San Jose CA South Valley Sports Complex - Feedback

I am a junior at Leland high school and am opposed to the building of this complex. i have been reading quite a few of the other responses and i found it interesting that people actually think that the giving or not giving of yet another soccer field will guarantee the behavior of a child growing up. I cannot belive people actually try to say that without this field the children of Almaden will grow up to be delinquents. i agree with the many arguments of people who are also opposed to this field. i was also a cheerleader for the Almaden chiefs growing up and it seemed fine holding our games at the leland football field. the one point i would like to stress in this is, if the community is so willing to spend money on creating a good environment for all the children in it then they should start with the schools and not the extra activities. Leland was just finished being "remodeled" and yet it still looks horrible. i don't know about the other schools but if they were done in the same fashion as Leland then i can guarantee they need a lot of work also. all this re modeling seemed to be was a new roof and some paint. i think the 2.5 million that the city and AYA are so willing to spend on ruining our valley should really be spent on the schools. Education is the ONLY thing that will keep kids from growing into delinquents, while extra activities may help they will not do it alone!

Mxxxx Nxxxx

FR:  Rxxxx L. Hxxxx

SUBJECT:   Sports Complex on McKean Road

As you are aware, the Almaden Youth Association (AYA) is proposing to invest a minimum of 2 million dollars to install a "sports complex" on vacant San Jose Unified School District property located within the South Almaden Valley Urban Reserve on McKean Road. As a local resident near this proposed building site, I am forwarding some of my concerns regarding this plan:

1. A sports complex, potentially used by hundreds of adults and children on a daily basis, is not at all compatible with the existing rural nature of this section of Santa Clara County. I will grant that municipal expansion is probably inevitable, but this plan which negates the objectives and purposes of the Urban Reserve, as this proposal suggests, into our neighborhood without any thought as to the probable consequence is something that I cannot agree to. It is unfortunate that the AYA didn't bother to communicate their plan with the local residents as they developed it with the San Jose Unified School District and the San Jose City Government. Had we been involved from the beginning, perhaps our concerns could have been addressed.

    

2. Two-lane McKean Road is already overloaded during commute hours. Speeding and passing over the double yellow line are commonly observed by local residents. The considerable additional traffic brought in by the proposed complex will only serve to exacerbate an already unsafe and dangerous situation for our neighborhood.

    

3. Exterior lighting and sound systems supporting a "sports complex" (or whatever it turns out to be) operating day by day and into the evening hours are totally inconsistent with the existing rural nature of our neighborhood.

    

4. The Urban Reserve has certain "triggers" for expanded development. This sports complex does not fit a trigger category. In fact, it is stated that the 2 million dollar investment for this complex is an "initial" investment. It seems to me that this proposal has the capability to destroy the whole concept of the Urban Reserve development and objectives as other developers take the position that "now anything goes".

    

5. With regard to the 2 million dollar AYA "initial" investment, this certainly is a "money talks" situation. I note that the City of San Jose is throwing in an additional half million dollars. In addition, the San Jose Unified School District is apparently so flush with taxpayer money that it can afford to give away prime Almaden Valley real estate acreage for a dollar a year for 20 years.

    

6. If the AYA were to be allowed to construct the proposed sports complex as they see it, my opinion is that the AYA temptation to accept a potential revenue stream by renting the complex for all manner of uses (sports, concerts, or otherwise) would be overwhelming, further damaging the Urban Reserve concept and our rural neighborhood.

    

7. Residing in the county in this particular (South Almaden Valley Urban Reserve) location presents some unusual problems. Basically, while we pay property taxes, we don't have seemingly effective local governmental representation. That may sound strange, but Santa Clara County Government has pretty much adjusted to ceding this region to the City of San Jose. But, on the other hand, we don't live within San Jose City limits and therefore have no representation to that body of government. This puts us pretty much in a dead zone wherein organizations such as AYA can call their own shots.

I would appreciate your response to my concerns as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

I live in the area of the proposed sports complex. I am opposed to it's placement in the Urban Reserve. The reserve is scheduled to be developed in a holistic fashion with triggers set forth in the San Jose General Plan. As far as I can determine, everything possible has been done to avoid following the spirit of the plan. There are many neighborhood concerns that affect not only those who live in the immediate area but the thousands of others who use the area for recreation. We will only get one chance to develop this area correctly. This project fails the test. I encourage all who support the general plan, well planned growth and conservation of our natural rescources to oppose this project.

M A

I am very concerned about the proposal for a sports complex on McKean road. Traffic is already a nightmare on that road. Has anyone tried to drive that road when the school is starting/ending for the day? The traffic is backed up to Harry road for a half hour every morning and every afternoon. The amount of cars there are talking about will more than triple the problem. That is on top of the Horseman’s Events on the weekends. I can’t imagine the traffic, road rage and accidents that will result from this – all in an area that is legally protected as an Urban Reserve.

Also, there is no infrastructure in that area. That means portable toilets for over 1,000 people!

There are a number of other locations within the city that are appropriate for this project, yet someone at city hall seems to be determined to ram this through at the McKean road site. Does anyone know who is behind this and why they are so determined to make it this location?