October 26, 2004
Environmental Planning Commission
City of Mountain View
500 Castro St.
Mountain View, CA 94041
Subject: Mayfield Mall redevelopment
November 17, 2004 Environmental Planning Commission meeting
Dear Chair Lesti and commissioners:
We would like to express our continued interest in the redevelopment of the Mayfield Mall site. Attached is our November 18, 2003 letter to Mayor Kasperzak and City Council that explains our support for the “smart reuse” of this site according to smart growth principles.
The Mayfield site, a former retail mall turned office park, now vacant, adjacent to a Caltrain commuter rail station and near the regional San Antonio Shopping Center, is a excellent site to apply the principles laid out in the Sierra Cub California’s Urban Growth Policy Management Guidelines. (www.sierraclubcalifornia.org/policies/growth.shtml).
The Loma Prieta chapter is committed to preservation of wild, open spaces. We also acknowledge the housing crisis affecting the entire Bay Area, and recognize the need to construct additional housing to meet this demand. Therefore, we feel it imperative that old malls and office parks be 'recycled' into livable neighborhoods with access to alternative transportation, parks, and retail services.
We are especially interested in this site because of its proximity to Caltrain, a regional rail system that has been enjoying resurgence in ridership despite the economic downturn. However, with rail stations now receiving service proportionate to their usage, we feel it is in the best interests of the greater north Mountain View/south Palo Alto region to ensure that a transit oriented development replace the Hewlett Packard office park.
Above all, we wish to make clear that we do not want this site to remain zoned for commercial uses, but want to see it rezoned to allow for compact residential or mixed-use development. A model for redevelopment lies just across from Mayfield. The Crossings, nationally renowned transit oriented development, is composed of a creative mix of apartments, row houses, single family homes, public open spaces, and neighborhood serving retail and service establishments.
The Sierra Club looks forward to becoming more engaged in the process that will determine the ultimate reuse of the old Mayfield Mall property.
Sincerely,
Irvin Dawid cc: Mayor Matt Pear, City of Mountain View
Sustainable Land Use committee/Chair Mayor Bern Becham, City of Palo Alto
Loma Prieta chapter, Sierra Club Enc: Sierra Club letter to Mayor Kasperzak, 11/18/03
http://lomaprieta.sierraclub.org/slu
3921 E. Bayshore Rd, #204, Palo Alto, CA 94303 (voice) 650-390-8411