King & Lyons Moving Forward

Where it is: Northwest corner of Dixon Landing Road and
Interstate 880 in Fremont, near the Newby Island Compost 
Facility

What it was: Vacant land.

What's going on: Barbara Meerjans, a Fremont senior
planner, said landowner King & Lyons' original plan to
build a business park across about 45 acres has changed.
In September, the developers filed a proposal for a
490,000-square-foot retail project. "We are in the early
stages of beginning the environmental impact report for
this proposed development," she said.
The plan calls for extending Fremont Boulevard from where
it ends south of Lakeview Boulevard to Dixon Landing Road.
Meerjans said the developers already have approvals to grade
and develop the site, of which 100 acres was donated to
the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
to be restored as wetlands.When it is: The project will go to the Planning Commission
for consideration,likely in 2008.

Similar to: Pacific Commons.


 

Part 2, 3, and 4 Housing/Mixed-use, Recreation, and Fremont

1. Should the City of Fremont build more Mixed-use Development or more Multi-family homes?
More Mixed-use Development 63.6% 7
More Multi-family homes 36.4% 4
The winner is: More Mixed-use Development

2. What type of housing do you want in the City Of Fremont?
Condo 20.0% 2
Apartment 30.0% 3
Townhouse 60.0% 6
Multi-family 60.0% 6

The Winner is: Townhouse and Multi-family

1. What type of Park do you visit beside Fremont and California? Tell what you enjoys their park. Should they have in Fremont? Please describe their park and are they beautiful?

1. None. We only visit other areas to fish.
2. Coyote Hills Park. A natural Wild Life habitate with Foxes, Egrets, Swamp Hawkes. The City of Fremont is allowing development of the Coyote Hills Natural Area. The process has just started, there is still time to STOP IT. http://www.protectcoyotehills.org/vision.htm
3. state parks wilderness
4. none
5. Boston, they are clean, quiet, grass, no playground, clean lake, and go for walking. Band pavilions during 8-10 p.m. nighttime
6. Water Park
7. Newark's Aquatic Center, Not necessary but already in the works. dog park in North Fremont would be nice. We use the one in Union City - its well done.
8. Fremont has enough parks.

2. What are you Concern of Recreation in City Of Fremont? What kind of Recreation do you want in Fremont?
1. Don't use the recreation programs.
2. Please, no more ballparks that are rarely used. More passive parks, Naturalist parks
3. bike riding,hiking
4. it's lousy
5. Clean the Ducks poops, more light for night walk for Lake Elizabeth, and Water Park Expansion instead of 7 acres, but more acres 7 or more.
6. ball field

3. Should they build Water Park in Fremont? Not available

1. What should the City turn into?
Urban 41.7% 5
Suburban 33.3% 4
Small feel Town 25.0% 3
The winner is: Urban

Fremont Future Part 1 (Retail)

1. Do you want more retail in Fremont?
Yes, we need more Retail 50.0% 6
No Need 50.0% 6

The response is: Tie

2. What kind of Retail should the City of Fremont build?
Shopping Mall 44.4% 4
Mixed-use 66.7% 6
Shopping Center(Pacific Commons) 33.3% 3

The winner is: Mixed-use

3. Which one is most important in Fremont? (3 Most important, 2 important, 1 Not important)

Nordstrom 66.7% (8)
Bloomingdales 63.6% (7)
Mall 63.6% (7) Higher-end Retail 63.6% (7)
Cheap Store 2.7% (8)
Apparel 50.0% (6)

Everyone response: 1 Not important

4. What kind of store should they have in Fremont? (Banana Republic, Gap, American Eagle Outfitters, and etc). What type of department store should they have in Fremont? (Sears, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Macys, etc). List as many as you want.

1. More high end like Banana Republic
2. birkenstock
3. more independent retailers of all sorts.
4. None that I can think of right now
5. Whole Foods
6. outfitters Kmart
7. big and tall
8. Any Retail from the mall any upscale retail.
9. Nordstrom, Banana Republic, American Eagle, PacSun
10. WHOLE FOODS

City faces budget shortfall

With its finances teetering back into the red, city officials are implementing several measures to keep its budget balanced.

Slowing property and sales tax revenue is forcing the city to implement a selective hiring freeze, delay allocating $2 million toward the Downtown/Capitol Avenue redevelopment plan and institute accounting changes to keep money in its general fund.

Without the cost-saving measures, officials said, the city would have faced a budget shortfall this fiscal year and the loss of its entire $11.2 million rainy day reserve fund by the end of next fiscal year.

Despite the budget crunch, Fremont's finances still are in much better shape than during the dot-com bust when it eliminated more than 200 positions and cut a fifth of its budget, officials said.

The city has no plans to reinstitute rotating fire station brownouts, and already has filled 10 vacant firefighter positions and seven police officer positions. "I don't see any dramatic (service) changes," City Manager Fred Diaz said.

Police Chief Craig Steckler said he has been asked to trim his budget by

1 percent this year, which could force him not to fill police officer positions that become vacant.

Whether the city has to initiate more cuts could depend on the state, which, facing its own $14 billion shortfall, could choose to hold on to sales tax revenue usually passed along to cities.

The city's next budget update, which could include additional

cost-saving measures, is scheduled for February.

This year marks Fremont's second consecutive December budget surprise.

Last year, one month after voters rejected a utility tax ballot measure, city leaders announced an unexpected

$6 million windfall that was used in part to boost police and fire department staffing.

This year's news that revenue is lower than expected comes six months after the city approved new contracts with all its unions, including 6 percent pay raises this year and next year for police officers and firefighters.

Diaz said he has no regrets about employee raises, which accounted for $1.9 million in new expenditures this fiscal year.

"(The city) entered into (negotiations) with the best information we had at that time," he said.

Diaz attributed mistakes in recent budget forecasts to a "volatile" marketplace. "I've never seen an economy so hard to predict," he said.

Property and sales tax revenue increased last year, but not at the rate city officials had projected. Slumping revenue growth at the end of the last fiscal year left the city with $2.4 million less than anticipated, according to a city report.

Property tax revenue, which constitutes about one-third of city revenue, was slowed by fewer home sales, stagnant home prices and increased property tax delinquencies, officials said.

Much of the sales tax reductions were related to the slumping housing market, Fremont Finance Director Harriet Commons said. Sales tax revenue was down for appliances, home furnishings and construction supplies, she said.

If revenue had continued to slump without the cost-saving measures, she added, Fremont's operating budget deficit would have been $11.4 million this fiscal year and $6.7 million next year.

Several of the budget-balancing measures are accounting changes. The city is postponing the transfer of $2.8 million from its general fund to its risk management fund and is delaying the allocation of $2.3 million for retiree medical benefits, a major unfunded liability.

The delay in funding $2 million toward the Capitol Avenue development won't prevent the city and the developer from moving ahead with facets of the project, Diaz said.

City Council members were not sounding alarm bells about the budget crunch at a Tuesday workshop. "This is manageable," Mayor Bob Wasserman said comparing it to the dot-com bust. "And the right steps are being taken to match it."

New Restaurant Open Soon and Coming Soon

Open Soon

370 Dessert will open January 1, 2008. Pacific Commons
Carino’s Italian Grill will open Monday, December 10, 2007
9 a.m. Pacific Commons

Coming Soon
Asian Pearl (Under Construction)Chinese Food, Dim Sum, and
Seafood Restaurant. Pacific Commons
French Bakery (No Construction)Unknown. 
Pacific Commons
Cyclo Cafe (Under Construction)Coffee, Snack, and Juice Bar. 
The Globe, Saigon Village, next to East West Bank
Federico's Cafe & Bistro (Under Construction) Unknown.
Downtown Fremont, next to Baskin Robbin

Council approves Mission project

Acting against the wishes of a standing-room-only crowd, the City Council has approved a six-story development heralded as a gateway to Mission San Jose and suggested that Fremont's days of suburban sprawl development are coming to a close.

In a 4-1 vote taken after nearly two hours of public comment Tuesday night, the council approved a mix of 158 condominiums and retail shops on an undeveloped 12-acre parcel at Sabercat and Durham roads, just east of Interstate 680.

The project had galvanized neighbors — 600 people signed petitions against it — who argued that its buildings towered above the surrounding single-family homes; its location adjacent to an earthquake fault, power lines and underground gas pipes posed major safety hazards; and its 300 residents would exacerbate traffic congestion on Auto Mall Parkway.

Neighborhood opposition also was fierce last month when the Planning Commission rejectedthe project — a decision the council effectively overturned.

In siding with San Jose-based developer Michael Luu, council members cited the specter of global warming and projected state population growth to support their decision for taller, more densely populated developments, even near neighborhoods comprised of single-family homes.

"In the time that I've been in Fremont, the population has doubled — and it's going to double again, whether you like it or not," Mayor Bob Wasserman said. "Fremont is going to see

"In the time that I've been in Fremont, the population has doubled — and it's going to double again, whether you like it or not," Mayor Bob Wasserman said. "Fremont is going to see high-rises, it's going to see street cars — all the things we said we never wanted."

---

high-rises, it's going to see street cars — all the things we said we never wanted."

"The question in my mind," said Councilmember Bob Wieckowski, who brought up global warming, "is do we make a decision to move forward with something that has some benefit ... or do we continue with the standard development plan?"

Councilmember Anu Natarajan cast the dissenting vote. She said the project didn't fit the neighborhood and was too far from public transit to earn support on environmental grounds.

Opponents didn't rule out challenging the council's vote in court.

Most nearby residents would have supported a smaller development that, project opponent Ravi Pathman said, wouldn't have further clogged roads and strained city services.

"The council voted for development at any cost," Pathman said. "They want to be a big city and bring in the (Oakland) A's, but they can't provide basic services."

Luu said he was ready to work with neighbors on the project's retail component, which is slated to include a high-end grocery store.

"This project represents what the future of Mission San Jose will be," he said.

Luu hopes to break ground no later than this summer and expects the project to take about 18 months to complete.

The city approved a 105,000-square-foot shopping center for the site in 2000, but that project never moved forward.

Luu took control of the property three years ago and began work on the current plan, which will include a 55,334 square feet of commercial and retail space in four main structures on 12.2 acres, health club, 158 condos, a park and nearly 700 parking spaces. The four main structures would be 65 feet tall with a 20-foot tower on top, signifying a gateway to the Mission San Jose neighborhood.

City, schools continue talks about developer impacts

In an effort to solve the puzzle of surging enrollment and fees that developers should pay to compensate for added students, Fremont City Council and Fremont Unified School District's Board of Education will begin discussing the situation at every quarterly joint meeting.

The two panels met Nov. 19 to finish a previous discussion cut short at a joint meeting on May 27.

At that meeting, the district presented several options to balance student enrollment at all of its campuses.

Options included redistricting school attendance boundaries, setting up new classrooms and facilities, eliminating class-size reduction or placing schools on multi track, year-round schedules.

In addition, the panels were supposed to discuss developer impact fees, but due to prior commitments, some board members claimed to have, discussions did not occur.

On Monday, school board members voiced concerns over plans for the Patterson Ranch development near the Coyote Hills, which had been presented to the city council Nov. 13.

Many board members said they were worried that when the development enters the construction phase, 800 homes proposed would be completed and filled well before any planned elementary school is built.

Boardmember Lara York was also concerned with the proposed distance of the school from the residential units.

Developers have proposed building the homes in the project all on the eastern side of Ardenwood Boulevard, while the school, parks and open space areas would be on the western side.

"We're trying to make elementary schools that are walkable for many students," York said. "We do have concerns with residential units on one side of Ardenwood and a school and churches on the other.

"We want to make sure that if residential can be built, so can a school," she added. "Having that assurance is important."

Board members reiterated that if homes were built before a school, students generated from the development would be forced to attend nearby schools like Forest Park Elementary School, which school officials say is already facing overcrowding.

The board said it did not want that to happen.

Boardmember Larry Sweeney noted the proposed footprint for the school in the Oakland Athletics' Ballpark Village plans. He said the team has proposed a four-acre site for the school.

However, Sweeney suggested four acres ideally weren't enough for an 800-student elementary school. He added many campuses in the district are at least seven acres in size to accommodate the school, play areas and parking.

Sweeney implored the city to work with the district in possibly convincing the A's to increase campus acreage.

"When it comes to school size and footprints, we ask the council to look at the school board as a full partner," he said. "If we don't get what we need at the beginning it will be a burden to the district, as well as the taxpayer."

Councilwoman Anu Natarajan suggested the district consider multi-story buildings on its campuses to combat the small footprint of the new school site.

School board President Nina Moore said the district was looking into that option for the A's ballpark village campus. She added the district would also install multi-story modular rooms at Warm Spring Elementary School because there is no room for students at that campus.

Vice Mayor Bob Wieckowski said developer impact fees are a main source of funding for school districts, and wanted to know if there was any other option to help with funding besides the district's proposed alternatives or a bond measure.

Wieckwoski recalled Proposition 13, which voters approved in 1978 to set limits to property taxes and to deny future increases. Property taxes are another funding source for school districts, and without increases, funding is the same each year.

"Maybe we need to start thinking about a bond measure," he said.

Moore responded by saying that a bond measure would not be beneficial to all district constituents.

"One challenge we face is that we are not overcrowded all over town," she said. "That's why we won't get all our voters to approve new buildings, because some of (the buildings) won't help them.

"We need to communicate with the city that a message needs to be given to developers that some areas in Fremont just have no room for more students," she added.

Both panels agreed that meeting quarterly instead of semi-annually to discuss the issue would help solve the problem more efficiently.

"As a result of quarterly meetings, I'd like to see a plan of action," Councilman Steve Cho said. "It's nice to get together and talk about (the problem), but we need to take action so we know we have the tools to deal with these issues."

Mayor Bob Wasserman said an option might be to go to the state level for advice.

"I think the next time we have a meeting on this topic, we should invite our local legislators," Wasserman said. "The best we can do is to keep going around in circles, and we don't have the means to solve this. If we want to solve this, we ought to ask those who have the means, and they're at the state level."