Heritage & Preservation
Help us do the research on local history, creates stories of community interest and heritage, organize tours, & work on heritage or preservation projects. Promote and share WGNA's history book "Touring Historic Willow Glen: Ten Walking Loops". Organize bicycle and walking tours on points of historic and heritage interest. Partner with other non-profits and groups in the cause.
— See our Urban Ecology WGNA social media page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WillowGlenHeritageWGNA/
April 2019 Meeting
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JOIN US ON THE NEXT WGNA MEETING FOR APRIL 2019:
HOMELESSNESS, HEALTH & SAFETY, THE ENVIRONMENT, & THE GUADALUPE RIVER
Date: Thursday at 7 pm on 25 April 2019
Location: Willow Glen Community Center, located at 2175 Lincoln Ave.San Jose, CA 95125 (between Malone Rd. & Curtner Ave.)
March 2019 Meeting
Next WGNA Meeting for
Thursday 28 March 2019,
7:00 PM
The next open house meeting of the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association will be a Town Hall Meeting with a panel discussion on issues relating to the San Jose Fire Department's proposal to build the new fire station #37 in Willow Glen, long planned on the site near the community center on Lincoln and Curtner Avenues. The panel members will include San José Fire Chief Robert Sapien, Jr.; Councilmember Pam Foley, District 9 (South Willow Glen); and Councilmember Dev Davis, District 6 (Central Willow Glen).
Additionally, we will have a chat on the San Jose Fire Museum in downtown San Jose, with its mission on educating the public about the history of the San Jose Fire Department.
We will be updating this page with more information on this meeting, so please stay in touch.
WGNA July 2018 Board Meeting & Presentations
Our next board meeting on Thursday, July 12, 2018, will include Willow Glen Planning Area updates on a number of items, and including Bramhall-Willow Street Park, and the Greater Gardner Area.
The Willow Glen Planning Area is one of fifteen large sub-areas in the City of San Jose's "Greenprint". The Planning Areas are used by the city in a number of ways, including how the Planning Division or the Parks Department monitors the supply and absorption of vacant land and to track and forecast development activity.
The Greenprint, in itself, is "a long-term plan that sets goals and strategies for how San José's parks, trails, and community centers will change over the next 20 years. City staff and policymakers use the Greenprint as a guide as they explore the ways the parks system can help people in San José be healthier and happier. The City is working on a major update of its existing Greenprint, which was accepted by City Council in 2009. The new Greenprint Update is expected to be complete in Spring 2018."
The 2009 version of the Willow Glen Planning Area and "Greenprint" is what defines the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association's area of membership and advocacy, as noted in our Bylaws and Policies. See the "Planning Maps" page of our website, and an annotated 2009 Willow Glen Planning Area here.
Two years ago, in WGNA's July 28, 2016 Board Meeting, issues relating to Bramhall-Wilow Street Park were presented by Stakeholders for a Safe Green Village, then with a follow-up walk-through of the park happening that August. By November 2016, Dave Mitchell from San Jose's Department of Parks, Recreation, & Neighborhood Services (PRNS) visited WGNA's Board Meeting for a response and presentation. This July 2018, we will now review the issues from the last two years, give updates on the progress, and engage feedback on current and future needs in the park.
WGNA's Greater Gardner Committee will give an update on issues since our last Town Hall Meeting on December 14, 2017, with Jim Beall, Jr., California State Senator (15th District). Recent items have included a sound wall (concrete fence) behind the Gardner Academy; neighborhood traffic calming and street paving initiatives (especially on W. Virginia St.); California High-Speed Rail right-of-ways into the area; playground and other improvements inside Biebrach park; freeway/Caltrans cleanup issues; homelessness; Gregory Street area needs; impacts from the proposed Google-San Jose development; plus, the most recent proposal (application) for a wireless cell phone tower on Prevost Street near Jerome Ave.
Note that WGNA meetings typically occur on the second Thursday of the month.
Our regular meeting location is Willow Glen Library, Community Room, 1157 Minnesota Avenue, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
See the meeting Agenda here.
In the following August 2018, WGNA will be hosting National Night Out.
#WillowGlen #WGNAsj #SanJoseCA #GreaterGardner #WillowStreetPark. #BramhallPark #StakeholdersSGV #StakeholdersWSP
February 2018 Meeting & Speaker
Open House Monthly Board & Membership Meeting
With the February Guest Speaker
THE EARLY PIONEERS THAT MAPPED WILLOW GLEN & SAN JOSE HISTORY — WED 07 FEBRUARY 2018
Local historian April Hope Halberstadt will be the guest speaker at the next Board and Membership Meeting of the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association - WGNA [also see us on Facebook]
Join us for this "Open House" meeting on the second Wednesday 07 February 2018 at 7:00 - 9:00 PM in the community room of the Willow Glen Public Library [also see the location on Facebook].
Note: Our meetings are usually on the second Thursday of the month, but the schedule has been changed for this particular event.
Halberstadt will talk all about Willow Glen History, as well as the surrounding areas, with a few other new stories that are not included in her original book, "The Willow Glen Neighborhood, Then and Now". She will particularly focus on the early pioneers, including some of those who are often overlooked. This should be an interesting follow up to Halberstadt's previous work.
You can also add the Facebook Event to your calendar: Facebook.