Maybe Planning should take the fall?

Well perhaps it’s the planners and the commission of a city that should take the fall and be responsible for the hotch potch approach to a city?

I wonder if it ever occurred to someone that it might be worth having a planning department that actually lives and works in the city.  That way they know what the citizens are facing and dealing with.  After all, the planner that approves the go ahead to build a 4 story building next to a one story house really is not directly affected by it.  In fact for all we know they live in a city that doesn’t allow lots that are small than 1/2 an acres.  (Sweet) 

Perhaps that planners should have the buck stop with them and then that would relieve the City Councilors of having to look like that bad guys.  And then Mr Caserta’s donations towards his assembly race from developers wouldn’t look so bad to the average person on the street?  And some residents wouldn’t be so upset with the whole deal.  Perhaps then it wouldn’t feel like …. oh how did the Judge at the proceedings for the Barec case put it today … something along the lines of ‘lack of concern for the residents’.

Wouldn’t it be great if a city requirement was for all planning staff to be also residents of the city of Santa Clara.  Then you might feel like you are talking to a peer.  The only dealing I’ve personally had with city planners was interesting. I am off the belief that courtesy costs nothing.  Or how do they say it here – you get more with sugar.

 

©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008

Taking on a City council

There is a group of residents in Santa Clara that have actually consolidated themselves enough and stirred up enough debate and interest that last election they had an issue that concerned them go on he Ballot.  This group gathered enough signatures to ensure residents could be well informed.

Of course once you join the ranks of politicians you need to be aware that there are ways to write a ballot or referendum and there are ways not to write one.  Unfortunately for this group that was the case plus the challenge always is who has more money.  When a developer can out run you in advertising and can out do you in finances your really hoping that your appeal is landing on the right doorstep.  I guess in this case voters didn’t quite see the issue like many who were against it.  For the record I was against the Barec improvements as per the developer and this is before I got involved with going to council meetings and learning about what is really happening in our city.  Having said that I see now that the Save Barec organization has taken legal action against the city for the inaccurate EIR (environmental impact report) that the city accepted to be true and allowed that study to influence the new zoning on Barec and gave the developer the go ahead to build.

I wonder how this action will then affect other projects on the Santa Clara City Council Books – such as the Marina Playa, Fairfield Residential and the proposed Santa Clara Square.  Certainly the Marina Playa EIR should be reviewed again and action should be considered because if you look at that EIR and the subsequent CIty Council Meeting where that was accepted there is a major FLAW in the traffic report.  That report was out dated and inaccurate and what’s more according to residents around that neighborhood many accidents are or were not reported in that study.  Who is lying?  The residents that live there or the people who did the study who don’t live in the city?  I can see the scales tipping here.

I hope for the sake of residents of Santa Clara that this Barec court case shakes the city managers and councilors into some sort of acceptance that “something is not right”.  I hope the Barec action is the start of residents holding our elected officials and their staff accountable for their actions.  For too long it occurs to me that the city is bowing to developers and bank balances that look bigger than mine.  Yet my bank balance allows me to reside in Santa Clara - it doesn’t give me the privilege to own property in lets say Los Gatos, Morgan Hill or Gilroy.  Oh well I guess I better get back to the grind where I belong … isn’t that right just a working class resident.  No privileges here, no family members, no long time ties to the city, no who do I know connections …. just middle class schmucks who have an opinion.

 

©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008