City of Mountain View
Minutes
Council Neighborhoods Committee
6:30 PM MOFFETT/WHISMAN AREA - German
International School, 310 Easy St, Mountain
View, CA 94043
Thursday, May 29, 2025
SPECIAL MEETING
CALL TO ORDER1.
The meeting was called to order at 7:18 PM
ROLL CALL - Committee members McAlister, Ramos, and Chair Showalter2.
Emily Ann Ramos, and John McAlisterPresent 2 -
Pat ShowalterAbsent 1 -
PUBLIC FORUM3.
An open forum on issues and concerns of residents in the Moffett/Whisman Neighborhoods.
Members of the public were able to pre-submit questions via Formstack. City staff responded to questions pre-submitted via Formstack as well as questions submitted in person during the public forum of this meeting.
The following members of the public submitted these written questions/comments:
Jessica Gandhi of Mountain View asked how to protect their neighborhood from developments over 4 stories tall. They also asked what the City can do to reopen the many empty storefronts along Castro, some for decades. They commented that subsidizing rents for small businesses or regulating that landlords keep their property rented. They also asked about the crime tendencies (robberies and violent crimes), specifically asking if the rate of population increase has resulted in proportional, better or worse crime rates. They asked if dedicated “green” bike lanes would be added along Whisman between Gladys and Pacific to protect kids biking to and from school during traffic.
Soosh Gandhi of Mountain View asked if the City can require new developments to include ride-sharing waiting zones. They commented that the right turn from Moffett onto Central gets blocked by ride-sharing and deliveries despite the red curb. They also asked if areas in the neighborhood not currently part of the 14 areas currently targeted for R3 rezoning could still be subject to 4-5+-story buildings.
Roger Noel asked why the R2-R3 conversions are concentrated in the Whisman area and not south of El Camino Real. They asked why MVPD continues to encrypt radios when California Highway Patrol and PAPD do not. They also asked why the bridge to the Stevens Creek Trail is being built (which would result in trail closures for construction) when there is already access to the trail at 85 and Moffett.
Stephanie Charles of Mountain View commented that one of the owners in their HOA received board approval for a handrail on their outside stairs (estimated $300-$500), but the City is requiring an architect plan in order to issue the building permit and this would cost $3,000 to $5,000.
Diane Gazzano of Mountain View commented that during the Moffett Blvd Precise Plan Meeting, questions
May 29, 2025Council Neighborhoods Committee Minutes
raised about the meeting's infrastructure were swept under the rug as not relevant to the meeting. They asked when the City plans to discuss this with residents since many live on dead-end streets with an increase in proposed traffic.
Ivan Linscott of Mountain View asked if any project under Builder’s Remedy been denied by any city in California.
Joni Booth asked what options they have if the proposed R3 zoning is passed, as this would potentially allow 5-story buildings next to R1 homes.
Len Abrams of Mountain View commented that the Tyrella development projects pose safety issues with insufficient parking.
Steve asked about the Parks Department's preferred ratio of 3 acres of park per 1000 residents and whether that includes consideration for the coming high-density housing. They also asked what MVPD is doing to prevent car break-ins.
Norm Berube of Mountain View asked why the PO system in the Police and Fire meeting room is never used. However, the placard in the room says that hearing assistance is available, preventing English speakers who need some help from fully participating. Similarly, at the State of the City, they asked for hearing assistance and were told that only Spanish and Chinese were available.
Noah Banks of Mountain View commented that the City should have Police substations in more areas of the community.
Sam Hopkins asked what is being done to address mass mail theft since USPS will not fix the master key even though at least 3 times at their residence, the full contents of all mailboxes for the units in their complex were taken.
Petra Nebel of Mountain View asked about the division of responsibility between the City and residents for the care of the trees along residential streets.
Ricardo Galvan of Mountain View commented that the meeting between the residents of Whisman Station and VTA a year ago did not yield much change regarding the noise complaints or communication support from VTA. They asked how the city can improve its working relationship with VTA regarding these quality-of-life needs.
Anonymous asked how the city would address emergencies given the narrow streets, and if they had a plan to ensure emergency personnel could navigate the congestion on the narrow streets. They also asked if the City could guarantee it has the capacity to handle the increased water, electrical and sewage to accommodate the large housing projects. They asked if the city would be installing a traffic light at Tyrella and Middlefield.
Anonymous asked if building pickleball courts creates or reduces open space given that it paves open space.
ADJOURNMENT4.
The meeting adjourned at 8:18 PM