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City Beat
Concerned neighbors contest a WG housing proposal
Some say it doesn't fit the community feeling and charm
By Kate Carter
A proposal to turn northern Willow Glen's Yellow Cab Company into a townhouse complex is being contested by some neighbors and has not yet received support from the San Jose Planning Department.
The initial plan by developer Blackwell Brothers Construction Company would put 16 three- and four-bedroom attached units--nine three-story and seven two-story--on the approximately 1.25-acre site southwest of Bird Avenue and W. Virginia Street, east of the railroad tracks. The site is owned by Larry Silva, president of Yellow Cab, who is in the process of selling the property to Blackwell and relocating his business.
Two commercial buildings at the southwest corner of Bird and Virginia are not owned by Silva and are not included in the sale. Blackwell, however, has also drafted plans to incorporate that land into the residential development, either working with the business owners or the San Jose Redevelopment Agency to have them condemned and sold. The additional corner would accommodate five more units--four two-story and one three-story--as well as an additional entrance off Bird Avenue, developer Greg Blackwell said.
Nearby residents got a look at the plans and heard from Blackwell, his land-use consultant Jerry Strangis and District 6 City Councilman Ken Yeager at a community meeting Aug. 13. While nearly everyone agreed that the unattractive commercial area needs improvement, not everyone liked Blackwell's proposed changes.
"This does not feel like Willow Glen, the Gardner district," said Gregory Plaza Neighborhood Association President Mary Pizzo.
Neighbors said they were concerned that the proposed Spanish-style development wouldn't conform to the appearance of the rest of the neighborhood. They were also worried about increased traffic and parking congestion from the new residents and noise, graffiti and pollution that could be generated by a sound wall to be constructed west of the railroad tracks. Some also suggested the separate development, where all the homes face toward the inside driveway, wouldn't foster community involvement in an area where that is important. The presidents of five neighborhood associations attended the meeting.
"They will not want to be part of the rest of the neighborhood because you've walled it off," Pizzo said. "You really need to make a better effort to create an open neighborhood rather than walled communities. The people who've lived here will continue to be disenfranchised."
But Yeager and other neighbors said they think the residential development is better than other options for improving the area.
"I think they have valid concerns," nearby resident Yvonne Borell said of her neighbors. "But what's the alternative?"
"It's going to be great to have it developed," Yeager said. "This is the gateway to Willow Glen. It can only be improved."
Some neighbors added that the proposal looks like other residences in the area, especially some nearby duplexes.
The development's maximum height is 31 feet, Blackwell said. The two-story units would have three bedrooms and be about 1,350 square feet, he said, and the three-story units would have four bedrooms and be about 1,735 square feet. The townhomes could sell for about $500,000, he said.
Each unit would have a two-car garage, and the development would provide 14 guest parking spots, which meets the city's required amount of parking, Blackwell said. He also said city traffic engineers didn't find any need for additional traffic mitigations for the development.
The site is zoned for commercial uses and would have to be rezoned as "planned development" for residential uses, City Planner Anastazia Aziz said. The city's General Plan has designated the area for medium-to-low density housing, which calls for a maximum of eight units per acre. This development, at about 12 units per acre, would exceed that amount, Aziz said, but could still be approved.
However, Aziz said, the planning department hasn't yet decided on the proposal.
Strangis said Blackwell plans to approach the city for a zoning change in September with a goal of breaking ground early next year. Aziz told THE RESIDENT planning could review the zoning this fall.
Some neighbors said plans for the development seemed advanced, and Blackwell admitted he didn't want to change the number of stories on the units.
Blackwell and Strangis said they want to work with the community to make sure the development is appropriate and said they would try to landscape nearby open spaces that are overgrown and unattractive.
"We have an interest in helping that whole area and making it look better," Strangis said.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
