The Willow Glen, North Willow Glen and Goodyear/Mastic neighborhood associations remain unimpressed with the Tamien Place high-density housing project proposed for the Alma Bowl /Sprig Electric site on W. Alma and Lick avenues.

These groups and citizens are also upset about what they say is a lack of public notification when large or controversial development projects are proposed to the city.

Frustration at being left out of the loop also rallied various community members and several neighborhood associations to file a protest letter with the San Jose Planning Division. The protest pushed a July 23 public hearing on the topic to Aug. 27, a month later than originally scheduled.

On July 17, the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association and the North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association held a public meeting with representatives from Barry Swenson Builder to learn more about the project and the city's initial study on how the project would affect the surrounding communities.

Citizens had expressed concern about having not been notified about the meeting. The scheduled two-hour meeting lasted three hours in the Ernesto Galarza Elementary School cafeteria, 1610 Bird Ave.

Using the city's recently published study of Tamien Place as a springboard, Ed Rast, a member of both Willow Glen neighborhood associations, and Erik Schoennauer, a consultant for Barry Swenson Builder, fielded questions and concerns about the development's height, density, open space and aesthetics, as well as traffic issues resulting from the development.

Swenson proposes to build a pair of 11-story condominium complexes and 14 townhouses on 3.18 acres of the Alma Bowl/Sprig Electric site at W. Alma and Lick avenues. The project, Tamien Place, is part of the city's long-range plan to develop 140 acres on what has been defined as the Tamien Station Area Specific Plan. The plan covers an area along a transit corridor for bus, train and light rail, affecting the Willow Glen, Gardner and Guadalupe-Washington neighborhoods. It is also at the city's crossroads for districts 3, 6 and 7.

During the meeting Schoennauer said, "The primary concern of Silicon Valley employers is the cost and availability of housing and the lack of an adequate transportation system."

Schoennauer noted that Tamien Place's designs—which allow up to 260 residential units—would help to address those concerns. He also said that Tamien Place would create homeownership opportunities and would increase the use of public transit by being built on the light rail corridor. The $3 million paid in development fees to the city could be used to build a public park within the Tamien Station area.

Dawn Anderson, an architect with Barry Swenson Builder, also answered questions about the proposed height of the buildings. Residents are worried that a pair of high-rise buildings outside the downtown is not in keeping with the surrounding neighborhoods and would be an invasion of privacy, as condominium residents might be able to look into nearby backyards.

Anderson, using models and comparative illustrations of similar projects, said that the high-rises wouldn't appear as tall in reality.

"Even from the heart of Willow Glen," Anderson said, using Lincoln Avenue as a reference point, "the buildings look diminished."

Schoennauer added that the towers would be situated nearer to Tamien Station's center, closer to the light rail train line and further away from residential areas.

"Height is good," Schoennauer said. "By having higher condominiums, it decreases the footprint they have on the site."

By going up the project takes up fewer square feet of land, allowing for 62 percent of the site to be used for an open space courtyard with landscaping and recreational facilities, he said. "By providing open space for the Tamien Place residents we ease the impact to neighborhood parks," he said.

Of the proposed 14 townhouses, some will face Lick Avenue. Schoennauer said this design will help the site integrate with nearby residences. Opponents, however, are upset that the setback for the townhouses will be 10 feet rather than 15, as stipulated in a recent General Plan amendment.

As for traffic, the city's initial study says that Tamien Place would not have adverse affects on the area. Jason Nesdahl of Fehr & Peers, a transportation consulting firm, said Tamien Place would not create enough traffic to be a nuisance. But opponents believe the traffic study is incomplete, claiming fewer intersections were studied than in 1995, when the Tamien Station Area Specific Plan was adopted.

Rast and other opponents still feel that the design, as is, will be detrimental to the community. To encourage greater community involvement, sign-up sheets were also distributed at the meeting for committees on traffic and pedestrian safety and for reviewing other development projects.

"We, as individuals and committees need to look at each issue individually and resolve issues one at a time," Rast said.

Prior to the community meeting, opponents had drafted a letter of protest regarding Tamien Place and sent it to the San Jose Planning Division.

Up to 144 people signed a letter of protest, isolating 18 issues they felt were inadequate with the initial study findings. The issues ranged from the project's proposed height to traffic congestion to the lack of community inclusion on amendment procedures to the city's General Plan 2020—which allow for specific plans like Tamien Station. Opponents also want to have greater input during a project's developmental stages.

Those opposing the proposed plans want to see lower density buildings that are three stories or less and are built for mixed use—retail and residential—with a street setback of 15 feet or more.

"We have spent two years working with the city and neighbors," Schoennauer said, "and we believe we have a superior design now."

For more information about the project, contact Erik Schoennauer of Schoennauer Consulting at 408.947.7774.

A public hearing for the rezoning of W. Alma and Lick avenues is scheduled for Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at city hall.