Author: Chris Shull

President

Bell Plaza Townhomes Project

Residents likely received a letter about a planned housing development replacing the Bell Plaza shopping center at Henderson and El Camino (East of Henderson, South of El Camino).

While this is not the official city hearing for this development, the board encourages anyone with concerns to attend this meeting. Earlier feedback is always easier to address.

Balboa Retail Partners proposes to develop 46 new, 3-story, attached townhome condominiums including seven affordable homes. The proposed project includes 92 parking spaces in private garages. The site will also provide four guest parking spaces as well. Our goal is to design units that fit into the existing neighborhood while also contributing to the look and context of the area. If you are interested in learning more about this proposal and seeing the conceptual plans, we invite you to drop in for our informational open house…

Date: Thursday, October 3, 2024

Time: 6:00PM-7:00PM

Location: Bell Plaza- 1054 E. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale

The developer has shared additional information with us, which you can download here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/62m086donu87gk39gdqx5/Bell-Plaza-4th-Full-Design-Review-Submittal-Set_COMBINED_20240726.pdf?rlkey=439isqqrxx4sf08k7omkvea47&e=1&dl=0 



Painting has Begun!

As some of you have noticed, as a final step before painting we had a sample painted on the side of one of the buildings. This was a final check to ensure the final result is accurate to the mockup we voted on. Upon reviewing the sample, the stucco color did not accurately match the expectation set by the mockups (and we heard similarly from some of you).

Therefore, and in consultation with our painting company, the stucco color has been tweaked a little darker to better match what the mockups portrayed. In fact, it will be the stucco color from Color Scheme D – the runner up in our community wide vote. While the foremost goal is to respect the community vote and remain true to that, I hope that those who preferred Color Scheme D will appreciate this particular choice. This is the color that is now going up through the community.

I understand that not everyone will be completely happy with the final result, but we need to respect the consensus of the community and move forward. In fact Color Scheme B was not the first choice of any board member (we figured it might be a good “middle ground” option between some of the other options), but we know that we are here to serve the community, and are excited to have narrowed down a final selection. The board has done its best to make this a decision for the community by the community, while also ensuring an efficient process to reach a decision so that we can fulfill our duty to complete this project on time and within budget. 

Sometimes change can just feel “off” for a little bit – I, for one, will be keeping an open mind as I get more accustomed to these changes.

Paint Vote Winner

The voting has concluded and Color Scheme B has won! (To help refresh people’s memories I’ve attached below a photo I took, but note that this is not properly color calibrated at all.)

Thank you everyone who took the time to review the mockups and vote – we had 33 members participate. We really appreciate everyone ranking their preferences. For those who might be curious Ranked Choice Voting is also known as “Instant Runoff Voting”. It’s a way of running “primary” elections and the “final” election in a single go. Most elections boil down to 2 real candidates because that way you don’t “waste” your vote (e.g. voting for an independent for President – we know an independent won’t win). By gathering people’s ranked preferences, we instantly know the following:

  1. Color scheme E is people’s least favorite option overall, so we can eliminate it (moving those votes to their second choice).
  2. Of A, B, C, and D: A would be people’s least favorite option, so we can eliminate it too.
  3. Of B, C, and D: C would be people’s least favorite option, so we can also eliminate it.
  4. Then, between B and D: B wins. We know we could re-run the vote again, with just B vs D, and B would win.

A good video explainer of Ranked Choice Voting is here: https://youtu.be/gq7N2hmX9FI

And the full results for our color vote are here: https://www.rcv123.org/results/5SfPZs6GcGFUCE5mWFPDS7/ff8juhBbA2ETyzfUAtWWnG?_secure=xwxIoedJlD

As next steps the board will be selecting a matching color for the front gates, and updated door color options for each unit to choose from. Stay tuned!

Management Change

Hello members and residents,

The Board has voted to retain a new management company: Tri-State Enterprises

Please note that there is nothing you need to do for this change today: the transition period will begin on May 16, and complete on June 1. But please be on the lookout for updates with required steps as we perform this transition.

Please be sure to always check caminodelprado.org for up to date contact information.

Peterson/Laurelwood Master Plan Virtual Community Meeting Jan 19, 2022

[From the Santa Clara Unified School District]
Dear SCUSD Community,
 
After successful community meetings in December, the Santa Clara Unified School District is hosting another virtual community meeting to provide an update on the project and gather additional input for the Master Plan* for the new Laurelwood Elementary on the Patrick Henry Campus and a portion of Peterson Middle School.  Due to the recent uptick in COVID cases, we are only holding a virtual meeting.

The areas included in the Master Plan are:

Patrick Henry Campus

Peterson Fields

Peterson Tennis Courts

Peterson Parking Lots and Drop Off Areas

The Bryan Osborne Nature Center

The SCUSD Farm

Virtual Meeting: Wednesday, January 19, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Zoom

Currently, funding through Measure BB is only identified for the new Laurelwood Elementary School and the Peterson Fields.  The other improvements identified in the Master Plan will be completed as funding is secured.  Once the Master Plan is complete in Spring of 2022, the design of the new Laurelwood Elementary School and the Peterson Fields will begin.

 
Please visit the Peterson Laurelwood Master Plan Website for more information.
 
*A Master Plan is a dynamic long-term planning document that provides a visionary site plan to guide future expansion with enhanced student and community access to the sites.