By Robert Haugh
The first meeting City Council in over a month has a long agenda starting with a 4 p.m. study session. Tonight’s meeting tackles several issues.
Possible Marijuana Taxes
A study session will focus on the cannabis industry and potential fees and taxes that may be put on the ballot in November 2018 for Santa Clara voters. The Council has contracted with with SCI Consulting Group for the development of cannabis regulations and a fee and tax strategy in December.
In November 2016, California voters passed Prop 64, legalizing personal recreational use and commercial activities related to cannabis and allowed for state licensing of commercial activity. Soon, Mission City residents will decide how to regulate and tax it in our city.
Living Wage Policy
Another study session will evaluate a living wage policy for people working at City-owned facilities.
Staff will provide a preliminary analysis of the many Bay Area cities that currently have a living wage.
Furthermore, City staff recommends seeking professional consulting services to evaluate applicability and exemptions, monitoring and enforcement options, legal compliance parameters and to provide recommendations for Council and community input.
Doggy Daycare
A public hearing is slated for the an appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of facility upgrades for an industrial building at 1800 De La Cruz Boulevard into an animal boarding facility.
The Planning Commission approved the Use Permit unanimously. Bruce Tichinin on behalf of Extra Space Storage facility, filed an appeal of the Planning Commission’s action. The facility has complied with local ordinances and codes.
Huge Development Proposal for the Yahoo! Site
The City Council will discuss an early consideration of a huge development on the former Yahoo! site at 3005 Democracy Way campus in the Northside, close to Levi’s Stadium and City Place. It could add 12,000 to 18,000 new residents to North Santa Clara. Wow.
The nine-parcel 46-acre property is currently zoned Planned Development (PD) and entitled for up to 3.06 million square feet of office/R&D development. The current General Plan designation is High-Intensity Office/Research.
The new developers Genzon/Kylli, Inc. bought the site and want to amend the General Plan to double the amount of development on the site. They’re talking lots of high rises.. Their proposal includes:
- up to 6.1 million square feet of residential use – approximately 6,000 dwelling units,
- 400,000 square feet of office amenity/hotel, and
- 600,000 square feet of residential amenity space and retail.
The proposal and staff report doesn’t say anything about transportation improvements that might be needed to handle multiple high rises and lots of new residents near the stadium and City Place.
This is not an approval, but an early look at a development as part of the “gatekeeper process” set up last year. It’ll be interesting to see how the council reacts to such a huge development with limited early information.
Mt. View just announced the are building 10,000 housing units North of Bayshore — on 500 acres.
Santa Clara wants to build 6,000 housing units on the Yahoo site — on 46 acres!!!! No freakin’ way.
How about some common sense planning and development in Santa Clara.
This will be the largest housing development in Santa Clara history and no one knows about it. There goes transparency.
12,000 additional cars in North Santa Clara nowhere near transit. So much for traffic relief.
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article195977364.html
Hmmm…..
My question is, how can Caserta be objective, his filings now shoe thousands in contributions from pot lobbyists. So does your newsletter think th8s is good? Yes or No on pot has been done, but a teacher taking thousands from pot, isn’t like taking money from tobacco?
Do we really need marijuana shops in our city? Let San Jose have the potheads. The students can go there to smoke and buy their pot.
3000 dollars is going from pot shops to one council member, Old Quad.
(I tried to send this earlier, but my internet connection go interrupted so it may have not made it to you).
To say that it’s a huge development is a dramatic understatement. You casually write that the development could add 12,000 to 18,000 people. That’s the size of Scotts Valley and Larkspur on the low end and Orinda on the high end. Those are towns will amenities like police and fire and schools. They also have transportation and road infrastructure to handle their populations. The council wants to plop down a town in the middle of North Santa Clara? If that happens, I’ll be moving. Good luck to the rest of you.
Those are all important issues. Thanks for the update. I’m glad we’ll get a chance to vote on marijuana.
http://m.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/A-talking-stick-reportedly-broke-the-stalemate-12516593.php#photo-14925318
Get one of these, only I bet Caserta would have one of famous tantrums if he had to hand it off.