Whisman project bad for Mountain View Whisman project bad for Mountain View (July 15, 2005)

By James Briggs

On the east side of Mountain View, two award-winning planned communities share access to a light rail system: California Station and Whisman Station.

Both communities have lovely parks, tree-lined streets, and a comfortable mix of single-family and townhouse homes. Residents of both wince at the homeowners association fees they pay to maintain their diversity and their quality of life.

But it appears that all that will change.

The city's planning department, apparently at the behest of the city council, is advocating changes to the Whisman Park Precise Plan that will ensure that future developments in the adjacent area will not be of the same quality as California Station and Whisman Station.

On Aug. 16, the city council will decide whether to approve a development by Pulte Homes: 106 "rowhomes," 42 feet in height, that will back up to 12 single-family homes in Whisman Station. All indications are that the city council will approve the new development.

Unlike the 241 townhouses in Whisman Station, the residents of these new units would live in smaller, more densely packed units, several blocks away from public parks. Only after vigorous protests by Whisman Station residents, including a petition signed by more than 250 homeowners, did the city planners relent and require the builder to include at least a small pool in the new development.

In order to facilitate the construction of this first project, which will be called Bedford Square, the city intends to alter the zoning regulations, housing density provisions, and heritage tree protection (28 will be removed) that have underlain the construction of the existing communities.

With the completion of Bedford Square, there will be a solid wall of towering "rowhomes" stretching from the light rail line to Ferguson Drive.

This scenario is a worst-case example of "spot zoning" and "piecemeal planning" that ensures uneven quality of residential construction. Rather than proceed with a coherent master plan for the entire Whisman South area, the city council seems committed to pandering to the wants of landowners who want to sell out -- and developers who want to turn a good profit and leave.

Why? Not to provide needed high-density housing at affordable prices: Mountain View already ranks as one of the most dense on the Peninsula -- and these units will cost in the neighborhood of $700,000 each.

A few miles away, charming Rivermark is a showcase in Santa Clara, and Santana Row sparkles in San Jose.

Why can't Mountain View do as well?
James Briggs has lived at Whisman Station since the complex opened five years ago.

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