PUBLIC MEETING TONIGHT: PLEASE ATTEND!

The San Jose Planning Commission will be holding a public hearing on our issue tonight at 6:30pm at San Jose City Hall in downtown San Jose. The meeting takes place in the city council chambers, located on the west side of the rotunda. Free parking with validation is available in the garage underground which can be accessed from 4th street and 6th street.
The proposal has been reduced from 18 to 14 homes with a 1/2 acre pocket park to be jointly developed by Braddock and Logan and the City. This proposal is a significant improvement for the neighborhood, and many thanks should go to all who helped shape it. But it doesn't end there.
While the number of homes has been mathematically reduced, the original plans for the remaining homes remain in place. The city has proposed asking for a variance in the fire code to allow for the smaller than standard turnaround bulb at the end of the proposed cul de sac. The lessons from the Santana Row fire(where several variances contributed to the magnitude and scope of the destruction) are that you cannot compromise on fire safety. This development is going into a semi-rural area with grassy hillsides and homes directly across the street. A fire in any one of the homes could set the others on fire due to their height and proximity to one another.
We feel that a further reduction of at least one more home is needed for several reasons. That would allow for increased setbacks between the proposed homes. Wider setbacks would solve several problems at once:
-it would increase fire safety, allowing the developer to widen the cul-de-sac.
-it would increase fire safety by allowing more defensible space between the homes.
-it would allow wider driveways and solve parking issues.
-it would allow the development to visually blend into the existing neighborhood, where average setbacks are much wider.

Meantime, traffic continues to be an issue that needs to be solved on Fleming. Below is a video taken just this morning showing a traffic jam that grew to 1/4 mile on Fleming at Alum Rock.
http://www.vimeo.com/clip:67389