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City Beat
WGNA still dissatisfied with Longs' proposal
Some neighbors are most concerned about traffic
By Kate Carter
Willow Glen Neighborhood Association members say they're still not comfortable with Longs Drugs' commitments about its new store planned on Lincoln Avenue.
Longs responded to specific complaints that WGNA had regarding plans for the use and evaluation of their proposed store on Lincoln Avenue at the corner of Brace Street in a Aug. 24 letter. But WGNA President J. Michael Gonzales said that those responses aren't good enough. Gonzales sent a letter to Longs about the issues on Sept. 22.
"We presented to them a list of what would solve the problems," he said. "There are still three or four things that they have not responded to." Gonzales said WGNA will send Longs a letter explaining their continued concerns.
Longs has yet to receive approval for the site-development permit they need to tear down the old building on the site and build a new one. Gonzales said that WGNA will ask San Jose's planning department to include Longs' list of commitments as conditions for the permit's approval. The planning department would then be able to enforce these promises.
WGNA's concerns are that Longs has not promised to never apply for a license to sell alcohol; that Longs has agreed to a study of the traffic generated by their store six months, instead of one year, after opening; that they have not committed to providing parking for construction workers; and that their letter of commitment was not signed by a person of authority within the Longs company.
Gonzales said that Longs agreed to withdraw its application to sell alcohol after WGNA's initial complaint. He also said that it is not clear that Longs intends to abide by that promise forever.
"We are afraid that they have plans to reapply and sell alcohol," Gonzales said.
Longs' architect George Ramstad, who is overseeing this project, was on vacation and unavailable for comment. Gary Veasy, Ramstad's manager, said he was not familiar enough with the situation to answer questions.
Neighbors have said they are concerned about the sale of alcohol at Longs because the nearby parking lot, coupled with available alcohol, could lead to unruly behavior in areas near homes.
In addition, Gonzales said, Longs would be competing directly with existing businesses, including the independents Willow Glen Liquor and the Grapevine wine shop. "We don't need anymore places that sell alcohol."
Gonzales also said that the two Walgreens already in Willow Glen don't sell alcohol. "That is a precedent, and I think we want to continue it," he said.
The zoning for the site does not permit alcohol sales. If Longs did apply for an alcohol license, a hearing with San Jose's planning commission would be required.
"They should do the right thing now and not put us through a hearing in the future," Gonzales said.
Brad Santos, who lives near the Longs' site, said traffic is a major concern. "Ongoing traffic I think will impact us a lot," he said.
Longs has agreed to an analysis of the traffic their new store would generate on Lincoln Avenue and the surrounding neighborhoods. Longs has agreed to cover a $10,000 bond up front for the cost of traffic-calming measures if the study finds that their traffic is high.
However, Longs has agreed to a study that will be conducted six months after the store opens. WGNA feels that is not enough time for Longs to have become established in the neighborhood to reflect the real traffic it would generate.
"It's not enough time to really understand the traffic pattern," said Gonzales. "We want the study done after one year."
This study would be to ensure that the traffic does not exceed the amount of traffic generated by the bank that previously occupied the site. Neighbors contend that the amount of traffic created by the bank was higher than the amount that's been estimated using a conceptual model of averages of businesses of similar type.
The hours of operation that will be studied are 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., said Santos. The bank was not open at those hours and did not have an ATM. Thus, he said, the comparison is not accurate. "They're saying that an open Longs would have less traffic than a closed bank," he said.
Neighbors are most concerned about the traffic that would be generated by an entrance to the Longs parking lot on Brace Street.
"To avoid Lincoln, customers will use neighborhood streets," said Gonzales. "We think that's a problem."
Neighbors want customers to be prevented from making left turns into the parking lot from Brace, or right turns from the parking lot onto Brace.
To restrict traffic that way would make a mess of the street. Gonzales said, "We don't find it completely objectionable, but that does make it a precarious street." The quicker and easier solution, he says, would be to close off the parking lot entrance on Brace with break-away barriers, so emergency vehicles would still be able to access the lot.
But these measures won't be implemented unless the traffic study deems them necessary, which is why it is important to WGNA that it reflect the actual traffic situation.
Gonzales thinks that Longs doesn't understand the reasons for WGNA's concerns.
"We don't know why they responded this way on these items," he said. "We're going to approach them again." He would like to get these matters resolved before the District 6 candidates forum that WGNA is sponsoring, scheduled for Oct. 11, because people may ask the candidates for their opinions on the matter.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
