The following is from the Greater East San Carlos Resident’s Group website, http://www.webjam.com/gesc/home . I am working on independent verification of the facts:
“ALERT: The City Council will soon make decisions that will determine the future of our neighborhood and your property.
At the October 6, 2008 Planning Commission meeting they considered long term General Plan land use changes (mostly East of El Camino Real). They unanimously voted on three items of concern to our community:
1) They voted in favor of the Holly Street “Gateway Project” to include not only the city widening Holly Street, but also acquiring the homes on the north side of Holly Street, and South side of Springfield to widen Holly and add 40-50 foot high multi-family housing. Houses South of Holly and North of Springfield would now be facing large structures, just as occurs in NESC north and East of our single-family residences. None of the affected residents have been spoken with regarding this proposal to date. This proposal goes way beyond widening Holly Street and threatens residents with huge losses in property values and no plan for compensation.
2) The GESC Board spoke in unanimous favor of a mixed use/residential development proposed from Holly Street to Branston which would buffer our southeast neighborhood by replacing existing industrial uses, and provide another opportunity for neighborhood serving businesses as well as residential development. The Planning Commission rejected this proposal and proposes a continuation of industrial uses, and a hotel at Holly and Industrial, which does not benefit our neighborhood. The developer will be appealing this decision to the City Council and needs our support.
3) The San Carlos Transit Village proposed by SamTrans and Legacy Developers on El Camino Real north and south of Holly is proposed to have the General Plan reflect High Density Residential, which is a significant change from its current commercial designation. At most we would like to see Medium Residential, or another lower density use, and no decision should be made until the City Council considers the development and the Environmental Impact Report on its merits.
This is what occurs when the City Council and Planning Commission does not include East San Carlos residents on its Board or Councils. Lee Thompson who lives in SESC recently retired from the Planning Commission and no GESC members were selected to serve even though Scot Marsters, our past neighborhood president of 6 years, applied twice for the Planning Commission and was rejected. The City Council and Planning Commission are not protecting Greater East San Carlos resident’s issues when these long-term land use changes are being considered. The City Council will have a final vote on these proposals at their October 27, 2008 meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall. It will be VERY important that residents attend to voice their opinions and/or send letters expressing themselves to the City Council ASAP as these long term decisions will adversely affect our neighborhood, quality of life, and home values. Please send letters expressing themselves to the City Council ASAP, as these long-term decisions will adversely affect our neighborhood, quality of life, and home values.”
5 Comments
I sympathize with the East Side neighbors. These plans will change the character of their neighborhood and I don’t know if it will be for better or worse. They obviously think it will make their neighborhood less appealing. I do think Holly needs to be widened, but I hate the thought of doing that at the expense of someone’s home.
I am concerned as to why SC feels the need to put up so much high density housing as is proposed for Holly St. I think there are certain numbers the city is required to meet mandated by the state or federal government, but I need to be persuaded that possibly exceeding this amount is a good idea. With high density housing comes the need for more public services and the city is already in a budget crisis.
High density housing can also change the appearance of the city. For example, I am not crazy about the height of the new mixed use condo development on El Camino. I think we need to be careful about the height of these building and how they change the character of our city. The 4 story building seems overly large and perhaps a 3 story would have been a better fit.
On the other hand, I watched the council meeting last night and saw the plans for the condo development on Cherry St. I think the developer in that case did a nice job of adding a smaller 4th story.
I am in favor of the proposed Transit Village as the concept makes a lot of sense. I am not against these high density developments, I’m just hoping the good outweighs the bad.
I think it is a shame that the city council would even consider doing this.
Brittan ave has more potential to have a gateway and widening done to it without compromising the homes, lives and memories of the Eastside SC Families.
Kudos to the votes to end kids riding bikes, neighbors knowing neighbor and the ultimate demise of a solid family based neighborhood. Way to go 070.
This comes down to one simple issue…..money. Bob has pointed out several times on this blog (albeit, subtly) that the east side is viewed very much as an untapped resource to fix the city’s financial woes. This proposed move goes too far. The post above could not be more right on.
There goes the neighborhood – I like your idea of Brittan as a gateway as it runs through the middle of the city and houses along Holly could then remain. However, Brittan has already been widened to 4 lanes and yet it has not relieved the congestion on Holly. I don’t think it would be possible to have a “gateway” on Brittan without a Northbound on/off ramp.
Please note the following letter from the City of San Carlos regarding the above mentioned post:
Good Afternoon Ben:
With regard to the “emergency letter” you sent to the GESC on October 12 specific to the Holly Street General Plan Alternative; I wanted to provide some background information to clarify what is being proposed to the residents of the GESC area. We have spoken with a few residents in the area and their concerns about what actions the City may take in the future in their neighborhood.
It needs to be clearly stated that the city has no plans or funds to purchase properties in this area or to pursue development envisioned by the GPAC and Planning Commission’s proposed Land Use designations. Any such changes in the future would involve development by the private sector. Such development would be dependent on the market forces where properties could be acquired and consolidated over the long term.
I think it is important for the residents of the GESC to know all the facts before coming to any conclusions. I wanted to run this by you and ask that you distribute this email to the GESC Board and residents.
Background on General Plan Update Concept for the Holly Street Corridor
On October 6th, the Planning Commission considered GPAC’s recommendations on the Preferred General Plan Land Use Alternative Map which is a compilation of 11 study areas. The Holly Street corridor between Industrial Road and Old County Road is Study Area 11.
The GPAC recommended to the Planning Commission that the single family residential properties along Holly Street be designated as Multiple-Family, Low Density (10-20 dwelling units to the acre) with a two story height maximum. The corridor is currently designated Single Family and Service and Convenience and zoned Single Family Residential (R-1) and Central Commercial (C-2) in the current General Plan and Zoning Ordinance respectively.
GPAC also recommended a “Gateway” Overlay District be applied to this area. The Gateway Overlay district designation would be supported by policies in the General Plan that would encourage a consolidation of properties, with the objective of re-aligning Holly Street to create larger developable parcels, while allowing for a better design solution to accommodate the high traffic volumes in the corridor. The gateway overlay would ensure high quality development, attractive landscaping and pedestrian and roadway improvements befitting a key gateway into the community.
Discussion
The Multi Family-Low Density designation would allow apartments or condominiums with a two story maximum along Holly Street to respect the character of the surrounding residential neighborhood. The intent of GPAC’s Gateway Overlay District recommendation is to recognize that this corridor is an important gateway into San Carlos and to allow for the possibility that new development could occur by increasing the marketplace value of these properties. Thus, there would be more likelihood of improvement to the Holly Street corridor with new residential development. In addition, there would be a potential to further improve traffic and circulation conditions.
This idea has been discussed for months at the GPAC level and was vetted at the community wide meeting at the Hiller Museum on July 30th.
Planning Commission Review/Recommendation
On October 6th, the Planning Commission moved to support the Holly Street gateway overlay and multi-family low density residential designation from GPAC. However, the Commission was intrigued by a written proposal suggested by a local resident to extend the Gateway concept. After discussion of this idea, the Commission moved to extend the gateway overlay and multi-family low density land use designation to include the single family parcels directly to the east and facing Springfield Drive (See Attached Map). The Commission’s intent is to make it more likely for parcel assemblage to take place. The parcels facing Springfield Drive are currently designated as Single Family and zoned Single Family Residential (R-1) in the current General Plan and Zoning Ordinance.
Next Steps
The Planning Commission’s recommendation as well as the GPAC recommendation and comments from the Economic Development Advisory Commission (EDAC) on the General Plan Land Use Maps will be going to the City Council on October 27th for consideration. The Council discussion will provide direction on the General Plan Preferred Land Use Map which will ultimately be discussed and adopted along with an updated General Plan at a Council meeting projected to be held in the summer of 2009.
Please let me know if you have any questions regarding this email.
Thanks, AL
AL SAVAY, AICP
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
CITY OF SAN CARLOS, CALIFORNIA