May, 2004 editor: Larry Ames
May General Meeting
Tuesday, May 11, 7 PM
(on
topic: Secondary Dwelling Units,
a.k.a. “Granny Flats,”
a program by the City of
Planning
Department
~~~
Election for the WGNA Board.
Spring has sprung in Willow Glen! The Farmer’s Market is back, busy as ever, garage sales line our neighborhood streets on Saturday mornings, and the Avenue is a plethora of wagons and baby strollers out for a morning coffee. What more could you ask for? How about:
and much, much more.
If you’re interested in supporting our local events, here are a few websites to help keep you up to date:
These all are excellent resources for current events and local issues.
See you on the 11th!
~Helen
The San Jose City Council on April 6, 2004 unanimously authorized staff to commence public outreach leading to the drafting of a city ordinance allowing the construction of second units in single family (R-1) residential zones. City staff will attend the WGNA General Meeting on May 11, 2004 to describe the proposed ordinance and receive questions and comments.
Current Staff Proposal – Second units will have a separate entrance, kitchen, bath, and bedroom. In accord with State requirements, applying for a second unit would be an administrative, non-discretionary process without a public hearing. Current proposed requirements for such units include the following:
Design Compatibility – To maximize neighborhood compatibility of the proposed units, staff has put forth the following prescriptive design standards for the second unit:
In a survey of other
The proposed ordinance
will probably come back to the City Council for action toward the end of the
summer. The proposed ordinance may also
include a method to legalize the illegal units that already exist in
The Vehicle Abatement Program is responsible for enforcing Municipal codes relative to vehicles such as:
The new Vehicle Spotters Program gets neighbors’ assistance in this process. Citizens can sign up to be a Vehicle Spotter and report illegally parked vehicles. The City uses the reports to turn over the work load in a more timely manner. By having additional spotters reporting vehicle activity in the neighborhoods the City Inspectors have an insight on the situation. Spotters report vehicle activity to the city via e-mail or fax and then the Inspectors will visit the location within 1–2 days and affix a standard red warning notice on the windshield.
If you are interested in becoming active in this Vehicle Spotter program, please contact the Vehicle Spotter Program, Code Enforcement Division at 408/277-4528.
Ever tireless in the battle against evil, able to attend council meetings on a moment’s notice, capable of writing a multitude of letters to City Hall, it’s your WGNA Board! Dedicated to preserving and enhancing the Quality of Life here in Willow Glen, they are empowered by your show of support as demonstrated by your membership renewals and reaffirmed by your vote this month for the nominees for the WGNA Board. (And your membership dues help buy paper for the Bat-Fax, too!)
The WGNA Nominating Committee met twice in April to seek and consider nominees to the WGNA Board. In keeping with the WGNA bylaws, we nominated five members for the Executive Board and four members as Officers.
The Committee was pleased to receive nominations from both new and long-term members. The nominees for the Executive Board are members with proven neighborhood service records. For Officers of the Board, we decided to select those newer members who have shown neighborhood involvement over the past year.
Because we had more good nominees than we are allowed to nominate, we asked Helen Solinski, who has agreed to serve a second term as President, to appoint Larry Ames and Jim Spence to the Board in June. The President may appoint up to four officers in addition to the four elected.
The Nominating Committee’s slate is on the ballot on the back page. The following are bios of the nominees and the two appointees.
Your
vote of confidence is important to the Nominating Committee and to the
individuals who will volunteer considerable hours as they attend meetings, seek
information, and petition government on behalf of the WGNA membership.
If time is short, feel free to vote by mail (it must be postmarked by May 11th). Or, better yet, bring the completed ballot to the General Meeting: you’ll save postage, and you’ll get a chance to meet neighbors and friends and to participate in an interesting and informative presentation.
Born and raised in
Ed has been a Willow Glen
resident since 1989, while his wife, Mary, has lived here since 1975. We have 3 adult children with 2 in
Eight-year resident of Willow Glen; two years on WGNA, Active PTA parent for both Willow Glen Elementary and Middle schools. I enjoy working with other residents to make Willow Glen a neighborhood we can be proud of.
Sharon Fierro has been a member
of WGNA since 1999 and previously served as Second Vice President and as an
elected member of the WGNA Board. She is
a professional city planner and is proud to say that President Clinton and Vice
President Al Gore visited Willow Glen during their Bay Area tour because our
community is an icon for quality small town living.
A resident of Willow Glen for
more than 40 years, my five children made their way through Broadway Elementary,
Edwin Markham Jr. High and
Joan is the fourth generation of her family to live in Willow Glen. She’s been active on the Palm Haven Restoration Committee since its inception in 2002. She worked with neighbors, the planning department, and the owner and builder to ensure that a new home in the neighborhood followed the guidelines in Your Old House. She is a recently retired history teacher and looks forward to working with others in the WGNA on issues which affect the neighborhood of Willow Glen.
Recently retired Principal
Planner with
Resident of Willow Glen since
1996 and a member of the City of
Charley has lived in
The incoming President is to appoint two to four members to the Board. Helen has indicated that she intends to appoint the following two individuals. Note that, as appointees, their names are not on the ballot. Also note that Helen can appoint two additional Board members whenever she chooses.
I’ve been a WGNA member since we
first moved to mad somewhat agitated scientist, officially in charge of
“smoke-and-mirrors” on proposals for various NASA satellites.
After having served for 31 years
with the San Jose Police Department I have been a member of the WGNA Board
since 2001. I have participated in many
of the WGNA events. Currently I am the
representative to the WG Business and Professional Association and am involved
in the pedestrian safety effort for
The WGNA membership also votes for the Nominating Committee, who is tasked with preparing the slate of candidates for the 2005 – 2006 season. As per the bylaws, the committee is to consist of five members, including at least two from the previous year’s Nominating Committee: Jim, Kris and Sharon fulfill those requirements.
I was a member of the WGNA board
for three years, two as Treasurer, and the WGNA Nominating committee for one
year. I’ve been a resident of Willow
Glen since 1989, and I am also owner of Phoenix Technical Publications located
on
I served as a WGNA board member for many years and realize the importance of good neighborhood leadership. We need to have members on the Board that are willing to act on behalf of the Willow Glen community. I enjoy working with others to find board members who are committed to preserving and improving our neighborhood.
I’m a past Board Member and
longtime member of WGNA. I’ve also
served on the City of
[
Election Results:
After allowing time for the post office, the ballots will be collected and tabulated by impartial observers. The results will be posted on the wgna.net website, released to the media, and reported in the next newsletter (probably sometime in the fall).
Thank you in advance for taking the time to vote. It is one important way you can show your involvement in the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association.
The trail connections described in the previous newsletters
(the Los Gatos Creek Trail from Lonus to Fuller, and the Guadalupe River Trail
under I‑280 from Grant to
Have you noticed on the various Los
Gatos Creek trail maps that there sometimes is an asterisk or star between the
bend in
The existing trail out to
To
quote from the 1985 Master Plan, “As property improvements near
County
Parks:
A
little further a field from Willow Glen: several new trails have just been
opened in
The County Park Department is now undertaking a “Swimming Feasibility Study”, looking for potential sites that might allow for swimming in a natural environment. This is to give a different experience than swimming laps in rectangular pools, and may offer the chance to “swim with the fishes”, with birds overhead and trees on the bank. This has long been one of my goals for the Co. Parks, and now a public opinion survey for the recently completed Strategic Plan effort confirmed the general public’s interest in this activity.
Dogs:
Dogs and off-leash dog parks
continue to be a topic of interest. The
City of
The County Parks system has two
off-leash dog-runs, at Hellyer (by US-101 near Capitol) and at Ed Levin (above
The “eList”, WGNA’s email community forum and the information age’s equivalent of chatting with your neighbors over the back fence, has just celebrated its fifth birthday. Nearly 500 subscribers now exchange email on a wide range of weighty and frivolous topics, such as describing favorite restaurants, complaining about dog poop on sidewalks, reporting hazardous traffic conditions, discussing zoning and traffic issues, or announcing upcoming yard-sales. Poets and columnists provide links to their online collections or ’blogs; local officials forward information on public meetings and city services; there’s even the occasional theater review. If you would like to try it out, drop me an email at “admin@wgna.net”, with “join eList” in the subject line (or “digest eList” to get a periodic compendium of the posts instead of numerous individual posts). It is a great way to keep informed about what is occurring in your neighborhood.
Also, check out the WGNA website, www.wgna.net. Besides providing the latest WGNA information and links to various useful sites, it also has a collection of hundreds of recommendations from the eList community. Plumber or gardener, from acupuncturist to writer: read comments from your friends and neighbors, and be able to contact them for additional information if needed. And if you have good experience with a local service provider, share that with your neighbors. (And please include the words “okay to quote”, which authorizes me to append your comments to the webpage.)
By the time you receive your WGNA Newsletter, the Board of Supervisors will have considered moving ahead with the ground lease agreement between the House of Blues and the County to develop a state-of-the-art theater at the Fairgrounds. On Tuesday, May 4, we plan to discuss the responses to questions raised on April 20 by Board members and opponents of the proposed Fairgrounds Theater.
At the April 20th Board Workshop,
we heard from many community members who expressed support for the
revitalization of the Fairgrounds including neighbors, long-time users, and
potential new users. The Board also
heard from the opponents of the proposed theater, downtown merchants and
advocates. I advocated for a bold vision
that creatively positions the Fairgrounds as an asset to the downtown as well
as to the residents of
For the past four years, the County has planned a 7000-seat theater that will host culturally diverse entertainment at the Fairgrounds. The Board adopted the plan in 1998 and held numerous pubic meetings in 1999 and 2000. WGNA members were instrumental in convincing the Board of Supervisors that the venue should not be an open-air amphitheater because Fairground noise “bounces” into Willow Glen.
I look forward to listening to all
of the information presented by County staff and the Board’s Management
Auditors and I will vote to move ahead with the proposed theater only if I believe
the financial plan is solid. The
Please contact Kristina Cunningham, my acting Chief of Staff, at 408/299-5020 for information or comment.
Milkbanking is a service of Santa Clara Co. by which breast milk is donated by nursing mothers who are not biologically related to the recipient infant. Milk Banks provide needy babies with life-saving nutrients. Human milk banking services collect, screen, process, and dispense human milk to babies.
Our
County hospital,
Mothers’
Milk Bank
The
Mothers’ Milk Bank at the County hospital,
For those who may be interested:
The majority of the Mothers’ Milk
Bank donors are local, with 85% living in the Bay Area. Prospective donors are screened prior to donation. The Mothers’ Milk Bank asks that any healthy
lactating woman who is interested in donating milk call (408) 998-4550 for more
information.
Willow Glen is a great place to live, but occasionally people do have to move. You are welcome to keep in touch with your old neighborhood: even if you move out-of-state, you can remain in WGNA with a non-voting Associate Membership. For just $10/year, you get the newsletter, the web and eList, and the knowledge that you continue to help the neighborhood. (And be sure to tell the new residents about WGNA, too: copy or pass along the membership form, download a copy from the wgna.net website, or contact us for extra copies of the form or past newsletters.)
[Once again, we’ve invited a frequent contributor from the eList to contribute to the newsletter. Enjoy! –editor]
When Willow Glen was first settled, most people knew their neighbors from a distance – often several acres away, sometimes a few miles. Gatherings at church provided some of the most direct contact, aside from business associates for the farmers, and customer talk from the merchants.
Face to face, eyeball-to-eyeball conversation built friendships. Common need and viewpoint strengthened those friendships. I am sure that the men and women that banded together to avoid the railroad bisecting their community got to know each other well as they worked on that project, and after creating the city, their networking needs and skills helped them fill the many jobs required to keep a city on its feet.
Over time, many new inventions have been added to the communications lexicon, from telephones and Ham radio to UPS to internet e‑mail. Each has its place, and each has its good and bad points.
One of the nice things about Willow Glen is that it is still relatively small enough that anyone with a few hours a week to spend talking or reading can, fairly quickly, get to know most of the folks that keep our community working, from the volunteers for the dirty thankless jobs that need to be done to the clean upstanding politicians that liaison between us and the powers at City Hall.
Ideas and information travel this way, although it has not always been so available.
Communication used to flow through single access lines of power – the county newspaper, the single radio station, the few (and fuzzy) television channels, the open community forum. The good point in all that was the diversity of view that everyone was exposed to. It was an age where the public was exposed to all the arguments, and both – or all – sides had to take their turn. So the farmer listening to the radio was accessible by both the farming and the industrial speakers, the left, the right and the center.
One-paper towns often offered the same balance (not always, but often. The journalistic creed to not take sides was more seriously adhered to then). Opinion pages held both sides of the argument, and for those who felt they wanted to hear the speakers, they would, in all likelihood, BOTH be standing outside church the following Sunday, loudly making their points known. William Jennings Bryant was just one of many of this ilk.
Over time, as we have filled out cities and created more and more choices, the natural self selection process of the homo sapiens has sadly cut us off from so much of that diversity. Now, when we want to read about politics, we can pick up a magazine that espouses our views and exploits our voting preferences. We can watch a news station that has been marketed to our tastes and that writes to suit our level of gore factor. We can, easily, almost accidentally, self select ourselves right out of hearing anything we don’t want to hear, or don’t agree with. It is the way of the world.
On the flip side of that same situation, by reading and hearing and speaking only with those we agree with, we have, collectively, begun to have our debate skills deteriorate at a rapid rate. All too often I have seen an intelligent, solid concern turn to silence when the holder of the offending opinion did not feel comfortable making their tastes known. This saddens me as well. I don’t have to agree with everyone, but I will defend to the death their right to annoy me, and if they do not even feel comfortable venturing forth a differing opinion, then it is time to act.
Many of us on the eList have disagreements over all kinds of issues – but the overlying commitment to living together as neighbors who have to share the streets, the coffee houses, the churches, and the schools makes us all work harder than many to understand differing opinions, and to allow other voices. I often wonder just how many “lurkers” (folks that subscribe to a list but never post) simply feel too intimidated to add to the discussion. Maybe some have grand solutions to our current issue of the day, maybe not. I wish more voices would participate.
I have brought up “touchy” topics with my nursery lady while rose shopping, with the postman during a coffee break, and with every one of my fellow merchants that I have gotten to know in the last 2 decades. Sometimes, we would banter like old ladies over things long gone that we each had deeply invested beliefs in. Sometimes, one of us would say something that struck the other as a new thought in need of airing. But the growing of life and mind, the sharing of time and thoughts, brought us closer together as neighbors when the chips were down and there was a real disaster to deal with. Fires, deaths, car accidents, earthquakes – when those moments of severe panic and need arrived, our minor differences eroded as we reached out to the people we knew – each other.
Enjoy the day, the week, the neighborhood. Maybe reach out and communicate with someone new. Even our most vehement disagreements broaden our horizons.
~Deb Hollis