The Mountain View City Council is slated to consider approval of Google’s massive Middlefield Park Master Plan at its Nov. 15 meeting. The mixed-use plan would add 1,900 residential units to the city, 50,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space, 1.3 million square feet of office space and multiple new parks.
The plan was last considered by the Environmental Planning Commission at its Oct. 19 meeting, during which commissioners threw unanimous support behind the project.
But that support didn’t come without some concerns – namely around project applicants Google and LendLease’s affordable housing proposal.
Included within the applicants’ proposed 1,900 housing units are 1,520 market rate units and 380 affordable units. The applicants said it's financially infeasible for them to build inclusionary affordable units, so they instead proposed to give Mountain View ownership of 2.4 acres of land. The city would then partner with an affordable housing developer – and be responsible for finding funding – to build the units.
Two commissioners raised concerns on whether the alternative proposal can result in 380 units on-site as proposed by the applicant, since the city’s consultant, Seifel Consulting, estimated the number of feasible units on the deeded land to be 338 units. But either way, both counts meet the city’s requirement that at least 15% of the total units be affordable.
“We never know what it’s going to take to get these delivered, but the fact that this land is getting dedicated to the city …, that the city can do what it would like to do on it with respect to affordable housing, I think makes a significant difference in mitigating the risk, because the city is in control and can try to address whatever risks occur,” a representative of Seifel Consulting said at the time.
The EPC ultimately supported recommending the Middlefield Park Master Plan to the Mountain View City Council, on the condition that the council get more information about the mix of bedrooms and number of affordable units that could potentially be built on the deeded land. Tonight, the council will hear from both city staff and the applicant about the project and make a final decision about the long-anticipated project.
Tune in at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 15, by joining the meeting Zoom or watching live on the city’s YouTube page.
Comments
Registered user
Cuesta Park
on Nov 16, 2022 at 9:32 am
Registered user
on Nov 16, 2022 at 9:32 am
"The applicants said it's financially infeasible for them to build inclusionary affordable units"
This appears to be a standard refrain from developers. The fact that this cry is being uttered by Google rather boggles the mind.
Of course Google can afford to build inclusionary affordable units. They just don't want to. Heaven forbid that teachers, service workers, and kids who don't code are living in the same buildings as Google's people.
Shame on Google.
Registered user
Old Mountain View
on Nov 16, 2022 at 12:08 pm
Registered user
on Nov 16, 2022 at 12:08 pm
Just an observation,
As I have been saying for years, Alphabert/Google has been playing games with the City, making promises, then saying the city needs to help them, changing projects over and over again. This is classic BAIT AND SWITCH.
And now the City is about to see a major drop in economic activities as tech companies pull out, just look at Meta/Facebook.
The city cannot rely on project benefits that are more than 3 years away and can burn out in only 2, like San Antonio is right now.
Somebody has to tell the citizens what kind of trouble we really are in now.
Registered user
Another Mountain View Neighborhood
on Nov 16, 2022 at 12:16 pm
Registered user
on Nov 16, 2022 at 12:16 pm
Why do you preface everything you say with "Just an observation"?
Registered user
Old Mountain View
on Nov 16, 2022 at 1:54 pm
Registered user
on Nov 16, 2022 at 1:54 pm
Just an observation,
On top of this so many operations are relocating out of this area.
This are is going through the end of the "gold rush" of tech. It is going to have a very hard readjustment.