco you win on the parking space award! I can always park at Costco – unfortunately with the price of gas the line there is somewhat longer than normal and causing some inconvenience to shoppers, Costco is not to blame for that though.
I’ve often wondered why we have so many Korean supermarkets in Santa Clara given I’ve only met two Koreans who actually live in Santa Clara – a lot of the ones I’ve met that own business don’t actually live in Santa Clara they just work here.
I have a dream that the current book stores on El Camino in Santa Clara actually become Barnes and Noble or imagine a Keplers! Oh now that’s a little piece of Heaven vs the urban blight that resides there now. How is it something like Keplers that offers knowledge and wisdom has a hard time staying in business when a store that looks like it only sells picture books looks like it’s been on El Camino for 50 years?
And how is that a lot of those questionable stores on El Camino look like that they wouldn’t pass a building inspection? Or don’t they do building inspections after a store opens in this country? hmmm maybe they don’t I don’t know – but aren’t there fire codes and health regulations that are enforced? I guess not otherwise some of those places along El Camino would have been cleaned up by now.
Rick asked why don’t I get involved – well unlike some of the Rich Santa Clara families that run ourcity I have to work for my crust and help raise a family and work towards having them be upstanding citizens – so I hope in time it is them that I can pass the torch to. I’ve done my bit in politics and made a difference and I’m just watching and observing the lack of passion many Americans have for their communities. I wonder if it comes down to the fact that voting here is not compulsory. Imagine compulsory voting? With compulsory voting you need to take an interest in your politics be it local or national – it’s all about your vote.
Once I became a citizen I felt I now had the right to speak out. And so I do … here and with my vote come election day.
©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008
When is a lie a lie? When is hiding something a lie? When is not telling everything a lie? Whose on first?
So many questions, so little time it seems. I’m amazed at the fact that the city council refuses to listen to the fact that the residents of Santa Clara may know something more than them. Wow, Mayor Mahan shut down the discussion, oops I should say refused to second a proposal put forward by Jamie McLeod that the city look at the CHP’s traffic concerns on Lawrence and El Camino. When I used to run meetings in the ‘old days’ – yep I’m old now! It was common practice for the chair to second an amendment or a proposal if it couldn’t get a seconder. That’s what you do if you are a ‘nice’ chairperson. It’s called ‘common courtesy’ but it’s not Robert’s rules – it’s just courtesy. Plus it makes common sense!
What do you mean by common sense? You may ask? Well it means that you second it to get it on the books and effectively off the books. It’s common practice to ensure proper debate and discussion. You therefore put up a proposal just to have it now dismissed and recorded that it was not accepted. So in affect, what you are doing, though you may not agree with a proposal, you are allowing for discussion. Now the topic doesn’t really have to be addressed again – it’s on the books as something that was not past – though of course you can effectively bring it up over and over – that’s what democracy is about. It’s like dating – you go out, you see if you like it i.e. you listen to the arguments or discussion and then you decide it’s not for you and only after you have had some time to think about it or discuss the idea do you say Yeh or Neh. Pretty simple way of holding a meeting.
Come on Patricia Mahan, be fair, run the city council like most democracies and have a fair debate – even if you get no debate putting it to a vote is better than saying ‘oh you didn’t get a seconder’. Do you get where I am coming from? Or are we all just prone to being ignorant by not getting all the facts? Because when one shuts down debate that’s what you are doing. In some countries it’s called a ‘dictatorship’ – something us American’s have been known to get upset about.
Oh and by the way as a Chair it’s not Kosher to have your own opinions on how matters go – that’s the reason you get appointed as chair – you are seen to be fair and knowledgeable. sigh….
©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008
Do you think Santa Clara City Council will ever look at El Camino and notice that it looks different once you leave Sunnyvale?
Have you ever noticed that as you exit Sunnyvale you leave behind the tree lined part of El Camino and the rather large set back? Have you ever noticed that there are no $49 dollar meth labs along that part of El Camino? I don’t think there are any tattoo stores along there either. Perhaps the House of Pain needs to move up a few blocks! Have you ever noticed that there are no after hour porn stores, oops sorry I mean ‘book stores’. Book stores my goodness! Do you think they have a copy of War and Peace in there? It’s no wonder we have a store called “The Starving Musician” along that part of town – how can they make a living in that neighborhood. I hope their rent is low.
As for the couple times I’ve tried to eat along El Camino one time at one of the ‘faster food’ chains I had something in my chili that wasn’t food, and no it wasn’t a finger, rather a sugar wrapper. Another time we were at a restaurant and we asked about the poor state of the salad bar – the waiter told us it was fresh at lunch time – it was now 7pm. We left and that place has sinced closed down. We do like Andy’s though – fortunately they came to town because there are very few good or descent restaurants in Santa Clara. Have you ever tried to take someone out to lunch in Santa Clara it involves going to Cupertino or Sunnyvale.
Imagine with all this high rise building going on we won’t even get anything commercial – which leaves the question why do these developers want to come to Santa Clara? ah’vey – there must be something in it for them – what do we not know?
