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Director's report CITY OF CUPERTINO 10300 TORRE AVENUE, CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA 95014 DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Subject: Report of the Community Development Director~~ Planning Commission Agenda Date: Tuesday, Tanuary 9, 2007 The City Council met on December 6, 2006, and discussed the following items of interest to the Planning Commission: 1. Consider adopting a resolution approving the Vallco Redevelopment Project Area 2006-2010 Implementation Plan: The City Council adopted the updated implementation plan. (see attached staff report) 2. Consider an appeal of the Planning Commission's decision to deny an appeal of an approved Minor Residential Permit for a 15-foot rear property line setback for a 392 square foot single-story addition, Philip Covarrubias (Bates residence), 20077 Tohn Drive. The appellant is Darlene Thorne: This item was tabled because the applicant withdrew his application. Miscellaneous North Vallco Master Plan Community Workshop: The first North Valko Master Plan Community Workshop will be held on Thursday, January 25,2007 in the Community Hall at 7:00 PM. A brochure is enclosed. You are encouraged to attend and to promote attendance within the community. Please let us know if you need additional brochures to distribute. This information is also available on the website. Enclosures: Staff Reports Newspaper Articles G: \ Planning \ SteveP \ Director's Report \ 2006 \ pdOl-09-07.doc 1)(,-2 - I l;;:;:::::~j {~'~: . -.....,~r -,-",,,"~'T!3 ......--.:"'...;.1.:.-,. CITY OF CUPERTINO City of Cupertino 10300 Torre Avenue Cupertino, CA 95014 (408) 777-3308 Fax: (408) 777-3333 Community Development Department SunamaIY Agenda Item No. _ Agenda Date: December 6, 2006 Application Summary: Adopt the Valko Redevelopment Project Area 2006-2010 Implementation Plan RJECOMMJENDA TION Adopt a resolution approving the 2006-2010 Cupertino Valko Redevelopment Project Five-Year Implementation Plan. BACKGROUND In 1993, the State Legislature passed into law AB 1290 requiring redevelopment agencies to adopt Implementation Plans that identified specific programs that would implement the Agency's Redevelopment Plan. The Implementation Plan is to be reviewed eyery two to three years and updated every fIve years. The Agency adopted its first Implementation Plan in August 2000, and did not update it in 2005 due to intensive activity at Valko. It is now required to update the Plan to reflect current conditions and expenditure plans. The required elements of an Implementation Plan are: @ Identify specific goals and objectives for the next five years. /} Identify specific programs and projects planned for the five year period, including estimated expenditures. o Provide an explanation of how the goals, objectives, programs and expenditures will eliminate blight. <} . Provide an explanation of how programs will help the Agency meet its housing production goals. ~ Provide an explanation of how the Agency's low and moderate income housirig set-aside fund will be used to create or rehabilitate affordable housing. The Implementation Plan charts a course over the next five years for continuing revitalization efforts within the Project Area, estimates capital project expenditures and tax increment revenues and generally outlines a blue print for the Agency Board and community as to how the Agency intends to proceed with redevelopment activities. i),r2'~ CUjpertlli.O VaHco JRerlevelojpmeltlt Project Page 2 'Df 4 The Implementation Plan differs from the previous plan in that it contains a housing production plan, since housing is now anticipated in the project area. Affordable housing production is a requirement of the plan, as described in SectionC. The Plan notes that the programs and strategies outlined in the document may vary over the next five years, since constraints an opportunities are not fully predictable. The Implementation Plan was prepared by a consultant, Kirk Heinrichs, in conjunction \vil1 ~ltteJ1CI fHjl cn_f:(~tir)~?- to (lj~~(JJ~:,0; ) TYi.cl_r1 ~- ..' and answer questions. DISCUSSION Revenues, Programs and Projects Tax increment revenues estimated over the five-year period are shown on Table 3. Gross tax increment revenues over the five-year period are estimated to be $5,296,941. Based on projected revenues, Tax Allocation Bonds (TABs) in the amount of approximately $10,000,000 may be issued in 2008/09 if there are sufficient tax increment revenues and if an investment grade bond rating can be achieved. For purposes of the Plan, it is assumed that bond proceeds will be available to finance programs and projects. Expenditures for the five-year period are estimated at $14,940,105, including tax increment revenue and bond proceeds. Of the total, approximately $9,000,000 is expected to be used for public infrastructure, including parking facilities, road improvenl.ents, and utility improvements. Approximately $1,500,000 will be expended in debt service payments on the TABs. The Agency will set aside approximately $1,336,671 in its Housing Fund for facilitating affordable housing in the community and approximately $1,000,000 will be spent on economic development programs. The Agency is obligated to pass through to the tax entities who share in the property tax in the Project Area, such as school districts and public utilities, 25% of the Agency's net tax increment totaling approximately $1,336,671. And approximately $753,864 will be spent on Agency administrative costs, primarily supporting a full-time staff person who will manage the Redevelopment Agency activities as well as economic development duties. The Plan is not an authorization to expend funds. Any expenditures would have to be authorized by the Redevelopment Agency in a separate action. Housing The Implementation Plan anticipates the production of 204 housing units over the life of the plan, which is the mixed-use "Rosebowl" development approved in 2004. Therefore, the Redevelopment Agency will have housing production requirements under California Redevelopment Law (CRL). In addition to the CRL requirements, the Redevelopment Agency must satisfy terms of Dt,Q - 3 Cuperti.no Vallco JRedlevellopment lPJrojed Page 3 of 4 a settlement agreement with the Cupertino Citizens For Affordable Housing in resolution of a lawsuit brought about in connection with the adoption of the Redevelopment Plan in 2000. This Implementation Plan is in compliance with the provisions of that settlement agreement. The settlement terms are as follows: !'l-ln 6..(Y('l'-I..("\il-,y.=-tJ(.2ll-'I(-)rq)L~-d- ~JJr::;(),~'). -'-___.,__.L -....u-.. --'j . __Jt.l.J.. ..............'J-' - L-'_~ _u. I _~1::3 dru.-tttLll -L8_X il.1.crcn'jt~Jlt il:tu housing fund (rather than 20% as required under CRL). €l The Agency must spend 20% of the amount deposited into the Housing Fund (5% of total tax increment collected) to provide housing affordable to extremely low-income persons, who are persons with household incomes not exceeding 30% of area median income. (CRL does not have a requiren'lent for extremely low- income households). el The Agency must provide five affordable housing units (at specified afford ability levels) for each 100,000 square feet of non- residential area added within the Project Area if financial assistance frOlTl the Agency has been provided (there is no comparable requirement in CRL). @ The Agency must satisfy specified requirelnents for leveraging the use of Housing Fund monies, providing affordable housing monitoring reports to the legal representative for the "Cupertino Citizens For Affordable Housing" group, and including certain provisions in agreements for the provision of affordable rental units. The Plan identifies that 13 Very Low and 18 Very Low, Low and Moderate income units would be provided over the life of the Project Area (see Table 9). The law requires that 15% of the units provided must be affordable, and 6% of those units must be provided at Very Low income levels. The other 9% can be provided at any level including Very Low, Low and Moderate. 'DlI2 -- 4 RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF CUPERTINO REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD APPROVING THE 2006-2010 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN WHEREAS, the Cupertino City Council approved and adopted the Vallco Redevelopment Plan on August 21,2000 for the Vallco Redevelopment Project Area (the "Project Area"); and WHEREAS, in compliance with Health and Safety Code Section 33490, Redevelopment Agencies must conduct a public hearing on and adopt an implementation plan every five years identifying goals and objectives of the Agency. WHEREAS, staff has presented to the Agency Board a proposed Implementation Plan, a copy of which is on file with the Agency Secretary; and WHEREAS, on the date of this resolution, the Agency has conducted and concluded a duly noticed public hearing on the Implementation Plan in accordance with Health and Safety Code Section 33490; and WHEREAS, the Agency finds that the Implementation Plan, with any modifications as considered and approved in connection with the public hearing, constitutes a statement of the Agency's goals and objectives for the Project Area, a summary of the specific programs and proposed expenditures proposed to be made by the Agency during the next five years, and an explanation of how the goals and objectives, projects, and expenditures will eliminate blight within the Project Area and implement the affordable housing regulations of the Community Redevelopment Law; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Health and safety Code Section 33490, approval of the Implementation Plan does not constitute a project for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and therefore no environmental documentation is required pursuant to CEQA. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Cupertino Redevelopment Agency Board hereby approves and adopts the Implementation Plan for the Cupertino Vallco Redevelopment Project 2006-2010. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this resolution shall take . immediate effect from and after its passage. DI R .-tc wv MONDAY SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS DECEMBEI! 18, 20116 f:i1' j;~ ;:,\, [),t\~cl, ~.~,ljt1t'l !.:tL' w...~_. nDT\Ir'n n.n rATA 1 ^n 1ll"11 l"1'\1 1....1 1"1" ._--~~--~- --.-------.---.--.__._______..J~_.______________ .-~~f..f;E_.L_~_____.,___ Gr wing pains in HOMEOWNERS ARGUE OVER BUILDING RULES - OR LACK OF THEM By Usa Fernandez Mercmy News Folks who live in Fremont are grappling with a vexing issue - how big can your dream home be? On Tuesday, a group of residents, many of whom live in low-lying ranch homes, will address the city council to complain about the lack of rules regarding slapping up expan- sive homes. Many tony towns on the Peninsula and in the South Bay have already dealt with the issue by tightening regulations. At least three such large homes have been built sporadically in a Bra- dy Bunch-type neighborhood, called Mission Ranch, in the southeastern part of Fremont. And a fourth is planned. Typically, existing homes there are less than 2,000 square feet - about half the size of the new homes being built. There is no defini- tion for what constitutes what critics call a "monster" home. The issue is coming to a forefront now, some surmise, because the See HOMIES, Page 2B remont 'MONSTER' VS. DREAM What's happening: At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Fremont City Council will discuss new ordinances regarding two-story homes; the meeting is at 3300 Capitol Ave. in F"emont At Bsslle: Those who want to preserve the homey character of their neighborhood are up against those who see mini-mansions as a sign of modernity and progress. l) I J2. -~ ~. ~ ~;;j t~ ~"-~.:!' ':""iil.D i] I"A ,. IiJl F:8JZ1 ~l'i\\ !ir~ /4 \:lff rii l~ t~j ID~ ~'\T-"'"<;~ q l~-~~ Y"'%:Jil"frl("E erllP~ 'If' ..1:,,". JL '"",/ .,'" .J,,- .1 ''-..;!, ~'2...L ~=! ContinuedfromPa.ge lB 1950s bedroom community of Fremont is beginning to run out of space, leaving those who want to upgrade ,and modern- ize their homes little choice but to raze and start from pcrateLl. rrhe "h,s3ttle tbo[~,c vllho v.,lB.nt tu p!~\~serve ths homey charactel; of the neigh.. horhood against those who see mini-mansions as a sign of mo- dernity and progress. City planners say tear-downs are increasing, estimating that about 10 to 15 homes have been demolished and rebuilt during the past two years. Largely driving the matter is a grass-roots group led by Nishit Vasavada, who can't stand the large homes dwarf- ing his views of the East Bay hills and seem out of place in his middle-class, tree-lined neighborhood. "People live here for open skies," he said. "Pilld these homes are just too big. They don't fit in here. Plus, you have to live with the construction for a year and a half or more." Vasavada has researched the ordinances of cities such as Los Altos, Los Gatos, Sunny- vale, Palo Alto and Menlo Park; collected signatures of 100 neighbors upset with new houses towering over their low-lying homes; and launched a Web site (vrvvv,r.missionc ranch.com). But homeowner Wen-wei Lee, who is Vasavada's next- door neighbor on Bedford Street and hopes to soon de- molish his one-story green ranch and build a. two-story home, disagrees, He sees his new dream home as a sign of the changing times. "I look forward for the ne1.1: f2.1 ,".' d'l) 'IY'cFl'jl.... 1/',\', """""j'i.' ~f]. ''If=j: if.! "iT'" r~ -1~ ""'J' I~= try ~-r!'= '.'1. '~'..v~,i;, a'l " l'G !.0,' [;: riJ 1>J ~ t rl rn ',?..I-~ QI IY m ~ ~ a J.J ,"4;" J'"1 \~ IJ.-'1 .1L 1, ; L JtJ.:.o....~::..... - ...Lt.._J':;'" it- ;,t'~~ .:.~...~.t \~=',~~, '~_..!J':1_ ~v) ~''''' J'~, \bJ ""'~"'/~:.d ~l....JJ JL fore they build. At Tuesday's meeting, Plan- ning Director Jeff Schwob will layout options for the city council spanning from doing nothing about Fremont's scant regulations to creating stricter ones. MARIA J. AVILA - MERCURY NEWS On fi,ustin Sheet in FI'emont, these two homes illustrate the issue before the city council on Tuesday. Critics call the newer, larger house a "monstel'U home and want stricter I'egulations on buildings, 50 years, but Nishit looks baclnvard for the past 50 yem's, That is our difference," Lee said in an e-nuil, declining a personal interview, "I con- sider this progress." Lee said his home is old and in bad condition. 1-1" structural engineer said it would be ex- tremely expensive to add onto his home - just as costly as starting from scratch. He has taken out the building permits for a new 4,200-square-foot home next to Vasavada's 1,670-square-foot one. City - Councilwoman Anu Natm:ajan, who is an architect and urb8.n land-use designel~ said she wants Fremont to em- brace more home-building guidelines to preserve neigh- borhood integrity, But she also doesn't want the rules to be so authoritarian as to stifle per- sonal expression m1d creati\ri- l,\r. " At present, there is little oversight in Frerllont to indi- viduals building new homes, other than saying the struc- tures can't be higher than 30 feet or set back from the street about five feet. There is also no notification process to alert neighbors that an old home is being demoli~hed and a new one is being built in its place. Fremont, the Bay Area's fourth largest city, has long ex- isted as a spacious suburb so is only now feeling the growing pains of being nearly built out, Natarajan said. Certainly, there are large homes - hovering in the rm1ge of 20,OOO-square feet - in Fremont, But these villas are mostly built on the hill- sides and are surrolU1ded by spacious lots of land. The issue in Mission Ranch tmd some other neighborhoods is that the two-story homes are sprouting next to existing ranch-style houses with a few feet separating homes. Natarajan said she would li...~e the city to hire plm1l1ing staff trained in design, some- thing Mountain View has, to review homeowners' plans 1e- Sornn Jl(~',::"T ('0111d Contact Lisa Fernandez at lfernandez@mercurynews.com or (510) 790-7313. PI~-(1 SILICON VALLEY I SAN JOSE #0218452471 02!=~/Ub ~-"~ STEVE FIASECI<I CUPEWfINO COMMUNITY DEV 10300 TORRE AVE CUPERTINO CA 95014-320~.. ,-., j.. l' ~L/f11 RECEIVED Dtli . Full content at our Web site. JO DECEMBER 8, 2006 VOL. 24, NO. 31 $1.50 IP S.t= lfj .~ 96 N. Third St. Suite 100 Sylvan Source founder hopes to make a splash. SaIl JOof:, 95112 SlAV C8UJdUIlT 1lU1fB: Sign up for free e-mail news updates at sanjoseJDBzjourDmls.c8BDB1I )unnyvale will test Pau's skill BV SHARON SIMONSQDN ssimonson@hizjoumals.Gom fthe city of Sunnyvale names ter Pau the new developer for troubled downtown mall on c.12, the assignment would the largest and most complex ~ San Mateo developer has or undertaken. ~ut professionals in the Silicon 11ey commercial real estate 1ustry who know the Hong ng transplant say if there is yone who can get the job done, s Mr. Pau. t doesn't hurt that he's snagged 2 of the most-respected finan- 1 backers in the region, Rreef, ivision of Germany's Deutsche nk with some $69 billion in as- s under management. Rreef is ~ same company that this year ~cuted the largest real estate luisition that Silicon Valley s ever seen, the $1.1 billion buy the fonner Peery/Arrillaga rtfolio. -Jearly everyone who spoke Jut Mr. Pau for this story cites ; integrity and follow-through. )st believe he would be success- with the mall, even without eef. See SUNNYVALE, Page 45 ILLUSTRATION BY MARIA F GETTING HACI( ON TRACK: Sunnyvale could name Peter Pau as the new developer of the city's troubled downtown mall. Mr. Pau's comp Sand Hill Property Co., bought the nearby Sunnyvale Town & Country shopping center last year. D IR -/0 DECEMBER 8, 2006 sanjose, bizjournals,com iC nsevv\) THE BUSI~Ir:SS JOURNAL 45 SUNNYVALE: Troubled downtown project appears headed to prolific Sand Hill Property principal CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 If past is prologue, however, Mr. Pau will need to marshal every molecule of character and intellect to take what is now a 34-acre physical and political mess and turn it into the prospering retail, of- fice and housing center that Sunnyvale professes to want. "I am kind of worried," he says. He has a customary self-effacement and not a trace of distress when questioned about why he is interested in the job. "Several people already asl{ed me, 'Why would you want to do that?' as in, 'what's gotten into you? '" He was not looking for the work, Mr. Pall, 53, explains. It just kind of came his way. A year ago, his company, Sand Hill Property Co., bought the Sunnyvale Town & Country, a much smaller, aged I'etail hub next door to the Sunnyvale Town Center. Mr. Pau plans a $300 mil- lion remake of the T&C, including 400 homes and 50,000 square feet of shops and restaurants in several mid-rise tow- ers. Not surprisingly, Mr. Pau and repre- sentatives for the Forum Development Group, the Atlanta company that cur- rently has the right to redevelop the Sunnyvale mall, began to coordinate plans. One thing led to another, and now Forum, at deep odds with the city of Sunnyvale, wants to sell the land and development agreement to Mr. Pau and Hreef. The agreement between Forum and Sunnyvale gives the developer the right, with city approval. James N. Carbone, Rreefs managing director for North American acquisi- tions, who has his office in San Francis- co, did not return a call or e-mail seeking COlUment. Nor did Forum. Mr. Pau himself declined to be photo- graphed for this story, though at least one person who has known him for more than a decade says he, is always impec- v ~ cably dressed. Mr. Pau himself admits to liking to shop and says he is planning his 30th wedding anniversary celebration. "It's a lot of pressure on me," he says. "It's very stressfuL" Sunnyvale city staff are now research- ing Mr. Pau and Rreef to determine if the duo is up to the Sunnyvale job. Several local redevelopment and planning direc- tors in neighboring cities where Mr. Pau has built say that they have gotten calls from Sunnyvale about their experiences working with Mr. Pau. A report on what Sunnyvale is finding becomes public ~Sevell"an people already have asked me, 'Why would you want to do that? I as in 'what's gotten into you," Peter Pau Sand Hill Property Co. Dec. 7, after the Business Journal goes to press. Sunnyvale declined through its spokesman to provide any insight into what its research has uncovered, though Sunnyvale Mayor Otto Lee says, "I do feel that the information we've gotten so far on Mr. Pau and Rreef is relatively positive." San Mateo City Planning Chief Ron Munekawa says he has known Mr. Pau for 15 years and has worl{ed with him "on and off' during that time. Mr. Pau executed a smaller redevelopment in downtown San Mateo that has been suc- cessful, including bringing in Starbucks and Noah's Bagels before the two became hot retail names. More relevant to Sunnyvale and im- pressive is the work that Mr. Pau did to replace San Mateo's former Fashion Island, a failing, 1 million square-foot enclosed mall on 75 acres. In the mall's stead is now a 600,000 square-foot "power center," including a Target, Home Depot, Toys R Us and Old Navy; 460,000 square feet of offices; 400 apartments; and a 154- room Hilton Hotel. Foster City also tooll: an active interest in the re-do, Mr. Munekawa says. "Certainly, he (Mr. Pau) was forward- thinking in looking at a variety of ways that the center could be reconfigured," he says. Mr. Pan developed the $60 million re- tail portion of the project and sold the re- maining development sites. The job was completed in 1998 and sold in 200l. Mr. Pau also has done developments in Los Altos, Cupertino, South San Francis- co, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale. In March of this year, he sold the 120,000 square- foot Cupertino Village for $65 million to Kimco Realty Corp., the largest publicly traded owner and operator of neighbor- hood and community shopping centers in the country. He completed the center's renovation in 1997, according to a Sand Hill summary of Mr. Pau's projects pre- pared earlier this year. The total project cost was $23 million. Sand Hill estimated the total market value of its portfolio at more than $300 million before this sale. "Peter has really come on in the last several years," says Dave Taxin, a part- ner at retail brokerage Meacham/Op- penheimer Inc. Mr. Taxin has worked with Mr. Pau for more than a decade. "He is a very smart developer. He doesn't fight about stuff that's not economically important. He takes a lot of chances. Bro- kers love him because he will buy stuff without entitlements, which is unheard of." What awaits Mr. Pau in Sunnyvale will be nothing if not interesting. While news releases issued by the city of Sunnyvale blame Forum for the breach that has estranged the compan:, from city lead- ers, Sunnyvale Mayor ~,ee admits that Forum warned the citl' that negotiations with Macy's and Target both of which own their Sunnyvale si les and have veto power over mall reck"e lopment plans, were "taking longer Lkm they (Forum) thought." At one point, Forum anticipated the center's "grand reopenmg" this past summer, according to Its Web site. But after demolishing a parlong garage at the center late last year, Forum has done no other construction. A Dec. 1 request from the Business Journal to see copies at ll'tters exchanged between Sunnyvale and Forum since April, when Sunnyvale notified the de- veloper it had breached their develop- ment agreement, wu' not honored by press time. Two other ihsiders the process, in- cluding a fonner city mayor, say that it is unfair to lay all the fault on Forum. "Macy's wanted Forum to put in up- grades at Forum's expense and at one point they (Macy's) eV21~ threatened to go darl~," says the forme,' mayor. "There is no question that Mac'.s and Target did delay the project." Mayor Lee, an attorney, intimates that the two sides could !;];cl themselves in court. Right now, he there is "noth- ing on the table." "But lots oflawyers,"'cre involved, and when lawyers tall~, l1i:gation sometimes follows." Drew Arvay, a panner at NAI BT Commercial brokerage who represents Forum, defends his ':110nt, noting that Sunnyvale was "quite excited to have them" when the project began. "At this point," he ,;:1\'5, "it's in every- one's best interest see this project developed." SHARON SIMONSON covers! r.11 estate for the Business Journal. Reach her at (40B) 299-1 n \3 Sobrato plans golf course DY SHARON SIMONSON sslmoll8on@blljournals.com The city of Newark has enlisted Cupertino's So- brato Development Coso to pursue construction of II BXNMY an 1B.hole golf course and executive housing on 900 102184 acres south of the Newpark Mall. ~~~~~T The plan, as measured both by scale of projected 10300 development and the land mass in.question, is the cu PER'! largest and most significant for the city in at least two decades and has the potential to bring to New- ark a public improvement that it has sought since 1992. It also could allow the Sobrato company to develop for housing a 77.acre Newark tract that it has owned since the 19BOs but is now zoned for industrial use. "This is huge," says David Schmidt, who has been Newark's mayor for nearly 30 years. "We've had some other large undertakings in the past, but for Newark's future, this would be the largest single planned development." Sobrato, one of the largest office and apartment landlords in Silicon Valley, owns or controls more than 500 acres oethe territory in question, including 277 acres owned by another of the valley's most suc- cessful commercial landlords, Peery / Arrillaga, a v ~ \ -- ~ DECEMBER 0, 2006 VOL 24, NO. 31 $1.50 96 N. Third Sl. Suite 100 Sail Jose, CA 95112 TEE OFF: Sobrato has been hired by the Gity 01 Newarl{ to build an 1 B-hole goll course and enecullve housing near Newpark Mall. Sobrato executive says. The company also has forwarded $734,015 to the city of Newark to retain consultants to begin explor. Lng the proposal. Reports are expected at the city in April. Despite the city's enthusiasm for the plan, ques See NEWARK, Page 4! NEWARK: Sobrato, city making plans for development of golf course, executive home neighborhood CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 tions remain as to whether it is possible as now conceived. Besides land-use plan- ning and environmental issues, the con- sultants are preparing a "constraints analysis," a prelude to a full environ- mental impact report on the property, says Newark Assistant City Manager Jim Reece. The evaluation should determine if it is economically feasible to develop the golf course while also addressing need- ed public improvements including a new elementary school and what are almost certainly significant environmental is- sues, he says. The property encompasses numerous wetlands and is home to plants and animals in "special status" - such as the California tiger salamander, the salt marsh harvest mouse, the vernal pool tadpole shrimp and the burrowing owl .-- according to city documents. It also includes several auto wreck- ing yards, which are suspected of hav- ing caused some level of soil and pos- sibly ground-water contamination. All but one of those yards operate under temporary city permits and are ex- pected to leave, the mayor says. The mayor suggested that getting the final one to shut down would be up to the developers. "Economic forces would probably persuade them (to close) at some point," he says. The golf course, which would likely measure between 7,000 yards and 7,200 yards, would use about 120 acres and should cost from $10 million to $12 million, depending on its intricacy and accouterments such as the size of its clubhouse, says Dan Powell, a principal with Kyle Phillips Golf Course Design in Granite Bay, a consultant on the job. Who will ultimately own the golf course also is an open question. The city is interested in a public course with reasonable playing fees, the may- or says. He argues that the 300,000 people living in his community and surrounding areas now have no place to tee up and should supply sufficient demand. But he concedes that golf courses nationwide are struggling fi- nancially amid a development glut. The city of San Jose, for instance. is considering converting a public course in the Evergreen area to hous- ing, in part because the course is not financially viable. Tim Steele, Sobrato vice president of real estate development, also says "sig- nificant" portions of the property will have to remain untouched to preserve the wetlands as habitat. The amount won't be known until more environ- mental work is done, nor is it known how much housing ultimately could bp developed. About 300 acres of the property are already developed, with Ohlone College building a new 135,000 square-foot Cen tel' for Health Sciences and Technol- ogy designed to accommodate 3,500 stu dents. The new campus, which occupiec' only 30 acres ofthe college's 80-acre site. expects to offer classes beginning l; \ January 200B. In addition, the land is home to a va r:- ety of existing public improvements in cluding a fire station, community cente \. and various sports fields. Despite the hurdles, Alan D. Golcl. president and chief executive officer of BloMed Realty Trust, says the Newark plan for a golf course and higher-ene: housing is a good one for the entire East Bay. San Diego-based BioMed acquire,; Sun Microsystems Inc.'s 1.4 milli'cq\ square-foot Newark campus for million earlier this year. "One of the knocks on the whole Eas t Bay Is that all of the executive housing is on the peninsula, and the East Bo\' has only worker-bee homes," he sa\', "Really it should be a complete commu- nity. Once it is perceived to have that the East Bay will become - instead of i.\ second choice for many - a first choice for many." BioMed's acquisition of the Sun cam- pus was a tremendous boost for the town of nearly 50,000 after Sun announced that it would vacate. The biosciences in- dustry is generally coveted by cities be- cause it is considered potentially high- growth and employs highly-educated and highly-compensated people. Mr. Gold's company specializes in pro- viding real estate to the life science industry. Its tenants include biotechnol- ogy and pharmaceutical companies, sci- entific research institutions and govern- ment agencies. It has said it will accom- modate life sciences and other types of companies in Newark. So far, Mr. Gold says, demand from life sciences firms represents about half of the company's tenant prospects. Mr. Gold said his company last month got the first 1 million square feet of the Sun campus after the information- technology company vacated the space about two months earlier than expected. Sun remains in the other 400,000 square feet. "It's great because we now have con- trol over the space, and we can begin redevelopment from a single campus to a multi-tenant campus," Mr. Gold says. SHARON SIMONSON covers real estate lor the Business Journal. Reach her at 408-299-1853. PAGE 37 DECEMBER 15, 2006 SILICON VALLEY I SAN JOSE BUSINESS JOURNAL sanjose.bizjournals.com .. CoveringSallBElnito,. Sanl:aC..I.l~ and N1~htereycouritles General Plan is a quagmire in any language BY MARV DUAN sanjose@ bi~ournals.com .~ The long-awaited General Plan from the Monterey County Board of Super- visors may be delayed in translation. The Jan. 3 vote for approval could be pushed back even further as super- visors consider a surprise request to translate the plan, its supporting environmental impact report and re- lated commentary into Spanish. More than 'two-dozen members of the United Farm Workers union at- tended a Dec. 12 supervisors' meeting - held so the board could discuss the EIR -to show support for the transla- tion request. Many of the workers lis- tened on headphones as the proceed- ings were translated into Spanish. UFW regional director Sergio Guz- man declined to say why the union had waited until now to make the re- quest, but says translating the docu- ments is the right thing to do for the majority of the county. "The majority of people here speak, Spanish and it will affect them," Mr. Guzman says. The board was to adjourn for a three-week holiday break, but instead will meet on Dec. 19 to consider the UFW request and continue plowing through the EIR. Should the board decline to translate the documents - a total of nearly 1,200 pages for the plan and EIR - the union says it will fight. "We are prepared to take action, but we have not yet decided what that ac- tion will be," Mr. Guzman says. Supervisor Lou Calcagno says the UFW request could further delay the plan's approval. ' "1 think it's too premature to say whether or not it will be approved ... if the board decides to print and circulate the documents in Spanish, there is no doubt that will take time," he says. The General Plan's development has taken so long and become so divisive that the editor of the local free weekly has likened it to a civil war. The document, meant to guide land use in unincorporated Monterey County for the next two decades, is now in its seventh year and fourth draft, at a price to the taxpayers of more than $6 million and counting. The UFW's move is the latest in a long line of requests, stumbling blocks, litigation and changes. The document was last updated in 19B2. Last January, the nonprofit Land- Watch Monterey County and other community groups gathered 16,000 signatures in favor of placing a slow- growth Community General Plan Ini- tiative on a ballot for voter consider- ation. But the supervisors refused, saying because the initiative was not translated into Spanish, it violated the Voting Rights Act. Last month, though, the Ninth Cir. cuit Court of Appeals ordered a fed. eral judge to rehear a lawsuit brought by Latino activists who challenged the initiative because the petitions ,.~,;. . \TI'- t;-;~jji~:::ji' were circulated only in English. Unchanged views The slow growth proponents say the latest plan will lead to disastrous and unchecked sprawl. The landowners or pro-development forces say the plan doesn't allow for growth that makes sense. And those are about the same things they said more than two years ago, when the third version of the Gen- eral Plan was under debate. Then, pro- development and agriculture groups asked that the plan be rewritten by a broad-based citizens committee. The previous summer, in 2003, supervi. sors had formed a so-called "refine- ment committee" in an attempt to build consensus among nearly 30 different groups. That refinement committee disband- ed only months after it formed; several land use attorneys attending the Dec. 12 meeting said that was because slow growth proponents and environmen- tal groups filibustered the refinement group meetings. . While board meetings on the General Plan used to be packed with citizens, now only a: few dozen diehards - most- ly slow growth proponents, land use lawyers and farmers ~ show up. "I think the first three versions were unacceptable to a broad spectrum of the county. They tried to start off with a consensus building plan, but ulti- mately that plan failed to incorporate consensus," says Aaron Johnson, a land use attorney in Salinas. "One thing we heard through the process from county staff is that, 'Yes, we heard you in those meetings, but to be consistent in the General Plan we had to choose one side or the other.''' . Among the General Plan's more con- troversial points is a proposed require- ment that any housing development that takes place outsid~ specifically desig- 'The real problem is it's a horrible, horrible General Plan: Chris Fitz LandWatch Naval stgrad,!~~ .:~l~,7"'"i''' onterey . 'i:"" Peninsula ;jf."~'" College~[;~. ,,?~;'i';f:I,1 ~\ 'oJ., ',',0' unlt::;a~at1 ReservatiOnS fJ ...!'l ,,!,,~ ", nated rural development areas comprise 50 percent affordable housing. A second proposed requirement calls for mitigation, in the form of fees or permanent preservation of farmland, when cities annex state-designated farmland for development purposes. The requirement exempts land already slated for low-cost housing develop. ment. The current plan "is workable. We can keep limping along," Chris Bunn Jr. says. His family farms on 1,000 acres in the Salinas Valley. "But in terms of housing, it falls short. We're losing our young people and workers because of it." Ballot measure Mr. Calcagno asked county staff what would happen if the plan ended up as a ballot measure. The board could request that it be made a ballot measure or referendum, or a citizen's group could once again gather signatures and get a referendum on a baliot. In either case, a special elec- tion would be scheduled and the board would not vote on the General Plan. LandWatch executive director Chris Fitz hopes that's exactly what happens. He says if the board approves the Gen- eral Plan. in . its current state, Land- Watch would sue. A referendum "is the one way that would elevate the level of discourse," Mr. Fitz says. "If they approve (the) General Plan, we're going to sue them and we think oUr litigation will stay it. "You're dealing with a lot of - quite frankly I don't know how else to say it _ incompetence at many levels and a lack of leadership on the board," Mr. Fitz says. "One can make the argument that even given that, couldn't they have done this faster? The real problem is it's a horrible, horrible General Plan," MARY aDAN is a freelance writer based in Salinas. [),({-/3