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Neighbors say housing is best plan for site on Willow St.
Developer says he has made changes neighbors wanted
By Kate Carter
District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager, two members of his staff and two city planners joined residents at a community meeting last week to support a proposed housing development at Willow Street and Delmas Avenue.
The heightened interest in the plan may be due to what's also proposed for the same site--a commercial office building, which neighbors say they'd prefer not to see built.
Some neighbors joined in support, but others remained unconvinced that the proposed townhomes wouldn't negatively impact the traffic, parking and visual appearance of the neighborhood.
The developer, Pulte Homes, also had a number of representatives at the May 8 meeting to explain to nearby residents how they have responded to concerns voiced at the last community meeting.
The planning commission hearing to rezone the site from commercial and residential to planned development could happen in mid-June, city planner Anastazia Aziz said.
Project manager Dennis O'Keefe distributed copies of a memo, addressed to Yeager aide Rick Crosetti, listing the changes that included a reduction in the number of planned units from 30 to 32 on the almost two-acre lot.
The original proposal that called for one sixplex building and one triplex building along Willow Avenue was changed to three triplexes, designed to look like duplexes from the street.
O'Keefe and architect Manny Gonzalez, of KTGY Group Inc., said that the revised plans are intended to reduce the scale of the project and bring it more in line with the rest of the residential areas along Delmas Avenue and Clark Street.
"It's to have it try to be in the character and style of single-family residences," Gonzalez said.
Other changes to the plans included nine buildings instead of seven, 13 three-story units instead of 18, and a maximum height of 35 feet instead of 38 feet.
The number of planned on-site guest parking spaces was increased from 6 to 13. Three more guest parking spaces are planned for Willow Street to meet the city's requirement of 16 total guest spaces. Each unit would have a two-car garage, as well.
The two-story units would be along the perimeter of the development--named Kensington Square--that would extend from the Daybreak Cleaning Service office on the south side of Willow Street, around the southeast corner of Delmas Avenue. The three-story units would be located in the development's interior.
The 1,200-to-1,500-square-foot townhomes could sell for between $400,000 and $500,000, developer Steve Kalmbach said.
Several neighbors said they were pleased with the changes to the plan. Others said they were concerned about increased traffic on Willow Street, extended construction noise and dust, and preserving the older homes that would otherwise be demolished to make room for the development.
Some neighbors said they wanted a traffic signal or stop sign at the Willow Street entrance to the complex, across from the northern arm of Delmas Avenue. Senior planner Carol Hamilton said the development's projected traffic did not meet the criteria for either a traffic signal, or stop light.
Yeager said he would have his staff contact city traffic engineers about traffic study on that section of Willow Street and would meet with the residents, specifically on that issue.
Aziz said the city requires construction to be limited to between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., but nearby resident Jeffery Wilhite, who works from his home, said it would be better if the construction could be completed by 4:30 p.m. Hamilton pointed out that, although it is possible to establish a modified agreement with Pulte--which will also be doing the construction--the shorter the construction hours, the longer it will take to complete the project.
Kalmbach said they plan to begin demolition for the project between November and January, and that the construction is projected to last nine months to a year. The project would replace two single-family homes, three office buildings and a retail store.
Wilhite also said that, at least one of the homes that would be replaced by the development, was moved from downtown San Jose when San Jose State University was constructed. Aziz said the homes were deemed not historically significant by the city's historic preservation officer. She added that local organizations will be contacted about possibly moving the homes.
Kalmbach invited the neighbors to view other nearby projects Pulte has done, including one in Campbell on the corner of Hamilton Avenue and San Tomas Expressway behind Larkspur Landing, and one in Santa Clara on the corner of Scott Boulevard and Monroe Street.
Kalmbach said that, when Pulte first considered buying the property owned by a three-member partnership, it had planned to build a 38-unit development. Marcus and Millichap property broker Patrick Mockler, who is overseeing the sale of the property, said the site could instead be sold to a developer who is eager to build a three-story office building.
Mockler said the land has not yet closed escrow.
Los Gatan Jerry Bruce, one of the three owners, said they wanted the property to be used for residential, not commercial, uses. He said the neighbors would have to adjust to the new development but would end up proud of it.
Andrew Spencer, a nearby resident who vocally opposed the development at the last community meeting, said "I don't know about you, but these look beautiful, I think. These aren't single family, but that isn't going to happen. Anybody that doesn't like this project, better like it now, because an office building would be a lot worse."
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
