By Robert Haugh
The Santa Clara City Council will appoint a Station Area Task Force (SATF) to help create a plan for a major transit hub around the Santa Clara Transit Station across from Santa Clara University.
The station is currently an Amtrak and CalTrain stop and will become the terminus in the BART Silicon Valley Phase II plan.
The SATF will be an 11-member advisory body. The City is accepting applications for a Transportation Advocate, Business Representative and Member At Large.
The SATF will help comment on the vision, land use, circulation and urban design issues. The SATF is advisory only and meets approximately once a month.
The City Council will make appointments at their meeting on Jan. 31, 2023. Applications are due by January 10, 2023, and can be submitted online.
For more information, visit SantaClaraCA.gov/SantaClaraStationArea
Has anyone ever noticed that when the City puts together one of these “Community Led” Takforces they never come to fruition. Take the El Camino Real Specific Plan, numerous community meetings, years of community involvement, plan developed and agreed to, then at the last minute a new council majority takes the years of hard work throws it all out the window and comes up with what they want. Same will be true for a Downtown Plan after that fiasco is wrapped up, in reality only two to three blocks will ever be developed. Now we have this Station Area Plan for a new BART station in Santa Clara. First isuue is that many think BART will never end up with a station in Santa Clara after cost overruns. Secondly, City Staff has already appointed 8 of the 11 members seceretly behind closed doors mostly retreads from the downtown group, old quad group and the downtown taskforce (limited opportunity for new community members with new thought) The City needs to appoint NEW community members to all the positions in an open tranparent selection process, or else this station area plan like so many before will just be another plan to nowhere.
If it’s anything like that El Camino specific plan task force, enjoy being a pawn for special interest groups. A couple residents and many special interest lobbyists paid to be there.
It’s just a way to say there was resident interaction. The lobbyists hold the controlling votes. I felt used.
So if the city is only looking to fill 3 positions, who will fill the other 8?