During the WGNA meeting Oct. 9 held at the Willow Glen United Methodist Church, Jim Stull, who lives on Mildred Avenue, sought the association's support in opposing Mildred Avenue resident Travis Hoopes' plans to build the houses on the properties. Stull helped organize a neighborhood meeting at his home on Sept. 29, at which residents discussed strategies for opposing the project. Neighbors believe that Hoopes' proposed designs may create traffic problems and noise and fail to meet the neighborhood's aesthetic standards.

"We believe that by working with the neighbor we can come to a compromise," Stull said.

Hoopes did not attend the Sept. 28 meeting, but he attended the Oct. 9 meeting. He said he was made more fully aware of his neighbors' concerns when he read about the issue in The Willow Glen Resident and began to receive a large number of requests and complaints in his mail.

Stull said that after the Sept. 29 neighborhood meeting, Hoopes expressed in an email to the neighbors and to those on the WGNA mailing list his interest in discussing his plans and offered to meet with neighbors on Oct. 26 at his Mildred Avenue house.

On Oct. 9 several Mildred Avenue residents packed the church's meeting room and some turned the discussion into a question-and-answer session.

Some residents took Hoopes to task on whether he intends to build five houses on the two lots. Hoopes said that he believes he was going through the proper procedures with the city's redevelopment agency.

"If the city finds it feasible," Hoopes said, "I would like to build the maximum amount of houses the city will allow."

WGNA President John Gibbs said it would be premature for the association to take sides but did offer to meet with Hoopes and Stull prior to the Oct. 26 meeting to work out a format for the meeting.

"At this point I think the most constructive dialogue will be between the builder and the neighborhood," Gibbs said.

The board did not vote to take action.

Following the Hoopes discussion, a Willow Glen resident who declined to be identified presented the directors with three city maps with darkened areas over city streets indicating flood areas. The presenter said that the maps haven't been updated since 1982 and that the city is deliberately using outdated information to justify forcing some residents to pay flood insurance.

The presenter asked the WGNA board do three things: to get Willow Glen out of the city's flood insurance requirements, to push to make paying flood insurance voluntary, just like paying earthquake or fire insurance, and to pressure the city to update its flood area maps.

Gibbs offered to have the WGNA contact Rep. Zoe Lofgren. Board member Harold Schapelhouman said that it would be more feasible to have the maps updated rather than have flood lines redrawn, since the 1982 maps do not include recent developments with highway walls, which he said have a major impact on where flood water flows.

Board member Jim Gardner motioned to contact the water district for advice and the board voted unanimously to do so. The presenter wasn't satisfied with the board's response.

"We're all going to be dead of old age by the time the city gets around to even thinking about making changes," he said. "They're all getting rich off the insurance money."

Next, landlord Bill Ellington addressed the board to warn of problems he and other landlords might encounter if the city adopts a "just cause" eviction ordinance.

"Just cause" requires landlords to prove in a legal court that tenants are not meeting lease requirements or are misbehaving before such tenants can be evicted.

"If I can't get rid of some bad tenants who may be using their homes to do drugs or engage in some other illegal activity," Ellington warned, "then I'm going to lose my good tenants." He also said that law-abiding tenants would be scared away. "With just cause, the landlord has lost his tool to get rid of bad tenants."

The board did not take action but said it would keep Ellington's concern in mind.

Under old business, First Vice President Helen Solinski reported on the Longs Drugs store scheduled to open on Lincoln Avenue in November. She said that water service will be installed the week of Oct. 7 and that merchandise will begin to be shelved Oct. 21.

Later, board secretary Margaret Hardy said the problem of transients squatting in the Safeway and Rite-Aid parking lot on Hamilton Avenue was resolved soon after she confronted the Rite-Aid assistant manager. She said the assistant manager contacted the proper city authorities and that the transients have evacuated.

The next WGNA meeting is scheduled for Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. at Willow Glen United Methodist Church. For more information, contact WGNA at P.O. Box 7766, San Jose, 95151-7706, call 408.294.9462 or visit www.wgna.net.