SMART Families Letter to the City, September 7, 2020

SMART Families sent the following letter to the City ahead of the Planning Commission Meeting on September 8, 2020, to address the 804 Valley View Road Project that may impact traffic along Meridian:

Dear Ms. Kith:

Enclosed please find our comment letter on Agenda Item No. 1 for the Planning Commission meeting scheduled for September 8, 2020.

This letter is provided to you as part of the administrative record related to the proposed development on 804 Valley View Road.  SMART Families will also be leaving a brief voicemail to be replayed at the Commission’s meeting.  Our major concerns are focused on potential transportation and related environmental impacts both on Valley View Road and Meridian Avenue, and at the intersection of those two streets that appear not to be discussed in the two environmental documents.

We are surprised that given the extreme steepness of the slope on the property and the proximity to the intersection of Valley View Road and Meridian Avenue (a dangerous roadway due to excessive speeding by cut through drivers) that a mitigated negative declaration with a mitigation monitoring and reporting program were not prepared for the entire development, even if it phased over time (i.e., luxury homes being built on 800, 804, and 808 Valley View Drive) to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act.  We are not against development, though affordable housing developments need to be encouraged by the City.  However, we are concerned about the lack of well-defined mitigations related to our concerns that need to be included in the Planning Commission’s permit conditions.

We appreciate the opportunity to comment on this project and request that further electronic notifications and documentation concerning this project and the other developments on Valley View Road be sent to our attention at smart-families (at) outlook (dot) com.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

SMART Families