Willow Glen Resident
News
'Delmas Towers' ignore neighborhood's Strong Initiative goals
By Mayra Flores De Marcotte
Two 13-story towers planned off Delmas and Azurais avenues, near W. San Carlos Street, have some residents questioning whether the development is consistent with the existing neigborhood.
More than 30 neighbors attended a community meeting Jan. 31 to speak out against what they have dubbed the "Delmas Towers."
The project was so contentious that developer Next Group agreed to come back on Feb. 11 to discuss alternatives but never showed up.
Next Group did not return phone calls.
"Although they are from San Jose, they haven't build anything like this in the past," said San Jose Planner Ron Edo. "Their inexperience shows through how they handle themselves."
The project includes the construction of twin tower condominiums up to 140 feet in height and approximately 164 units on a 2-acre site.
Parking for the project would be provided by a shared sunken parking garage. The buildings would step down at the edges to relate to the existing residential neighborhood.
Neighbors, however, are concerned that the proposal ignores their vision for the area, said San Jose Planner Ron Edo.
The Delmas Park Neighborhood is part of the city's Strong Neighborhoods Initiative, a program intended to build community leadership by encouraging residents to form neighborhood priorities.
"When the NAC was formed, neighbors worked with the city to make sure any future developments were respectful to the single- family homes in our neighborhood," said resident Kathy Sutherland. "The plan is very specific: five to six stories along San Carlos and Delmas dropping down toward the single-family homes."
Sutherland said neighbors realized early on that their neighborhood was in a prime location for redevelopment and are not opposed to high-density projects.
"We just want something that's appropriate," Sutherland said.
Delmas Park Neighborhood Advisory Council president Jodene Perrin-Gill echoed Sutherland's concerns.
"The height is out of the question," Perrin-Gill said. "These towers will cut off sunlight to all and are imposing for single-family residences. The design is not compatible with the historic architecture of the neighborhood."
Delmas Park residents have a neighborhood vision plan filed with the planning department and were upset because the proposal ignores the plan, Edo said. The project is too tall and too dense, neighbors say.
"Their vision for the area calls for high-density residential up to five stories high," Edo said. "The residents asked why the developer didn't propose a project that matched their Top 10 priority specifications, and the developer did not have a satisfactory answer."
Other concerns brought up at the meeting included parking and open space.
"Right now, parking is tight," Edo said. "It's already limited on the street and neighbors are concerned this new project will only add more cars onto the street."
According to the city, the required amount of parking for a podium clustering housing project like Delmas Towers depends on the number of bedrooms in each unit, Edo said. One-bedroom units are required to provide 1.5 spaces, two bedroom units must have 1.8 and three bedroom units must have two spaces.
The parking requirements may change, however, because the developer has filed a rezoning application, Edo said.
Along with parking, the city requires these types of housing projects to provide a minimum of 60 square feet of open private space and 100 square feet of common open space per unit.
"From the presentation, it appeared that they were a little bit short on the common open space," Edo said. "Neighbors were especially concerned about the children that may come in with this project; there should be a place to play."
The project is being redesigned and the developer will be resubmitting designs, Edo said. "They're starting over, but they still want a tall building along Delmas. They're just reconfiguring it."
