October, 2005 editor: Larry Ames
Fall General Meeting
Wednesday, Nov. 9,
(on
topic: “the State of
You are
invited to hear a number of presentations
discussing the current “quality of life” in
We look forward to seeing you and your neighbors at the WGNA Fall General Membership Meeting on Wednesday, November 9 at our new meeting location – Willow Glen Baptist Church, 1292 Minnesota Ave. at Hicks – where we will discuss the current “State of the Willow Glen community”.
In recent years there has been a
very significant increase in the number of important neighborhood, business
district and school issues that could substantially affect the quality of life
and potentially change the character of Willow Glen and the surrounding
neighborhoods. WGNA is working on these
issues in cooperation with Willow Glen Business and Professional Association
(WGBPA) and the San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD), and with other
neighborhood associations. We routinely
work on two dozen or more projects, due also to greater neighborhood and resident
involvement in
We sent out an Opinion Poll in our April 2005 newsletter so that our members could comment about various issues that concerned them and guide the WGNA Board on where we should concentrate our efforts and the limited available volunteer labor hours: the results are discussed in detail in this newsletter.
The WGNA Board has actively responded by adding two new committees – “Public Safety and Code Enforcement” and “Membership Services and Communications” – to our existing “Planning and Land Use Committee”. We are also establishing “Work Groups” within the committees to address specific topics or concerns, so that our members who are interested can participate in researching the issues, developing recommendations and seeing the direct results of their efforts.
We are encouraging our members and all Willow Glen residents to become more involved in WGNA and to participate in improving our Willow Glen community.
Ed Rast, WGNA President
We encourage you to call the San Jose Airport Hotline (408/452-0707) when you are bothered by loud low aircraft flying in or out of San Jose Airport.
Airport Staff spoke at the Spring WGNA General Meeting. They pointed out that the Noise Abatement Staff would hone their efforts bolstered by numerous noise complaints. They asked that you give the recording the exact time of the event, the direction of the aircraft, and, if you see it, the name of the airline. Try to call within 24 hours of the incident. (Please start talking immediately after the beep.)
The
airlines use of the Fairgounds Visual Approach is the most troublesome and
easily avoidable aggravation most Willow Glen residents suffer from. The preferred instrument approach for an
aircraft coming in from the north takes aircraft over the mountains to
Pilots are permitted to request to “cut the corners” by asking for a Fairgrounds Visual approach. “Cutting the corners” brings the landing aircraft over densely populated Willow Glen. The landing gear is down, the power up, and the aircraft is low over our homes. This saves only a few minutes flying time for the pilots, but puts the low-flying planes directly over residential areas rather than the industrial regions along the nominal flight-path. (The noise sensitive areas are shown on the pilot charts.)
Telephone complaints regarding this practice as well as other noise complaints help back up the Airport Noise Staff when they periodically meet with airline representatives. These complaints are also reported to the Airport Noise Committee at their quarterly meetings.
WGNA’s Board has recently organized two new permanent committees to address our members concerns and important Willow Glen community issues
– “Public Safety and Code Enforcement Committee”, for police, fire, code enforcement and city services as well as airport noise issues; and
– “Member Services and Communications Committee”, for community events, social, newsletter, eList and web site activities.
They join the existing “Planning and Land Use Committee” to further focus our Association’s volunteer efforts and to develop neighborhood-topic experts. This allows us to respond effectively to the many issues that have become increasingly more complex and time sensitive, and which require substantial volunteer time, knowledge, and skill.
We, in cooperation with other neighborhoods and various City departments, are developing training materials to educate our members about the issues and organizational procedures so that we can effectively respond in a timely manner, so that we are effective in representing the Willow Glen community.
The Planning and Land Use Committee continues to be very successful in addressing the many infill development proposals, transportation / transit issues, planning and land use proposals and city public policies for the Willow Glen community. However, the increased workload now requires more effort, volunteers and organizational changes.
The committees themselves are now organizing their specific activities: developing procedures, defining the necessary education and training, and will be developing activity schedules and budgets. They will be adding additional WGNA topic-specific web pages to the wgna.net webpage to inform and educate our members, including “What you can do” action steps. This will assist our members and residents to take effective immediate individual actions.
We are also establishing specific-topic Work Groups within each Committee so that we can, in an organized and effective manner, have wider member and community participation, focus our volunteer efforts on those areas where members have expressed a specific interest, and train and educate a greater number of members on the complex issues that affect the Willow Glen community. The Work Groups will research the specific topics, define the issues, and propose appropriate recommendations or policy changes to the committee. These Work Groups will also provide additional opportunities for members to gain successful experience in neighborhood issues.
WGNA’s Board committee members have many years of successful neighborhood-issue experience, education, and training, and have successfully worked with other neighborhood, community and city departments. They have developed the relationships that many times are necessary to achieve successful results in what are increasing complex topics.
The WGNA Board Committee members who are working with the specific Work Group will then develop the final proposals and recommendations. These will be presented to the WGNA Board for action or, if appropriate, to our membership for additional comments and recommendations prior to WGNA Board action.
As this is the first newsletter since the May election of the Board Members, allow us to present the WGNA Board of 2005-2006, along with some of their email addresses.
President: Ed Rast [president@wgna.net]
1st Vice President:
2nd Vice President: Jim Spence [2nd-vp@wgna.net]
Secretary: Carol Rossebo [secretary@wgna.net]
Treasurer: Joan Bohnett [treasurer@wgna.net]
Elected Board of Directors:
Larry Ames [moderator@wgna.net]
Harvey Darnell
Hugh Graham
Charley Luckhardt
Appointed Board of
Directors:
Margaret Hardy
Helen Solinski
Nominating Committee (to select next year’s slate of candidates):
Jim Gardner (Chair), Kris Cunningham, Sharon Fierro, Vern Ladd, and Lynn Repetsky.
In the
last newsletter (April 2005), we asked you some questions about what you
thought about WGNA and Willow Glen, and where you thought we should be
going. (In case you didn’t save the last
newsletter, you can read it on-line at www.wgna.net.) Thanks to an excellent response to the
survey, and combined with data gleaned from the membership renewals, we now
have data that will guide our actions in the years to come, and which we are
also sharing with local officials, staff, and the local business
association.
The
raw survey data is archived on the wgna.net website, and the membership data
was reported on in past newsletters (also archived on the website).
We
asked eight questions in the survey:
Question 1: Where should WGNA concentrate its limited volunteer
efforts?
The
overwhelming majority of you think we should continue doing what we do best:
concentrate on “zoning / land-use / traffic & parking” issues.
What’s
interesting is the number two priority: we should continue to be involved in
environmental projects, such as tree plantings, creek restorations, etc. We undertook a successful “Urban Stream
Restoration Project” along the Los Gatos Creek a decade ago, and did some tree
plantings in the median strip of
This
all confirms what we’d deciphered from the membership renewal forms, which
gave, as the top five interests: “zoning”, “traffic”, “parks”, “bike routes”,
and “trees”.
Several
of the other alternatives offered on the survey (community events, historic
preservation, community communication, and safety resources) came in as a
statistical tie, each getting about a third the votes received by “zoning /
land-use / traffic & parking”. The
remaining two alternatives (public art and after-school classes) came in far
behind: you’re telling us we should just stick to doing what we do well.
Question 2: How do you feel about the
By
a 6-to-1 margin, you’re telling us to continue pressing to maintain the airport
curfew: sleep is a “quality of life” issue that outweighs any potential
benefits to the economy.
Question 3: How do you feel
about a baseball stadium near the Diridon (Cahill) CalTrain station?
This
came out a statistical tie: nearly as many favor it as are opposed. There are many ramifications about a baseball
stadium, ranging from the traffic/parking issues, to possible increased tax
revenue and community pride, to possible tax subsidies and declining community
service funding. We will continue to
watch this issue!
Question 4: What would encourage you to shop on
This
is information we will share with the Willow Glen Business and Professional
Association (WGBPA), who may use it to enhance the shopping experience and/or
as a starting point for a future survey.
Virtually
tied, the two most important things to get you to shop
Question 5:
…”useful
stuff” stores (books, hardware, drugs, groceries), by a 3‑to‑1
majority over “services” (banks, legal, repair shops, cleaners, spas) and “fun
stuff stores” (curios, boutiques, antiques, collectables): you’re saying we
have enough banks and boutiques, and that we need stores that sell regular
stuff that we need and use daily.
We
also like to eat: the number two choice was for more “family restaurants”,
beating out both “family entertainment” (movies, game arcades, kiddie play
rooms) and “adult entertainment” (nightclubs, coffee shops, microbreweries) by
a two-to-one margin. Again, this is
information that may help WGBPA in its recruitment of new businesses.
Question 6: When should
Over half of you say
Question 7: How do you feel about “Granny Flats”?
This
is a question about the “secondary dwelling units”. It is a way of accommodating changing
lifestyles, where homeowners have to provide for elderly parents, or where
homeowners might move out of the large “empty nest” to a small cottage in back
and rent out the main estate. It
provides low-cost housing (as the land is already acquired), but it places a
burden on the surrounding area (more traffic and parking, more people going to
the parks and library, possibly more school children, etc.) The issue is wending its way through the City
planning process, and we can now be more confident in saying what the community
wants. The top vote-getter was to “allow
new units in appropriate situations”, but a sizeable minority preferred an
amnesty and cessation: “make existing
units legal but then don’t build any more”.
Nearly 1-in-5 want existing non-compliant dwellings torn down, and
almost no one thought new units should be allowed anywhere without restriction.
Question 8: How do you feel about the traffic “Level of Service”
(LOS) Policy?
This
was a very technical question about traffic and land-use/zoning. Given that “zoning / land-use / traffic &
parking” is the number-one interest of our membership (see Question 1
above!), and given the knowledge of our membership associated with that
interest, we believe that it was meaningful to ask such a technical question,
and a good majority of you answered.
Over
half of the respondents say the City should keep the current LOS-D policy,
“even if it constricts future development locally”. About a quarter of you are willing to accept
a “measured compromise”, allowing a somewhat degraded LOS-E at a few specific
intersections in order to accommodate a modest amount of development. About 1-in-6 think it is important to keep
traffic moving, even if it means widening streets or rerouting traffic. (This would have an impact on the
Thank
you all for participating! You’ve given
us a lot to think about!
Yes, it’s the
second annual marathon run, thanks to a successful event last October!
The marathon is an official qualifier for the Boston Marathon offering a
USATF-certified flat, fast course that highlights the renovated
The 2005 Metro Silicon Valley Marathon®, Half-Marathon, 5K Run/Walk, and Kids Races are presented by The Community Newspapers and The Phelps & Cohen Orthodontics. They all take place on Sunday, October 30th, with the half- and full-marathons starting at 7 AM, the 5k at 7:30, and the various kids events at 10 AM at Discovery Meadow (by the Children’s Museum). The Event will be preceded by a Sports Tech Expo on Saturday, October 29th, at The San Jose Marriott Hotel. The official charity partners are the Silicon Valley Children’s Hospital Foundation (svch.org) and the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative (bawsi.org), and the Event Co-Chairs are soccer superstar Brandi Chastain and ultramarathon phenom/international best-selling author Dean Karnazes.
Please visit www.svmarathon.com for information and registration instructions.
My kid sister lives outside of Houston, Texas, where Hurricane Rita struck last month (she’s okay), which started me thinking about emergency preparedness here. (The Hurricanes also started Ken Yeager thinking about it, too: see the next article). Hurricanes give you a day or two advanced warning, while earthquakes strike without notice: this advanced notice can be an advantage (as you can make some preparations), but it can also be a disadvantage (as everyone else is also running around making preparations). Earthquakes are different from hurricanes, but they have some things in common, including three phases to the event: before, during, and after. Ken’s article goes into detail about preparations that can be made before an earthquake: here are a few additional comments of mine on the subject:
Before the Earthquake:
· Stock extra canned food. You like chili or chicken soup? – buy an extra dozen cans at the next sale and keep them in the cabinet: it might be days before the highways are reopened and stores restocked. (Also stock an extra week’s supply of medications.) And cycle thru your stock (e.g., taking cans from the left side of the cabinet and restocking from the right) so that you don’t have cans hiding in the back corner for too many years.
·
Take a photographic inventory of your
possessions and important papers. This
is for insurance purposes, and also for remembrance should the worst
happen. Digital pictures are great as
they can be stored on a CD kept at a remote site (e.g., at work or with your
cousin in
· Securely strap you water-heater to the wall. Okay, this is a unique-to-earthquake-country precaution: if the water heater tips over, it could break the gas line, causing a fire; if it doesn’t tip over, it’s a great source of drinking water after the earthquake.
· Not all earthquakes are life-threatening, but even minor ones can be messy. An earthquake can shake the cans of paint off of the garage shelves: a bungee cord can help hold them in place. Plates, glassware and pictures on display on the mantle or dish-rail shelf can tip over and break, whereas those hanging from the picture molding will just gently sway.
· Get a gas valve shut-off tool, and keep it readily available next to the gas valve. Tell your friends and neighbors where the tool is, and invite them to use it themselves, after first shutting off your gas line, in case the earthquake happens while you’re away.
· Buy flashlights or camping lanterns: the LED bicycle headlights are great, running for 30 or more hours on a single set of batteries. Get a case of candles or tea-lights from Ikea. And carry a keychain LED, so that you can find the candles and lanterns in the dark!
· Get a DC/AC power inverter (available at car-parts stores, hardware, and Costco: about $25): it can be plugged into your car’s lighter-plug to provide some 120 VAC power: not enough for heating or cooling, but still enough for small appliances (e.g., TV, laptop computer, etc.). The power may be out for days, but the car batteries are still out there.
· Long-range plans: improve the foundation to your house, and replace shake-wood roofs with something non-flammable. (Hey, when the Big One hits, the water mains may be broken and/or the fire department unable to reach your house…)
During the Earthquake:
· Get away from windows, which can shatter and shower you with glass shards. (This applies to hurricanes as well…)
· Get under a desk or other sturdy furniture (to protect you from falling ceiling materials or light fixtures) or stand in a doorway (which generally has structural reinforcing in the door-jam.)
After the Earthquake:
· Don’t panic.
· Rescue the injured.
· Turn off the gas line if you smell gas or suspect damage.
· Avoid downed power lines
· Help your neighbors (gas line, rescue, etc.)
· If water lines have been damaged in the area (as indicated by low water pressure), you can shut off the water intake value to the heater and turn off its gas. The water heater holds about 30 gallons of reasonably good drinking water, provided it is not compromised later by the inflow of potentially contaminated water coming thru damaged water mains.
· Don’t tie up critical services: if everyone calls their family at the same time just after the Big One, the phone system won’t be able to accommodate emergency calls. Don’t drive around unnecessarily as the roads may be congested due to damage, and also fuel supplies may be disrupted.
· Help your neighbors (again!): comfort, calming. Trade one of your cans of chili for some of their chicken soup. You have some meat in the freezer that’s thawing, your neighbor has a propane grill? – have a barbeque!
Depending on the severity of the earthquake, it could be days or more before the situation returns to some semblance of normalcy, and until then we have to rely on ourselves and our neighbors.
Our newspapers, radios, and televisions have filled with heartbreaking stories of people who survived Hurricane Katrina. Then came Hurricane Rita and the pictures of traffic jams that stretched for miles. These two hurricanes have made all of us in the Bay Area more aware natural disasters and the impact they have on families and individuals.
In 1989, the Bay Area was jolted by
the 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake that damaged thousands of houses and apartments,
disabled bridges, and broke city streets. Though this earthquake’s force was
felt from
It is important we take the necessary precautions to ensure the wellness of our families and neighbors for the next “Big One.” While we can’t predict the future, we can prepare for it.
In anticipation of a disaster, San Jose Prepared!, the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), was established in 1996. CERT members are trained in the areas of home preparedness and neighborhood organization, fire suppression and household hazardous materials, disaster medicine/disaster psychology, and light search and rescue.
Presently there are almost 2,000
active CERT leaders living in
So that’s what the City of
STEP
1: Identify potential hazards in your home and begin to fix them.
Here is a checklist of easy and inexpensive ways you can make your home more earthquake safe:
In General:
· Move heavy furniture, such as bookcases, away from beds, couches, and other places where people sit or sleep.
· Make sure that exit paths are clear of clutter.
Hanging Objects:
· Place only soft art, such as unframed posters or rugs and tapestries, above beds or sofas.
· Hang mirrors, pictures, and other hanging objects on closed hooks.
Objects on Open Shelves and Tabletops:
· Hold collectibles, pottery, and lamps in place by using removable earthquake putty, museum wax, or quake gel.
· Store heavy items and breakables on lower shelves.
Furniture:
· Secure both top corners of tall furniture into a wall stud, not just to the drywall.
· Flexible-mount fasteners, such as nylon straps, allow furniture independent movement from the wall, reducing strain on studs.
Home Electronics:
·
Secure TVs, stereos, computers, and microwave ovens
with flexible nylon straps and buckles for easy removal and relocation.
Water and Gas Pipes:
· Have a plumber evaluate, replace, and properly secure rusted or worn water and gas pipes.
· If not already done, have a plumber replace rigid gas connections to water heaters, stoves, dryers, and other gas appliances with flexible (corrugated) stainless-steel gas connectors (see below).
· Excess-flow gas-shutoff valves for individual appliances, which stop gas flow in case of a catastrophic leak, are also now available for use with flexible connectors.
· Water heaters are required to be anchored to wall studs or masonry with metal straps and lag screws. Kits are available at hardware stores and home centers.
· If not already done, have a plumber install flexible (corrugated) copper water connectors.
In the Kitchen:
· Secure all cabinets doors, especially those overhead, to help prevent contents from falling out during quakes. Use latches designed for child proofing or earthquake or boat safety.
· Secure refrigerators and other major appliances to walls using earthquake appliance straps.
In the Garage or Utility Room:
· Move flammable or hazardous materials to low areas that are secure.
· Ensure that items stored above or beside vehicles cannot fall, damaging or blocking them.
STEP
2: Have a Disaster-Preparedness Plan:
The following is a list of advanced plans. Know the locations of gas, electricity, and water shutoffs for your home.
· Keep shoes and a working flashlight next to each person’s bed.
· Identify safe spots in your home, such as under sturdy desks and tables.
· Locate a safe place to meet outside your home after the shaking stops.
· Establish an out-of-area contact person who can be called by everyone in the household to relay information.
· Provide all family members with a list of important contact phone numbers.
· Have occasional disaster “drills” to practice your plan.
STEP 3: Be sure to have a Household Disaster Kit. The kit should include these supplies for 3-5 days:
· Drinking water (minimum one gallon per person per day).
· First aid supplies, medications, and essential hygiene items, such as soap, toothpaste, and toilet paper.
· Emergency lighting-light sticks and (or) a working flashlight with extra batteries and light bulbs (hand-powered flashlights are also available).
· A hand-cranked or battery-operated radio (and spare batteries).
· Canned and packaged foods and cooking utensils, including a manual can opener
· Items to protect you from the elements, such as warm clothing, sturdy shoes, extra socks, blankets, and perhaps even a tent.
· Heavy-duty plastic bags for waste and to serve other uses, such as tarps and rain ponchos.
· Work gloves and protective goggles.
· Pet food and pet restraints.
· Copies of vital documents, such as insurance policies and personal identification.
Remember that perishable items like water, food, medications, and batteries should be restocked on a yearly basis.
For further information you can view the full US Geological Survey report at http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2005/15/.
Kids can learn about being earthquake safe, too by visiting: www.fema.gov/kids/, http://www.fema.gov/kids/, http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/kids.html or http://earthquake.usgs.gov/4kids/.
As always, if you have any questions regarding
any city issue of concern to you, please contact me at
The WGNA Board voted in August to raise the membership dues
to $10/year for Individual memberships, $20/year for Households, and $20/year
for non-voting Associate (residing outside Willow Glen) memberships, effective
Things have changed over the years: our newsletters have become longer and filled with more information (and we no longer run paid advertisements), postage has increased over four-fold, and the cost of renting the meeting halls has gone up as well. We’ve also taken on additional expenses, such as the operation of the wgna.net website and the eList neighborhood electronic mail service – things that weren’t even considered back in 1973!
WGNA is in pretty good financial shape overall, with a decent balance in the bank account. This is in large part an accident of history: we earned a several-thousand-dollar administrative fee windfall on the Urban Stream Restoration project we managed a decade ago. Since then we’ve kept that money as “seed money”, allowing us to undertake other major projects or use it as matching funds for when we seek grants. We have spent some of the seed-money, like when we gave money to Gardner Elementary to help rebuild its fire-damaged library. But in general we’ve been hesitant to touch the money: it’s like an inheritance: once spent, it’s gone, and who knows if you’ll ever get more.
Our expenses have increased lately, and so we’ve cut back to live within our income: for example, we no longer host community get-togethers in the summer at local parks and we stopped renting storage space for our records and supplies; we even gave up using colored paper for the covers of the newsletters to save the 2¢! But, without an increased source of income, we have become limited to only publishing newsletters, hosting Board and General meetings, and running the website: we have been unable or unwilling to contribute money to local worthwhile causes, help co-sponsor events such as Founders’ Day, or host community events such as hotdog roasts get-togethers at the local parks. Accordingly, in order to be able to continue doing the things we feel we should be doing for our community, we have reluctantly decided to increase our dues.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
There is a new addition to the website related to proposed
land development: a list of proposed development projects within and on the
periphery of Willow Glen. It also
includes new policy initiatives by the city that may potentially impact our
residents. All of these projects or
policy changes will require government approval, in most cases by the City of
To find the web page go to the WGNA Website at www.wgna.net, click on “Land Use/Planning/Zoning” in the left-hand column. The new web page is updated on a monthly basis. Councilman Ken Yeager’s office, as well as San Jose Planning, have been most helpful in keeping us updated on changes in the development schedule.
The web page describes development
proposals and their approximate position in the approval process. It gives their location and size. For residential projects, it indicates the
type of housing and the requested number of units. Commercial development
indicates the proposed square footage or acreage when known. Meeting dates, locations and times are given.
Where up-to-date knowledge regarding [1] changes in the process and [2] revisions
in proposals is crucial, links to key
The projects found on the web page are organized into three sections based on their expected impact on our community. First is broad impact, defined as a city-wide policy change or a development project requiring the preparation of an environmental impact report in order to conform with state law. Second is moderate impact, where the project¹s impact probably extends beyond the local neighborhood, but where the city believes its environmental impact is either less than significant or can be mitigated to an insignificant level. Lastly are projects of local impact, where they are not expected to effect more than the local neighborhood.
After a period of transition, the WGNA eList and website have been rehosted to a new system of webservers. Check out www.wgna.net, where we have upcoming events, past newsletters, and links to services such as bus route maps and weather reports. And we’re ever adding new content, including the above-described information on zoning and land-use.
The
eList, WGNA’s free electronic “talk to your neighbor over the back fence”
service, continues apace. If you want to
join or leave the eList, or change the mode of delivery (“Immediate”/”Digest”),
write to Ellen Santomauro at “admin@wgna.net”.
If you recommend a good butcher, baker, or candlestick maker, we request
your permission to quote you: include the words “okay to quote”, and
1 - bag rigatoni noodles
1 - can Dennison Chili, no beans
1 - can tomato soup
1 - can creamed corn
1 - 8 oz bag grated cheddar cheese
Boil noodles for 10 min, drain.
Combine 1/2 cheese with all other ingredients.
Stir together with noodles.
Pour into casserole dish.
Top with remaining cheese.
Bake at 350ºF for 45 - 60 minutes, and enjoy!
(makes 6 - 8 servings)
[Note: Helen is a busy working mom with an active toddler. Little does she realize, but the recipe given is basically for “bachelor chow”, something guys can also make if left to their own devices, or forced to cook for the household… – ed.]