Concerned Santa Clara

Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. in the Santa Clara City Hall chambers, four cities got together to discuss how they could work together to prevent and resolve issues with large development projects, especially when they occur near city boundaries. The City of Sunnyvale initiated this meeting in response to public outcry from its citizenry over a number of projects in Santa Clara, including the Santa Clara Square proposal and Kaiser Hospital.

It felt like a small meeting despite the number of participants: 3 to 9 representatives from each of the cities present (Cupertino, Mountain View, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale) and a dozen or so residents and press. Santa Clara Mayor Patricia Mahan and Sunnyvale Mayor Tony Spitaleri co-chaired the meeting, which followed a round table discussion format with little formality — and no microphones. Sorry, Van.

Mayor Mahan was very gracious, mixing with audience members prior to the meeting and expressing pleasure with our interest. After some brief introductions from Mayor Mahan and Mayor Spitaleri, the meeting got going.

(Sunnyvale) Visitors often think that the individual cities are one big city. Perhaps (this group) can meet on a quarterly basis.

One of the big issues driving this meeting: industrial/commercial and high-density development next to residential areas. This problem gets worse when the developments are in adjacent cities. Notifications should not be from one city’s staff to another city’s residents. Notification to its residents is the city’s job; cities should notify the staff of adjacent cities and let the local staff handle the notifications.

(My input) We need consistent definitions and consistent processes across cities. Zoning definitions may not be the same from city to city; zoning designations in one city may not even exist in another (like ITR). The numbers used to define Low-, Medium-, and High-density differ from city to city. In fact, Santa Clara’s definition for Medium-density is almost double that of other cities. Some cities notify both property owners as well as tennants; others notify property owners only. It would be unfortunate if a neighborhood was not notified of an adjacent project simply because the city that owned that project used a different standard for notifications.

To better see how the plans of the cities affect each other, the General Plans should show how neighboring cities are zoned along city lines, just so project planners keep them in mind; the General Plan map should not stop at the borders.

(Sunnyvale) All cities represented at this meeting are “pretty built-up already”; the cities have been around for some time and there is already a great deal of development. Do we want to fight the new developments in court and in EIRs, or can we have better cooperation? One way to minimize the problems at the tail end is to have more discussions up front.

There is a San Jose project (North First) that did not allow any input up front. San Jose borders so many cities that it should be at these discussions. Palo Alto as well.

(Sunnyvale) Perhaps there should be a “clip level” that would trigger and require intra-city meetings — for projects larger than a certain size, density, or proximity, for example.

Zoning changes should not be granted easily. Cities should try to follow the General Plan as closely as possible, especially at the borders where changes to zoning could come as a surprise to neighboring cities. Cities should share their General Plans and at least make the plans known to other cities. Currently Mountain View, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale are looking at land use or General Plan updates, and there are many opportunities to share information and work together. Perhaps we could create an intra-city plan view, incorporating the General Plans from participating cities; then individual cities would simply try to stick to their own plan.

Cupertino Mayor Dolly Sandoval raised some concerns about forcing General Plans and zonings on future planners: “We don’t want to tie the hands of the city or developers.” She pointed out that there were several projects in Cupertino right now that could not have been achieved if the city did not have some possibilities to maneuver.

(My input) This is not to say that the zoning designations are to be written in stone, but exist as guidelines. It is not intended to prevent good development, but to make planners justify the exceptions. We are trying to reduce the current practice, in which zoning changes for projects seem to be a matter of course. It will try to prevent surprises that can happen when a high-density transit-oriented mixed-use development pops up next to residential housing when the area was originally zoned for commercial development.

(Santa Clara) The boundaries of cities are near high-transit areas: Lawrence Expressway, 85, 280.

The questions boil down to transit.

(Santa Clara) At the table we have discussions about shared vision and cooperation, but this is all voluntary. It’s great when it works. We need to look at the times when it breaks down.

(Sunnyvale) There will be disagreements. Let’s try to make the disagreements we have small disagreements.

Sunnyvale Council member Chris Moylan put a thought on the table: What if cities gave up some (legal) land use to a neighboring city in return for cooperation for large projects? Maybe neighboring cities could have some veto power over projects along the border that have negative impact on their residents or city.

Mayor Mahan joked that if that happened, she “would never get re-elected again.” In further discussions, it was not certain that any council or commission could have 100% legal control of a city anyway. Still, it is an interesting thought that could warrant some discussion to find an acceptible “middle ground” without throwing out the concept completely.

The problem with the projects tended to be notifications (not soon enough, not wide enough — not enough in general), level of community access to the discussions, and level of community input into the final proposal.

Mayor Mahan referenced a recent Architectural Meeting she chaired just a few weeks ago. She likes the size of the discussions, the public input given at these meetings, and the feedback capability those meetings provide. “Architectural Meetings should be (one of) the first times residents get to see a project, not the last.”  (I also attended that meeting and agree with Mayor Mahan’s sentiments.)

What if cities had an informal meeting — no legal ramifications — for large projects, with both the developer and the public? Mayor Mahan went on to state that she would have liked to have had someone from Sunnyvale at the Kaiser discussions.

(Cupertino) That leads to the question, “When does the process begin?”

(Santa Clara) We need early notifications to neighborhood meetings; developers should meet with residents before project application. Project notification could occur after filing, but before any entitlements are granted. Other cities and the community should be involved in any mitigation discussions.

Santa Clara Council member Jamie McLeod suggested noticing project Study Sessions. These advance discussions give people a few more weeks of notification on a project. For projects on the border, neighboring groups would be invited, including city planners.

(Cupertino) In general, cities give the same weight to non-residents as they do to residents.

(My input) This is important as residents in neighboring cities can be affected more than residents in the city the project belongs to (see Santa Clara Square, Kaiser, etc.). Borders are often crossed by high-transit roadways (El Camino Real, Stevens Creek, etc.) so it is hard to determine where project impacts start and end.

(Mountain View) Joint meetings may not be feasible in all cases because of “political spheres” at work.

(Sunnyvale) In determining impacts, perhaps school districts should be invited to these meetings as well.

Mayor Spitaleri then opened the meeting for public comment.

Art Schwartz, Sunnyvale

• Attends almost every City Council, Planning Commission, and Study Session meeting; learns the most from Study Sessions
• Fixed distance notifications (300 feet, 1000 feet, etc.) are not effective. Instead, take a map and define an area of impact. Notify all people (not just property owners) along the areas of impact.
• Try to find total conflict at the beginning of projects
• High-density is often not the problem, but high-rise; we need to identify and define impacts better.

Tap Merrick, Sunnyvale

• We need to improve transit. Transit plans should be easier to justify/do now that we have $4 per gallon gasoline.
• We need to have some consistency between plans and implementations. Follow the guidelines set out in zoning restrictions: if a limit is set at four stories, keep to the limit.

Doug Hosking, Santa Clara

• We need earlier notifications.
• Put the details of projects on the web (Santa Clara currently claims to have IT issues which prevent the details of some of the larger projects, like Marina Playa, from being available through the web)
• We should look into regional general plans — like the Grand Boulevard Initiative
• We need to study and address cumulative impacts of projects; we should work with developers to negotiate plans area-wide and not just lot-by-lot

Werner Gans, Sunnyvale

• The cities need to ask themselves two questions:

1. “What is FULL?”
2. “What are we going to do for water?”

• Forecasts are for drought. California is already on voluntary water use reduction, yet we keep adding more people.
• Bordering cities should have agreements on zoning for a two mile band along their borders.
• Advocate of putting high-density and high-rise developments where the jobs are.

Lisa Fernandez, Mercury News

• “How can all of these ideas be put in place now?”
• “Why are (the cities) talking about Open Dialogue and obvious issues now in 2008 when it has been a problem for the last 10 years?”

(Sunnyvale) [Concerning “Why now?”] There has been a gradual change in the mindset of communities. People value communities better/more.

Kevin, Santa Clara (my input)

Even though we have a great vision for El Camino Real with the Grand Boulevard Initiative, the individual projects cities approve still need to make sense for the particular area.

El Camino Real is an old road and was put together for a purpose different from what we may now desire. The developments along it are also old. Some proposals — while possibly in line with what the Grand Boulevard Initiative would support — may not be compatible with what is already here.

We may have to change the infrastructure — including transit — before projects are approved, or, better yet, proposed. You can’t just throw a ball to home plate; there has to be someone there to catch it.

Are we forgetting about Central Expressway as a potential transit corridor?

Mayor Spitaleri and Santa Clara Vice Mayor Joe Kornder closed the meeting. Basically, we need constant and consistent communication. Best practices should be shared. Cities should learn from each other. How does this happen? Planning staff from one city would attend meetings with planning staff from other cities to key projects.

In general, the meeting was positive. I was very pleased with both the discussions and the tone. But improvement meetings are like exercise: if you miss them too often, you end up in the same shape you started. Sometimes worse.  And you can’t short-cut the work.

[Update] Van and I did not “inadvertently” sit at the big table prior to the meeting. We started out in the audience, taking camp in the second row. Mayor Mahan explained that the meeting would not be formal like a City Council meeting and invited us to move to the table if there was room, especially since there would be no microphones and hearing could be a problem. Van and I moved to the front row. It wasn’t until after some discussion had gone on in the meeting that I saw the value of moving even closer and having a table on which to write.

I didn’t realize that there would be a separate public input section. I apologize to all participants.

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This is a letter sent by Tap Merrick, from Sunnyvale, concerning the Multi-city Council meeting held on Thursday, 26 June 2008:

Dear Neighbors,

A historic meeting occurred yesterday that may spark better relations between the north Santa Clara County cities, and more cohesive planned development.

The Sunnyvale City Council had initiated this meeting as a result of two cross border issues that kept coming before them, a third that had been implemented and a fourth, the 49ers’ Stadium proposal that may affect traffic through Sunnyvale, especially along route 237, Lawrence Expressway and 101. The first two, the “no left turn out of Kaiser onto Homestead” issue and the 490 condo unit/shopping center, Santa Clara Square, at Lawrence Expressway and El Camino Real, are events that may dramatically affect all of us here in Birdland East. The third issue, the development of the Mercado Shopping Center off of 101 and added neighborhood street traffic in North Sunnyvale has already been completed, and is impacting the Lawrence north of 101 Lakewood neighborhood.

This meeting was not a witch hunt, but instead an effort to get Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Cupertino, Mountain View and Palo Alto working in tandem to manage employment, housing and traffic growth successfully with minimal pain to existing citizens. Because of my seating, I did not notice any representatives from Palo Alto, although the other cities were well represented, including the four other city mayors. Santa Clara had four council members, and Sunnyvale had five in attendance. Santa Clara Council Member Caserta, having spoken to a group of us two months ago, was conspicuous by his absence. Both cities also had their city managers, planning directors, and some staff taking part.

Santa Clara’s Mayor Patricia Mahan suggested that the City of San Jose might also be included in the future. This certainly makes sense for Santa Clara, which shares about half of it’s border with San Jose. I suspect that any meeting that included San Jose would quickly degenerate as most issues would focus solely on San Jose, and tend to ignore any other cross border issues which might arise.

As the Santa Clara Unified School District, Cupertino Union School District and the Fremont Union High School District all cross various city boundaries, it was suggested that perhaps they ought to be included in the new development planning process also.

Both Cupertino’s Mayor and Santa Clara’s City Manager stated that they tend to make decisions, and weigh all public comments when reviewing new developments, regardless of whether the comment is from one of their citizens or a neighboring city’s citizens. Cupertino’s Mayor cited the Cupertino Village redevelopment at Wolfe and Homestead. Santa Clara’s City Manager cited Santa Clara Square, and how they have stopped that development. I have to admit that I’m not confident that Santa Clara Square’s basic plan has actually been stopped.

Mayor Mahan did note the success Santa Clara had working with Sunnyvale’s Birdland neighbors in developing the new Kaiser facility at Lawrence Expressway and Homestead, and as a counter Sunnyvale’s Council Member John Howe noted that Kaiser had reignited some sparks as a result of wanting to change the “no left turn out of Kaiser onto Homestead” rules originally agreed to some 12 years ago.

There were several suggestions about various cross border issues being brought before neighboring City Councils in a timely manner, as well as being brought before neighboring City Planning Departments or Commissions. There was also a suggestion that joint planning commission meetings be held regarding new development projects being proposed.

Kevin, who inadvertently [It wasn’t inadvertent — Kevin] sat at the big table prior to anyone’s arrival, and was thus assumed to be part of some city’s contingent, suggested that all of the cities standardize their definitions and that all neighbor notifications go out to all residents, as Sunnyvale does, instead of going to just the property owners, as Santa Clara does.

Sunnyvale’s own Council Member Chris Moylan suggested that neighboring City Councils might be allowed veto power over projects, or particular aspects of projects. Mayor Mahan stated that if that were allowed, i.e. giving up some authority over one’s own developments, that she, or any other politician, would never be elected to anything ever again.

I would argue that fair play and political integrity is what gets most people elected, although there is certainly something to be said about campaign contributions coming from developers such as Santa Clara Square, LLC or the Gilmoors. In any case, it looks like Mayor Mahan plans to run for some office when her term expires, which I believe is in 2010.

As an exploratory meeting, nothing was decided, and no agreements were made. It was tentatively suggested that these Councils meet on a quarterly basis, although there again, nothing definitive was decided.

The public was allowed to make up 3 minutes worth of comments each at the end of the meeting. Art Schwartz, Werner Gans, Doug Hosking and I all provided comments. I will let them speak for themselves.

The first of my two points was that these cities needed to implement a comprehensive transit plan which will allow us all to commute to and from work without driving, and how at $4.00 a gallon for gasoline, this concept is much more realistic than at $2.00 a gallon. The second is that cities need to stick to their adopted plans. Santa Clara’s General Plan, for example, calls for housing to be no more than 4 stories tall, and yet, here we are with 9 story high rises being planned for Santa Clara Square.

As you are all aware, I tend to write some extensive missives on the various topics that I choose to tackle. Many of you read them, and I am sure, many of you don’t. It was heartening to me that Sunnyvale’s Mayor Spitaleri told me that he reads each and every letter/e-mail I send to them. No, he didn’t offer if he agreed with me or not, but the first step is to know they are listening. I often receive comments from all of the other council members regarding various issues. As no one in the Santa Clara City Council has ever commented or questioned any of the issues I have ever raised with them, save for Peterson Field, I wonder if they are as thorough as our Sunnyvale Council Members are. Thank you Mayor Spitaleri and Honorable Sunnyvale Council Members for your ongoing attention to the details, and your citizens.

Thank you to all of the cities that participated in this historic meeting. We look forward to future meetings and making cooperative progress for the betterment of all in Silicon Valley.

Thanks to everyone for caring.

Sincerely,
Tap Merrick

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About 50 people attended the Saturday morning meeting while almost 90 people attended the workshop on Monday evening, seated in groups of 8 in the cooling room at the Senior Center. The two sessions were roughly the same. I participated in the Saturday session and stayed as an observer Monday. Besides the planning staff, former Mayor Eddie Souza was notable on Saturday, while Monday brought in current Vice Mayor Joe Kornder and Planning Commissioner Teresa O’Neill. Participants were not limited to Santa Clara residents, and there were quite a few people from Sunnyvale and San Jose. Lifelong Santa Clara Residents and residents who had lived in the city for over 20 years were easily balanced by the number of people who were more recent immigrants. There were several lifelong residents who lived in the city for less than 15 years simply because of age.

Santa Clara Planning Director Kevin Riley provided some background for the workshops. The General Plan will represent the over 115,503 people in Santa Clara (number was provided by the Department of Finance and is current as of January 2008). For reference,

Year	Population	Growth
1950	11,000	-
1990	92,000	-
2008	115,000	-
2020	131,000	16,000
2035	146,000	31,000

As of 2005, there were 105,000 jobs in the city.

Year	Jobs	Growth
2005	105,000	-
2035	156,000	51,000

Harriett Robles, the President of Mission College, provided the opening speech both nights, describing the General Plan update process Mission College is undergoing. Rather than simply remodel certain parts of the school, Mission College felt it best to review the entire campus to allow greater flexibility in meeting the needs of the 10,000 students it supports. The planners need to be Responsible and Responsive and the plan requires what Ms. Robles calls “the Four Cs (plus One)”:

• Courage
• Commitment
• Creativity
• Collaboration
• (Capital)

The meeting was then handed over to Rajeev Bhatia, principal planner at a planning firm Santa Clara uses as a consultant, who got the workshop started. The goals of the workshops were to initiate dialogue with the community, to get feedback on key topics, and to begin to identify common themes and visions for the city.

The purpose of the General Plan:

• Outlines the vision for long-range physical development in the city
• Provides specific implementing actions that will allow the vision to be accomplished.

The General Plan should be:

• Comprehensive (it should take into account all desired aspects of the city)
• Long-Range (the current update should guide development through the year 2035)
• Internally Consistent (there should be harmony among the different areas)
• Vertically Consistent (Zoning and General Plan should be in agreement)

Mr. Bhatia then brought the participants to their first exercise: the “Pop Quiz” (It was really just a feedback session; it was more about what you thought and felt than what you knew). There were 10 feedback questions to answer to help define opportunities and challenges and identify possible solutions. It was really an individual exercise although it was listed for “small groups”. Participants wrote out their answers on Post-it note squares and stuck them to posters which lined the walls of the room. Here is a sampling (questions and answers overheard or seen):

Identity and Vision
1. What word do you think best defines Santa Clara?
   Diverse, Flat, Small Town, Potential, Heartless, No Downtown, Comfortable, Fragmented, Community
2. What do you like most about Santa Clara?
   Quiet, Size, Neighbors, Climate, People, Diversity, Utilities, Small Town, Community
3. What can be done to make Santa Clara better?
   Remember Our History, Downtown, Responsible Development, More Schools, Transportation, No Stadium, No More Apartments

Future Growth and Development

4. Where should new homes and businesses be allowed in the future?
   Nowhere, Alviso, Sunnyvale, We Are Full, Dilapidated Areas Around Stadium, No Homes On El Camino Real, Near Transportation, Plazas, Businesses On El Camino Real
5. What would you like to see happen in the downtown area?
   No Planned Ghettos, More Businesses, What Downtown Area?, Common Architecture, Arts-Centered District, More Trees, Apartments Above Businesses
6. What type of development would you like to see along El Camino Real?
   Restaurants, No Houses, Entertainment, More Businesses, Apartments Above Businesses

Environmental and Open Space

7. What environmental resources should be protected as the city grows?
   Open Space, Parks, Water, Air, Land
8. What are the top two priorities for parks and open space?
   More Parks, More Open Space, Make Them Look Nicer, Family Friendly, Art

Neighborhoods

9. What is the name of your neighborhood, and what will most enhance your neighborhood?
   No High-Density Housing, More Businesses, No Graffiti

Transportation

10. What should be the future priorities?
    Light Rail, BART, Fewer People, Easier Access To Existing Trains And Light Rail, People Movers

After discussing the results and trying to identify common themes, Mr. Bhatia then transitioned to our real small group exercise: the “Time Magazine” cover. Participants were given a cover for an imaginary magazine called “California Today” and asked to come up with a headline they would like to see in the year 2035, when the General Plan period would be complete. Participants came up with their own individual covers, and then each table tried to come up with a group cover. This is when the conversations flew fast and furious. There were moderators at each table who tried to focus the discussions, but the topic was so rich many residents could not be contained. Several tables abandoned coming up with a headline and focused on getting as many of the diverse thoughts in as possible.

Although Mr. Bhatia had set a direction for the headline — the best possible outcome you could imagine in 2035 — several tables presented their fears as well. The very first group on Saturday presented both optimistic and pessimistic headlines, which was brilliant. John Reagan got the dubious honor of presenting “High-Density Development Backfires“, which was clearly on the minds of a majority of people at these workshops.

A sampling of headline snip-its and bylines:

Santa Clara: World-class City Wins Olympic Bid
Because of Transit, Stadium, International Swim Center, Vibrant Downtown Area, Entertainment, Education, Multiculturalism, and Opportunity.

America’s Most Notable City
Lifelong learning district, Schools and Universities, Safety, Small Town Feel, Engaged Community

Santa Clara, Perennial All-American City
Excellent in every category; other cities strive to be like Santa Clara
Good to live and work.

South Bay’s Best-Kept Secret
World-class Attitude, Small Town Feel

Forbes Declares Santa Clara Most Forward Family City
Because of Schools, Green policies, and the ability to live, work, shop, and play in the same community.

Found Downtown!
Best Little Green City In America Finally Finds Its Heart

A Notable City For All Ages, A City With A Mission
high-tech, for all ages, diverse, innovative, modern, 100% solar, engaged community, great quality of life

Back To The Future
Community Drives Green Growth; Hometown Rebirth

The Best Place To Live And Work
Quality of Life, Lots of Different Kinds of Jobs — Santa Clara is a Magnet City

A Caring Small Town

Intelligent Planning Keeps Santa Clara The Most Livable City… Again
Safety, Education, Open Space, Property Values

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