North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association
Word of Faith Church
April 22, 2003
7 – 9 pm

Call to Order: 7:05 pm, Alison England, President

1. Introductions and Welcome – Alison England

2. Tamien Station – Alison England

The Tamien Station general plan was presented and approved by the San Jose City Council. There will be two high density developments built along Highway 87 and Alma Street, by the current Alma Bowl site. Barry Swenson is the developer and there are multiple options of what is proposed to be built. There is a proposal for a mix of both town-homes and apartments.

The Alma Bowl project is thought to be 65 to 125 feet tall in stair-step fashion as opposed to a single height. The tallest existing residential building in downtown San Jose is 146 feet tall. Groundbreaking is expected to occur within six months. It is assumed that there will be 2,000 people and their automobiles added along the light rail transportation corridor.

There is a requirement that notification for this type of project occurs within 1,000 feet of the project boundary. Residents were concerned that this project notification occurred in a random rather than an orderly fashion.

There will be a meeting of the United Neighborhoods Association on May 21, 2003. This coalition of neighborhood associations represents a total of 65 neighborhoods. The coalition will discuss if there was a breach in the notification process as well as possible opposition to the Tamien general plan.

Simply stated, some local neighborhood associations are concerned that this type of high density housing plan:

• - is misplaced and does not blend into a single story family neighborhood area.
• -places additional people, traffic, and strain upon the existing infrastructure.
• -does not provide enough retail outlets to make this project into a true "transit village."

Councilman Yeager of district 6 knows of NWGNA’s concern regarding the height of the buildings and the number of units in this high density plan. Please contact Ken to express your concern about this proposal (contact info here).

NWGNA is concerned about this project and has decided to:

• - attend the United Neighborhood Associations meeting on May 21, 2003.
• - work with other local neighborhood associations to understand the project and to challenge the process as necessary.
• - contact Councilman Ken Yeager and seek his assistance in opening up the project process.
• - formally register opposition to the project. Please view this letter at our website located at www.northwillowglen.org.
• - explore the creation of a report card on the Mayor and the City Council regarding land use issues before the 2004 election.
• - work to obtain the necessary 6 votes on the City Council to vote the against the project as currently proposed.
  

3. NWGNA Inaugural Garage Sale, Saturday, May 31, 2003– Alison England

There will be a neighborhood-wide garage sale on Saturday, May 31st. Please contact Marc Bauman to deliver flyers for this upcoming event.

4. Fourth of July Neighborhood Street Party – Harvey Darnell

Harvey handed out a preliminary budget and a responsibilities matrix of the Fourth of July neighborhood street party. The party will consist of an ice cream social, children’s games and activities, and watching fireworks. The event will occur on Delmas Avenue between Hull and Atlanta Avenues.

Folding shade canopies are needed. For insurance reasons, there can be no alcohol, no fireworks, and no dogs at the street party.

More volunteers are needed and donations will be accepted by contacting Harvey Darnell. The committee was commended for producing a concise report.

5. Local heritage tree – Alison England

Alison proposed that we hold a fundraiser to raise the requisite $1,000 for trimming the local heritage tree. The homeowner is unable to fund the tree trimming and the City of San Jose will not prune a tree on private property. The tree cannot be pruned without City Arborist approval.

The association brainstormed the following list of possible fundraising projects. The top three projects were deemed to be the best ideas and will be implemented during the neighborhood garage sale of May 21, 2003.

_X Donate proceeds of bake sale during the garage sale
_X Donate proceeds of used books and videos from the garage sale
_X Place a donation jar with a picture and write-up of the heritage tree at participating houses at the garage sale.
___ Sell specific items at the garage sale and donate the proceeds.
___ Set up a collection basket at the July 4th street party.
___ Write a neighborhood cookbook and sell it.
___ Hold a neighborhood car wash.
___ Make a wood plaque from the larger branches and sell it.
___ Hold a benefit concert at Sangria.
___ Create, design, and sell NWGNA shirts.
___ Solicit nice items for donation to be raffled at the July 4th street party; $1 a chance.
___ Sell vintage car rides at the 4th of July party (Dan Erceg).
___ Hold a house tour of our neighborhood.
___ Solicit donations door to door.
___ Write a letter to the editor of the "WG Resident" seeking donations.
___ Raffle a NWGNA member-created "evening out for 4"
___ Personal chauffeur in a vintage car for a one-day event (wedding, etc.).

6. Announcements – Alison England and Association members

The Arcadia Press is interested in publishing books (primarily photographic histories) by neighborhoods and towns. If you are interested in tracking down photos and neighborhood stories, please contact Ken Eklund.

NWGNA has a new voicemail and post office box.

The voicemail box number is: 408-537-0393.

Next meeting is: Tuesday, May 27, 2003.

Have a great Memorial Day!

NOTE: Every effort is made to present factual information in these notes. Should you know of an error or omission, please contact Tom Smith at tom1smith2@yahoo.com.

That's all, folks!