C’est magnifique WEEKEND | 20
NOVEMBER 13, 2015 VOLUME 23, NO. 42
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MOVIES | 23
Council opts for maximum housing in North Bayshore CITY’S TECH HUB ALONG SHORELINE BOULEVARD COULD BE THE SITE OF 9,100 NEW HOMES buildings of up to 12 stories high that would be filled mostly with he Mountain View City “micro-unit” apartments for tech Council on Tuesday workers. Council members explained pushed to maximize new housing development in the that they want to take a flexible bustling North Bayshore tech approach to encourage speedy corridor. If realized by private development. “All this housing probably isn’t developers, the city’s vision for the area would add about 9,100 going to be built,” said Councilnew households next door to the woman Pat Showalter. “But the offices of some of Silicon Valley’s max (area) where it’s allowed, the better.” corporate giants. It was abundantly clear at the The idea to inject housing into what has essentially been a meeting that much of this new sprawling office park has grown housing development would be in popularity over the last year, spearheaded by Google, which owns hundreds of among both council acres in the area. The members and other stakeholders, espe- ‘I see this as company sent two letters to the city in cially Google. The of the meetconsensus is that workforce advance ing, urging city leadMountain View ers to provide incenneeds to provide housing.’ tives for rapid housmore housing if the COUNCILMAN ing growth. Google city is to continue MIKE KASPERZAK representatives as a job magnet for particularly wanted the region. Buildassurances that any ing new residences in the heart of North Bayshore office space demolished for housis seen as a way to alleviate the ing could be rebuilt elsewhere. Any new housing that is built daily traffic jam of workers funneling into the area, and perhaps would include the number of open the possibility for more tech affordable units required by city regulations, said Google spokesexpansion. At a Nov. 10 study session, man Davis White. Most council members council members gave direction on a variety of tweaks to the endorsed the idea of giving city’s land-use plans in what they some perks to speed up housing described as a “high-level” vision growth, although they hinted for future development. Through that some disagreements may a series of straw votes, council be ahead — the question of who members made clear they want would live in these new housing to study as much housing as the units among them. “I do want to incentivize the area could sustain. They picked the largest area proposed by staff property owners to create the — a cluster of parcels totaling 60 neighborhood we want,” said acres near Shoreline Boulevard Councilman Lenny Siegel. “But as far as what kind of housing north of Highway 101. For those properties, the coun- and who would live there, I think cil laid out a neighborhood vision See NORTH BAYSHORE, page 6 of tightly packed residential By Mark Noack
T MICHELLE LE
Ryan Chester, winner of the Breakthrough Prize’s junior challenge, talks with reporters at the awards ceremony that brought together top names in the sciences, Silicon Valley big-wigs and Hollywood stars at Moffett Field.
Science and math shine at 2016 Breakthrough Prize awards By Kevin Forestieri
I
t’s not often you get to see actor B. J. Novak, tech investor Yuri Milner and former CIA director David Patraeus in the same room together.
Walking down the red carpet just outside of Hangar One at Moffett Field, the unlikely trio was just a sample of some of the big-name celebrities who showed up in Mountain View Sunday night to support some of the world’s top scientists.
Actors and actresses, television producers, singers and entrepreneurs all made an appearance at the third annual Breakthrough Prize event, which was started by high-powSee AWARDS, page 12
Few students expected, despite city’s housing growth SECOND STUDY SHOWS SMALL BOOST IN ENROLLMENT FOR MV WHISMAN DISTRICT By Kevin Forestieri
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n the Mountain View Whisman School District, nothing has been more of a political football this year than enrollment projections. How many
INSIDE
kids are expected to enter the city’s public schools could largely determine whether the district opens a school at Slater Elementary. Parent groups lobbying for a new neighborhood school have
picked apart demographic data for months, insisting there are enough kids in the pipeline to support a new school. Others fear an extra school could drain See ENROLLMENT, page 10
ARTS & EVENTS 13 | VIEWPOINT 14 | GOINGS ON 24 | MARKETPLACE 25 | REAL ESTATE 27