April 8, 2008

County Report

High-rises would drastically alter neighborhood dynamic

By Santa Clara County Supervisor
Ken Yeager
Special to the Times

I was pleased to see such an overwhelming turnout at a recent community meeting regarding a massive seven-building development proposed along West San Carlos Street between Sunol Street and Lincoln Avenue.

Green Valley Republic, a company formed by developers Barry Swenson Builder and Republic Urban Properties, is in negotiations with the Valley Transportation Authority to buy the empty bus yard on West San Carlos Street. The developer’s current plans include three 12-story high-rise towers and four smaller buildings up to five stories high.

More than 140 residents attended the meeting March 18 at Lincoln High School to voice their concerns about the project’s heights of up to 120 feet and density of up to 825 units on eight acres. Many attendees worried about the overall negative impact that the development would have on their neighborhoods. Residents also raised concerns about a lack of parkland and recreational space. In all, dozens of residents brought up numerous concerns during a question-and-answer period more than an hour long.

When the audience was asked to give a show of hands if they opposed the 120-foot heights, an overwhelming 95 percent of the people raised their hands against the proposal.

Because the Valley Transportation Authority owns most of the land, the VTA Board of Directors required the developer to hold at least three public meetings before April 3. The developer must also report back to the VTA board on April 3 to discuss the feedback it has received from residents. The board will vote May 1 whether to agree to sell the land to the developer, and the developer would then submit the project proposal to the city of San Jose.

Because the project will be located near a light-rail line, it is considered transit-oriented development and is allowed to have up to 100 units per acre and buildings up to 120 feet in height without going through an additional process to amend San Jose’s general plan. However, there is no requirement that transit-oriented development must push these limits, and many other developments have achieved appropriate density with shorter, community-focused buildings.

Any property owner considering selling to a developer needs to know how the community would react to a building proposal, and VTA should consider whether the city would allow this project to go forward given such strong preliminary opposition. Even though the VTA board does not approve the actual development proposal, the property is public land, and VTA has an obligation to deliver a project that has public support.

What good does it do anybody to negotiate a deal based on speculation from a developer that may not be acting in the community’s best interest? Any development on this site needs to exemplify the quality transit-oriented development that the public has a right to expect from a transit agency, not a proposal that only achieves the necessary density through boxy, unoriginal towers.

Transit-oriented development is about building dynamic projects that relate well to public transportation. Given existing and planned development along the Vasona Light Rail Line, VTA has an obligation to ensure that its property exceeds the expectations of the community and reflects the neighborhood’s identity.

Even the developer claimed at the March 18 meeting that no one knows how this project will look or whether it will even be built, given how hard it will be to obtain the necessary funding in an economic recession and poor housing market. I can’t believe that VTA would want to agree to sell land for a project without considering the ramifications not only to the surrounding neighborhood, but to the transportation agency itself. We have no idea how long it will take the developer to complete the project, so we can’t be sure when VTA will see all of its money or an increase in ridership. VTA can’t wait for a drawn-out project to be built in phases over several years; we need the money and increased ridership immediately if we are going to benefit from this deal.

Residents who would still like to provide input on the project can attend either of the two remaining community meetings or speak at the April 3 or May 1 meetings of the VTA board of directors.

The meetings are:

VTA Board of Directors meeting: Thursday, April 3, at 6 p.m. in the Board Chambers at the County Government Center, 70 W. Hedding St., San Jose.

West San Carlos Business Association: Tuesday, April 8, from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Korean Palace, 2297 Stevens Creek Blvd., San Jose.

Willow Glen Neighborhood Association: Wednesday, April 9, from 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Willow Glen Baptist Church, 1292 Minnesota Ave., San Jose.

VTA Board of Directors meeting: Thursday, May 1, at 6 p.m. in the Board Chambers at the County Government Center, 70 W. Hedding St., San Jose.

As always, I encourage you to contact my office if you have any concerns. You can reach me at (408) 299-5040 or via e-mail at Ken.Yeager@bos.sccgov.org.