OQRA Santa Clara District 5 2020 Election Forum

Hi All,

OQRA is sponsoring an Election Forum on Wednesday, September 30th, at 7pm online via Zoom.

District 5 council candidates, and OQRA Board Members Suds Jain, and Bob O’Keefe will be joining myself for this night of discussion.

Please register for the event, and don’t forget to vote.

-Jonathon Evans

President OQRA

Registration link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9J0iggfRSDah-t45Y4yFSA

Thank You - Gateway Crossings

Thank you everyone for your support at the Tuesday Night Council Meeting and during the process.

The Gateway Crossings Project was approved on Tuesday with a unanimous vote from the Council.

While OQRA feels this project is one that did not ultimately meet the standards Santa Clara should be striving to achieve with new developments, we hope that this shows developers that they need to propose fabulous projects with community benefits. Everyone's involvement helped make this project much better than the developer’s initial offering.

All of the following changes were achieve through efforts of the OQRA and members of the community, most of which came after the December Council Meeting:

  • Community Space for PAL, with 35 year lease for $1/month

  • Tavern on the Green

  • Additional Linear Park

  • Hotel in Phase 1

  • (50) Additional Hotel Rooms

  • Hotel Amenities Added

    • Conference space

    • Meeting rooms

  • Hotel Roof-Top Restaurant/Bar

  • Additional 20,000 sq/ft of Neighborhood Retail

  • Consolidated Retail Along Main Block

  • Density of Housing Units Increased to 1556

  • Improved Project Accessibility from the Train Station

We want to thank everyone for their support, these improvements would not have been achieved without all of you.

Gateway Crossings Update and Community Action

//Originally created as newsletter on July 3rd, 2019

OQRA needs your letters to City Council and your attendance at the upcoming City Council Meeting (Tuesday July 9th, 2019 at 6 pm) to let Council know Santa Clara needs to reject the Gateway Crossings proposal

Community Actions

History

Many of you came out to the City Council meeting on May 21, 2019 to oppose the project proposal. (Previous communication here http://mailchi.mp/c3b96655a0a3/20190520-letterfromthepresident). After hearing our concerns, our City Council decided to continue the project and asked the developer for a project redesign centered around walkability, retail feasibility, and transit oriented development design.

This project will be reviewed by the City Council again next week (Tuesday July 9th, 2019 at 6 pm). Some changes have been made, but the design falls short of what a good project should be. We will send out more details in the next few days, but we have three main areas of concerns we want to address.

Areas of Concern

  • A good project should create a true Gateway to Downtown Santa Clara

    • This is the most transit rich site in Santa Clara with Caltrain, ACE Train, Amtrak, VTA bus hub, free shuttle to San Jose Airport, and future BART stop.

    • A good project should give transit riders, office workers, and Avaya Stadium event attendees reasons to stop in Santa Clara to investigate and explore the area instead of passing through to our closest transit neighbors in San Jose and Sunnyvale.

    • A good project should leverage the City’s placemaking efforts from the last couple of years to create an urban village with dynamic retail and public amenities that complements the great Downtown to come.

  • A good project should have viable retail spaces

    • At the June 12, 2019 Planning Commission Study Session, the retail expert stated that brick and mortar retail is not going away, it is evolving https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiEnYqXOhw0

    • When retail fails, it is because it is built as an afterthought with spaces that are not usable and unattractive.

    • A good project should have retail spaces that are clustered together to amplify foot traffic.

    • The spaces should be flexible to accommodate for a variety of services.

      • Each space should be at least 16ft wide, 50-60ft deep, with pillars at least 20ft apart.

      • Proper ventilation and space for a grease trap is needed to adapt retail spaces into neighborhood restaurants.

    • Public space should be set aside to accommodate for temporary retail venues such as food trucks, kiosks, and popup shops should the appetite for retail increases.

    • The proposed project does not consider any of the factors listed above.

  • A good project should have great walkability

    • The proposed design centers around a hotel and 4 large podium deck buildings with sides up to 2 football fields long. These do not provide much ground level connectivity.

    • The Old Quad grid serves as an amazing template to a highly walkable neighborhood. With blocks spanning between 250’ - 300’, our neighborhood provides great opportunities to roam and explore.

    • Dividing the large podium decks would allow shorter blocks, making the site more walkable and inviting. Santa Clara has watched El Camino Real being developed with large wastelands of housing and no amenities. As we try to correct the errors along El Camino Real, we need to stop projects that would replicate those errors.


This is a chance for us to hold out for the right project, and not take the first one we are offered.

We are counting on you to help us amplify the message that Santa Clara is done with repeating the mistakes of the past. We Santa Clarans believe our city can become the leader of great urban design in the region and we are serious about paving the path to revitalize our Downtown.

Please pass this on to your friends and neighbors who would like to see fabulous projects spring up in our city. We look forward to seeing your letters, and most importantly you, at the City Council Meeting next Tuesday at 6 pm. Let's show everyone this is “The Center of What's Possible”!

New OQRA Officers for 2019

At the OQRA General Meeting held on February 16th, 2019, the following officers were voted in:

2019 OQRA Board Members:
Adam Thompson - President
Jonathon Evans - Vice President
Bob O’Keefe - Treasurer
Janet Stevenson - Secretary
Mark Kelsey - Member-at-Large
Patricia Leung - Member-at-Large

New OQRA Officers for 2018

At the OQRA General Meeting held on February 24th, 2018, the following officers were voted in:

2018 OQRA Board Members:
Adam Thompson-President
Suds Jain- Vice President
Judy Tucker-Treasurer
Janet Stevenson-Secretary
Mark Kelsey- Member-at-Large

Other activities at the General Meeting:

Each nominee introduced themselves and their role on board. Ballots distributed and members voted. 21 ballots collected. All nominees received 21 “yes” votes.
Topics:
1) Tracy from the Mission Library gave a presentation about the renovations being done at the Mission Library.
2) Santa Clara University Presentation. Chris Shay gave a presentation regarding status of projects at SCU. He introduced OQRA to new President Mike Crowley. He stated he felt it was important for SCU to have a good relationship with neighborhood.
3) Allie Cionco. Off campus area coordinator at SCU, discussed her role as a liaison between students, SCPD, and Old Quad neighborhood. Tessa, student body representative at SCU was also present and expressed desire to be involved with OQRA.
4) Janet announced three upcoming events (Easter Egg Hunt, Lawn Bowling and Parade of Champions) and requested volunteers.
5) Adam gave update on Prometheus project. Project has been approved by HLC and will be going before Planning Commission and City Council soon. Adam states developer has been asked to grant an easement to city on a section of land which is located on Franklin Street in exchange for residents support of 344 units.
Meeting adjourned

The Old Quad Residents Association is pleased to announce the call for Board nominations for 2018

Open positions for 2018 Board of Directors are:

  1. President

  2. Vice-President

  3. Treasurer

  4. Secretary

  5. Member at large - Neighborhood University Relations

  6. Member at large - Newsletter

  7. Member at large - Website / Social Media

  8. Member at large - Social Events

  9. Member at large – Political Action

Remember, the deadline to submit nominations for the Old Quad Residents Association Board of Directors are due on or before February 1st, 2018 to the Secretary - contactoqra@gmail.com
 

Annual General Meeting & Elections
9:00 am
February 24th, 2018
Womans Club Adobe
3260 The Alameda

Taking Nominations for OQRA board until Jan 27

Call for Board Nominations


The Old Quad Residents Association is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the 2017 Board of Directors.

Open positions for 2017 Board of Directors Old Quad Residents Associations:
1.   President
2.   Vice-President
3.  Treasurer
4.  Secretary
5.  Member at large - Neighborhood University Relations Committee Chair (NURC)
6.  Member at large - Newsletter
7.  Member at large - Website / Social Media
8.  Member at large - Social events
9.  Member at large – Political Action Committee Chair

- Board members are expected to attend monthly board meetings. 
- All nominees must be current members of the Old Quad Resident Association. 

Deadline to submit nominations for the Old Quad Residents Association Board of Directors are due on or before January 27th, 2017 to the Secretary, JanetStevenson – contactoqra@gmail.com