The Sept. 10 planning meeting, which lasted until well past midnight, didn't stop citizens from voicing their opinions on the project. For more than two hours, many zealously spoke to the planning commission about the pros and cons of the project.

From the League of Women Voters, to the Housing Action Coalition to many Willow Glen neighborhood associations, each concerned citizen was given five minutes to speak.

Willow Glen resident Ed Rast, who has been actively involved with the project, told the planning commissioners to think of Tamien Place as a chair that needs four legs to stand on. The four "legs" he referred to were parks, improved retail, office space and residential. But the current plan only supports one leg—residential—causing the chair, or in this case, the community, to fall.

In 1995, Rast and other residents from the North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association were part of a 19-member task force that was made up of property and business owners and residents, who worked to develop the Tamien Station Area Specific Plan, a comprehensive long-range development plan that would incorporate a citywide need for high-density housing, services and retail space.

Rast acknowledges that for more than 15 months, he and his neighbors were actively involved in the Tamien plan but had become frustrated by the lack of communication regarding all subsequent changes that happened with the 1995 plan.

And he vented that frustration to the planning commission, wondering aloud why the city council could arbitrarily change the 1995 plan without neighborhood involvement.

"I haven't seen anything since 1995," Rast said. "We have been effectively excluded from Tamien Place, which we developed. Why were we excluded when were part of the initial plan process?"

Rast's impassioned speech led several to loudly applaud after he finished his diatribe. To avoid further outbursts, Planning Commissioner Chairman Jay James asked citizens to shake their hands quietly in the air to show approval of a speaker, and for the next couple hours, neighbors diligently continued to wildly shake their hands in support until the last speaker was finished.

In response to Rast's comments, planning consultant Erik Schoennauer, speaking on behalf of the developer, told commissioners that during a two-year period, more than 14 meetings were held in the community and several in the last two months.

Residents were also angered by the change in building-height requirements.

Residents told the planning commissioners that they were upset with Tamien Place developer Barry Swenson Builder and the San Jose Redevelopment Agency for increasing the height of the Tamien-plan buildings from 65 feet, as stated in the 1995 plan, to 120 feet without any input from the community.

There were also other neighborhood concerns pertaining to the Tamien project that were high on the list, with lack of parks the number two issue. Citizens opposing the Tamien proposal said they didn't think the developer would provide the necessary funds to build a park.

But Schoennauer assured the planning commission and residents that nearly $3 million would be invested in building a park. Yet some of the residents opposing the project weren't as confident. Harvey Darnell told the commissioners that a number of individuals concerned about the project wondered whether the developer would follow through on the park commitment.

Adding to the finite list of concerns, some said they worried that the twin, 11-story, high-rise residential buildings would create more traffic gridlock getting on and off the Guadalupe Parkway. Others noted the project was designed with a lack of retail businesses and questioned how many people would really use the public transit near the development.

Willow Glen resident Ken Eklund told commissioners that Tamien Place was "another broken promise" and was "basically done in stealth mode."

"The neighborhoods had to have their own meetings against the stealth," he said. "Why did the neighborhood have to do the outreach?"

Yet plenty in attendance at the meeting strongly support the development proposed for the Alma Bowl/Sprig Electric site on W. Alma and Lick avenues.

Jeff Dennison of the Tri-County Apartment Association, a landlord advocacy group, said he couldn't wait for Tamien Place to be built.

"I welcome this project with open arms," he said. "This is a one-time opportunity."

Department of Planning project manager Anastazia Aziz tried to answer the community's questions during the meeting. She said the Tamien project would reduce the pressure to build more housing on the fringe of the city and told residents the project conforms to land-use regulations. She also told citizens that amendments, such as the height change from 65 feet to 120 feet for the twin buildings, occurred during a general plan review phase and were approved by the city council.

At the end of the meeting, commissioner John Zamora tried to assuage residents concerns, saying that Tamien was " a very, very quality project, and the easiest way for the community to get a park."

The Tamien Place plan is tentatively scheduled to go before the San Jose City Council on Sept. 30 at 1:30 p.m. in Council Chambers, 801 No. First Street.