The Willow Glen Resident

Council Watch

Supervisors agree 4-1 to study the fairgrounds proposal

But questions remain about noise, traffic and need for public review

By Michelle Ku

Two weeks ago, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of pursuing more information on a revitalization plan to replace the antiquated buildings at the fairgrounds and to build an outdoor 20,000-seat performance arts center. The center would be larger than Mountain View's Shoreline Amphitheatre.

The plan to expand fairs and festivals held at the fairgrounds and to create a performing arts center, recreation/sports center and exposition center is projected to draw more than 3 million visitors annually within five years. Currently the fairgrounds draws approximately 1.2 million people.

A revitalized fairgrounds has tremendous potential to be a regional center for consumer shows to complement San Jose's convention center and downtown area, according to the report created by the A & M Group on behalf of the Fairgrounds Management Corporation.

By a vote of 4-1, the supervisors approved the use of the revitalization plan as the starting point for discussions. Supervisor Joe Simitian was the only dissenting vote based on two concerns: the lack of public review and comment about the plan, and a question about the ultimate goal of the plan in terms of public benefit.

The report had only been a public document for approximately a week and it was placed on the meeting agenda only three business days prior to the meeting, Simitian said.

"The larger concern I have is that it's still not clear to me, having reviewed the plan, what the goal is. This is a substantial public asset of $100 million to $125 million or more. The way we use it will determine what public benefit will be generated by this public asset," he said.

With the passage of the plan, the Board of Supervisors will now begin to gather more information and explore different areas of the plan through soliciting development proposals, public hearings and traffic, noise and market studies.

One area that the supervisors will be investigating is the impact of such a plan on surrounding areas. A committee of supervisors and members of the Fairgounds Management Corporation will begin to develop a three-month plan to get the public involved in discussions about the fairgrounds.

So far, Councilmember Frank Fiscalini's office has yet to receive any calls from members of the community nor has it been involved in discussions about the revitalization plan, said Joe Guerra, Fiscalini's chief of staff.

"It's not going to have a traffic impact on Willow Glen. The noise bouncing off the inversion [layer] routinely like it does in Mountain View might happen, but we haven't taken a look at that yet. At some point, the city has to get involved in this, because the county is not going to build it on their own without city involvement. They've yet to come to the city and ask for input," Guerra said.

Since Shoreline Amphitheatre was built in 1986, it has received more than 10,000 complaints. Noise from the Mountain View venue can be heard miles away in Palo Alto. The sound bounces into Palo Alto because of a weather-inversion layer in which cool air is trapped under a layer of hotter air.

Beth Ward is one resident who is worried about the possible noise generated from the expansion of the fairgrounds. Ward lives a mile southeast of the fairgrounds, and every weekend deals with noise coming from there. "Every Saturday night we hear the car races. Sometimes it's really loud and sometimes you're just aware of it," she said.

Ward lives in a highly concentrated residential area, and she is concerned with the impact that increased fairgrounds attendance could have upon the elderly and children.

The Board of Supervisors has begun to investigate the impact of the plan by ordering a traffic study of the area near the fairgrounds. "We took formal action to retain the consulting group--A & M--that had been working with the Fair Management Corporation to negotiate on our behalf with private-sector people who might be interested in providing a performing arts center that was described in the proposal as an anchor tenant," Simitian said.

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