By Robert Haugh
The City of Santa Clara announced yesterday that it won another legal battle with the City of San Jose. This is a big time victory in the Mission City’s “border war” with the Garden City. It’s like winning a War Games cage match in professional wrestling.
Judge Marie S. Weiner of the San Mateo County Superior Court issued a judgement in favor of Santa Clara and the Related Companies and denied San Jose’s petition challenging the final environmental impact report (EIR) for the City Place project.
“San Jose, like any city, certainly has a right to challenge another city’s development. This ruling confirms that Santa Clara takes good planning and development seriously and validates the quality and adequacy of our environmental review,” said Mayor Lisa Gillmor in the city’s press release.
In June, 2016, the City Council approved the City Place project. It’s a 240-acre mixed-use development located across from Levi’s Stadium on the current golf course. This will be one of the largest projects on the west coast and will be a new downtown for Santa Clara.
But San Jose sued to try to slow down or stop the project or extract concessions and money using the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). But they lost — again. As we previously reported, San Jose tried to get Santa Clara’s case dismissed in June, 2017, but failed.
The Silicon Valley Business Journal said in August, 2017, that City Place and the Santana West development, where Santa Clara is suing San Jose to force traffic improvements, are battles with “billions of dollars of development and tens of thousands of future jobs at stake.”
According to the Business Journal, Vice Mayor Dominic Caserta and Councilwoman Patty Mahan pushed for Santa Clara to settle the lawsuit and concede to San Jose’s demands before the final ruling. It’s good for Santa Clara that they lost and the city won.
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West,
Are you trying to get the city to use taxpayers’ dollars to revitalize your downtown neighborhood? If so, I’m opposed. If you can get private development interested in spending money, that means it’s an economically viable plan. If you’re counting on the city, there are other more important needs, likes roads and parks.
Hope you can revitalize downtown. But do it with private dollars.
Yes, a positive move and congratulations, we may put this behind us now. City Place is great for the tourism market.
Our City Downtown Revitalization Committee and Reclaiming our Downtown are separate. Residents need a place to go everyday and every weekend. We (university students, seniors, young adults, families) want daily, affordable arts, culture, movies, parades, dining, events and affordable transportation to get to our real downtown — daily, And not with the $2,500/month rents, high density housing. We want easy transportation to connect all parts of our city for a place to relax and get out every night.
Come to the Important meeting tomorrow, Wed, Nov 15 at 6:30 pm for local residents. We may have it all – let’s tell our leaders our vision of what we want. We have the plan to execute now!!! Downtown Revitalization Committee http://reclaimingourdowntown.org/ Let’s go Wednesday! Let’s bring back our icon “Santa Clara Downtown Theater” so everyone may see on city name of Santa Clara on national news. Come to this important meeting toomorrow, Wed.
Dominic and Patty are once again on the WRONG side of Santa Clara’s best interests! Enough is enough with these 2!
Does anybody more versed in government processes know what steps are needed to recall these 2 deadbeats?
Another win for the Santa Clara good guys!
I agree with RHMyers. Congrats to the Mayor and the pro-Santa Clara councilmembers.
Yes good that Santa Clara won another battle!!! Now can we all move next to the big ticket happening tomorrow night at City Hall at 630 pm? This is the Reclaiming Our Downtown initiative before the Downtown Revitalization Committee….Yes, Robert…THE REAL DOWNTOWN which was demolished during the early 1960’s under the City of Santa Clara’s then leadership. I do hope YOU will attend to see what the community REALLY wants. A ‘NEW’ downtown might be across from Levi Stadium but the truth is it is not nor will it ever be the ‘Real’ Downtown which was on very historic grounds. Hope you and all reading this will come to city hall tomorrow night!!! It should be a turnout!
I like that you referred to Santa Clara as The Mission City and find it interesting that Dominic and Patty come out on the short end again.