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Final City Council Meeting on General Plan @ 6:30PM in City Hall, 500 Castro St.
![]() Last night (July 3) during a study session Council took a straw vote and decided 4-3 to not plan for housing in the North Bayshore neighborhood. Council Chambers was quite full with about 40 or so people there to support housing in North Bayshore and about 10 against. (Those are complete eyeball estimates, that could be wrong!) Most of those who were there to speak in favor of housing in North Bayshore were Mountain View residents. Most of those who were opposed to housing were not from Mountain View. The common message among supporters who spoke was please leave housing in North Bayshore on the table as an option. It is a complicated idea that needs further exploration and the Precise Plan is the place to do that. Please don't remove that option now. After hearing over about an hour of public comments, Council had a brief discussion of this and other topics. While a formal vote cannot be taken during a study session, Council did decide to take a straw vote in the matter so that city planning staff can prepare a final version of the General Plan that reflects their wishes, which will be ready for Council to approve at their July 10th meeting. Mayor Kasperzak asked for a show of hands on whether or not housing should be left in the General Plan as an issue to explore further. Three said yes, while four said no. This means that next week the final draft General Plan that Council will presumably approve will not include housing in North Bayshore. Wah. Yes: Mayor Mike Kasperzak Vice Mayor John Inks Councilmember Tom Means No: Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga Councilmember Ronit Bryant Councilmember Laura Macias Councilmember Jac Siegel Thanks to the many who came out last night and wrote Council ahead of time. Your comments were eloquent and thoughtful. While this particular decision didn't go as MVCSP had wanted, but overall we have a really wonderful General Plan that we had a hand in crafting and should be proud of. This one, very interesting issue popped up toward the very end of the process and has sucked a lot of attention away from the whole document, which is very strong. It has lots of great policies that will set MV on a good course for the future. Let's keep that in mind and celebrate it! This study session is to discuss the 2030 General Plan and Land Use Map, Draft Greenhouse Gas Reduction Program and the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for these reports. You can check the City web site on or after June 29th to confirm the scheduled time and location for the study session.
http://laserfiche.mountainview.gov/WebLink/0/fol/25128/Row1.aspx Can only attend 1 meeting? Attend this one! The Chick-fil-a ZA hearing (continued) is on Wednesday, July 11th at 4pm.
The zoning adminstrator, at the 6/27 hearing, gave the developer an option to make certain revisions to their plans, as he appeared to be leaning toward denying the proposal as currently designed. This project would replace the Sizzler at 1962 West El Camino and would include a drive-through addition. Please consider speaking out against this project's including a drive through, as we already have 26 drive-through businesses in our city (https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=215093886093862439511.0004bdab6239ffc3d2a63&msa=0), and adding more would be inconsistent with our vision for Mountain View, the 2030 General Plan, Grand Boulevard and Bus Rapid Transit principles. ![]() Come to City Hall tonight, June 27th at 7pm to make comments on the General Plan at the Environmental Planning Commission meeting. This is the last time the EPC will discuss the document before sending it off to Council. The question of whether or not there will be housing allowed in North Bayshore still hangs in the balance. Use the MVCSP General Plan Action Guide found below for tonight and for the Council meetings on July 3rd and 10th. General Plan Issues and Action Guide North Bayshore Housing Background: Originally, retail, housing, and office were considered for North Bayshore sopersons could live close to where they work while supporting expanded retail services. North Bayshore was envisioned as a mixed-use boulevard with frequent transit serviceconnecting to downtown, retail on the ground floor, and apartments and office above. Allowing housing would give people an option to live close to their jobs, supportexpanded retail services, and justify frequent, all-day transit service between Downtownand North Bayshore. However, City Council recently removed housing from the mix dueto concerns that housing would impact wildlife and exacerbate transportation problems. The Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) recently stated that allowing housingwould have no additional impact on wildlife compared to existing development (pg82, B6-4), and additional policies in the General Plan call for concentrating newdevelopment along Shoreline Boulevard which would restore previously built-upon landto wildlife. Potential Action: 1. Ask Council to restore housing to the North Bayshore area in the General Plan. 2. Consider asking that additional study on housing’s impact on wildlife beconducted in the North Bayshore Precise Plan, but we should not be eliminatinga major solution to our traffic and emissions challenges this early to the process 3. Consider asking that the impacts for a range of housing units be studied in theNorth Bayshore Precise Plan, since additional units may have a positive impacton emissions and traffic. Flexible Mixed Use Background: Council recently added a draft policy that would allow greater intensities along ElCamino Real at “key locations” coupled with “significant community benefits.” Thesecriteria would be defined through the zoning, not in the General Plan, but they areexcellent mechanisms to locate growth near transit, jobs, and services. Additionally, it’s an opportunity for the city to leverage development interest to get new civic amenities and create great places. Potential Action: 1. Support the proposed policy 2. Ask that it be expanded to other change areas in addition to El Camino Real 3. Remind Councilmembers that the criteria of “significant community benefits” and“key locations” will be defined during the zoning process. Transportation Background: Most of the transportation policies are solidified and unlikely to change prior toadoption of the General Plan. Major studies of new transit service are likely to beundertaken in later, more focused planning efforts. However, there are opportunities toadd some language to existing policies to strengthen outcomes. Potential Action. 1. Ask that additional language be added to Draft General Plan bicycling policies todefine the city’s ambition as a “leader in bicycling.” Language supporting this vision could include “development of innovative infrastructure conducive to a low- stress bicycle transportation network comfortable for all ages and abilities. 2. Support the city’s continued work on the pedestrian master plan and interventions that make the city more walkable. Avenues of Action 1. Attend the Council and/or EPC public hearings on the Draft General Plan andspeak to the above issues during the public comment period. 2. Write a letter to EPC members prior to their 6/27 meeting addressing theseissues 3. Write a letter to City Council Members prior to their 6/3 Study Session on theDraft General Plan Public Hearing Dates June 27: Environmental Planning Commission meeting– 7PM @ City Hall July 3: City Council Study Session– 5PM @ City Hall Only time for onemeeting? This is the most important one to speak at. July 10: City Council Final Meeting– 6:30PM @ City Hall Councilmember Contact Information Mayor Mike Kasperzak: [email protected] Mayor John Inks: [email protected] Margaret Abe Koga: [email protected] Ronit Bryant: [email protected] Councilmember Laura Macias: [email protected] Councilmember Jac Siegel: [email protected] Tom Means: [email protected] EPC Member Contact Information Chair Todd Fernandez: [email protected] Chair Lisa Matichak: [email protected] Eric Anderson: [email protected] John McAlister: [email protected] Kathy Trontell: [email protected] Chris Clark: [email protected] Rachel Grossman: [email protected] 6/27 7pm Environmental Planning Commission meeting re General Plan w/ public comment period6/27/2012 Environmental Planning Commission meeting @ 7PM in City Hall, 500 Castro St.
The Chick-fil-a ZA hearing is on Wednesday, June 27th at 4pm.
http://laserfiche.mountainview.gov/WebLink/0/fol/58723/Row1.aspx This project would replace the Sizzler at 1962 West El Camino and would include a drive-through addition. Please consider speaking out against this project's including a drive through, as we already have 26 drive-through businesses in our city (https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=215093886093862439511.0004bdab6239ffc3d2a63&msa=0), and adding more would be inconsistent with our vision for Mountain View, the 2030 General Plan, Grand Boulevard and Bus Rapid Transit principles. City Council reviews the appeal of the Shell Station expansion project at Shoreline Boulevard and El Camino at their regular meeting.
http://laserfiche.mountainview.gov/WebLink/Browse.aspx?startid=35382&&dbid=0 The expansion would entail enlarging the building to include a convenience store and adding a drive-through car wash. Please consider speaking out against this project, as nearby neighbors oppose it and have asked for our support, and because it is inconsistent with our vision for Mountain View, the 2030 General Plan, Grand Boulevard and Bus Rapid Transit principles. A good resource for CSP members and participants:
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces/ CDC’s Healthy Community Design Initiative is part of the National Center for Environmental Health's Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services. The Initiative works to improve public health by:
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