Petition update August 2017:

Despite the vocal and valid objections of local residents and elected leaders of neighboring cities, San Jose’s city council just approved a string of high density “urban villages” with high rise buildings along Stevens Creek Blvd, bordering Santa Clara from Cupertino to Winchester Blvd. With the vote, San Jose’s city council has clearly stated it will not address the concerns of those affected. Now is the time to call on local leaders to take action and represent the voices of local residents like us. Support this petition and attend upcoming Santa Clara and Cupertino city council meetings and call for firm action opposing the irresponsible approval of urban village plans without transit and other infrastructure improvements.
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All along Stevens Creek Blvd high-rise buildings of up to 120-150 feet tall (approx. 12 to 15-stories) await approval by the San Jose City Council. San Jose Urban Village developments and Signature Projects will impact everyone living in neighborhoods near them, including residents in West San Jose, Santa Clara, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Saratoga, and Campbell. Expect gridlock on I-280, I-880, Lawrence Expressway, Stevens Creek Blvd, Winchester Blvd, and Saratoga Ave. Frustrated drivers will seek to bypass traffic by cutting through neighborhoods. Little relief will come from public transit because the area is served only by a few bus lines.

Developers and their proxies are pushing through high-rise Urban Villages and Signature Projects without consideration for the impact to traffic, infrastructure, and the surrounding community. Under an arbitrary ‘Signature’ process, developers can ask for any height or density, breaking established regulations. Volar, a recent Signature Project, was proposed as 25-story tower and was recently approved by the San Jose City Council at 200 feet tall! The sky is the limit. More Signature Projects are in the pipeline.

Flyer with a map of Urban Villages: http://tiny.cc/NoHighRise-Flyer

HOW WILL RESIDENTS' QUALITY OF LIFE BE AFFECTED?

• Traffic and Gridlock! Urban Villages and Signature Projects will add tens of thousands of commuters to the area, where our freeways and streets are among the most congested and no mass transit is available or planned.
• Increased Cost of Living and Decreased Quality of Life! Traffic congestion will cut off access to areas with affordable housing. More air pollution, more noise, more stress, and more crowded urban living.
• Increased Taxes! Residents will pay new taxes to support increased demand for essential services required by new development. Expect new taxes to support additional demand for first responder services (fire, ambulance, police); transportation infrastructure; landfills for solid waste; sewage treatment; water sourcing and storage; parks, open space, and recreational facilities; and school facilities and programming.

Speak Up NOW! Together, we can take control and protect our shared community from exploitation by profit-driven developers!

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

• Attend upcoming Santa Clara and Cupertino city council meetings and call for firm action opposing the irresponsible approval of urban village plans without transit and other infrastructure improvements. We will provide updates on dates and times.
• Sign this petition to send a message to our public officials that we expect responsible, sustainable development policies from them that protect our quality of life, cost of living and infrastructure.
• Forward the petition to your friends to raise awareness, including San Jose, Santa Clara, Cupertino, Campbell, Saratoga, and Sunnyvale.
• Write to San Jose, Cupertino and Santa Clara City Council Members opposing the urban village plans. See this web page for details.
• Join our email list at subscribe@UC4SD.com to stay informed with the latest development news.

Together we can protect our homes, our living environment, and our quality of life.

Sign this petition to direct San Jose District 1 City Council Member CHAPPIE JONES and CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS to support policies that enforce the following:

• 65-foot maximum building height. Other approved Urban Villages near mass transit, such as BART, VTA light rail or Caltrain, have a maximum height of 65 to 85 feet, except one Urban Village, where one site has a maximum height of 120 feet. The maximum height of 65 feet is reasonable for an area with only bus lines in order to be sustainable by our roads and infrastructure.
• Significant, on-site, BMR housing for each residential site. For any exception on building height given to Urban Villages or Signature Projects, require a percentage of on-site, below-market-rate (BMR) housing. Require at minimum 25% BMR housing for every residential area and require an additional 5% for every five (5) feet in height above 65 feet.
• Firm setback standard. Maintain the 1:1 or 45-degree setback requirement, without exception.
• EIR amended with current traffic data. The environmental impact review (EIR) for Envision 2040 General Plan was done in 2011, 6 years ago, while the traffic worsened considerably. The impact on fire prevention, police and emergency services have to be re-evaluated, especially for areas with significant height increase.
• Ground-level, public-access parks. Require ground-level parks or open public space (flat and level for play) with each project, meeting or exceeding the standards of our existing public parks.

STATUS OF PROJECTS

• Volar project was approved by the San Jose City Council on Tuesday, June 13, 2017: An 18 story high rise tower with luxury housing, office space, and no rail transit options. The "open space" for the public is located on the rooftop, 200 feet above ground. What is the likelihood that the general public will be able to utilize this space?
• Three Urban Village Plans approved by San Jose City Council on Tuesday, August 8, 2017: Stevens Creek Urban Village, Winchester Urban Village and Valley Fair/Santana Row Urban Village.
• More Urban Villages will be considered for approval in the future: De Anza Blvd Urban Village, Saratoga Ave Urban Village, Paseo de Saratoga Urban Village (Westgate Mall area), Bollinger Road Urban Village.

For more information, write to United Communities for Sensible Development at info@UC4SD.com or visit www.UC4SD.com.