From: Meha Patel
To: "michael fisher"
Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; Sheldon Ah Sing; Mayor and Council; Greg Wayland; Steve Le
Subject: RE: PLN24-00533: 860, 868 Civic Center Drive and 1526 Alviso Street Date: Monday, June 15, 2026 4:39:00 PM
Attachments: image001.png
Hi Michael,
We understand your frustrations. I am happy to meet with you in-person or virtually, if that works better with your schedule, on Tuesday to explain the Development Review Process, State housing laws, and the Historic Preservation Ordinance.
Thank you,
Meha Patel | Associate Planner
Community Development Department | Planning Division
1500 Warburton Avenue | Santa Clara, CA 95050
D: 408.615.2454 | E: [email protected]
From: michael fisher <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2026 10:26 AM
To: Meha Patel <[email protected]>
Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; Sheldon Ah Sing <[email protected]>; Mayor and Council <[email protected]>; Greg Wayland <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: PLN24-00533: 860, 868 Civic Center Drive and 1526 Alviso Street
Meha - I can try to meet remotely at 3:00 today. I am driving down to LA and should arrive by then. If not I will pull over for a brief conversation.
Another thought is I can drive home early Tuesday and we can meet Tuesday afternoon.
Thoughts:
1) I’m very angry.
2) the city mistreated me to the magnitude of hundreds of thousands of dollars of additional expense under the premise that historically eligible properties have the same legal standing as historical properties.
3) then after my project, the city passed an ordinance that basically says they will not treat anybody the same way ever again. In fact they won’t even try to build nice neighborhoods.
4) this is of course after the fact that we spent a good deal of investment to start a world class neighborhood. Look around. The developments I created, and across the street the inspired development are beautiful. The city wants to change direction and build crap (I.e. incorrect massing, lack of privacy, inconsistent zoning usage. With misplaced commercial, lack of parking accommodations, inconsistent architectural standards, etc.).
These items raise so many questions:
A) is this legal? Of course I will need to review this ordinance.
B) if it is legal, what’s the point? Why hold me to a standard that city staff was literally working to abolish with this new ordinance that was obviously in the works at the time?
C) why was I not informed of this new ordinance that it was up and coming?
D) why waste my time at all? City staff was vicious.
E) who on city staff made the call to pull my project from the development review that was set to approve my project, only to allow another developer a parks fee exemption and subject my project to a parks fee - when apparently “it’s not in the city’s character” to make development difficult around historically eligible properties and there was an actual ordinance in the works to allow crappy and fast development right next to eligible historically significant properties?
F) At the city’s direction, and as a dedicated life long Santa Claran (since I was 4 or 5) I dedicated my life to lifting up this blighted neighborhood. For what? So I can be mistreated by vicious and inconsistent staff?
G) if the city’s clear intention wasn’t to consider historically eligible properties (which, again, I dedicated my life to, at the city’s request) then the city should at a minimum return my $150,000 in parks fees. This $150,000 was brought on by the city’s continuing insistence that historically eligible properties were legally the same as historical properties. AT THE EXACT SAME TIME THE CITY WAS WORKING ON AN ORDINANCE TO IGNORE HISTORICALLY ELIGIBLE PROPERTIES!!! This fee was brought on by a viciousness and inconsistency that is unprecedented, unfounded and unacceptable.
G) if the city’s clear intention to pass this ordinance would have been made aware to us (this would be reasonable- since again, I dedicated my life to historically eligible property preservation). We would have continued to list our eligible structure. Why was this not shared and discussed? If anyone in the entire community should be made aware of this ordinance, it should be the Fishers.
Again, I am very angry. And I should be.
Michael Fisher
Cell: 408 410-5922
On Jun 11, 2026, at 8:50 AM, Meha Patel <[email protected] > wrote:
Hi Michael – We are available today at 11:45 am to 1pm or 2:30 to 3:30 to meet in- person. We are also available to meet virtually if that works better for your schedule. Please see below for additional information on the entitlement process.
1. When your townhome project went through the entitlement process in 2014, the City did not have a Historic Preservation Ordinance.
2. The Historic Preservation Ordinance was adopted in 2017 and codified process and standards for historic preservation. It established the process for treating properties within 200 feet of a property on the Historic Resource Inventory.
3. 820 Civic Center was not approved to be on the Historic Resource Inventory since you withdrew the application before it went to City Council. Therefore, it is not on the Historic Resource Inventory. Hence, the subject project, 860 Civic Center, does not meet the 200-feet criteria under the Historic Preservation Ordinance, and does not require additional hearings, except for Development Review Hearing for the Architecture Review and Planning Commission and City Council approval for the Tentative Map.
4. Additionally, this project is only subject to meet the objective development standards in the zoning code, some of which they have requested to waive through the Density Bonus Law. Based on state law, the City cannot review the project on a subjective design criteria. At the time of submittal, the City did not have objective development standards applicable, other aspects about architecture would be considered subjective review.
Again, we are happy to meet with you to explain this process in-person or virtually.
Thank you,
Meha Patel | Associate Planner
Community Development Department | Planning Division
1500 Warburton Avenue | Santa Clara, CA 95050
D: 408.615.2454 | E: [email protected]
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From: michael fisher <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2026 8:50 PM
To: Meha Patel <[email protected]>; michael fisher <[email protected]> Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; Sheldon Ah Sing <[email protected]>; Mayor and Council <[email protected]>; Greg Wayland <greg@corsaut- wayland.com>
Subject: RE: PLN24-00533: 860, 868 Civic Center Drive and 1526 Alviso Street
Meha, thank you – but what I was told by City staff is that being eligible for historical significance, is the exact same legal standing as being listed as historically significant. They are the same, is what my Santa Clar staff planner said. So, if it has changed, I need to know about it. And I think we need to go higher than the Development Review Officer here.
Did a major shift in legal precedence occur in the last several years?
I have personally spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on this concept of trying to make appeasements to historically significant property (my property and home) – so yes I am personally vested. And staff was incredibly difficult, to the point where my project was artificially postponed at the time allowing other projects to be approved so I could be the first trial project with a new $50,000+/- parks fee assigned to it – which I should have been exempted from based on my project application date – but staff was sure to use the historically significant nature of the project to delay – and specifically approve other projects that were not historically significant (for some mysterious reason other projects got my calander appointed project review meeting time slot allowing other projects to be approved prior to and exempt from the $50,000 parks fee).
If you have the community development director’s contact that would be helpful.
I am scheduled to be out of town all of those days (Vacation starting tomorrow through next Monday and traveling on Tuesday). I suppose I could postpone my departure for a vacation tomorrow AM if we can meet tomorrow first thing?
Do you have time to meet tomorrow, Thursday AM June 11
th? As early as
possible?
I have cc’d the Mayor and Council members here.
Michael Fisher
Cell: 408 410-5922
From: Meha Patel <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2026 4:22 PM
To: michael fisher <[email protected]>
Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; Sheldon Ah Sing <[email protected]> Subject: RE: PLN24-00533: 860, 868 Civic Center Drive and 1526 Alviso Street
Hi Michael,
Thank you for your email and providing your concerns. Sheldon Ah Sing, the Development Review Officer, who is the decision-maker at the hearing for this project, is copied in this email. We are happy to meet with you sometime this week, Monday, or Tuesday next week to discuss your comments. Please let me know and I can provide some times for you.
820 Civic Center Drive is not listed in the City’s Historic Resource Inventory.
We
have records of applications submitted by you in 2017 and 2018 to list the property on the HRI, but it was never approved by the City Council. Properties have to be approved by City Council to be on the Historic Resource Inventory.
Both applications were withdrawn upon your request. I have attached the correspondence to this email. While we understand your home may meet some of the criteria for historic significance, it was not approved by City Council to be on the Historic Resource Inventory.
As mentioned in my previous email, this project is only subject to meet the objective development standards in the zoning code, some of which they have requested to waive through the Density Bonus Law. Based on state law, the City cannot review the project on a subjective design criteria; however, we are happy to discuss your design concerns with you.
Thank you,
Meha Patel | Associate Planner
Community Development Department | Planning Division
1500 Warburton Avenue | Santa Clara, CA 95050
D: 408.615.2454 | E: [email protected]
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From: michael fisher <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2026 2:07 PM
To: Meha Patel <[email protected]>
Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: RE: PLN24-00533: 860, 868 Civic Center Drive and 1526 Alviso Street
Meha – my home at 820 Civic Center Drive Meets the requirement for Historically significant, and thus it is my understanding that it should be treated as such. I am not aware of a significant change in historical structures law in the past few years?
I would like to discuss this more with planning, and the community development director.
My historically significant home is within 200 feet. The city does not have the right to play it both ways based on convenience.
This was the number one driving force of the development in live in (Mission Estates) and also the driving force behind the townhomes across Alviso Street. Now the City “feels like ” changing their mind?
The development should be tasteful, complimentary, and well thought out.
This is a big issue. We should sit down with the community development director and discuss – can you please provide their contact info?
Michael Fisher
Cell: 408 410-5922
From: Meha Patel <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2026 9:01 AM
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: RE: PLN24-00533: 860, 868 Civic Center Drive and 1526 Alviso Street
Hi Michael,
Thank you for your email . It has been received by the Planning Division. Please note, this correspondence will be part of the public record on this item.
See below for my responses:
1. We have added you to the interested party list.
2. There weren’t any updates since the community meeting last year as the applicant had been working to resolve technical comments. The residents are welcome to provide comments at any time.
3. Height Concerns: The City has undergone a Zoning Code and Zoning Map update since the construction of your townhomes. The proposed project meets the required for this zoning district. The maximum four-stories are allowed in this zoning district. The proposed project meets this requirement.
4. Historical Significance: This project is not within 200 feet of any historical structures.
5. Density Bonus Law: The proposed project is utilizing Density Bonus Law to provide affordable housing and requesting waivers to waive some objective standards. Based on state law, the City can only review this project on objective development standards.
6. The project also proposes a 6-foot masonry wall and trees along the side property line for additional privacy.
This project is scheduled for Development Review hearing on June 17 th. You can
find the agenda and meeting details on the City’s website when they are available.
They are usually available 72-hours before the meeting date.
Thank you,
Meha Patel | Associate Planner
Community Development Department | Planning Division
1500 Warburton Avenue | Santa Clara, CA 95050
D: 408.615.2454 | E: [email protected]
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From: michael fisher <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2026 9:41 PM
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>; Planning <[email protected]>; HistoricalLandmarksCommission <[email protected]>
Cc: CHERYL FISHER <[email protected]>; [email protected] <[email protected]>; Hongbo Zhai <[email protected]> Subject: PLN24-00533: 860, 868 Civic Center Drive and 1526 Alviso Street
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Meha Patel – greetings. I am a neighbor to the proposed development PLN24- 00533: 860, 868 Civic Center Drive and 1526 Alviso Street.
My address is 820 Civic Center Drive.
I have also included neighbors from 1530 Alviso Street
([email protected]
) and 830 Civic Center Drive here (Hongbo Zhai
<[email protected]) cc’d here.
Some thoughts:
1. We would like to be included in any updates and current plans for this development
2. I have not heard of any new updates since a volunteer meeting (n ot official City meeting – so the neighborhood really did not take action to mobilize) that was very preliminary late last year (2025).
3. I would like to see a tasteful development built. I do have a few concerns.
4. City planning did not allow 4 stories when the neighborhood began to build out in 2014-2019 with the Alviso Street Townhouses (Between Civic Center and ECR) and the Mission Estates development (the development surrounding 820 Civic Center Drive).
5. City planning demanded back then that the developments were tastefully respectful of the historically significant house (my current residence at 820 Civic Center Drive).
6. The development referenced above proposed in late 2025 was not respectful of this historical aesthetic.
7. Also, there were balconies that were “looking over” some of these neighbors in an awkward and privacy violating manner.
8. When I spoke to some neighbors, they were concerned they might have to move away.
9. The following elements should be addressed:
1. The massing mismatch to the neighborhood
2. privacy violating elements should be addressed,
3. along with encouraging a respectful nod to the historically significant elements of the neighborhood that we worked hard to contribute to 2014-2018.
I look forward to engaging with the planning and design process.
Looking forward to taking to City staff.
Regards,
Michael Fisher
Cell: 408 410-5922