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Nailing Down Flotsam and Jetsam
By Deborah Taylor-Hollis
Some people spend their summer traveling to strange places or old, familiar retreats and bring home souvenirs of their travels--bits of glass, pieces of driftwood, rocks from the world.
During the year, I tend to gather odds and ends as well as pieces of things that are not complete thoughts, questions I will never get answered from the "powers that be," and--true to form--stuff that should just be left the heck alone (because, as the proverb says, "they lie in places where only fools and angels tread").
So cleaning out the emotional and metaphorical kit bag as another summer draws to a close, I thought I would throw out these odds and ends.
Whatever happened to the ticket kiosk in front of the old theater before the renovation? The developers, city hall and the Willow Glen Business Association all swore that after the building became shops and restaurants, that the original ticket kiosk--the free-standing little building that was the most adorable thing ever created, would be returned, complete and original, as something like a floral "bucket stand," a key making shop, or a newspaper stand.
Suffice to say I am glad I didn't hold my breath over that promise. The building has been sold, at least once since then, the parking lot repaved, rebuilt and renegotiated with several agencies. So where's the kiosk?
Speaking of city officials and promises, after my column two weeks ago about the development plans for the Foxworthy/Meridian neighborhood, Councilman John DeQuisto contacted the 9th District Neighborhood Action committee and set up a special meeting with his constituents to hear their concerns about the project, as well as to soothe their feelings that he was not responsive to their needs.
Suffice to say that when he didn't show up at the last minute, and sent his aide, Chris, the neighborhood was less than impressed. They expected to speak with a voting member of the council and had picked dates offered by DeQuisto's office when he was available. One less than charitable source suggested that since he isn't going to run for office again, his agenda is no longer the same as the agenda of the district voters he represents.
Organizers were "absolutely mortified and disappointed," said Hansen, after gathering the entire neighborhood at Church of the Chimes with a standing-room-only crowd to speak with him Aug. 2. Hansen also felt "undermined" by not being informed by the councilman's office that the meeting date would be too late to have any real impact. The planning commission had already made its decision, and the project is moving like a steamroller toward the already overbuilt neighborhood.
Back to school time approaches, and with only two weeks left before the doors open, the San Jose Unified School District is once again pushing contractors to complete a project that began late and had an overly ambitious construction calendar to begin with.
The old River Glen Elementary site was bulldozed to dirt late last fall, and not a blade of grass touched until well into February. Driving past it every day, I almost started taking bets on how close to Aug. 29--the first day of school--it would go before district officials were done. Now, watching the grandiose school with its custom overhangs and "high style" exterior being finished in a huge rush, I have to wonder why district officials didn't use prefabricated classrooms for it like those at every other site in the district.
Even Willow Glen Elementary's face-lift included prefabs for the kindergartners. The new administration office at Willow Glen Elementary School, however, is also being built "from stick." Mold, mildew and asbestos concerns precluded saving any of the '70s structures, as I was told three years ago when my own child attended the decaying site.
Broadway Avenue neighbors are banding together to stop a well-known county real estate mogul from subdividing a residential lot she bought and putting in either a second home or a rental unit of apartments. Rumors abound that the builder, who allegedly only has "one house blueprint" and builds the same thing all over the valley, regardless of neighborhood concerns over uniformity or style, is even now trying to buy two other homes in the vicinity.
There has already been a petition sent out and signed by more than 75 percent of the homeowners to have the plans for the property reviewed for violations of notification, zoning and other issues.
Reviewing the above items, it became clear to me that I didn't have just odds and ends to type up, but a cohesive list with a theme.
Contact Deborah Taylor-Hollis at DTHollis@metronews.com.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
