Dear Mayor Kamei and Members of the City Council,

Mountain View YIMBY supports staff’s recommendation on Item 6.1 Density Bonus Ordinance, though we believe staff’s recommendation would be improved by slightly modifying §36.48.80(5)(d).

City staff deserves credit for crafting such smart tweaks to the city’s density bonus law, as their tweaks would make our density bonus law clearer, simpler, and easier to administer. With these improvements, affordable homes can be built faster, and city staff will be freed up to spend more time on council’s legislative priorities. The proposed changes were well-received by the Environmental Planning Commission, and we hope you agree with them as well.

To the Environmental Planning Commission:

Mountain View YIMBY, a local volunteer advocacy group, expresses enthusiastic support for the proposed project at 555 West Middlefield. We like this project because:

• It is a no-displacement project that adds 329 new homes in place of surface parking!
• 15% of on-site below market rate homes!
• Walking distance to downtown, Caltrain, and a grocery store, and right next to Stevens Creek trail this site provides a great location to lead a car-free lifestyle to the residents.
• New pedestrian and bike path connection from Cypress Point Drive to W Middlefield makes Stevens Creek trail more easily accessible to the neighbors living south of Cypress Point Drive. Further bike and pedestrian improvements along Moffett Boulevard to the north and west of this project would be most welcome!
• The 1.34 acres of land dedicated for a new park will be a welcome addition to the neighborhood, creating a space for socializing.
• The developer has listened to community feedback and made an effort to line up the residential frontage facing Cypress Point Drive with existing trees or parking lots to the south of Cypress Point Drive in order to minimize the impact to privacy of neighbors to the south of that street.
• The developer has made an effort to preserve as many heritage trees, transplanting some more and planting additional trees to make up for the ones they are requesting to remove.

We hope that you recommend a hasty approval of this project to the council!

To the Environmental Planning Commission:

Mountain View YIMBY, a local volunteer advocacy group, expresses strong support for Google’s proposed Middlefield Park Master Plan.

The opportunity to add 1,675 to 1,900 new homes, with a target of 20% below market rate makeup in a mixed-use setting, right next to jobs is quite exciting!

• This master plan has the potential to create a one-of-a-kind community that affords residents a car-free lifestyle and easy access to high paying tech jobs and their associated service jobs in Mountain View.
• The 10.5 acres of public parkland dedication will provide a pleasant place for the members of this community to destress and socialize.
• The $19M of community benefit package being offered in exchange for bonus FAR will be valuable to the city.

We also have some constructive feedback that we’d hope for you to take into consideration:

Dear Mayor Abe-Koga and Members of the City Council,

Mountain View YIMBY would like to share our vision for Item 8.1 R3 Zoning District Update.

Overall, we would like to see the city adopt changes to the R3 zoning that make it more flexible, feasible, and predictable in terms of both the total fees and timing of the process. We think this can be achieved via a form-based code. More specifically, we would like to see:

Mountain View YIMBY sends its regards to Mayor Adrian Fine of Palo Alto, who declined to seek re-election this year. Adrian, we wish you all the best in your future endeavors, and we will miss having you as an ally.

We share the sentiments Adrian expressed in this interview with The Six Fifty in October. We appreciate the shout-out to our city of Mountain View, but we need to keep up the momentum and keep up the pressure on our neighboring cities to build more!

Dear Mayor Abe-Koga and Members of the City Council,

Mountain View YIMBY would like to make comments about Item 3.1 Lot 12 Remaining Development Priorities.

Since Lot 12 is owned by the city, it represents a finite and valuable resource.We think the city could make the best use of this opportunity by not limiting the number of units to 120.

Furthermore, given the financial impact of COVID on future budgets and the increased risk of homelessness, we believe that the city should utilize Measure A funding sources to close the financial gap in Lot 12 funding and create much needed Permanently Supportive Housing and Rapid Rehousing infrastructure for the city.

We’ve completed our endorsement process. For Mountain View City Council, we’re endorsing

Other Endorsements

• No on Measure C
• Yes on Prop 15

Mountain View City Council

Alex Núñez

Alex Núñez is a strong housing and anti-displacement advocate in Mountain View. He supports building affordable housing for low- and middle-income workers; exploring additional business taxes to support BMR construction; and a strong Right of Return policy coupled with No-Net-Loss development standards.

Dear Mountain View City Council:

Dear Mayor Abe-Koga and the members of council, The Mountain View chapter of South Bay YIMBY appreciates the opportunity to comment on Agenda Item 3.1. Displacement Response Strategy Update.

We’ve read the Staff report and we support its recommendations. We find especially important the emphasis on Acquisition/Preservation Program. We encourage the City Council to award the grant for developing the options for sustainable funding for this program as soon as possible and to consider a wide range of funding sources.

Dear Mountain View City Council:

I am writing to support the gatekeeper development request (item 6.1 on Tuesday’s agenda). There are many families who live or work in Mountain View who desperately need (I do not use that word lightly) the proposed 105 below-market-rate units. Public Storage’s proposed land donation is commendable, and would set a wonderful precedent of cooperation. And I’m sure that Council is already aware that the site is conveniently located near both employment centers and the future transit artery on Shoreline.

Mountain View City Council

We’re beginning our endorsement process, stay tuned for endorsements in the 2020 Mountain View Council Election.

If you’re a candidate interested in early endorsement, please contact us: hello@mvyimby.com

State Legislation

At Mountain View YIMBY, we’re excited to endorse Prop 15, which closes corporate property tax loopholes.