June 9, 2005

San Jose City Council approves rezoning land to build 25 homes

Residents worried about lack of parking, pedestrian safety at McAbee
Road entrance of Almaden Quicksilver County Park

By Sheila Sanchez
Staff Writer

The San Jose City Council voted unanimously on June 7 to rezone land in the Pierce Ranch neighborhood to allow construction of 25 single-family detached residences.

The new two-story homes will be built on 5.74 acres owned by longtime Almaden resident Anthony G. Pierce, who will sell the land to SummerHill Homes, the project’s developer.

The project’s lone speaker Tuesday night was Almaden resident David Armstrong. He wanted the council to include a provision in the rezoning recommendation guaranteeing the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department will purchase 3.18 acres adjacent to the land where the homes will be constructed to build a 75-car parking lot at the northwest corner of McAbee Road and Skyfarm Drive.

Armstrong, like many other residents who live in the Pierce Ranch area of Almaden Valley, said off-street parking is needed to accommodate users of Almaden Quicksilver County Park. These people park along McAbee Road and are now in danger of being hit by a car as they enter or exit the park.

“There’s a severe traffic safety problem that’s gone on for several years because all these cars are trying to park [at the McAbee Road entrance to park] but there’s no parking lot there,” Armstrong lamented.

Armstrong praised District-10 San Jose City Councilwoman Nancy Pyle’s leadership for bringing county, city and SummerHill Homes’ representatives together to build the parking lot. He asked the council to consider requiring the parking lot’s construction as part of the development project.

For her part, Pyle said her office has been working with San Jose planners to address the area’s parking challenges. “This is really a county responsibility,” Pyle noted. “The developer has said he would be willing to help … we’re working very hard. This is something we’ll be completing in the near future.”

“We hope they can put a parking lot there,” said Leonard Procker, a member of the Pierce Ranch Neighborhood Watch group, representing about 80 families who live near the planned development.

Without a parking lot, users will leave their vehicles along the streets of the new homes, Procker said.
Residents also indicate that the McAbee Road entrance to the park, although not an official gateway, is the place where many community events happen.

San Jose Principal Planner Jean Hamilton echoed Procker’s concerns. She said many park users are in danger of being hit by a car as they often encroach into the travel lane when they prepare for their activities.

Hamilton said the county is interested in acquiring the second parcel of land to build the parking lot, but it would be a separate project, which has not been environmentally studied.

The homes will cost upwards of $1 million. They will be between 2,700 and 3,800 square feet and will be constructed on 8,000-square-foot lots, consistent with the nearby neighborhood.

SummerHill Homes is expected to begin construction sometime this fall. If the parking lot is built, a prohibition against bicyclists would be lifted in accordance with the park’s master plan.