Film spotlights Palo Alto's only mobile home park, Buena Vista

Affordable housing is a hot topic here in the Silicon Valley. Housing prices are at an all time high (not complaining as a Realtor), rents are high and there are many in this valley who don't have the well paying jobs at the valley's many tech giants such as Google, Apple or others. There are many on the lower rung of the socio-economic latter such as janitors, food service workers, etc. who are just as important to this valley as the tech workers and they still need housing - affordable housing.

So there is a low income, mobile home park in Palo Alto, Buena Vista, that is under threat of closure due to developers who want the land. For that last 3+ years the residents haven't taken the matter lying down and protested, sat in on city council meetings, etc. to stop the closure. Well now the residents of Buena Vista Mobile home park are going to have a powerful new tool in their fight against the big developer who wants the land, a Moive; NOTES FROM BUENA VISTA (Teaser).

Time will tell if this movie will be effetive in stopping the plans of the developer and city council.



PALO ALTO -- The only mobile home park in Palo Alto is the subject of a documentary that will be shown Tuesday and Wednesday as part of Affordable Housing Week 2016 in Santa Clara County.

"Notes from Buena Vista," a documentary by filmmaker Elizabeth Lo, is an exploration of the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park's 400 low-income, mostly Latino residents, who could lose their homes if property owners are successful in closing the housing site at 3980 El Camino Real.

Organizers say Lo's film addresses how "the severe shortage of affordable homes in Silicon Valley puts tremendous pressure on our communities, as households of all incomes compete to secure safe and affordable homes."

Buena Vista residents have lived with the uncertainty of their housing situation for about 3 ½ years.

The park's closure remains in limbo as residents, the property owner and the city of Palo Alto work out differences in court.

The park's owners, Toufic and Eva Jisser, filed an application to close the site in November 2012.

The Palo Alto City Council decided in May of last year to allow the Jissers to close the park.

The Buena Vista Mobile Home Park Residents Association then filed a lawsuit against the city in August, seeking to overturn the council's decision and, at the minimum, a larger relocation assistance package for tenants than required by the city.

In November, the Jissers also filed a lawsuit against the city, saying that requiring the owners to pay $8 million in tenant relocation assistance as a condition to close the park is a "staggering financial demand."

Lo's documentary explores how development pressures in Silicon Valley threaten the livability of this area for many, such as the Buena Vista residents.

The documentary will be shown at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Aquarius Theatre, 430 Emerson St. in Palo Alto and at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Camera 12 Cinemas, 201 S. Second St. in San Jose.

Admission is free. For tickets, visit SVatHome.EventBrite.com.

A discussion with the filmmaker and panelists will follow each screening.

Tuesday's panel includes Erika Escalante, president of the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park Residents Association; Amado Padilla, Stanford University professor who authored a report on the mobile home park residents' health and education; and Kyra Kazantzis of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley.

Wednesday's panel includes Melodie Chaney, a resident of the mobile home park; Kent Greathouse, a resident of Winchester Ranch Mobile Home Park in San Jose; Diana Castillo of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley; and Adam Marcus of the San Jose Housing Department.

Source: San Jose Mercury News, Jacqueline Lee
http://www.mercurynews.com/real-estate-news/ci_29904055/film-spotlights-palo-altos-only-mobile-home-park

Santa Clara Plots Ambitious Downtown Development Plans

Just like adjacent Levi’s Stadium — the $1.2 billion, 68,500-seat home of the San Francisco 49ers and site of Super Bowl 50 in February — the proposed City Place development has been grabbing lots of attention for Santa Clara.

The planned $6.5 billion mixed-use development, dubbed “Downtown Silicon Valley,” will become a regional hub sprawling across 239 acres and eventually encompass 9.2 million square feet of office, residential, retail and entertainment venues.

It’s emblematic of Santa Clara’s Bayshore district sprouting north of Highway 101, where tens of thousands of visitors and media from around the world will descend for the 2016 Super Bowl.
On the other side of freeway, the pace is a bit less frenetic. There are a few more reminders of when the formerly agricultural region was called the Valley of Heart’s Delight instead of Silicon Valley. It’s the quieter, more historic side of town south of 101, where residents and officials of the city and Santa Clara University are seeking to rekindle a downtown area lost to urban renewal more than 50 years ago.

“Our residents want us to create a downtown especially for Santa Clarans themselves,” said Julio Fuentes, city manager for the city of 120,000 that traces its roots back to the founding of the original Mission Santa Clara in 1777.

To that end, Fuentes and other city officials have hosted three public meetings this fall for residents to discuss features they’d like to see in a revitalized Mission City core. City leaders have taken a back seat, allowing a core group of about 25 to 30 residents to brainstorm about their hometown’s new downtown. The city also solicited comments from residents on its web site.

“They are asking us to create a boutique downtown with locally owned shops, restaurants and services,” Fuentes said. “A place to call their own.”

Long a jumble of disparate small businesses, older houses and vacant lots, the old downtown is just beginning to stir to life. Centered on Franklin Street and bounded by El Camino Real and the Caltrain station on the east and including the Santa Clara University campus, the district contains a mix of privately owned parcels, as well as those owned by the city and the Jesuit-operated university.

Earlier this year, the Santa Clara City Council approved a 44-unit condominium project with 14,500-square-feet of ground-floor retail space at 1313 Franklin St. To be built by Sunnyvale-based SiliconSage Builders LLC, the pioneering Downtown Gateway project will be the first such development in the district in more than 20 years.

Another project is the 417-unit apartment development called Mission Town Center at Benton Street and El Camino Real to be built by The Irvine Co. of Newport Beach. It will include 26,000 square feet of retail.

Mayor Jamie Matthews said the massive City Place project has made it possible to consider a greater variety of uses in the city’s re-born downtown area. “We are great at creating (research and development) and other kinds of high-tech jobs,” he said. “We have not been as good at promoting retail. That’s beginning to change.”

He cited not only the yet-to-be-built City Place, but also Santa Clara Town Centre on El Camino Real, a reincarnation of the old Mervyn’s Plaza that opened last year. It’s anchored by a 140,000-square-foot Target.

“This has been a wonderful exercise,” Matthews said of the three community meetings. “We (city officials) are standing back and letting the process take its course.”

Based on public input so far, as well as the wishes of city officials, Matthews said he envisions the creation of a “walkable district” for visitors and commuters from nearby Caltrain, BART and high-speed rail service many years in the future.

“People want [downtown] Campbell, Los Gatos or Los Altos,” Matthews said of those thriving central business districts comprised mostly of small, locally owned shops and cafes.

The final public meeting on resurrecting Santa Clara’s downtown is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Dec. 1 in City Council Chambers at City Hall, 1500 Warburton Ave.

Source: The Registry, David Goll
http://news.theregistrysf.com/santa-clara-plots-ambitious-downtown-development-plans/