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City Briefs

Residents, pet sitters fight over dog park

If some residents get their way, pet sitters who show up at the Shoreline dog park with up to a dozen dogs each will be forced to go elsewhere — or limit the size of their pack to three.

Shoreline dog park users like Chris Hildebrandt say the .78-acre dog park isn't big enough for both them and the pet sitters. The sitters typically use the park between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and Hildebrandt says most come from other Peninsula cities. According to a staff report, most of those cities, with the exception of Sunnyvale and Palo Alto, have already imposed similar restrictions at their dog parks.

Caught off guard by the controversy, the parks and recreation commission tabled the issue Wednesday. Commissioners heard testimony from three people who work as pet sitters, upsetting local residents who thought the restrictions would be a slam dunk. The commissioners did, however, recommend a new height limit for dogs in the "small dog" area of the park: 18 inches.

Zoning administrator OK's new Mayfield plan

Zoning administrator Peter Gilli recommended last week that the City Council approve a new master plan for Mayfield that increases park space by a half acre and reduces building heights to three stories along Whitney Drive and parts of Mayfield Avenue.

The city is buying .39 acres of park space to add to what was a one-acre park near Diablo Avenue. It will bring the project's total park space, in two parks, to 3.53 acres on the 26-acre site.

Gilli also recommended developer Toll Brothers' detailed plan for its first phase, area one, which is 42 single-family homes adjacent to the existing neighborhood. The company proposes to start a year long demolition process in June 2008, after detailed plans for areas two, three and four come before the council next year. The master plan is set for a council hearing in December.

The project at 100 Mayfield Ave. calls for a total of 450 homes in Mountain View and another 45 on the Palo Alto side.

— Daniel DeBolt

Posted by Kent Scharninghausen, a resident of another community, on Nov 23, 2007 at 10:57 am

Former Mayfield Mall does not need 450 housing units. Reduce to 220 or little less of density to keep adjacent neighbors happy. Or build 5 story highrise on Palo Alto land and build less than 100 homes on MV side. Use PA high rise as noise barrier along San Antiono Rd. Former MV resident (Sylvan area) now proud living in low density and slow growth of Morgan Hill + affordable 2750 sq. ft. McMansion single family homes area. Come and see Morgan Hill sometime if you're not happy with new big Toll Brothers neighbor.