It is hard to believe the year is already half over, that 4th of July is behind us, and the "holidays" are a few short months away. Nevertheless, it has been a good year to date here in Mountain View, especially from a "weather" point of view. While it may be a little cool for tomatoes, it sure beats the heat of the east coast.
The past two weeks were momentous in terms of Mountain View's future. The Council finally, after almost 5 years of work, including lots of public participation, adopted the new General Plan! The plan will guide the future of our City for the next 15 to 20 years. On behalf of the entire , thank you all for your input and participation. This is your plan. But, the job is not over. There are numerous Precise Plans which need to be updated, zoning rules changed and so on and so forth. When all is said and done, Mountain View is prepared to meet the planning challenges of the next decade or two.
For those of you who follow the media, you may have heard or seen a lot of press about "pod cars". Its funny what the press picks up. I had made a suggestion to add a condition to the General Plan that before we would consider housing in the North Bayshore that there had to be in place an innovative high frequency transportation system. We ultimately decided not to allow housing in North Bayshore, but the media was all over the Mayor's Proposal for Pod Cars. Those who have been avid readers of this blog (one or two of you?) may recall several mentions of SkyTrans. I have since learned there are several different concepts out there. We really need a system of this type to connect the City to the North Bayshore, and I think it is just a matter of time.
During the past two weeks we all celebrated our nation's birthday on July 4th. While its is not a big family holiday in our household, it is a holiday that holds special meaning for me. I always love the concert and fireworks at Shoreline, and I guess we can also be thankful we didn't get to experience what San Diego did with their Big Bang Boom!
As the Council wound down for the summer recess, I was able to attend a number of local events, including the Chinese American Citizen's Alliance Annual BBQ at and the Dedication of the new Sobrato Building at . I haven't spent much time at St. Francis over the years, but it looks more and more like a college campus. We are lucky to have so many great independent schools in addition to our great public school system.
During the course of our last Council meeting of the summer, the Council also approved a new 12 home development on Villa Street where is currently. We also approved a new office building at the corner of Villa and Bryant. The developer is still trying to find a way to preserve the Pearson House, so if you know of anyone who wants a historic home, have them contact the City. We sorely need more office space in the downtown area. The growth of startups is still phenominal and space is at a premium. Finally, the Council approved contracts with the remaining labor groups in the City. Our employees really stepped up to the plate when it comes to long term structural reforms and Mountain View continues to be one of the strongest cities in America in terms of its fiscal health.
The economic staff and I also made a couple of corporate Visits, this time to Bloomreach and Falcon Roofing. Bloomreach has moved several times in the past several years as they continue to grow and are moving again. They have made a concerted effort to stay in Mountain View and we are glad they are able to do so. Also, Falcon Roofing is proof that we do have more than high tech and startups in Mountain View.
This past week also included the where the new Board and Officers were sworn in, as well as a Chamber Ribbon Cutting at Sweet Tomatoes at the Grant Road Shopping Center. They have been wildly successfull since they opened abour 2 months ago with lines out the door on a routine basis.
We had a great turnout for Mocha with the Mayor which was hosted by 's. We had discussions ranging from whether the City should bank with institutions that do more for our community, to the growth plans of the German International School. If you're interested in visiting during a Mocha with the Mayor, be sure to visit my Facebook Page to see where I am going to be next. Its not quite like "Where in the World is Matt Lauer," but I do try and visit coffee shops all over the City.
Lastly, election season is upon us, as if you hadn't figured that out. and so far five candidates have "taken out" papers, including yours trully.
Have a great rest of July!
