In many ways, Shenandoah Square is a perfect site to help satisfy Mountain View’s hunger for housing — nearly ten times as many homes could be squeezed in if the property was fully built out. But a U.S. Army-backed proposal to sell and redevelop the site is receiving a blistering opposition campaign, with Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, along with nine Bay Area U.S. Representatives, coming out against the idea.
To call the circumstances surrounding Shenandoah complicated is putting it mildly. The 17-acre site represents a bubble of federal land at the corner of Moffett Boulevard and Middlefield Road flanked by the city of Mountain View on all sides. Under a gatekeeper project submitted to the city last year, a partnership between the U.S. Army and a private firm proposed ceding that land to the city of Mountain View so it could be sold to private developers and someday accommodate 1,000 apartments.
That idea hit a wall of opposition last week as city officials began studying whether to pursue a precise plan for the Shenandoah site. About a dozen California members of Congress signed a letter outlining concerns over the prospective sale. In a separate letter, Rep. Anna Eshoo took the criticism further, blasting the plan as a ploy to reap a handsome sum from the sale to pay off a $460 million debt accrued from a “misguided” and “unprofitable” housing project at Fort Irwin in San Bernardino County. She asked the city to hold off in order to help retain Shenandoah as federal property.
“I urge you to suspend the city of Mountain View’s cooperation with the (U.S. Army) on the entitlements needed to redevelop and ultimately sell the land until a new public-private partnership is shaped by the Army to keep the land under federal jurisdiction (and) can be considered,” she wrote.
At the heart of the opposition to Shenandoah’s sale is the uncertainty it would cause for more than 100 current residents. The site’s 126 apartments were built nearly 30 years ago to provide affordable housing for Moffett Field service members and their families. Lacking enough enlisted residents, the housing complex later expanded its eligibility requirements, first to allow federal civilian employees such as NASA Ames workers, and more recently allowing some ordinary tenants with no government affiliation to live there.
At the City Council’s Nov. 29 meeting, Shenandoah tenants described the military’s sale plans as being tantamount to a mass displacement for its more than 100 households. Federal families complained their pay was based on salaries set by Washington, D.C., and they wouldn’t be able afford housing in the Bay Area if Shenandoah was sold. Following a $500 rent increase in June, Shenandoah tenants say they are currently paying $2,800 a month for a two-bedroom apartment.
“One group that tends to get overlooked in these discussions are the federal civilians whose income isn’t tied to the locality of Silicon Valley,” said Matthew Buffington, a NASA Ames employee. “(Shenandoah) is one of the few available options when you want to live in Mountain View on a federal salary.”
Mountain View City Council members found themselves thrust in the center of this dilemma at last week’s study session. Their meeting was organized to consider a precise plan for Shenandoah, which city staff recommended as the first step in a lengthy process to annex and redevelop the site. But most of the discussion that night was spent trying to figure out the nuts and bolts of the federal squabble playing out before them.
The military’s ownership company — dubbed the California Military Communities — was represented by Frank Coen from Clark Realty Capital and Scott Chamberlain of the U.S. Army. Through a public-private partnership, Clark and the Army jointly own California Military Communities and its portfolio of housing projects near Moffett Field, Fort Irwin and Camp Parks in Dublin.
Speaking to the Voice, Chamberlain said the firm’s $460 million debt from San Bernadino County cited by Eshoo was accurate, but he said it was a result of a wide-ranging series of housing investments, including construction of 114 homes at Camp Park, the 181-home Wescoat Village at Moffett Field and about 900 houses at Fort Irwin.
“The debt is significant, but you have to understand that it’s debt from building all this housing,” he said. “Money from (selling) Shenandoah will go into the project account which will maintain the homes at Park, Moffett and Irwin.”
The high value of the Shenandoah site has basically been subsidizing CMC’s other less-profitable housing ventures, according to Eshoo’s office. After building hundreds of homes at Fort Irwin, CMC officials reportedly learned the Department of Defense allotted the base a smaller housing allowance than they anticipated, resulting in a $1 million to $2 million annual loss.
An aide from Eshoo’s office observed the meeting, but said he wasn’t authorized to speak on the issues.
Mountain View council members admitted many of the issues surrounding Shenandoah were simply beyond their scope as the local government. Should the city hold off on even studying the U.S. Army’s proposal due to Eshoo’s concerns, asked Councilman Mike Kasperzak.
“I feel like (Eshoo) is throwing us to the Beltway, asking us to do something beyond our power or authority,” he said. “It’s not our decision; it’s out of our hands.”
The number of federal employees working near Mountain View is set to steadily increase. The U.S. Geological Survey announced plans to relocate its West Coast science center to Moffett Field, which will eventually add hundreds more federal employees to the Mountain View area. A relatively new Silicon Valley initiative by the Pentagon, the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, is also expected to grow in the coming years.
Given those projections, several council members agreed it seemed reckless to throw federal workers into an unfriendly housing market. Mayor Pat Showalter recalled her time working as a federal scientist about 30 years ago. The pay was insufficient even then, she said.
“The pay is simply not commensurate with living here,” she said. “Long-term, we need to supply the needs for our military and scientific workers at Moffett Field.”
CMC officials emphasized that many details surrounding Shenandoah were still up in the air. In January, they expect to put out a request for proposals to sell or perhaps sublease the property for a future development. Any new housing project could still give priority to federal employees, Cohn said. But they urged the Mountain View council not to wait until every issue is resolved before the city begins the planning process, which is expected to take two to three years.
“This site is approaching 30 years in age. At some point, if we don’t sell the property, we’ll close the property,” Chamberlain warned. “We won’t put project money into it; we’ll simply close the property, and most likely demolish it.”
The council agreed to move forward on the precise plan in a 5-2 straw vote with Mayor Pat Showalter and John McAlister opposed. Running through a series of staff questions about designing a precise plan, most council members strongly urged the CMC to find some way to lease rather than sell the Shenandoah property.
In general, council members gave direction for a phased project with ample parks and transit connectivity that would provide equivalent affordable housing for federal employees.
Taking up a proposal by Councilman Lenny Siegel, the council asked staff to look into forming some kind of community land trust at Shenandoah that could lease the federal land and sell condominiums to residents.
Email Mark Noack at mnoack@mv-voice.com
