So MVCSP is actually getting along in years. It was about three years ago this spring/summer that our group started to meet regularly and really take shape. We think that maybe "dog years" and "community group years" are probably pretty similar. This makes MVCSP equivalent to a young adult. Time to do some soul searching and figure out who we really are. To do this, we're going to be holding a retreat for all of our members (if you're reading this, that means you) this spring. We'll be talking about how to solidify our mission and structure, and we'll be making plans for the future. We intend to be around and making Mountain View increasingly sustainable for a long, long time to come. Help us shape our future by coming to our spring retreat. Keep checking in for details or email [email protected] to be added to a list of people who want to be contacted with updates.
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![]() ---------------- 2/9 UPDATE: 2/14 Meeting @ 5PM, not 7PM as originally posted. ----------------- Don’t fall for the trite tradition of dinner and a movie this Valentines day. How about dinner and a City Council General Plan study session? Steer clear of the passive movie-going experience and participate in elevating the Draft General Plan from good to extraordinary. After 3 long years, City Council will be holding its final study session on the Draft General Plan and this is the last big opportunity to provide input. While the Draft Plan outlines a sustainable vision, the policies need strengthening to ensure the vision is implemented. Why do the policies in Draft General Plan need strengthening? Driving and greenhouse gas emissions both increase by 2030 in the Draft General Plan. The main reason for the increase, according to the independent environmental analysis: too few housing units. While opening the floodgates to unlimited housing development is not realistic or desirable, there are still opportunities to plan for housing that won’t clash with Mountain View’s character. Here are thee points to discuss when addressing or writing council:
Hope to see you there! Meeting Time: 2/14 5PM City Hall (map), Plaza Conference Room Take a peek at this very informative FAQ sheet about the proposal to add Bus Rapid Transit to El Camino Real in Santa Clara County. The Mountain View city Council meeting will be meeting to discuss this project on January 17th at City Hall. Please consider attending and speaking in support of BRT with dedicated lanes. ![]()
_ VTA is holding the last of a series of meetings about the Valley Transportation Plan 2040 will be held on January 4 at Mountain View City Hall. See www.vta.org/vtp/ for more info.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. City of Mountain View City Hall, Atrium Room 500 Castro Street, Mountain View Take VTA bus lines 35, 22,522; light rail is about 3 blocks away Last week, MVCSP hosted staff from Greenbelt Alliance to go over the details of how to use an EIR as an advocacy tool. Turnout to the workshop was great; over 20 people attended, some coming from as far away as Contra Costa County! We covered a lot of information in just over 2 hours. Attendees asked if the resources we shared could be accessible online afterward. Those resources are below. If there is more information that you would like but don't see here, contact Ellie Casson. If you have questions about how to read or comment on an EIR, please contact Adam Garcia and/or Amanda Bornstein. Links to websites referenced: Planning and Conservation League and PCL's Guide to CEQA (which we referenced during the workshop. This is a very handy guide for advocates.) California Air Pollution Control Officers Association Association of Bay Area Governments (We used and referred to maps from ABAG during the workshop) Materials used during the presentation: ![]()
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Did you know that when you search for the images related to the term "EIR" this lovely lady is the first thing that comes up? Neither did I. Aside from an apparently very popular anime character, what is an EIR, or Environmental Impact Report? Why is it something that you need to know about? On 12/13, come find out how to read, analyze and comment on a project EIR in order to reach sustainable planning goals at the first installment of the new workshop series, Planning for Change: How to be an Effective Advocate, presented by Greenbelt Alliance and hosted by MVCSP. The event is free but registration is required. REGISTRATION LINK HERE (A $25 deposit to save your spot is required. This fee will be refunded within three days of the event.) How to Use an Environmental Impact Report as an Advocacy Tool December 13 6:00PM - 8:30PM (Networking, pizza, and registration between 6:00 and 6:15) Mountain View Community Center, Room 2, 201 South Rengstorff World Centric is a company in Palo Alto that has hosted the film series that is coming to MV next week. (AKA a friend of MVCSP!) The company makes and distributes biodegradable disposable cutlery, Styrofoam alternatives, etc. The founder of the company also wanted his space to be a place where speakers and events that promoted sustainable, ethical living could be hosted. Though young, the company has been incredibly successful. Bloomberg's Business Week magazine has nominated World Centric as one of the top 25 social enterprises in America.
Readers vote on their favorite small business and a winner will be chosen. The link to vote is at: http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/sb_survey/ Voting ends July 12. More details about World Centric are available in the Business Week article about all of the 25 candidates. http://images.businessweek.com/slideshows/20110621/america-s-most-promising-social-entrepreneurs-2011/slides/25 As we look to the future, what kind of city do we want? How can
we make our cities livable and sustainable? This FREE film series will explore how creative planners in the U.S. and around the world are reinventing cities and towns to be more livable and sustainable. Each film will be followed by discussion and light refreshments. FRIDAY July 8 - Save Our Land, Save Our Towns Small town newsman Tom Hylton explores why America's towns have declined and how we can revive them. "Development and zoning issues normally make eyes glaze...Tom Hylton makes them downright fascinating." - Philadelphia Daily News FRIDAY July 15 - Seoul, the Stream of Consciousness and Portland: A Sense of Place In 2003, Seoul, Korea demolished a major downtown freeway to uncover and restore the ancient Cheonggyecheon stream that once flowed beneath it. The Cheonggyecheon is now a vital part of the city’s commercial and tourism sectors, and has proven that environmental restoration can revive culture and community. Plus, learn why Portland is consistently ranked as one of the country’s most livable cities and how city planners have uniquely integrated transport decisions into urban growth and development efforts. FRIDAY July 22 - Transportation Solutions These short films will inspire you about alternatives to car transportation and how alternatives can improve city environment and people’s lives. Including “Guangzhou, China's Winning the Future with BRT,” “LA’s Orange Line,” “Velo Liberte,” and “Cycling Copenhagen.” FRIDAY July 29 - A Convenient Truth In this inspirational film, you'll learn why cities around the world look to Curitiba, Brazil as the model for creative and enlightened urban planning. Over the past 40 years, Curitiba has demonstrated how to transform problems into costeffective solutions that can be applied in most cities around the world. Fenwick and West, Silicon Valley Center 801 California Street Mountain View, CA 94041 Fridays 7-9 PM starting July 8, 2011 The Mountain View Coalition for Sustainable Planning is a group of local volunteers dedicated to making Mountain View as beautiful, economically healthy, transit, bicycle and pedestrian accessible, and affordable as possible (www.mvcsp.org). Films of Vision and Hope focuses on hopeful and positive solutions to environmental problems affecting our world. At 11:45 p.m. on Tuesday night, the Mountain View City Council unanimously approved redevelopment of 1/3 of San Antonio Center by Merlone Geier Partners. It was a very long meeting mostly because Council was variously dubious about what was proposed, and wanted to resolve some of the more obtrusive issues still there after the most recent round of minor design changes agreed to by the developer.
Those Councilmembers who were concerned about less than 3% of 300+ new apartments being offered at below market rate rents were appeased by the suggestion that the BMR issue be settled at the time of the first occupancy certificate--rather than now, when the City has no enforceable BMR regulations. The developer dropped his demand for reductions in a park-in-lieu fee payment, following repeated comments on MGP's not owning the "green space" land and that it will not really be up to "park" stancards. Following an outpouring of public input critizing the car-centricity of the project and problems that bikes and pedestrians would have getting into and around it, Council asked the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee to use their expertise in working with the developer to recommend some improvements. The exact process was not defined at that point. Members of the public and some on Council also pushed for bike lanes on San Antonio Road, and ultimately were assured that the project design would be required at least to allow for these. The many unfinished stories invite continuing interest in the project by residents who spoke to the Council about their concerns, and were happy to hear them echoed by Councilmembers. While Council ultimately voted for the project from a position of compromise, this followed several hours of vigorous discussion about the innate shortcomings of the project design and who will or won't benefit from it. |
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