Voter Guide: El Camino, Sheriff races INSIDE
OCTOBER 26, 2018 VOLUME 26, NO. 40
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Landmark North Bayshore housing project wins approval COUNCIL AGREES TO REDUCE CITY FEES By Mark Noack
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n a crucial proof of concept for the city, the first major housing project in North Bayshore received approval at the City Council’s Tuesday, Oct. 23 meeting. In the process, the 635-unit project by the Sobrato Organization won a deep discount on city fees. The mixed-use project, which includes office space, is now cleared for construction after winning a 5-1 vote, with John McAlister opposed. Councilman Ken Rosenberg was absent. Sobrato’s project, located at 1255 Pear Ave., is a snapshot of the city’s goals to transform the corporate office park in North Bayshore into a self-contained neighborhood with housing, parks and schools. For that reason, it was vital to show that the project was not only possible, but profitable as a way to encourage the full construction of 9,850 new homes envisions for the area. “I’m looking forward to this being the first landmark housing project in North Bayshore,
and I want to make it work,” said Councilwoman Pat Showalter “The discussion on how we can do that is valuable.” Yet the project also was a showcase for the myriad challenges of this kind of multifaceted development. Sobrato Vice President Tim Steele pointed out that his firm pitched initial plans for a project at the Pear Avenue site back in 2011, which was later revised in 2015 as a housing project under the city’s gatekeeper process. Along with the 635 homes, the Sobrato project also calls for a six-story, 231,000-square foot office building intended to be leased to Google. As an incentive, the project is donating a 1.4 acre parcel of land for a future 140-unit affordable housing project. Since the project was submitted, the city fees have reportedly skyrocketed, especially for parks and schools. In 2015, those fees were set around $32,000 per housing unit. Earlier this year, his firm withdrew their project
MAGALI GAUTHIER
A proposal to redevelop the Village Lake Apartments into a 716-unit complex that includes affordable housing for teachers in the Mountain View Whisman School District, got the go-ahead from the City Council on Tuesday.
Council greenlights 716 apartments, deal for teacher housing By Kevin Forestieri
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ountain View City Council members gave a warm reception to a massive 716-unit apartment proposal Tuesday night, following a deal between the developer and the Mountain View Whisman School District to reserve
a 144-unit apartment building on the property specifically for teachers, school staff and city employees. The 4-0 decision — with two council members recusing themselves — caps off seven months of intense negotiations between the developer Fortbay, the school district and the city
for a fairly unusual deal to get teacher housing built at 777 W. Middlefield Road. The roughly 10-acre site is currently the home of the 208-unit Village Lake Apartments. Under the proposal, the project’s required low-income See TEACHER HOUSING, page 8
See NORTH BAYSHORE, page 6
Six square off in heated Mountain View City Council race By Mark Noack
VOTER GUIDE
t’s a pivotal time for the city of Mountain View, and the stakes have become abundantly clear in this year’s City Council election. In recent years, Mountain View’s leadership has struggled with the difficult balance between aggressively pushing new housing growth in the city while trying to avoid gentrification. A string of important decisions on
future city plans have gone forward with a thin majority on the council, which could tip the other way depending on this election. Three seats on the City Council, currently held by Mayor Leonard “Lenny” Siegel and council members Pat Showalter and Ken Rosenberg, are on the November ballot. Siegel and Showalter are both running for re-election,
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while Rosenberg decided against seeking a second term. The candidates challenging them are former two-term council member John Inks, planning commissioners Ellen Kamei and Lucas Ramirez, and retired city planner Alison Hicks. Lucas Ramirez Age: 30 Occupation: Policy adviser to San Jose Councilman Sergio Jimenez
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Education: B.A. music, Santa Clara University Years in the city: 30 Website: ramirezforcouncil.com Mountain View needs to go for broke on building housing, according to Lucas Ramirez. It’s the most significant problem facing Mountain View, and the city has already done much of the initial steps of planning for new residential growth. Ramirez cites housing development plans for North Bayshore,
East Whisman, Terra Bella and El Camino Real, where the city is prepping for thousands of new homes, and if elected he wants those Lucas Ramirez plans to go through. It won’t be easy or quick, but it’s the right thing to strive for, he said. See CITY COUNCIL, page 10
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