August/September 2003
Volume 15, Number 6
From the Chair: Neighborhood Grants for Good Ideas
Amendments to the OMVNA Bylaws
New Possibilities for Your Curb
OMVNA Fall General Meeting
Nominating Committee Proposes Office Slate
Summer General Meeting Educates About Old House Resources
CERT Update
The Downtown Beat
Historical Preservation Ordinance Revision Initiated
From the Chair: Neighborhood Grants for Good Ideas
By Ronit Bryant
Have a great idea for improving life in our neighborhood and strengthening ties among residents? Just need some seed money? Help may be on the way.
The Peninsula Community Foundation, a non-profit agency serving the San Francisco Peninsula, periodically offers neighborhood grants (ranging in size from $500 to $6000) to neighborhood groups with promising ideas for making their neighborhood a better place by improving the neighborhood and developing and nurturing relationships among community members.
If you have an idea that you think fits this description, contact Ronit Bryant, OMVNA chair (964-1966 or chair@omvna.org), for further details, more discussion, and help in preparing your application.
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Amendments to the OMVNA Bylaws
By Ronit Bryant
OMVNA is preparing to apply for non-profit status as a 501(c)4. Such an organization is a non-profit, but donations to it are not tax-deductible. At this time, the steering committee is proposing to make some changes to the OMVNA bylaws:
- An addition to Article IV, Steering Committee: “Members of the Steering Committee shall serve without compensation.”
- A change to Article VII, Election of Officers: “All individuals shall be elected for a term of twelve months, from January 1 to December 31” (rather than from November 1 to October 31).
- An addition to Article VIII, Financial Affairs: “The fiscal year of OMVNA shall begin on the first day of January and end on the last day of December in each year.”
OMVNA bylaws can be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting at a general or special meeting, provided that the proposed amendments:
- were submitted in writing and proposed and seconded at a previous general membership meeting. This was done at the OMVNA General Meeting on July 19.
- are distributed to all members in writing not less than seven and not more than 50 days prior to the date of the meeting. The proposed amendments were in the May newsletter, and are being published here. The membership will vote on them at the Fall General Meeting on October 19. (See Article X of the OMVNA bylaws.)
You can find the bylaws online at www.omvna.org.
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New Possibilities for Your Curb
By Julie Lovins
The City is continuing to improve its trash collection and curbside recycling programs. See the most recent View for a description of the wheeled carts that will soon start arriving. With respect to recycling, you may now start contributing wide-mouth as well as narrow-mouth plastic containers (#1 through #7). This means you can throw in the yogurt tubs with the ketchup bottles. But please do not throw bubble wrap, drinking cups, plastic bags, Styrofoam, or plastic consumer products such as toys in the "mixed" bin.
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OMVNA Fall General Meeting
Saturday, October 18, or Sunday, October 19, 2003
Date, time, and location still TBD
Come join your neighbors for a fun time, good food, and some special activities still to be announced.
We’ll socialize
elect the OMVNA board for 2003-2004
vote on proposed amendments to the OMVNA Bylaws
and discuss goals for the future.
Watch the newsletter and this website for more information.
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Nominating Committee Proposes Officer Slate
By Velva Rowell and Bruce Karney
The proposed slate of candidates for the OMVNA Steering Committee for 2003-2004 is:
- Chair: Ronit Bryant
- Vice-chair: Monica Smith
- Treasurer: Aaron Grossman
- Secretary: Claire Silver
- Newsletter Editor: Velva Rowell
- Community Liaison: David Andrzejek
- At Large: Ken Rosenberg
- At Large: open
Elections will take place at the OMVNA General Meeting in October and nominations can be made from the floor at that time.
Please note that one of the “At Large” positions is still open, and we are looking for someone to take that job on. The "at-large" role is designed as a "starter job" on the committee. There are few duties, but your voice and ideas will make a difference.
The Steering Committee meets once a month for 2 hours. It's a great chance to be the first on your block – literally – to find out about key developments in our neighborhood. Whether you've been here a month or 20 years, whether you own or rent, you're welcome to join. Please contact Bruce Karney, Nominating Committee Chair, at (650) 964-3567 if you're interested.
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Summer General Meeting Educates About Old House Resources
By Velva Rowell
OMVNA’s Summer General Meeting, which was held on Saturday, July 19, was a great success. About 30 people turned out at 11:30 for a neighborhood tour conducted by Jane Powell, a former resident of Mountain View who is now a successful author on the topic of bungalow style. Ms. Powell provided several interesting insights into the development of Old Mountain View.
According to Ms. Powell, Mountain View developed differently from other Bay Area suburbs in that it was developed lot by lot rather than as a full subdivision. This accounts for the wide variety of building styles on Loreto and Velarde streets – the original Palmita subdivision. In the next few months, watch for an announcement of the virtual version of the tour to be housed at the OMVNA web site.
After the tour, we had lunch in Mercy-Bush Park, followed by a business meeting. OMVNA chair Ronit Bryant introduced the proposed changes to the bylaws (see story on page 1) and received a motion and second to vote to accept them at the Fall General Meeting. Alison Hicks (OMVNA vice-chair, Mountain View Preservation Alliance Chair) introduced the “Heritage Home Resource Guide” web page with a walkthrough and handouts. The site is located at www.omvna.org/omvnahh/home.htm. Last, Bruce Karney announced that he is nominating Mercy-Bush Park for the Mayor’s Award.
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CERT Update
By Aaron Grossman
Got water? Got food? Milk can wait! The first two items should top your list of household needs for disaster preparedness. In case you've forgotten, we’re overdue for a major earthquake and it grows more likely every year. Terrorism and major accidents are possible too, but the big one is still the "Big One."
If you have a special need for refrigeration, what will you do in a blackout? When the toilet stops flushing, what will you use? Battery-powered coolers and camping porta-potties are possible solutions, but only if you get them beforehand. Think about what else you will need for safety and health. The time to plan is now, and our web site at www.omvna.org has links to good resources.
Our Neighborhood CERT Local Coordinators are glad to help you prepare in advance. During an emergency they will help coordinate local rescue work over our radio network, but food and water for your own household is up to you. Remember, power and water may be out for several days, and stores may be closed. Get prepared now!
Want to be even more involved? Be a CERT Local Coordinator! There are about 25 of us now, and 25 more are needed. How about you? It's fun and easy, with minimal time requirements. And you get to use a pack of nifty emergency equipment. Email or call Aaron Grossman for details: aagrossman@yahoo.com or 969-4031.
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The Downtown Beat
By Julie Lovins
We now have a more detailed tentative schedule for the rest of the Downtown Precise Plan update. All of these meetings are open to the public, and the meetings with an asterisk are intended specifically for public comment.
- Sept. 2: City Council Study Session
- Oct. 15, possibly also Oct. 21: Downtown Committee (DTC) and Environmental Planning Commission (EPC) review draft Precise Plan
- Nov. 4: DTC Public Hearing
- Dec. 3, possibly also Dec. 17: EPC Public Hearing
- Jan. 27: City Council Public Hearing: the final meeting.
You can get background on this plan for your neighborhood from the City's web site: http://www.ci.mtnview.ca.us/citynews/Downtown_Precise_Plan_Update_Plan.htm. Click on the link at the very end of this page to get a lot of the detailed information you are looking for. While this is not a complete version of what's been recommended so far, it's an excellent start.
One of the issues, "Guiding Concept #6", that neighborhood residents may want to comment on relates to the current 55' maximum height limit for Area H, the area bounded by Evelyn, Bryant, California, and View. This includes the "historic three blocks" of Castro Street, where no building older than ten years is higher than about 30', and most are considerably less. Area H was rezoned in 2002 from "three stories" to 55' to allow construction of a parking structure at the corner of California and Bryant, not adjoining Castro. Next to the 71' "clock tower" building and across the street from the 99' office complex mostly occupied by Fenwick and West, it won't look very tall. However, will people walking in our main downtown shopping district want to look up at building facades the height of the parking structure? Putting restrictions on the height and shape of sidewalk-edge facades (if not entire buildings) just along Castro could preserve the pedestrian-friendly ambience of this area, without limiting development density further away from the Castro sidewalk.
If you would like to participate in the decision-making, now is the time to do it. There may be an opportunity to speak, briefly, at the September 2 Study Session listed above, and written communications to the reviewing bodies are welcomed at any time.
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Historical Preservation Ordinance Revision Initiated
By Alison Hicks, Chair, MV-PA
Several years ago Nick Perry, now vice chair of the Mountain View Preservation Alliance (MV-PA), did a local study of preservation legislation and found that Mountain View was the only city in Santa Clara County with a significant number of heritage buildings, but no legislation to protect them. Last year, Mountain View took steps to catch up with its peers when the Council passed the Interim Urgency Preservation Ordinance, set to expire in 2004.
On August 19 of this year, the City Council approved a schedule and process for revising this ordinance. The draft schedule submitted to Council targeted September 17 for an Environmental Planning Commission (EPC) study session/workshop that will, among other things, begin formal definition of the issues and goals of the revision. Anyone interested should attend this workshop. The EPC is the main advisory body for this work because of its charter to deal with land-use issues throughout Mountain View. The EPC work will continue with a walking tour, most likely on October 1, followed by another meeting on November 5, at which a key issues list will be ratified.
In November, the Council will have a study session on the issue. On December 2, the Downtown Committee will discuss the Ordinance in relation to its ongoing revision of the Downtown Precise Plan. By late January, staff will prepare Ordinance revisions. The EPC will hold a public hearing in January, the Council a study session in February, and there will be a final Council public hearing and passage of a permanent Ordinance in March. At that time, recommendations for updating the Register of Historic Structures will also be considered. Unscheduled items approved by the Council include a preliminary meeting with owners of property currently on the Register.
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The OMVNA Newsletter
is published by a volunteer editorial committee & distributed to some 2400 homes and businesses by volunteers.
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The opinions printed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the OMVNA Steering Committee.
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