Got it, Deb; thanks! (no msg) > Re: [Land Use] Re: EPC and
Bruce England
-----Original Message-----
>From: deb henigson <red...@gmail.com>
>Sent: Nov 10, 2008 8:39 PM
>To: mv-sust-tas...@googlegroups.com
>Subject: [Land Use] Re: EPC and "healthy villages" concept
>
>
>Key points:
>
>We are not looking to create *new* village centers. We are suggesting
>targetting EXISTING shopping centers as cornerstones for re-vamping
>into healthy village centers. That is, take a strip-mall that is
>super-car-oriented and turn it into a mixed-use pedestrian-friendly
>shopping, services, and housing combination.
>
>Also, higher-density does not have to be vertical! You don't have to
>pile housing on top of retail to be mixed-use; they can merely be
>co-located in a way that encourages walking & biking, rather than
>driving & parking.
>
>Look at the MV adult school for example of the second point; its
>parking is located in the back and it is very close to the sidewalk,
>so it makes walking on that block much more pleasant. There is still
>parking, certainly, but it's not a huge gulf to cross; anyone living
>in the higher-density condos and apartments nearby can easily cross
>the one driveway on the side street to access the building.
>Furthermore, the bus stops quite near the front door, again
>emphasizing easy access for pedestrians. Compare that to the mini-mall
>across the street, which puts parking in front of the retail shops and
>cuts into the sidewalk twice for driveways, making walking much more
>cautionary and dangerous -- not to mention having to walk across the
>whole parking lot to get to the retail shops. The adult school is
>sidewalk-building-parking-housing, all horizontal in that order; the
>mini-mall is sidewalk-parking-retail, with no way for the housing
>behind it to get to the retail.
>
>just some things to bring up, thanks Bruce!
>
>--deb
>
>
>
>On Mon, Nov 10, 2008 at 4:32 PM, Bruce England <bken...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>> FYI: The key argument from the EPC against the viability of "healthy
>> villages" in Mtn View is a strong attitude against the kind of density that
>> would be required to support services that would need to set up shop.
>>
>> I will be at as many of the EPC and CESC meetings as I can get to, which
>> will be most, if not all, of them. If you want me to put some "healthy
>> village" counterarguments out there, please let me know and tell me what you
>> want to be said.
>>
>> Bye for now!
>> Bruce
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Kal Sandhu
>> Sent: Nov 10, 2008 5:26 PM
>> To: mv-sust-tas...@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: [Land Use] Re: EPC and "healthy villages" concept
>>
>> The most important thing is to get someone on the EPC who is not there for
>> political aspirations but to get the work that needs to be done on the fore
>> front.
>>
>>
>> cheers,
>>
>> On Mon, Nov 10, 2008 at 2:23 PM, deb henigson <red...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi Bruce -
>>>
>>> Unfortunately, I can never attend these meetings. I have a standing
>>> committment on Wednesday evenings that I've had for the last, oh,
>>> 8-ish years, and it isn't gonna be changing any time soon.
>>>
>>> Hopefully our report and our interactions with City Council members
>>> serving on the CESC will be influence enough for now! In the meantime,
>>> if anyone else has time to attend either the EPC meetings or the CESC
>>> sessions, that would be wonderful...but they both meet on Wednesday
>>> nights, so that pretty much counts me out indefinitely.
>>>
>>> alas,
>>>
>>> --deb
>>>
>>> EPC: http://www.mountainview.gov/city_council/bcc/environmental.asp
>>> CESC:
>>> http://www.mountainview.gov/services/learn_about_our_city/environmental_sustainability_program.asp
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Nov 6, 2008 at 12:42 PM, Bruce England <bken...@earthlink.net>
>>> wrote:
>>> >
>>> > Hello all:
>>> > I've been attending EPC meetings related to the General Plan visioning
>>> > process, and you should be aware that the commissioners are collectively
>>> > fairly cool on the "healthy villages" concept. One person in the room (not a
>>> > commissioner, however) even called the idea "nostalgic." One commissioner
>>> > described a true village as being the kind of thing he's seen in Bavaria.
>>> > If you are interested in the future of healthy villages implementation
>>> > in Mountain View, you ought to be attending some or all of these meetings.
>>> > My two cents,
>>> > Bruce E
>>> >
>>> > >
>>> >
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Kal Sandhu
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> >
>>
>
>>