Council deadlocks on bike course, approves downtown office building
by Daniel DeBolt
Tuesday's council meeting began straightforwardly — with the approval of a new four-story office building on Evelyn Avenue — and ended surprisingly, with a deadlocked vote on building a new BMX park in Mountain View.
The subject of a BMX park was not on the agenda, but was brought up at the end of Tuesday night's meeting by Mayor Margaret Abe-Koga. Facing possible legal and safety problems, the city in August demolished an informal BMX track along Stevens Creek at Central Avenue that locals had been building and maintaining for at least 20 years.
Abe-Koga wanted the Parks and Recreation Commission to study whether the city should build its own BMX park to replace it, probably on a 1.25-acre site that stretches along North Road just east of the city's dog park at Shoreline. She didn't expect what happened next: The council deadlocked 3-3, with member Tom Means absent, halting the idea in its tracks.
"I was kind of surprised they didn't even want the PRC to look at it," which would cost nothing, Abe-Koga said. She added that the idea could always come back to the council if there was enough interest from the community.
Since 2001, the city has had on-again, off-again interest in building its own BMX park. Such a project would cost about $400,000 an acre and $70,000 a year to maintain, according to a Sept. 17 report from parks section manager Jack Smith. The need for the city to retain an engineer and a landscape architect are among the requirements that "dramatically change the scope" of the project, which the council hoped to build with $60,000 in funding budgeted in 2007.
The report cites the Calabazas BMX park in San Jose as the source of the cost estimate. It also lists safety and legal requirements from the city's risk manager, Claudia Koob, including a maximum jump height of five feet.
As for the location, city staffers prefer the North Road site over the nearby "Crittenden overflow basin," which was a recommended site years ago. Council member Mike Kasperzak and others have also suggested that the city use a meadow that is newly accessible thanks to the Stevens Creek Trail extension south of El Camino Real.
Council members made no comments explaining the vote, which came at the end of a five-hour meeting. Opposing further study were members Ronit Bryant, Laura Macias and Kasperzak. Members Abe-Koga, Jac Siegel and John Inks were in favor. Means' position on the subject was unknown as of press time.
Evelyn office OK'd
The days are numbered for the Pacific Euro Hotel, which sits on one of two parcels now slated for a new four-story, 63,000-square-foot office building downtown.
The City Council unanimously approved the office building for 871-891 Evelyn Ave., just west of Castro Street at Bryant Street and a stone's throw from the train station. It is about three times taller than the nearby buildings on the historic 100 block of Castro Street.
Council member Jac Siegel said he was not a fan of the building's modern design, which he said did not fit the downtown area. Other council members complained that the developer did not illustrate what the building would look like from the Castro Street area. But generally, the council was happy to have the development, which they said would allow growing companies located downtown to expand while staying in the area.
Developer Daniel Minkoff said the building would be for the high-end office market, and would meet high LEED standards for green design. He noted the use of high quality building materials, such as limestone, which would extend onto the sidewalk.
Council member Ronit Bryant was not so impressed, saying she had concerns with how the building would affect the "pedestrian experience" downtown.
"I will not be able to support the project without adding some living green" element, such as "a trellis or potted plants," Bryant said. "Otherwise what we're putting downtown is another blank wall."
A motion by Bryant to require some form of planting on the site as determined by the planning department failed in a 3-3 vote, with council member Means absent. That gave way to a compromise from city manager Kevin Duggan: Have the developer voluntarily do whatever is deemed possible for plants around the building, which leaves little room for greenery on the site.
Because the city's downtown precise plan encourages ground floor retail space, the project required a provisional use permit to allow office space on the ground floor. Council members were unsure there would be demand for retail on that portion of Evelyn, though the building could be modified to allow it in the future.
The building will have one level of underground parking, which allows for 34 spaces. Another 43 spaces of parking required for the project are in a nearby parking garage, which the city pays for through fees from downtown projects which commonly do not supply their own parking.
Downtown residents did not show up to oppose the project. In the past, residents of condos at 108 Bryant St. have expressed concerns about Pacific Euro Hotel's effect on their neighborhood.
E-mail Daniel DeBolt at ddebolt@mv-voice.com
