CRASH AT LORD'S BAPTIST CHURCH IS 7TH ON FLEMING IN 2005

We were awakened by the sound of screeching tires and crunching steel on Fleming Avenue. It was another crash. This one happened at the driveway to The Lord's Baptist Church, at the exact spot where Braddock and Logan plan to put a new street to access the development of 18 homes. Fortunately, no one was injured. But the driver told me he was trying to pull out of the church parking lot to turn onto Fleming when he was struck by a fast-moving pickup. There were wet and foggy conditions at the time. This goes to show how dangerous Fleming has become with too much traffic and too much speed. It also demonstrates what we have been saying all along, that Fleming is too dangerous and too narrow with the traffic it has now, and to add to it at this critical spot, is insane. This is a reminder as to why we are fighting this development. Next time, could it be one of us?
UPDATE: CHP traffic records show this was the 7th vehicle collision on Fleming Avenue in 2005, and the 3rd collision of the year at the intersection of Fleming and Fleming Court!

Here is the list of crashes on Fleming in 2005:

May 1st at Fleming Ct. 2-car collision
June 15 at Altadena Rd. 2-car collision
July 18 at Fleming Ct. 3-car collision
Oct. 22 at East Hills Dr. 2-car collision
Oct. 30 at East Hills Dr. 2-car collision
Dec. 17 at McVay single carhit and run
Dec. 23 at Fleming Ct. 2-car collision

source: Officer Perea/CHP Public Affairs San Jose

PLANNING COMMISSION POSTPONED 'TILL JAN. 11!

Citing neighborhood concerns, the San Jose Planning Department has taken the Fleming Avenue proposal OFF the Planning Commission agenda for Wednesday, December 7!

The planning department has deferred the item due to our concerns and placed it on the agenda for January 11th. The planning department did this after sending a representative to our meeting on Thursday night and listening to our concerns with this project. Your overwhelming presence at that meeting, and intelligent comments regarding density, traffic and safety have been heard. The Planning Department has, in effect told the developer Braddock and Logan, to come back with a better plan, hopefully with lower density. We can consider this a small victory, but this is certainly not the end of this.

We need to continue doing what we are doing:
-BANDING TOGETHER
-STUDYING THE ISSUES
- KEEPING UP THE HEAT ON OUR LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES!

Thank you all for your support and hopefully, we can all make our East Foothills neighborhood a better place to live!

SAMPLE LETTER TO CITY/COUNTY REPS

THE FOLLOWING IS A SAMPLE LETTER OR EMAIL THAT CAN BE USED TO SUMMARIZE NEIGHBORHOOD FEELINGS ABOUT THIS ISSUE. YOU CAN ALSO WRITE YOUR OWN ORIGINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT WHAT CONCERNS YOU! THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT YOU DO SOMETHING! THE TIME IS HERE; WE NEED ACTION NOW!


San Jose City Council/Planning Commission/Board of Supervisors
Dear Sir or Madam:
I'm concerned about a planned development on Fleming Ave in East San Jose. I object most strongly to this development in our neighborhood and I urge to NOT to approve this development.
This development is on the Planning Commission agenda for December 7, 2005, item PDC05-061. It is on the City Council agenda for December 10.
The development is proposed for 18 single family homes at 139 and 145 Fleming Ave on the lot now occupied by The Lord's Baptist Church on the west side of Fleming Avenue between Alum Rock and Neves. The church lot size is only 2.66 acres, meaning these homes will be crammed into relatively small lots, with only one outlet on to Fleming Ave. I am very concerned that this development is too dense, will be out of character for the neighborhood, where existing lot sizes are much, much larger, and will significantly increase traffic congestion and danger on Fleming, which is already suffering from morning and afternoon traffic jams and speeding during off-peak times.
It is to be expected that, with the price of new homes in Silicon Valley, that there will be more than 18 families in this development, stretching the already stressed infrastructure along Fleming Ave. More likely, 2 or 3 families will share a home, exacerbating the parking, traffic, and safety issues already mentioned.
In addition, this is the 4th such high-density development now underway within a 1 mile radius of our homes on Fleming Avenue. Traffic and safety have reached the breaking point on this road, which was originally a narrow country road. Children pass by the planned development site on their way to elementary and middle school, and will soon be faced with many cars turning left on Fleming to get to Alum Rock Road, the fastest way to the freeway.
While this sort of dense development may be appropriate for downtown San Jose, it is out of character for Santa Clara County, and particularly destructive of the quality of life in the unincorporated areas of the County. It is precisely this quality that many residents of the area chose when they decided to locate along Fleming Ave.
What should be done?
1. The proposed development should NOT be approved.
2. The proposed development should be DELAYED until we can study the effects.
3. The proposed development could be considered for a lower number of homes in this parcel, given the neighborhood situation. No more than 8 homes should be allowed.

Sincerely,

[your name]

CARPOOL CARAVAN TO TAKE ON CITY HALL

Join the carpool caravan to go to San Jose City Hall Wednesday night to attend the Planning Commission meeting. Julie Ramirez, julcoram@aol.com is coordinating this effort. Please meet at the Save Mart parking lot at 5:00pm, Wednesday, December 7th. Signs will be distributed at this time. Feel free to make your own if you wish. We will depart promtly at 5:30pm. Let's make a strong, united showing at this very important meeting!

BY POPULAR DEMAND! LINKS TO PLANNING COMMISSION AND CITY COUNCIL

Several neighbors asked for me to establish links on this site to the San Jose Planning Commission and City Council. The links are now up, and can be found on the right margin of this blog. Please take the time to email commission members and city councilmembers. Each person on the commission and the city council should be emailed by as many people as possible. At this stage of the game, it's our only hope.
By the way...the Fleming development is on the Planning Commission agenda for December 7th, at 6:30 pm and the City Council agenda for December 13th at 7:00 pm . In both cases, our issue is listed on the CONSENT CALENDAR, which lumps it in with a bunch of other proposals that do not get much, if any, individual consideration because they are recommended by the city staff and deemed to be ROUTINE! This is anything but routine to us, but it goes to show that to city officials, this is nothing more than a rubber-stamp process, IF WE DON'T SPEAK UP! There will be an opportunity for all of us to speak at the time the consent calendar is brought up.

NEIGHBORS MAKE STRONG SHOWING, ARGUE FOR SMALLER DEVELOPMENT

About 35 neighbors braved a Thursday night storm to voice their opposition to a proposal to build 18 homes on Fleming Avenue between Alum Rock Avenue and Neves Way. Neighbors stood shoulder to shoulder inside Len and Julie Ramirez' Fleming Avenue home to express concerns to Jim Sullivan of Braddock and Logan Group, the developer of the project, and Todd Rufo, Policy Advisor to City Councilmember Nora Campos. Neighbors said their biggest concerns are density, traffic and the danger the project would create for drivers and pedestrians as well as aesthetic and quality of life issues. Sullivan told the neighbors that his company is complying by San Jose General Plan development guidelines since the property would be annexed to the city of San Jose. Currently, the property of The Lord's Baptist Church is in county jurisdiction. Sullivan also said those guidelines stipulate that the project would have no major impact on traffic since it is less than 50 units. Neighbors strongly disagreed, pointing to photo enlargements displyed on a TV screen showing a 12-hundred foot traffic backup that occurs daily on Fleming Avenue as it is. Neighbors also made several suggestions to mitigate the problems, such as acquiring a lot on Clareview to build a second road outlet to the development, lowering the number of homes to be built, and/or creating buffers to lessen the impact of traffic and congestion. Rufo promised to make a detailed report of the meeting to Councilmember Campos, and neighbors were urged to write emails to their city and county representatives.
Neighbors concerned about this must speak up at the San Jose Planning Commission meeting, scheduled for December 7th at 7:00 pm in City Hall. More on this meeting coming soon.

NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING PLANNED

Mark December 1st, 2005 on your calendars. We have scheduled a meeting with a representative from Braddock and Logan regarding the development of the lot now occupied by The Lord's Baptist Church.
The meeting is set for Thursday, December 1st, 2005 at 7:00pm at our home, 158 Fleming Ave. This will be an important first meeting for neighbors concerned about this project. We will have a chance to let the developer know exactly what our concerns are, such as traffic, high density, and hear directly from them, what they plan to do in our neighborhood. Also attending the meeting will be the policy advisor to District 5 City Councilmember Nora Campos. Please check back to this blog for updated information. And please feel free to use this blog to write in your own questions or concerns in the comment area. Let's make our East Foothill neighborhood a better place to live!

IS THE FLEMING TRAFFIC JAM ABOUT TO GET WORSE?

If you're visiting this site, you've probably been stuck in the massive traffic jam that happens every weekday morning on Fleming Avenue. If not, let me clue you in. So many cars jam on to Fleming that traffic routinely backs up 11 to 12-hundred feet from Alum Rock Avenue. Sometimes the string of cars goes all the way back to Neves. What's going to happen if a developer builds 21 new houses right in the middle of this? Figuring two cars per household, that may be up to 42 more cars joining the line-up.

Click here for a slideshow on Fleming's traffic jam:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1963980577152606501&q=fleming

Please join other Fleming neighbors who would like to make our East Foothills a better place to live.
Attend a Planning Commission meeting on December 7th, @ 6:30 pm in City Hall.
Attend a City Council meeting on December 13th, @ 6:30 pm in City Hall.

BE INFORMED! SPEAK OUT!

Len and Julie Ramirez
lenramirez@aol.com
julcoram@aol.com

IS THIS IN FLEMING'S FUTURE?

Braddock and Logan are busy developing several lots in the East Foothills and turning them into crowded new neighborhoods. One that's nearing completion shown above is called "Capri" at Story and Clayton. Another called "Sundance" is at Alum Rock and Fleming next to The Jordan School. There is another one in the Warner Heights area, and of course, the newest proposal to put 18 to 21 homes on just 2.6 acres on the Fleming Avenue lot now occupied by The Lord's Baptist Church. Has this developer contacted any neighbors to explain their plans? I know they haven't contacted me, and I live right across the street from their Fleming Ave. site. The problem I see with Braddock and Logan's projects is that they build San Francisco-style density, right here in our East Foothills. Look at the homes above, you'd be lucky to get a Weber and a couple of lawn chairs in their backyards! They jam every home they can onto a lot, but do they even consider the traffic problems they are creating for their own new home-buyers not to mention the rest of us? Our old county roads were not designed to handle the traffic they carry now, and these new developments will only make it worse. It becomes a danger. How is this developer mitigating these problems? It's time we hold them accountable, and/or change zoning laws that allow these kind of runaway projects along narrow our county roads. Let's stop the overcrowding!

--Len and Julie Ramirez/158 Fleming Ave. lenramirez@aol.com

PLEASE SEND COMMENTS TO:

San Jose City Council District 5: District5@sanjoseca.gov

Project Mgr. Hadasa Lev in SJ Planning Division: hadasa.lev@sanjoseca.gov

FOR MORE DETAILS ON THE PLANS: http://www.sjpermits.org/(type in file numbers: PDC05-061, story 57, PD0567, or PT05-087 or the address 139 and 143 Fleming Ave.)

MORE ON THIS COMING SOON...CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES!

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICES SENT OUT

The San Jose Planning Department has just sent out these notices to Fleming Ave. neighbors announcing that there will be two public hearings on the proposal to cram 18-21 homes onto the 2.6 acre lot now occupied by The Lord's Baptist Church. Click on the above photo to read it. The first meeting is Wednesday, December 7th, 2005 at 6:30 pm with the Planning Commission. The second is Tuesday, December 13th at 7:00 pm with the City Council. Both meetings are at the new City Hall @ 4th and Santa Clara Street. There is ample free parking at that time of day in surrounding lots, but we are also planning to put together a carpool caravan. Details coming soon once we get a head count. Please email Julie Ramirez at julcoram@aol.com if you are interested. THIS IS ALL HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. WE MUST ORGANIZE TO FIGHT THIS DEVELOPMENT, OR LIVE WITH THE AFTERMATH. ATTEND THE MEETINGS, AND SPEAK OUT!

Development of The Lord's Baptist Church Lot

.

The San Jose Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on December 7th on the proposal by Braddock and Logan Group developers to build 18-21 homes at 139 and 145 Fleming Ave. on the lot now occupied by The Lord's Baptist Church on the west side of Fleming Avenue between Alum Rock and Neves. The church lot size is only 2.66 acres, meaning these homes will be crammed into relatively small lots, with only one outlet on to Fleming Ave. We are concerned that this development is too dense, will be out of character for the neighborhood (where existing lot sizes are much, much larger), and will significantly increase traffic congestion and danger on Fleming, which is already suffering from morning and afternoon traffic jams and speeding during off-peak times. The right kind of development, which respects the surrounding area, can enhance the neighborhood, and increase our property values. But done poorly, an overdeveloped site can have a negative impact on property values and the quality of life we have in our East Foothills neighborhood. As it is, the zoning allows 5 to 8 homes per acre. This proposal is at the extreme high end of what the law technically allows in the city of San Jose, however, this development should take into account that it borders county lands where less density is the custom. We would like to see this project scaled back. We urge all concerned neighbors to voice your concerns before it's too late and let the city know what kind of development you would like to see in this area. Let's become active in our neighborhood and make the East Foothills a better place to live. Please join us at a PUBLIC HEARING: December 7th, 2005, 6:30 pm San Jose Planning Commission, City Hall.

--Len and Julie Ramirez/158 Fleming Ave.
lenramirez@aol.com


PLEASE SEND COMMENTS TO:

San Jose City Council District 5:
District5@sanjoseca.gov

Project Mgr. Hadasa Lev in SJ Planning Division:
hadasa.lev@sanjoseca.gov

FOR MORE DETAILS ON THE PLANS:
http://www.sjpermits.org/(type in file numbers: PDC05-061, story 57, PD0567, or PT05-087 or the address 139 and 143 Fleming Ave.)

MORE ON THIS COMING SOON...CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES!

REAR ENDED & TOTALED!

This is what happened to our parked Ford Explorer on Fleming this year: