Park Impact Fees and Los Lagos Golf Course’s Future..
will be heard at Park Commission this week and then to Council later this month. Lower park impact fees for high rises are triggering deep concerns. The staff report on Los Lagos Golf Course seems to open the door to repurposing the property.
Park Impact Fees are paid by developers to compensate the community for the impact of new residents. The fees are used to buy new parkland and make major repairs–a key tool in keeping the park system afloat. For ten years, a 50% discount program for residential high-rises covered downtown. Every time the discount was renewed and expanded, the rationale was thadowntown had a high water table and was an unproven market–discounts were needed to attract developers. Now downtown high-rises are booming. The development community convinced council to measure the number of residents in their units and Parks staff surveyed two rental high rises, finding 1.5 residents per unit, lower than the rate currently charged. The proposal includes several features we are troubled by:
1. Staff surveyed only two rental high rises in downtown. This would fix the rate at 1.5 residents for all high rises no matter what product they contain: studio or 3-bedroom.
2. The new rate is proposed for citywide–not just downtown. All future high-rises in urban villages or along transit corridors would pay fees based on these downtown rentals–even though the areas are park deficient (unlike downtown) and may not be at all like these downtown rental high-rises.
3. No community outreach on the lower fees was conducted. Only the development community heard about these changes. Urban village advocates have been blindsided and worry about the future of their plans. Changes to the park impact fee structure were scheduled as part of the Greenprint Update due out in Spring 2018. Why were these accelerated? We think it should be part of a transparent Greenprint update.
4. Diridon Station Area Plan advocates oppose the extension of the current high rise discount program into this part of downtown west of highway 87. These lands are the future “Googleville” and they wonder why the richest corporation in the world and its partners can’t afford to pay full fees to improve this former industrial area into a livable and vibrant community with walking trails, and a park for the thousands of planned residents and workers. Old Downtown has large parks but Googleville does not.
These changes were buried in a routine fee update. The Parks Commission saw through the ruse last November and rejected it all–the discount and the routine changes. Parks staff has brought the item back for this week so that the Commission can decide whether they can any of these: the routine changes, the lower high-rise fees, or the expansion of downtown discounting to the Googleville area. Here’s a link to the staff report–Item VIIA http://www.sanjoseca.gov/
The Parks Commission meets on Wednesday at 5:30 pm. The Council is expected to hear the item on December 19. Email your thoughts to Parks Commission and Council.
Parks Commission
City Council
Diridon Station Area plan west of downtown showing the green walking trails. This is the site of Googleville. A pending proposal expands high-rise discounts to this area and all urban villages putting green space at risk. (Yes, this older map still shows the baseball stadium). Courtesy: SPUR
Los Lagos Golf Course
The outreach results, constraints, and options for the future of Los Lagos Golf Course will be presented this Wednesday December 6 to the Parks Commission. Council is worried about the cost of debt payment and the on-going operating cost. Generally, community meetings supported the golf course. The land is constrained by riparian/creek setbacks, and the rules of the state grants the funded the land. The dimensions make a soccer complex infeasible. Benefits are highlighted: an enormous flood plain to catch last winter’s waters, and an operator monitor the homeless problem and keeping the area clear of dumping. The staff suggests council could revisit the Prevailing Wage requirement (which is normally applied only to construction contracts) and look at other ways to make the destination more of a community park. Trends in golf are summarized. Staff is asking for direction from the council, which could include pursuing state legislative relief to sell the property.
Hearings:
Wed. Dec. 6 Parks Commission 5:30 pm
Thurs. Dec 14 Council Neighborhood Services Committee 1:30 pm
Tues. Jan 9 City Council Meeting 1:30 pm (actual item probably after 3 pm)
The staff report is attached to Item VII D of this week’s Park Commission.
http://www.sanjoseca.gov/
What do you think should be done with Los Lagos Golf course?
Reach out to the Neighborhood Services Committee members before Dec. 14. Send an email.
To All Our Park Advocates–thank-you for what you do. Please share these newsletters as appropriate and add to our email list. Check us out on Facebook: San Jose Parks Advocates. There are many news updates and fine pictures. Send pictures to share to jean@sjparksadvocates.org
Sincerely,
Jean Dresden
Coordinator