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A seven-story builder’s remedy project in Mountain View cleared a major hurdle after it got the greenlight from the city earlier this month with no appeals stopping it from moving forward. The deadline to file an appeal was Sept. 18.
The plans, however, are contingent on whether the City Council will sell a public street to the developer so the project can get built. The city has not yet scheduled a hearing for that vote.
On Sept. 8, Community Development Director Christian Murdock approved a 216-unit condominium project at 1919-1945 Gamel Way, replacing 29 rent-controlled apartments on a roughly 2.3-acre site. Gamel Way is a cul-du-sac directly across the street from Castro and Mistral elementary schools.
The approval followed a heated public hearing on Sept. 2, where more than a dozen community members voiced concerns about the project’s size and impact it would have in the neighborhood, especially with respect to traffic congestion and parking.
Murdock deferred making a final decision at the Sept. 2 hearing, citing a preference to consider the public comments and written letters submitted ahead of the meeting. On Sept. 8, Murdock signed off on the project, which triggered a 10-day window for the public to submit an appeal.
No appeals were filed by the Sept. 18 deadline, according to city spokesperson Lenka Wright.
The Sept. 2 hearing was also notable for a last-minute change requested by Kevin DeNardi, the developer, to reduce the number of affordable units from 44 to 29.
Under California law, builder’s remedy projects can skirt local zoning regulations and development standards, as long as a certain portion of the units are affordable to lower-income households. Previously, DeNardi had proposed to set aside 20% of the condos as affordable units. Since then, changes have been made to state law, lowering the requirement from 20% to 13%.
“I understand this is not an ideal development late in the project,” DeNardi wrote in an Aug. 28 email to the city. “However, this step is essential to ensure the project moves forward and delivers much-needed housing in this high interest rates and high construction costs environment.”
While Murdock ultimately approved the project, he noted in a Sept. 8 letter to DeNardi that the City Council still needed to vote on the sale of Gamel Way. The development could not move forward until then, he said.
“Implementation of this project approval cannot proceed without the City Council of the city of Mountain View taking separate, discretionary action to approve your request to vacate the Gamel Way street and easements,” Murdock wrote.
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So we don’t have to sell him the street! We actually do have a choice?
That sign has been posted to the entrance to Gamel Road for the past 8 or so years. Are all the houses going to disappear as well. That corner house has been vacant for years with tall weeds in the backyard.
In theory, yes the City could refuse to sell the public street. In practice and after years of closed door meetings, the Council will probably claim once again that their hands are legally tied (who what was promised in closed sessions), that some affordable housing is better none or that they want to avoid possibly costly legal delays. Same movie all the time…. Just hope that construction impacts on the school will be mitigated (limits on noise during school hours, dust containement, limits on truck traffic during school dropoff/pickup…..).