Seasonally, every year, Bike to School month returns in the spring (usually May), and Walk to School Day returns in the autumn.

Stakeholders for a Safe Green Village sponsors and organizes our annual National Center for Safe Routes to School"Bike to School" activities, the next occurring in May 2019.  Co-sponsors include Willow Glen Neighborhood Association - WGNA and other groups.

Through the year, and as part of the celebrations, students at our elementary schools receive bicycles, helmets, and razor scooters.

This national event is organized locally by Stakeholders for a Safe Green Village in partnership with the National Center for Safe Routes to School.  Our regular co-sponsor is the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association - WGNA.

WHO: PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS for the Willow Glen event include:

Willow Glen Elementary
River Glen School K-8
Ernesto Galarza & Hammer Montessori
Gardner Academy and Washington Elementary

Join children & adults around the world to celebrate the benefits of biking and walking to school:

• Encouraging a child’s next stage of independence
• Physical activity
• Teaching safe pedestrian & bicycling skills to children
• Awareness of how walkable & bikeable community improvements can be made
• Concern for the environment Reducing traffic congestion, pollution & speed near schools
• Sharing time with community leaders, parents & children
• Creating joy and fun!
• Promoting psychological well-being and alertness
• Fostering maturation and responsibility
• Creating habits of activity, empowerment and thinking differently

UPDATE as of  Monday 18 March 2019

The Hope Village Relocation to Willow & Lelong Streets was defeated on Monday 18 March 2019.
In a meeting at Gardner Community Center that evening (7:00 PM), Councilmember Dev Davis and Mayor Liccardo announced that a decision at the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) earlier that afternoon (3:00 PM) would prevent the use of this site for a homeless encampment.  The relocation project had also received tremendous disapproval by area residents and stakeholders.

Subsequent meetings on the topic of the Hope Village Relocation to Willow Glen have since been canceled.

WGNA Issues Position Paper on
Hope Village Relocation to Willow & Lelong Streets

SUBJECT: WGNA Position Paper opposing the Hope Village Relocation Proposal at the site of Willow and Lelong Streets.

TO: Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD)

OUR POSITION: The Willow Glen Neighborhood Association (WGNA) strongly urges the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) to deny the requested permit and the use of this site for Hope Village or any similar homeless transitional housing projects.

See the position paper here in PDF document form.

WGNA Issues Position Paper on
Hope Village Relocation to Willow & Lelong Streets

SUBJECT: WGNA Position Paper opposing the Hope Village Relocation Proposal at the site of Willow and Lelong Streets.

TO: Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD)

OUR POSITION: The Willow Glen Neighborhood Association (WGNA) strongly urges the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) to deny the requested permit and the use of this site for Hope Village or any similar homeless transitional housing projects.

See the position paper here in PDF document form.

 * * * UPDATE: as of Monday 18 March 2019 * * *

The Hope Village Relocation to Willow & Lelong Streets was defeated on Monday 18 March 2019.
In a meeting at Gardner Community Center later that evening (7:00 PM), Councilmember Dev Davis and Mayor Liccardo announced that a decision at the Santa Clara Valley Water District earlier that afternoon (3:00 PM) would prevent the use of this site.  The relocation project had also received tremendous disapproval by area residents and stakeholders.

Subsequent meetings on the topic of the Hope Village Relocation to Willow Glen have since been canceled.  

Tomorrow night's meeting on Wednesday 13 March is hosted by Willow Glen Neighborhood Association - WGNA at the Elk's lodge.

It's an open house meeting, whereas the city councilmembers, county supervisors, representatives, and departments are invited to attend and speak. The WGNA Board has encouraged Councilmember Dev Davis to participate along with all of the stakeholders in our community in an open house forum.

As a resident, if this issue is important to you, and you cannot get a reserved seat in the city-sponsored meeting on March 20th, nor a confirmation for the second meeting on the unsaid date, then you are encouraged to attend Wednesday's meeting organized by WGNA and the Elk's Lodge on March 13th.

Per the City of San Jose's flier, the Hope Village Relocation project is still considered a "proposal" at the Willow & Lelong Street locations; so, we would like to give residents the opportunity to review the issues, express their concerns, and speak out on what they think is important. That also includes the voice of, and the particular interests directly relating to, the homeless in our community.

See WGNA's Facebook page at Willow Glen Neighborhood Association - WGNA, as well as here on WGNA.net.

Questions or other matters, please email [email protected] and your message will be forwarded to the board.

The proposed Google Campus
and Diridon Station Area Plan, 

a Guest Speaker Presentation
by the City of San Jose

— on the next WGNA Board & Membership Meeting for September 13th

The guest speaker at our next meeting will be the City of San José presenting on the topic of the Diridon Station Area Plan and Google, the Silicon Valley technology company that intends to develop a major transit-oriented campus in the core of the city, expanding the present-day downtown San José.   This potential mixed-use master plan development includes offices, residences, retail shops, restaurants and open spaces, and it's estimated that Google will employ 15,000 to 20,000 people.  The company will visit with the City of San José in the Willow Glen neighborhood to tell us more about its plans, and how that fits in with the City of San José's Diridon Station Area projects.  

The City of San José and the greater Bay Area region have the unique opportunity to build an internationally prominent transportation center and to develop a superb destination within the area around the Diridon Station.

Information related to the Station Area Advisory Group ("SAAG"), including meeting agendas, minutes, and videos, are posted to this website. To view these items, please click on the tab to the left, labeled "Station Area Advisory Group".

Lori Severino*, Civic Engagement Program Manager for the Diridon Station Area, will be presenting on behalf of City of San Jose, and will provide:

• Background information on the Diridon Station Area, including the main plans that are guiding its development, the planned transit improvements, and the partnership with Google;
• An overview of the City’s community engagement process this year;
• A brief summary of the main input received to date.

On behalf of Google*, a manager of the company's department of Government Affairs & Public Policy will join the city's presentation.  Javier González and shall be available to answer questions.  

The Google project proposes to be a multi-million-square-foot urban campus in the heart of San José, one of the biggest development projects in the city's history.  The prime area of development is the Autumn-Montgomery neighborhood, although it also relates to outlying vicinities like Downtown San José, Lakehouse, Sunol-Midtown, and Auzerais-Josefa.  

We are also interested in how the flow of development will connect to neighborhoods like our own Willow Glen, as well as to nearby Burbank, College Park, and North San José.

Change of Meeting Location:

The Next WGNA Board and Membership Meeting will occur on the second Thursday, September 13, 2018, at the Willow Glen United Methodist Church, located at 1420 Newport Avenue, on the corner of Minnesota Avenue.  This is just across the street from our usual location at the Willow Glen Public Library.  Join us at 7:00 PM for this open house meeting.  For updated information, please return to the website at a closer time to the event.

*Update: Kim Walesh, Deputy City Manager, Director of Economic Development presented on behalf of City of San Jose, not Lori Severino.

On behalf of Google, managers of the company's department of Government Affairs & Public Policy joined the city's presentation.   Javier González was not present.  

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

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave