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Sunday Sept. 30 2-5 pm
Please join your friends and neighbors for this lovely annual event at the home of Debbie, Steve, and Eric Benovitz. Come and mingle in the beautiful yard, get the latest neighborhood news, and Vote for your 2008 SOFNA Board. Biographies of the candidates are available at the ice cream social or on-line at http://www.geocities.com/south_of_forest/election_2008_bios.html
Please RSVP so we can buy enough ice cream! $2 is the suggested donation to help fund the event. Please RSVP to Debbie Benovitz. Soy Ice Dream will also be available.
Would you like to …
... get some exercise before SOFNA’s ice cream social?
... cycle the new San Tomas Aquino/Saratoga Creek Trail?
... see several Santa Clara landmarks?
Join Michelle, Bryan, and other neighbors for a round-trip, 17-mile bike ride from Parkway Park to Sunnyvale Baylands Park and back. The route is entirely on paved streets and paths including city streets (10 miles with bike lanes or wide shoulders), the San Tomas Aquino/Saratoga Creek Trail (5 miles), and the San Francisco Bay Trail (2 miles). Santa Clara’s points of interest along the route include the San Tomas Aquino Trail’s new Monroe Avenue staging area, Great America, Santa Clara Golf & Tennis Club, 49ers headquarters, Old Quad, Senior Center, and the Harris-Laas Museum.
SOFNA is not sponsoring this bike ride. Ride at your own risk.
Bring your own water, food, safety gear, bike repair supplies, etc.
DATE: Sunday, September 30, 2007
TIME: 9 AM (2-3 hours)
PLACE: Meet at Parkway Park on Forest Avenue
Contact Michelle Purviance if you have questions.
Once again it was a party to be remembered in Royanna’s spacious backyard. Hospitality at the entrance, hospitality at the barbecue, hospitality at the tables, great cooks, great food, great conversation, and small details like a potpourri of fresh herbs from Debbie's garden. Mike O’Halloran, in his Flying Tiger jacket, manned and fanned the grill and introduced distinguished guests. One by one, we shared anecdotes with The Fire and Police Department, Chief of Police Stephen Lodge, City Council Member Jamie McLeod, Mayor "Patty " Mahan and soft-spoken County Supervisor Ken Yeager.
As the evening came to a close, Corinne was on hand to help people to their cars along with their courtesy light bulb from Silicon Valley Power and those great Police Department pencils. Yes, our neighborhood has it ALL!! The talent to appreciate and enjoy each other, the willingness to serve each other and a community within a community that serves each of us very well.
This summary is based on conversations with Rajeev Batra (Director of Public Works) and other City Staff as well as recent developments.
Streets & Sidewalks Reconstruction: The project is on hold because no funding was allocated for this fiscal year, July 2007 – June 2008. Starting in February 2008, City Staff will start working on the plan, design, etc. as part of the Capital Improvement Project budget development process.
When dollars are allocated, reconstruction will most likely occur between spring and fall for the next two to three years. Spring 2009 is the soonest we can expect to see construction based on this timeline. The City will consider several factors, such as pavement condition, drainage and construction impact on the neighborhood, to prioritize streets. All of the streets will not be done at one time, but preferably, in small groups of alternating streets to allow residents a place to park during construction. Existing conditions, such as drainage, and property owner input will determine the type of curb installed on each street. Some streets may have rolled curbs while others have vertical curbs.
Santa Clarans for Fiscal Responsibility, a group of former Santa Clara politicians and staff as well as current business professionals, including Miles Barber, publisher of the Santa Clara Weekly, opposes the project. This group has stated it will oppose funding for the project during the 2008/2009 budget process.
In addition, residents of Serena Way, which intersects Stevens Creek Boulevard between Saratoga Avenue and Kiely Boulevard, have petitioned the City Council to include their street with our neighborhood’s project. Their formal request to the Council is scheduled for the September 25, 2007 City Council meeting.
Traffic Calming: Our neighborhood will participate in the City’s Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program using developer funds from the Valley Fair expansion that was recently approved by the City of San Jose. When these funds become available, the City will begin the program, which includes: 1) traffic study (car volume, speeding), 2) neighborhood master plan design, 3) neighborhood input. Signage, striping narrow lanes, raised cross walks, bulb outs, and traffic circles are examples of traffic calming measures.
Covenants: For the time being, the City is still requiring neighborhood homeowners applying for building permits of $80,000 or more over a three-year period or $50,000 if a variance is involved to sign a covenant obligating owners' and their successors’ participation in an assessment district and cost-sharing for infrastructure improvements. The 35 plus existing covenants are still binding.
The City Attorney decides the fate of these covenants, whether to rescind existing ones and/or to halt their use. At issue is whether the cost-sharing and assessment district provisions of the covenants are still binding given the City Council's vote for 100% City funding for the project. Rajeev Batra has indicated that the assessment district provision probably is not enforceable but the other provisions will remain binding.
Background: According to the official City Council minutes, on June 5, 2007, the City Council approved “100% City funding of the South of Forest Neighborhood street improvements in the Five Year Financial Plan 2008-09 through 2012-13 through pay as you go, bonding or other funding measures not including the general fund." Please note this timeline is different from what was reported in the summer issue of SOFNA News, which was the City Council “approved 100% city funding of the SOFNA street improvements over the next 5 years…” This was a quote from the Summary of Council Actions originally posted on the City’s web site.
Next Steps: SOFNA’s Government Relations Committee is communicating with City staff about all aspects of the streets and sidewalks project and keeping informed of new developments. We are also communicating with Serena Way’s representative and will be attending the September 25 Council meeting. In addition, we will be reviewing the covenants to gain a better understanding of their provisions and how they relate to the policy direction set by the Council on June 5.
To ensure that the streets and sidewalks project is completed in accordance with the Council’s June 5, 2007 direction, we will need the same if not greater level of neighborhood participation as we experienced this past spring. Please mark the following City Council meeting dates on your calendar: May 6, 13, 20, and June 10, 2008. We may need to present a strong and united front once again during the budget hearings.
If you are interesting in learning more about the work of the Government Relations Committee or would like to get involved, please contact Michelle Purviance, Committee Chair.
In the middle of June the city council passed six resolutions (McCleod abstaining) to rezone the BAREC property so that the housing development could move forward. SaveBAREC organized a Referendum that challenged two of them: the rezoning from Agriculture to Planned Development and the General Plan Amendment. Enough petitions were signed to place these two items on the February Ballot.
The saveBAREC.org website has a large archive of easy to click on articles. Information can also be found on the city’s website at www.ci.santa-clara.ca.us or on Summerhill’s plan at www.90nwinchester.com.
The City Council passed six resolutions that allowed for the housing development to go through. SaveBAREC organized a Referendum that challenged two of them: the rezoning from Agriculture to Planned Development and the General Plan Amendment.
The SaveBAREC group will be campaigning to the City over the next few months in order to inform the public of the decisions in front of them. There are TWO things that needs to be voted on.
There has been little response from SOFNA residents to investigating the possibility of changing school district boundaries to Santa Clara Unified School District. In order to move forward in researching the process involved, there needs to be an interest from families in the neighborhood. If interested or have questions, please contact Joanne Anderson.
If you notice a new example of graffiti in the neighborhood, please report it to the Santa Clara Street Department at 615-3080. The City's response has been quick (within a week) all summer. But they can only react when they receive notification of a tag. So take pride in your neighborhood and call. Be sure to give an exact address. If you see someone in the act of defacing property, do not confront the person. Instead, call the Graffiti Hotline at 241-9495, 24 hours a day. Provide specific information as to location, date, and time. For more information, visit the City's website www.ci.santa-clara.ca.us/ and look for "Graffiti Eradication Program."
Jamie Caron, the Community Service Officer from the Santa Clara Police Department, has offered to make an interactive presentation on Internet safety for kids ages 9-11 years old. If you are interested in having your children attend, or if you would be able to serve as host, please contact Corinne Celio.
How much will it cost to underground the utility lines when the streets are reconstructed?
How can I save money on my electric bill?
How can I help slow global warming?
Find out the answers to these questions and more by attending SOFNA’s next Neighborhood Forum featuring a speaker from Silicon Valley Power, our City-owned electric utility.
Date: Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Time: 7 PM
Place: Joanne Anderson’s Home
Space is limited. RSVP now. Contact Joanne Anderson to reserve your seat.
Sept. 30: Bike Ride with Your Neighbors, Meet at Parkway Park, 9 a.m.
Sept. 30: Ice Cream Social/Elections for Board of Directors, 2-5 p.m.
Oct. 3: H.E.A.T. Training begins, 1900 Walsh Avenue, 6-9 p.m. Call 615-4940 to register.
Oct. 23: Neighborhood Forum with Silicon Valley Power, 7 p.m.
Nov. 4: Daylight Savings Time ends. Replace smoke detector batteries.
Nov. 22: Thanksgiving. (Yard waste/recycling/garbage collection one day late.)
Dec. 7: Tree Lighting Ceremony, Civic Center, 6-7:30 p.m.
April 2008: Completion of Fire Station #4 (tentative).
Joanne Anderson
Royanna Gazlay
Joy Haas
Tracie Johnson
Elena Morera
Arline Norsworthy
Michael O’Halloran
Michelle Purviance
John Shores
FineLine Graphics &Design, Inc.
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The print version of the SOFNA Newsletter
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