August 27, 1997
Honorable Susan Hammer
San Jose City Hall
801 North First Street
San Jose, CA 95110
Re: Amendment to Park Impact Fee Ordinance and Parkland Dedication Ordinance
Dear Mayor Hammer:
The Board of Directors of the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association has voted unanimously to support the amendments to the PDO/PIFO. We understand that this proposal has been submitted jointly by the Directors of Public Works, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement, and Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services. WGNA compliments their combined efforts to address an important and pressing problem.
We believe that these amendments serve not only future neighborhoods, but the city as a whole. The City's General Plan sets reasonable and desirable standards for including parkland in residential developments to ensure that residents have convenient access to recreational open space. Those standards are consistent with good planning and should certainly be upheld.
It is predictable that fees based on land values of 1988 should now be insufficient to provide for acquisition and development of new parks. What has raised the situation to crisis levels is the extent to which land values have increased causing the dearth of available park acreage. (The lack of monies for maintenance and development of existing parks is another, related problem.)
We understand that, under the present ordinances, plans for residential development now under consideration would provide only 8 acres of undeveloped land for 20,000 potential residents. Such situations severely restrict opportunities for San Jose's future homeowners and put undue stress on existing parks in older, more fortunate neighborhoods.
The Board also understands that new home owners will ultimately bear the additional costs. However, the use of an index to determine the fee appears reasonable and equitable. The alternative, the permanent loss of neighborhood parks and the deterioration of established ones, is unacceptable. Those of us who enjoy the benefits of neighborhood parks strongly support extending those benefits to new residents of San Jose.
Sincerely,
Kris Cunningham, WGNA President
cc: Councilperson Trixie Johnson, TDE Committee
Carla Ruigh, Park Planning Manager, Dept. of Public Works