The day after the San Jose city council voted 10­1 to approve the Tamien Place development, only a handful of people approached on Lincoln Avenue said they knew about the project.

The Sept. 30 approval enables Barry Swenson Builder to construct two 11-story condominium towers at the corner of Lick and West Alma avenues. The 242 multifamily units will be located on the former site of Alma Bowl.

Yet residents such as Betty Haywood were not even cognizant of the issue. After the Willow Glen Resident explained the project's details, she expressed her antipathy for the 11-story height. Yet she does appreciate the percentage of low-income housing incorporated into the development—about 20 percent—which is mandated in the city's general plan.

La Villa Delicatessen co-owner Patty Bertucelli says she also didn't know about the Tamien Place project and had no opinion about the city council's majority decision to approve the development.

But others such as resident Mike Bray were aware of the project and weren't in favor of building the twin towers.

"It doesn't seem to fit right there," he said. "This kind of complex should be more toward downtown."

Some local downtown merchants such as Willow Glen Books owner Cathy Adkins were relieved to hear that the city approved the plan. She said that San Jose is more urban than suburban and said it was "nuts" that the community was acting like it is a small town.

"There are problems that will come up, but we just need to address them," she said. "I am so glad though—this just makes sense."

Willow Glen Coffee Roasting Company owner Chris Carris wasn't as optimistic as Adkins about the development, but did admit that bringing more people to the area could benefit his Lincoln Avenue business.

"For the local homeowners, this could be rough," he said. "The traffic congestion could get hairy for all the people around the area."

Resident Sheila Garcia has lived in Willow Glen since 1962 and has seen her share of change in San Jose, but says she is happy with the decision to move forward with construction.

"This project is not for the worse," she said. "We just need to be able to move on."

Prior to the city council meeting discussion and vote on the Tamien Place project, interested parties attended a marathon planning commission meeting on Sept. 10—lasting well past midnight—at which nearly 40 citizens voiced their opinions to the planning commissioners. And several issues related to traffic, parking and a new development of a park were brought forward by citizens.

In response to these community issues at the planning commission hearing, District 3 Councilwoman Cindy Chavez responded by authoring a memorandum, which she introduced at the city council meeting, that provided answers to the aforementioned questions. Although council members appreciated the additional information, as expected, District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager continued to stress his discomfort with the project, saying, "We have made so may promises to address so many problems. I don't think any one project could do what this is sold as."

He asked for more time to "go a little further" so the city could develop the type of transit village that exists and works effectively throughout other areas of Northern California, though he provided no direct examples to reinforce this idea.

He told those present that the structure is not unique in any way and that the architecture of the building doesn't provide anything to the area.

Yet the other nine council members saw the project as a postive step forward in meeting the city's long-range housing goals. This ultimately left Yeager casting the lone dissenting vote. District 8 Councilman David Cortese said that Yeager's determination to stand his ground on the issue was admirable.

"I want to commend Council member Yeager for taking on practically the whole city establishment," Cortese said.