The Santa Clara City Council again denied a local car dealer’s request to allow alternative trash pickup.
At its most recent meeting, Feb. 24, the council unanimously denied a reconsideration of an item it heard in October last year. Owners of a Subaru dealership, located at 3225 Stevens Creek Blvd., implored the council to reconsider the proposal.
The council voted in October to continue the item. Given Mayor Lisa Gillmor and Council Member Kelly Cox’s absence, and Council Members Kevin Park and Raj Chahal dissenting, the planning commission’s decision to deny the request stood.
At the October meeting, city employees said the garbage collector, Mission Trails, told them pickup along Stevens Creek Boulevard was unsafe.
However, Yvette Sessions, with Mission Trails, told the council that pick up along Cecil Avenue was untenable, adding that the company could pick up safely from Stevens Creek Boulevard.
Neighbors of the dealership said the proposed alternative pickup creates problems for the single-family residents who abut Cecil Avenue.
Cliff Moore, one such resident, said the dealership vowed to be a good neighbor when it opened, adding that the issue is one of enforcement. If the city allowed it to continue as it has, he said, it is sending a clear message that violations will be tolerated.
“Subaru refuses to comply with the permit they already have. Why would anybody reasonable believe they would comply with the new one?” he said. “It is a pattern that demonstrates that they will do what they want, regardless, and not be held accountable.”
Park said he resented the owners pleading with the council under the auspices of safety when it was clear they were concerned with losing their parking.
Several members of the council joined his concern, saying that when approved in 2016, the site envisioned pickup along Stevens Creek Boulevard.
“It is pretty simple,” Gillmor said. “That is where it’s supposed to be.”
City Attorney Glen Googins said the city would work with the owners and neighbors to find an amenable solution before “aggressive code enforcement begins.”
The council denied the appeal unanimously.
Council Shapes Future Development
The council also approved a couple of planning commission recommendations.
The first was to add 27 properties to the city’s Historic Resources Inventory.
The item has already been completed, and Afshan Hamid, community development director, called the approval a “clean up item” that “closes the loop” on work city employees have already done.
The second item was for the city to adopt objective design standards for townhomes, podium-style and wrap-style multi-family residential and/or mixed-use developments.
Hamid said such standards are essential for the city to maintain local control in the wake of a slew of state laws that remove constraints on developers building housing. The proposed standards “work cohesively and are achievable,” she said.
“We are seeing more development outside those specific plan areas,” Hamid said.
City Attorney Glen Googins told the council that developers can request an almost unlimited amount of waivers for a project, but that objective design standards allows the city more control over requiring them to justify those waivers. However, he added, those standards don’t ensure the city is “perfectly immune” to any proposed waivers.
The council approved the standards unanimously.
Consent Calendar Spending
The council approved the following spending in one motion via the consent calendar:
- A $354,208 purchase order with Celeros Flow Technology for the purchase of two replacement pressure-reducing desuperheating valves for the Donald von Raesfeld Power Plant.
- $1.5 million in purchase orders with Eaton Corporation and/or Cooper Power Systems for switchgear.
- A $379,000 agreement with San Jose for installation of five fiber optic cables in San Jose.
Council Member Karen Hardy was absent.
The next regularly scheduled meeting is 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 10 in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 1500 Warburton Ave. in Santa Clara.
Members of the public can participate in the city council meetings on Zoom at https://santaclaraca.zoom.us/j/99706759306; Meeting ID: 997-0675-9306 or call 1 (669) 900-6833, via the City’s eComment (available during the meeting) or by email to PublicComment@santaclaraca.gov
Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com
Previous Santa Clara City Council Meetings:
Santa Clara’s July 4 Celebration Will Return to Mission College
Santa Clara Council Passes Anti-ICE Policy
SVP Gives Bi-annual Report, Council to Discuss Opposing ICE at Super Bowl
Santa Clara Puts Bond Money to Work
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