To the Editor,
In regards to your article of July 15, 2021 regarding Republic Metropolitan’s proposal at 500 Benton Street in Santa Clara.
Republic Metropolitan responded to every specification set forth in the ENA. This includes:
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- the CEQA document, the administrative draft of which the environmental consultant turned over to the city last April, which the city attorney sat on for a year;
- the application and development plan which has gone through two rounds of the clearance process and was nearly complete;
- the replacement well feasibility studies and preliminary design reports on which we worked with the city water department for two years, and which clearly showed a workable plan ready to take to the State Division of Drinking Water for approval;
- the negotiation of the Lease and Development and Disposition Agreement term sheet with the City and VTA, which is highly lucrative for the City, paying the City two thirds of a million dollars annually, totaling $680 million in rent, income fees, taxes, and other benefits over the course of the lease term;
- payment by Republic to the city $50,000 in deposit money meeting the terms of the ENA;
- completion of all site studies including environmental soils, geotechnical soils, ALTA land survey, title review, and utilities mapping;
- nearly doubling the affordable housing requirement of 15% to 29% affordable units;
- inclusion of replacement parking for Caltrain and the Santa Clara Police Department;
- inclusion in the project of placemaking retail and community youth space, including space for the Police Athletic League;
- substantial design modifications based on community requests; and
- carefully staying within zoning requirements including unit count and height limits.
I am not sure just what the City Manager is talking about as quoted in the article, but I ask her to back up her comments with evidence, because I have written evidence of everything I just reported.
Thank You,
Scott Mendelsohn, Senior Project Manager for Republic Metropolitan for the Santa Clara Station project.
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