San Jose: Neighbors say six-story apartment proposed for Almaden Road is too big

A trend I've been seeing a lot of here in the Silicon Valley is developers coming in and building mega apartment buildings and then charging as much as they can for the rent on those units. Well now it seems at least some local residents in the Almaden Valley neighborhood are fed up with it.


A developer's proposal to build a six-story apartment complex on Almaden Road has drawn the ire of some Willow Glen residents who say it's too big and dense for their neighborhood.

However, city staff said during an Oct. 13 public meeting hosted by the developer, Cypress Group, that the project is needed to help ease San Jose's housing shortage.

Cypress Group wants a one-acre parcel at 1777 Almaden Road rezoned from multi-family/single-family residential to planned development so that 92 market-rate units could be built there. The new zoning would enable more units than allowed by the lot's current zoning, which limits apartment buildings to three stories or less.

Staff said the parcel was designated in the city's general plan for high-density residential use. That dismayed some of the residents, who questioned why such a use in their largely single-family neighborhood can't be revisited.

Willow Glen resident David Lasich said in an interview he was frustrated at being told that work done on the city's general plan 10 or 20 years ago can't be undone at this point. He said he doubts that such a plan would fly in other areas, such as Dry Creek Road.

"The fact of the matter is, it's poorly designed," Lasich said.

At one point during the meeting Lasich turned to Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio, who represents Willow Glen, and challenged some of his earlier comments that he had never seen a project on residential land rejected by the city.

"High density, that's never revisited?" Lasich said.

"No, in fact the densities only get higher," Oliverio said. "We just approved 144 units to the acre on The Alameda."

Oliverio told The Resident that the project is coming at a time when the city is experiencing a housing crisis and expects to see about 250,000 more residents by 2040. He said more high-density market-rate projects are needed to help the city make up a $100 million loss in park fees and to retain as much land as possible for commercial and industrial use.

According to Oliverio, similar developments pay six figures in road paving fees and annual property taxes, and seven figures in park fees. He said developers of the five-story mixed use building on West San Carlos Street and Meridian Avenue paid $2.8 million in park fees.

"If we're not going to convert industrial-commercial areas to housing when it comes to land already zoned residential, the city council will look to maximize those parcels so we can maintain land for jobs," Oliverio said.

"When you build single-family homes, you lose money," he added. "The higher the density, the more revenue it brings the city."

City planners told residents also worried about congestion that a traffic study was done and is under review. They said that segment of Almaden Road is envisioned as a multi-modal corridor because of its proximity to the Tamien and Curtner light rail stops and is slated to have bike lanes on both sides leading to those stops.

Lasich said he was still disappointed at the end of the meeting but recognized that the project is inevitable.

"You can't stop progress," he said.

The plan will go to the planning director and city council for hearings, although the dates are still undetermined.

Source: Mercury News, Julia Baum
http://www.mercurynews.com/san-jose-neighborhoods/ci_29004735/san-jose-neighbors-say-six-story-apartment-proposed

A camp for the homeless - coming to a neighborhood near you!

The City Of San Jose is chewing over the idea of using a county owned parking lot at the corner of Camden Ave and Almaden Expressway as a camp for homeless people who live in their car. 

Sounds well and good, but it's right next to a residential neighborhood, the Almaden Valley community. Looking at it from the perspective of a Realtor and homeowner, putting a homeless camp in this relatively high median home value neighborhood is going piss the residences off greatly because of increased crime, neighborhood blight, and lower property values. The crime issue is especially a soar point with residences here because the area has already been suffering increased break ins and other crimes due to cutbacks San Jose has made to its police force, particularly its robbery division. The city is set to vote on the issue Sept 15th. 

Santa Clara County Considers $26M Homeless Plan

7 Easy Ways to Burglar Proof Your Home & Almaden Valley Burglaries

7 Easy Ways to Burglar Proof Your Home
Source: RISMedia's Housecall, Posted on Feb 3 2015 - 12:34pm by Nick Caruso
Contributed by James White, homeyimprovements.com


Here’s a startling statistic: a burglary occurs every 15 seconds. Though not all of us have the time or ingenuity to pull off a Home Alone and set elaborate traps and hook up ziplines to our tree houses, here are seven ways to burglar proof your house — without setting Joe Pesci’s head on fire.

1. Buy Laminated Windows

This was the number one tip from this Reddit AMA, in which a former cat burglar gave a thief’s perspective on home security. According to him, the easiest way to rob a house was to smash a window, climb in and climb out before any alarm could alert the police. Breaking laminated windows is very time consuming and noisy — two things burglars want to avoid. Once their crow bar doesn’t break your window on the first or second swing, chances are the crook is going to make a break for it and target someone else’s more vulnerable house.

2. Buy Sturdy Doors

It would be foolish to buy sturdy windows but ignore the most common point of entry to your home. It’s smart to have a door made of solid material that can’t be smashed in with only a little more difficulty than a window, but the way in which your door is secured can be just as important. All exterior doors should have a deadbolt that goes into a solid strike plate. Make sure the strike plate is attached to a stud and not just the door jamb. The sturdiest door can be opened if you expose the hinges — the thief could just remove the whole thing with a screwdriver.

3. Don’t Rely on a Pet

Whether you have a guard rabbit, dog or snake, the truth is animals don’t act as much of a deterrent to thieves. Assuming you’re not at home, a dog’s barking won’t alert any neighbors that someone is breaking into your house. Think of it this way: How many times have you ignored a neighbor’s dog’s annoying yips? They’re just background noise at this point.

Plus, an experienced burglar will carry pet treats with him and make friends with your supposedly fearless sentinel before robbing you — that’s what the thief in the Reddit AMA did. In fact, some thieves even target homes with dogs because it means the house probably does not have a motion sensor alarm system.

4. Consider a Home Security System

Even if you have a pet who will tip thieves off that you don’t have a motion sensor, a home security system that notifies police as soon as someone attempts a forced entry could be worth the investment. It’s true the authorities would likely arrive after a burglar has made his or her escape, but it’s also possible the moment an alarm starts blaring, the average burglar will scuttle away before having the chance to grab any valuables. Besides, even just being able to put that sign in your yard or sticker on your window that your home has a security system could be enough to convince thieves to try a different house.

5. Don’t Leave Valuables Out in the Open

Back to that Reddit AMA — thieves are interested in getting out as quickly as possible. That Reddit burglar repeatedly mentions how the most common thing he’d take would be cash left out in the open or in drawers. Don’t make things this easy for the burglar. Don’t leave cash lying around and consider investing in a safe for jewelry and other valuables.

6. Don’t Tell the World You Aren’t Home

Allstate Insurance had a commercial during the college football playoffs this year in which their reoccurring anthropomorphized Chaos was auctioning off a couple’s valuables while they weren’t at home. The couple in the commercial had been so excited to score tickets to the playoff game that they announced it on social media, giving Chaos the tip he needed to know they wouldn’t be home.

Try your best to avoid broadcasting when your home will be ripe for the picking. If you’re going on vacation and have a newspaper subscription, cancel it for the duration of your trip or have your neighbor pick it up so the papers won’t pile up and make it obvious no one is at home.

7. Buy Security Cameras

These can work as a great deterrent if the cameras are visible on the outside. The real trick with these is to make them upload their footage online automatically so a determined thief can’t destroy them or tear apart the tapes and make you lose the footage. Then, even if they don’t work as a deterrent, you’ll have great evidence to show the police and can greatly increase the chances of recovering your property.

7 Easy Ways to Burglar Proof Your Home





San Jose: Neighbors band together to fight burglaries in cop-starved city
Almaden Valley residents have taken vigilance to new high-tech heights and have tapped private patrols to keep themselves safe.