Meeting Minutes - April 8, 2003

In Attendance

UNC Board Members

Ken Podgorsek (CCA), Tom Clifton (CCA), Lisa Jensen (At Large), Sharon Wiley (SJSU), Beth Shafran-Mukai (At Large), Angela Harper (SJSU), Nancy Hickey (At Large), David Dudek (SUN), Judy Conner (At Large), David Guitierez (Income Property)

Guests

Laura Lam (District 3), Jenifer Vasquez (RDA), Mike Brillot (Planning), Pat Colombe (planning), Angela Stea (RDA), Armando Garza (RDA)

Board Members Absent

Elizabeth Lynch (at large)

Minutes

Ken Podgorsek made a motion to approved the January meeting minutes with amendments. The motion was seconded by Angela Harper. The January meeting minutes were approved.

Ken Podgorsek made a motion to approved the March meeting minutes with amendments. Tom Clifton seconded the motion. The March meeting minutes were approved.

The February meeting minutes were taken by the Civic Plaza Project Area Committee. UNC has not received the minutes yet and will continue the item until May.

Agenda

The agenda was amended to replace Neighborhood facade improvement update with a Top 10 Update - Jenifer Vasquez.

UNC Top Ten Update - Jenifer Vasquez

Bin Clean-Ups - Jenifer reported that each SNI area was to get one bin clean-up per year and the UNC had one in November. There was some discussion on bin clean-ups, with members stating that the annual bin clean-ups were supposed to be throughout the UNC, and not just a portion of it. Members also felt that annual bin clean-ups should be part of our general garbage collection fee and should not come out of SNI funds. Angela Harper requested a clean-up in August for the area around 10th and 11th.

UNC Accomplishments - Lisa Jensen

Lisa presented the list of UNC accomplishments over the several years.

Naming of the Park Issue - David Dudek

David reported that the South University Neighborhood is still discussing the preferred name for the Park at 6th and William street. Since they have been unable to agree on a name, they have developed a "road map" for deciding on the name. The May SUN meeting will have a brainstorming session to come up with potential names. At the July meeting, SUN will par down the list of names. Then, at the September meeting SUN will try to decide which name they prefer. The Parks and Recreation Department would like to get the name as soon as possible, so that it can be included in the planning documents.

671 S 11th St. Update - Lisa Jensen

Lisa reported that property owner Ray Ruiz planned to tear down the existing structure and develop a 4plex on the property. He later downgraded the proposed development to a triplex. The existing house on the property is historic but has been suffering from neglect. Historic Landmarks Commission recently added the existing house to the city's historic inventory. The architect is considering pulling the plan for the triplex and replacing it a proposal for a duplex. The site is zoned for a duplex. There was general agreement that a duplex that incorporated the existing structure would fit well with the surrounding homes.

Downtown Information Center - Armando Garza

Armando provided a description of the Downtown Information Center at 118 E Santa Clara St. (at the corner of E Santa Clara and 3rd). The center is staffed by PRNS and RDA personnel and has the following information available; 9x11 foot downtown model, Web station - with resource bookmarks, Project Fact Sheets, information on affordable housing, and information for small businesses. The center also has space available for neighborhood meetings. The center is open on Monday from 10 AM to 6 PM and on Tuesday through Saturday from 10 AM to 7 PM. They are also looking for volunteers to help staff the center.

SNI PAC Update - Beth Shafran-Mukai

Beth reported that SNI-PAC discussed SNI funding issues with Cindy Chavez, Susan Shick, and someone from the Mayor's staff. Currently all of the funding is on hold. There was discussion on the priorities for existing funds. Most high priority projects are commercial in nature and not neighborhood projects. The only SNI related item that is funded is the Tropicana Project. The SNI PAC wondered if that was the best use of these neighborhood funds.

SJ Med Center Update - Nancy Hickey

Nancy spoke at the Town Hall meeting on behalf of the UNC, asking how can the city grow downtown without a hospital? She also pointed out that UNC had placed keeping the Hospital in downtown as a priority. Many Diaz was present to promote his bill AB 910 and asking for letters of support. Both the city and county have committed $50,000 to study the impacts of closing the hospital. Lisa thanked Nancy for representing the UNC. David Dudek suggested that we should write letters of support for AB 910.

Outreach Policy Proposals - Pat Colombe

Planning wants to get early notification out for certain types projects. Planning will send out an email with links to the planning website that shows all of the pending projects.

Neighborhood Character Study Update - Pat Colombe

Neighborhood Character Study comes out of the original Revitalization plan. The goal was to get an understanding of the neighborhood character. This was done by performing the Historic Resources survey and then developing maps that outlined neighborhood character on a block by block basis. One map attempted to delineate blocks that were dominantly 50's box apartments (coral color) and blocks that were dominantly historic houses (blue color).

The neighborhood was concerned that this map could be used as redevelopment target. The concerns focused on the potential that some historical houses could be removed if they were listed in coral blocks. The UNC believes that single family homes must be preserved. If they can't be preserved then they should be moved within the neighborhood. Ken Podgorsek suggested adding additional layers to the maps to show houses that point high enough to be on the historic landmark list.

There was some discussion of developing historic districts within the neighborhoods. Ken pointed out that the homeowners must be included in the process. Homeowners need education on the benefits of being in a historic district.

Announcements

Angela Stea is leaving San Jose RDA and moving back to Canada.

SJSU Town and Gown Meeting, April 23 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Engineering Building, Rooms 285-287.

Motion to Adjorn by David Dudek, seconded by Tom Clifton, Adjorn 8:10